In what was one of the most hotly anticipated openings of the year, charitable fine dining restaurant Beat 6 welcomed its very first guests last week ahead of its official opening today, Tuesday 16.
Thursday's soft launch night saw the restaurant filled with excited diners eager to see what this new venture from Chef Nico Simeone would bring to the table.
READ MORE: Six by Nico reveals opening date and menu for Dennistoun charity restaurant
We were lucky enough to be invited to the new Whitehall Street location to try their first surprise menu and learn more about their partnership with the incredible Beatson Cancer Charity.
The restaurant itself has a noticeably different feel to its sister Six by Nico locations. In fitting with the relaxed and unpretentious vibe of its Dennistoun location, Beat 6 is roomier (seating 34 diners in total) and brighter with plenty of warm lighting and greenery.
We were shown to our seats at the bar which looks directly into the restaurants bustling open plan kitchen.
Watching the immensely skilled chefs hard at work all night added a whole new level of fun and appreciation of our meal to the experience.
To see close up how each individual ingredient progressed from its rawest form to a refined and perfectly balanced plate was completely captivating.
Anyone who has visited Six by Nico before will be familiar with their signature six-course tasting menus which centre around a unique theme that is reinvented after six weeks.
The idea at Beat6 is to give dishes from past menus a new lease of life – pulling them all together into an eclectic mix of courses switched up at the faster pace of every two weeks and decided in part by a public vote.
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This greatest hits style set up meant that the restaurant's debut menu ranged from a sharp and salty raclette fondue (French alps) to comforting Cacio e Pepe Agnolotti with pumpkin (Little Italy) and a playful deep fried mars bar dessert (Guilty pleasures)
Rather than feeling like a rehashing of old ideas, there was a huge sense of satisfaction in being able to try dishes from these past menus that would otherwise have been lost forever after their six-week run.
While we’re happy to report that each course lived up to our high expectations (and then some) the stars of the show at Beat 6 were undoubtedly the staff.
We were looked after brilliantly by friendly faces who knew every detail of each course and wine that was served.
It takes more than just muscle memory to be able to recite such a detailed introduction for each course, and their enthusiasm for what they do is infectious.
A night at Beat 6 felt just as, if not more, fresh and exciting than the first time we visited Six by Nico. It’s like a cooler, more relaxed older cousin but with no slacking on their signature fine dining experience.
This could perhaps be because of the restaurant’s admirable charitable ethos which will see all proceeds being donated to the Beatson Charity.
Good food, fantastic service and a great cause gave the night a real sense of community spirit that we're sure the venue will continue to thrive on.
For more information or to book now click here.
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