Somewhere By Nico Edinburgh review: New West End cocktail bar combines drinks, small plates and storytelling

Somewhere By Nico on Queensferry Street is a ‘conceptual cocktail bar’ that takes visitors to another world, serving creative cocktails and eye-watering small plates - with each pairing driving the narrative of the story forward. 

The innovative bar comes from the award-winning team behind Six by Nico - and similar to their popular restaurants, the menu changes every six weeks, with experimental food and drink pairings inspired by dreams, stories, memories and myths. All food and drink pairings also come in non-alcoholic and vegetarian options. 

Somewhere By Nico in Edinburgh's West End opened earlier this month | NW

Visitors who book this month (until July 21) will enter the ‘Land of Oz’ for a trip down the yellow brick road - with each course inspired from the popular story and each unique pairing sure to stimulate your taste buds. During the multi sensory adventure, guests will trace Dorothy’s footsteps, with the first cocktail beautifully presented in one of her iconic ruby slippers.

The level of creativity and attention to detail becomes evident in the first pairing, titled ‘I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.’ Arriving in a small model of a house - where the legs of the unlucky Wicked Witch of The East can be seen from underneath, are three small plates - a pickled walnut and cheddar tar, a comte and bacon jam (truffle royale for vegetarian option) gougère and a roast potato and mozzarella bon bon. 

Guests will be wowed by the creative cocktail and food pairings | NW

From there guests will continue to be amazed with the playful food pairings that arrive over the course of the next two hours - I found myself constantly excited to see what was coming next.

A particular highlight for me was the third course -’If only I had the nerve, heart, brain.’ This pairing represents Dorothy’s travelling companions, the lion, tin man and the scarecrow, and is presented on a bespoke serving board. The ham hough terrine in Kataifi pastry (representing the lion’s mane) is a delight and is beautifully complemented by the ‘Cowardly Lion’ cocktail comprised of sweet vermouth, French liqueur and black cherry rum. The goats cheese mousseline with pickled rhubarb coating (the scarecrow’s brain) also works well with the lemon mocktail.

Theatrics come into play in the second last course which is aptly named ‘I’m melting I’m melting.’ The Wicked Witch of the West cocktail is prepared at your table by an in house mixologist - with a vodka infused ‘witch’s brew’ heated up to complement the accompanying risotto dish. The non-alcoholic version enjoys the same theatrical flair but white cane spirit is used.

The luxurious interiors add to the experience | Somewhere By Nico

A mysterious green box arrives at your table for the final course -a beautiful mint, oat milk and white chocolate liqueur cocktail served with a luxurious caramel parfait and hazelnut praline. And by the end of the night all your senses have been on quite the journey - from the innovative food and drink, themed surroundings, and live music.

Featuring a design concept based on the cycles of sleep, Somewhere Edinburgh creates a tranquil backdrop that allows guests to dream and be transported into another world. From the theatrical bar at the rear of the building to the Venetian plastered walls, large sculptural lighting elements and themed artwork - the space is well thought out and completed the dining experience.

Six Company founder Nico Simeone said: “The Edinburgh site is just what we hoped for. It has an exclusive members' club feel but is open to all’ | NW

Six Company ceo and founder Nico Simeone said: “We really wanted to raise the bar for ourselves. People are looking for more than just a drink - they want an experience. We believed that to be true and that’s been vindicated; we’ve been blown away by how popular this has proved to be since opening our first location in Glasgow earlier this year. The Edinburgh site is just what we hoped for. It has an exclusive members' club feel but is open to all, complementing the city and tourists who visit it year after year."

For more information and to book a reservation you can visit the Somewhere By Nico website.