It took Nico Simeone five long years to make a profit at his first restaurant 111 by Nico in his home city of Glasgow. Having borrowed £33,000 from his parents aged 21 and £20,00 from the bank, he says without their help it would never have got off the ground, and there were times he doubted the concept would ever succeed.
But here we are sitting in his 16th Six By Nico restaurant, in Oxford READ ABOUT IT HERE, many more in the pipeline, as he prepares for a celebration evening to welcome the local community.
His achievements, aged just 34, are pretty impressive, with plans to roll out 4-8 restaurants a year across the UK, and 800 staff on his books.

A big responsibility then? “I thrive on pressure,” Nico grins, “And we try to be as fearless as possible in our creativity to continually evolve. That’s our DNA so we always strive to be better.”
what grounds him, he says, is his family, especially after his wife Valentina was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
However what grounds him, he says, is his family, especially after his wife Valentina was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Fortunately she recovered but the couple went on to found Beat 6, a non-profit restaurant in Glasgow which has raised over £1 million for Beatson Cancer Charity. “That’s when you realise what’s important,” he concedes.

He also gifted 111 by Nico to his good friend Modou Diagne, (now renamed 111 by Modou), who arrived in Glasgow from Senegal with £200 in his pocket and slept rough before finding a job as a kitchen porter there. Working his way up through the ranks, Nico handed the restaurant over to Modou in 2020, which continues to thrive.
‘it’s about taking wee steps forward while remembering that we have achieved a lot’
“But that’s what I mean about our roots and where I’ve come from, it’s about community and helping others and we’ve been focusing so much on the growth of Six By Nico over the past few years I want to get back to that, to making a difference.

“So for me, it’s about taking wee steps forward while remembering that we have achieved a lot,” he says.
It’s nice to meet the man behind the name, and he’s very amenable and keen to share his story, to prove that Six By Nico is still very personal, despite its burgeoning status.
‘It’s about being humble, learning from your mistakes and owning them’
If you haven’t been, the Six By Nico concept is massively popular – a six course themed £50 menu which changes every six weeks. And the food is great. It’s a way of making fine dining more accessible and less daunting while ensuring a stylish night out. READ OUR REVIEW HERE And it evidently works, the Oxford branch, which opened in May, is always packed.

“We have built this company from the ground up. It’s an evolution, but the future of our business is down to our future creativity. It’s about being humble, learning from your mistakes and owning them,” he says in his broad Glaswegian accent.
‘I’ve got three small kids, so I try to work during the week and keep weekends for my family’
“But we also need to remember what we are good at and what our audience loves, which is our story-telling through food and our value for money.

“We have a strong model, a great concept and a brilliant team,” he says gesturing around him as staff scurry around prepping for the evening service where Nico has chosen six dishes from his six favourite menus for his guests, a showcase if you like of what Six By Nico has achieved.
Six By Nico may be a chain, but it was built from scratch, is still run by its founders and relies on keeping its audience happy
Never one to rest on his laurels, Nico wants to get the word out there that while Six By Nico is a chain, it was built from scratch, is still run by its founders and relies on keeping its audience happy: “So today is about sharing that story and connecting with the local community,” he explains.

So does he still have time to spend in the kitchen? He laughs: “Well I’m cooking here tonight and I spend 2-3 weeks in each new restaurant to get them up and running, but I’ve got three small kids, so I try to work during the week and keep weekends for my family.”
And with that he’s back off to the kitchen to out the finishing touches to the menu, which as always stunned his guests. The future looks bright for Nico if he can keep his feet on the floor.
Six By Nico, Westgate Oxford https://www.sixbynico.co.uk/oxford/