I tried Lennox a new ‘most personal’ restaurant from chef Nico Simeone - my verdict

Lennox is billed as chef Nico’s “most personal restaurant concept to date” and opened in Glasgow on the site of the Six by Nico Byres Road branch in May. The restaurant has undergone a complete transformation to become Lennox, a restaurant and bar concept that represents what Mr Simeone describes as “the other side of the coin” to his established portfolio.

Nico Simeone is known for Six by Nico, a restaurant that started life in Glasgow’s Finnieston as a six weekly changing tasting menu concept, which, at the time, was priced very reasonably. I remember visiting in 2017 for The Chippie and loving how fresh and different it was. Expansion soon followed, with restaurants opening in Edinburgh, Manchester, Belfast and London. I wasn’t the only one to note that the experience and quality went slowly downhill.

Then, a transformation. Six by Nico in Finnieston became Sole Club, a speakeasy style restaurant with a “unique” chippie takeaway, and a 22-seat speakeasy-style fish restaurant entered via a fridge. This closed in early 2025 after less than a year and became a new pan-Asian restaurant, Extra_Ordinary. This lasted until summer 2025 when it became, and still is, chef Modou Diagne's restaurant, TRUST by Modou.

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In 2024 Nico’s team opened Somewhere by Nico, an interactive cocktail bar with a changing theme. When it comes to reinventions, Nico could give Madonna a run for her money.

For the chef that brought us that six weekly changing tasting menu, which, in my opinion, in the beginning, democratised and challenged the perception of fine dining, we now have Lennox. It is, the team said: “a return to something more stripped back, instinctive and deeply personal.

“It is a deliberate shift away from format and structure, towards the raw, unfiltered energy of the kitchen. Built on simplicity, transparency and an uncompromising obsession with flavour, Lennox reflects a version of Simeone that predates expansion and scale.

“At Lennox everything is about the food. Purpose takes precedence over prettiness, and branding is minimal, with the atmosphere itself acting as the statement.”

It is, in short, a ‘normal’ restaurant then. What is noticeable on arrival is the stripped back interior - the walls look like the tiles have been ripped off and the grout just left. Very industrial. There’s a range of seating and a visible kitchen as well as steel, exposed brick and lowlighting. The music, where we were sitting, was far too loud and gym-like although that could be my almost-middle-age talking. More importantly, what’s on the menu?

We kicked our meal off with garlicky gordal olives and a duo of oysters - one crispy and one pickled. So far so tasty. This was followed by the fish finger - made of sliced chunks of fish with a delicate crumb and served with punchy tartare and gribiche. The sauce was wonderful but the fish needed a bit of seasoning as without the sauce it wouldn’t have tasted of much.

On to the pasta course, which was my favourite. A large portion of linguine served with rich trapanese pesto and whipped ricotta with a hint of lemon cutting through. Delicious.

We then moved on to the larger, more main courses, although most dishes here are designed for sharing. My stone bass was served atop chunks of pickled rhubarb, slices of fennel all afloat in a rust coloured shellfish sauce. The textures and flavours worked well here, and the fish was well cooked with a crispy skin.

Across the table the flat iron steak served with the sauce of the moment, cafe de paris, and three chunky prawns was devoured quickly. Sides of fried baby spuds served with salt and vinegar powder and garlic aioli are sure to be a huge hit in a city that loves a fried potato. The broccoli served with blue cheese royale and candied walnuts shouldn’t be overlooked.

While portions were generous, I couldn’t leave without trying the hazelnut tiramisu which is for two people. A huge portion, it was heavy on the hazelnut - no bad thing for me - and light on the coffee and very, very sweet.

Nico has created a menu here with dishes that are popping up elsewhere - milk bread, really good oysters, fun fried potatoes and steak with cafe de paris butter to name a few - which is no bad thing. People are looking for the next place to spend their time and cash, and he’s set up in a location where they’re spoiled for choice.

Lennox is set to open in Edinburgh in July on the site of Six by Nico on Queensferry Street. With no experiential element or themes to hide behind, I’ll be interested to see if it’ll remain in vogue, or if we’ll see another transformation any time soon.