If you haven't visited Six at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art yet, then you're literally missing a trick.
It’s pre-pandemic since we last went, and it was always a favourite place of ours, but postpandemic, some of the places have fallen off our radar and this is one of them.
It’s on the top floor and the views are absolutely spectacular, especially at night when everything is lit up. The lift that takes you to the restaurant is fast mind, it felt like we were in a rocket being zoomed to outer space, but it gets you there in no time at all.
We arrived and were immediately warmly greeted by a lovely lady with a beaming smile. She took our name, ushered us to our table, took our coats and left us with the food and drink menus.
There’s a good choice of drinks, so after ordering water, we chose a cocktail each, mine was an Espresso Martini, as I was quite tired, and this always picks me up. As a non-caffeine drinker, this well and truly hit the spot and I was wired for the rest of the night! My companion had a Sangria Spritz and she commented that it reminded her of holidays and, in her words; tremendous.
For starters I opted for the soup, which was Jerusalem artichoke, candied pancetta, Bay cream, with sunflower seed pesto. It looked and tasted delicious. Now with soup, I’m often left disappointed, as it can often come just lukewarm, which I personally don’t like. This was piping hot, seasoned perfectly and the dish deliciously light and tasty. I’d order it again in a heartbeat. My friend opted for the celeriac remoulade, as she’d never had it before. It was a sight to behold, the beyonne ham, pickle fritters and nasturtium made it look so pretty on the plate. She was very pleased with her choice and vowed to be more adventurous from now on.
Mains for me were baked king prawns, crabmeat stuffing, squid ink noodles and coconut with a tamarind sauce. Boy, this was good! All of the flavours complemented each other, and you could tell that this dish had definitely been put together by a chef that knows his seafood! Sticking to her ‘trying something different’ Helen went with the duck breast, cooked pink, served with brown butter potato, salsify, sage, and pear with a green peppercorn/cider sauce. The duck melted in your mouth and the accompaniments balanced out the richness of the duck perfectly. It’s quite a large portion this dish, so be warned, if you’ve only got a small appetite.
We didn’t go with sides, although they sounded tempting, there is more than enough food without them, but we stuck it out long enough to want to order a dessert. My friend had baked New York-style aromatic cheesecake, roasted pineapple served with a generous portion of gingerbread ice cream. She said this was a winner on all counts and took her to the unbuttoning of her jeans state. I went with a slightly healthier option (that’s what I told myself) with the apple, blackberry and hazelnut crumble served with Frangelico custard. The crumble was my favourite bit of this, as I love anything nutty and crunchy, and this was both. The apple; soft and tasty, blackberry; tart, and got the juices flowing in my mouth, just enough to be calmed down by the custard. A really tasty dessert and ended the meal beautifully.
We had a bottle of the Picpoul, a lovely citrusy dry white wine – chilled to perfection and a great addition to the meal.
It maybe a long time since we visited Six, but it hasn’t lost any of its charm. The staff are so attentive too – the views to die for. The bill was £143 for the two of us, which was great value for money and an absolute treat.
When I got home hubby was slightly jealous, so I had to promise to go back next week, which was not a difficult promise to keep. It’s a hard job, but somebody has to do it!