A new restaurant is opening in Leeds next month, serving up a different themed tasting menu to diners every six weeks.
Called Six By Nico, it's already a popular fixture in nearby Manchester - with the team recently revealing plans to open a second site over there.
Now, it appears it's also got its sights set on Leeds as bosses reveal plans to open the first Yorkshire site in July.
The brainchild of Scottish chef Nico Simone, the eponymous restaurant chain has proven a hit with locals and tourists across the country for its affordable themed tasting menus.
Previous hit menus at Six by Nico include its Chippy Tea, which offered a unique take on the traditional fish and chip shop dinner, its Fairytale menu, and its Alice In Wonderland-inspired supper with a hot mushroom consomme ‘tea’ and edible sugar paper menus.
First founded by Scottish chef Nico Simone in the Finnieston area of Glasgow in 2017, today Six By Nico has ten sites across the UK. The new Manchester and Leeds site will mark 12 in total for the group.
Speaking on the new opening, chef Nico said: “We are very excited to be bringing the taste of Six by Nico to Leeds! The city has become a real foodie destination over recent years, which makes it the ideal location for us in the heart of Yorkshire.
“We pride ourselves on originality - Six by Nico is founded based on a carefully curated and ever-evolving tasting menu, which combines different ingredients, flavours, and dishes, drawing inspiration from Yorkshire, the UK, as well as abroad.
“The aim is to bring memories and stories together, to create a brand-new dining experience every six weeks.
“We can’t wait to open our doors, and to be bringing a truly unique and unforgettable culinary experience to the people of Leeds and Yorkshire.”
Prior to opening Six By Nico, its eponymous head chef ran another restaurant called 111 in Kelvinside. However, following the pandemic, chef-owner Nico gifted this to a young Senegalese man who worked his way up from kitchen porter to head chef at the establishment.
His original restaurant is now known as 111 by Modou, in homage to its new owner Modou Diagne.
Speaking on the change at the time, Nico Simone toldThe Herald Scotland: “The time feels right, both for myself and Modou. This has been a personal dream of mine since meeting Modou in 2014, not only getting to know him as a close colleague, but he has become like family to me.
“Six by Nico is going from strength to strength, and as such there are increasing requirements for my energy to continue that development. There is no one I trust more to hand the reins to than Modu.”
Featured image - The Hoot Leeds
Eats
Grade-II listed city centre bar to open East Asian-inspired street food kitchen
Howard Assembly Room to launch new bar with permanent kitchen from Yuzu Street Food.
HAR bar, the intimate Grade II-listed space beneath Leeds City Centre's multi-disciplinary venue, the Howard Assembly Room,will now open five days a week with a brand new permanent food partner.
If you're not familiar York’s Yuzu Street Food, then allow us to fill you in.
First established in York following an enlightening culinary trip to Asia in 2019, Yuzu Street Food is now recognised as one of the north’s finest street food vendors.
Image: Supplied
Serving up contemporary takes on bao buns, fried chicken, ramen, katsu curry and much more; Yuzu are set to be the perfect addition to the Howard Assembly Room and its new bar HAR.
First launched in February, a programme of improvements saw the space previously occupied by the restaurant Kino transformed into the HAR bar.
An intimate venue in the cultural heart of the city, HAR bar guests can now enjoy fresh coffee, quality cocktails and a rotation of beers from breweries including Leeds institution Kirkstall Brewery throughout the week.
Image: Supplied Image: The Hoot Leeds
Yuzu Street Food will open at HAR on Friday 15 May.
Michael Wilkinson, Director of Strategy and Commercial, said: “We are very excited to be welcoming Yuzu to HAR bar, with their Asian-inspired street food providing the perfect accompaniment to our range of drinks and firmly establishing HAR bar as one of Leeds’ leading spots to meet and eat.
"We want everyone in the city to feel that this is their space, where great music, a welcoming atmosphere and exceptional service combine to create a truly special place that embodies the city’s creativity while also supporting Opera North’s outreach work across the north.
Chris Hargroves, Yuzu Founder & CEO, said: “We’re delighted to be back in Leeds city centre! Leeds has always shown us incredible support and energy and returning really feels like coming home. We’re excited to reconnect with the community, welcome familiar faces and introduce our new menu items to the new ones. Working with such a prestigious venue as the Howard Assembly Room is something we’re absolutely buzzing about and we can’t wait to fire up the woks!”
Popular beer festival showcasing over 35 indie breweries is returning to Leeds this month
Clementine Hall
Hop City, the long-running beer festival from award-winning Leeds-based brewery Northern Monk, returns this month for its ninth year.
Beer lovers, this one's for you.
Bringing over 35 of the best independent breweries from the UK, Europe and North America together to The Old Flax Store, Hop City will have approximately 250 different world-class beers for guests to try across one weekend of festivities.
The best part? Every pour across the weekend is included in the price of the ticket alongside a Hop City branded glass to enjoy them in, so don't worry about having to continuously reach for your wallet.
Images: Supplied
Joining Northern Monk this year are UK breweries including Brighton’s Beak, Deya from Cheltenham, Manchester-based Track and Edinburgh’s Newbarns who will be pouring next to the likes of US breweries Trillium, Root + Branch, Finback and everywhere; Canadian’s Messorem and Third Moon, and a selection of Europe’s finest indie brewers.
Seriously, this is a beer lover's paradise.
And it's not just about the booze, as joining Hop City 2026 will be joined by Leeds’ own Bundobust who will be bringing their Indian street food alongside Bonehead Fried Chicken and Hermanos Caliente, courtesy of Niko’s Comfort Kitchen.
Images: Supplied
Not a beer fan? Don't fret as natural wine bar Rinse will be pouring all weekend whilst Below Stairs will be providing the cocktails.
Russell Bisset, Founder of Northern Monk, said: “What started out as an idea to host some of our favourite breweries in Leeds has grown into something bigger than we could have imagined. From the beginning, the ambition was clear - to champion the best hop-forward breweries in the world and to create the first beer festival in Europe dedicated to celebrating hoppy beers and IPAs.
"Today, it’s about bringing some of the greatest breweries from across the globe together under one roof, creating something genuinely special for people who love beer as much as we do. Heading into our ninth year with a line-up of this calibre is something we’re incredibly proud of. It’s not just about the beer, but the community, collaboration, and spirit behind it.”
Hop City 2026 will take place from Friday 15 to Saturday 16 of May, and you can buy your tickets here.
Georgina Pellant -
1st June 2023 
