Well it wouldn’t be Edinburgh otherwise, would it. At this point, I’ve long grown out of finding Six By Nico to be a proper fine dining experience, but it’s entertaining and a fun tradition. It’s also nice to have one which isn’t just The Chippie, so I’ll take what I can get. This time, it’s a Mad Hatter’s Experience, which thematically gets a little lost but such is life. We all go for the wine pairings, a dangerous mistake, not least with me, Hazel, and George also opting for the apperitif (I am, though, somewhat a grown up and don’t then also get an espresso martini with dessert). A nice snack of a cheddar biscuit with truffle and a (tad salty) mushroom consommé starts us off before an underwhelming first course of a chicken fat donut, overly tough and with a bland filling of shredded school dinner chicken. The potato terrine and goats cheese parfaits, each with the requisite tableside adding of jus, are both fine if passing without much notice as we’re busy discussing our star ratings for the various shows we’ve seen this year. “Breakfast in disguise” is livened up with an edible waiter’s notepad page and some creativity in presenting one set of ingredients as others (the “egg” being made out of some beans, for example). The crispy pig head is quite nice, served with some lively fennel and (of course) an apple and mustard mousseline. Dessert is where the theme comes to life nicely with a homemade jammy dodger, a burnt toast delice, and strawberry sorbet. It remains, as Grace Dent once described it, the Pizza Express of fine dining, but it’s enjoyable enough for what it is.