Nico Simeone, the Scottish-Italian chef behind the Six by Nico restaurant empire, has opened Lennox on Spring Gardens in Manchester. Unlike his Six by Nico chain, which offers themed six-course set menus, Lennox is an à la carte venue focused on dry-aged meat, though it retains Simeone’s signature playfulness and invention.
Concept and Expansion
Six by Nico, known for themes like “The Chippie” and “Italian Road Trip”, grew to 17 restaurants by 2025. Lennox was initially described as a personal, bespoke venture with no rollout planned, but by August 2026 there will be three locations: Manchester, Glasgow, and Edinburgh.
Menu Highlights
The menu includes dishes such as mussels with sourdough and ’nduja, pork cheek with gochujang, sole kiev with caesar salad, and puddings like hazelnut tiramisu and pavlova with extra-virgin olive oil. An open kitchen, Japanese barbecue, and dry-ageing fridges for steak and fish are visible.
The dry-aged beef tartare with oyster emulsion is served in a tempura oyster shell – a chunky, oozy bullet of beefy fishiness. Tartare purists and oyster purists will hate it, but Lennox is not about stiff rules.
Dish-by-Dish Impressions
A halloumi shawarma with baba ganoush and rosemary flatbread is dry and unseasoned. Gnocchi with deboned chicken wings and parmesan is comforting but lacks finesse. The fish finger with katsu curry is the shining light, an elevated take on McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish with curry sauce. Aged ribeye is very good despite a thin, bitter red wine sauce. Salmon gravlax in buttermilk, dill, and grapefruit is pretty but underwhelming.
Lennox feels like being bombarded with ideas. You leave fed, challenged, and gastronomically punch-drunk. The lemon tart comes with red wine sorbet and rosemary – three assertive flavours fighting for dominance. A smidgen of chantilly cream would have been a refuge.
Atmosphere and Service
At lunchtime, Lennox is full of life, filling up with couples and groups of friends. The servers are lovely, but there was no sign of Simeone nor other named chefs. His omniscient powers run multiple Six by Nicos and a Lennox-shaped dawn.
Next time, I’ll have the hazelnut tiramisu.
Lennox Manchester, 60 Spring Gardens, Manchester M2 2BQ, 0161 832 1815; lennoxrestaurant.co.uk. Open Tues-Sun noon-midnight (1am Fri & Sat, 9pm Sun). About £70 a head à la carte for three courses (set menus from £35) plus drinks and service.
