Celebrity chef's restaurant loved by middle class diners voluntarily closes due to 'serious cockroach infestation'

Published: 15:53 EST, 13 November 2026 | Updated: 15:58 EST, 13 November 2026 A much-loved celebrity chef's restaurant has voluntarily closed following a 'serious cockroach infestation'.Six by Nico, in Oxford, was served with a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice by the council on Wednesday.The restaurant is owned by chef-restaurateur Nico Simeone, who was behind the BBC documentary 'Nico's Menu Mission'.A notice on the establishment's door said the restaurant 'poses an imminent risk of injury to health' and there was evidence of the infestation.It warned there is a contamination risk to food, surfaces, packaging and equipment which would likely result in food poisoning, according to the Oxford Mail. The Scottish restaurant group, founded in Glasgow in 2017 and enjoyed by middle-class diners, can be found across the country with almost a dozen branches, quickly becoming one of the UK's most talked-about chains.Oxford City Council said: 'Food Safety Officers from the Business Regulation Team at Oxford City Council served a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice due to an imminent risk to public health. Six By Nico is closed.'The council will now apply to the magistrates' court for the issue of a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Order. The notice was issued due to a cockroach infestation. Six by Nico, in Oxford, 'voluntarily' closed its doors after it was served with a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice by the council on Wednesday The restaurant is owned by chef-restaurateur Nico Simeone, who was behind the BBC documentary 'Nico's Menu Mission''The council will not hesitate to act to prevent imminent risk to public health, holding food businesses to account if they fail to comply with food hygiene standards.'A Six by Nico spokesman said: 'Food safety and hygiene are central to how we run every Six by Nico restaurant. As soon as a pest issue was identified in Oxford, we voluntarily closed the restaurant and engaged external experts. Their advice has been followed in full.'Alongside this, we have done everything we possibly can, while keeping Oxford City Council's environmental health team informed at every stage.'We believe there has been a serious misunderstanding in communications with the Council which we are working to clarify. We are taking legal advice and hope to resolve the matter soon.'The restaurant will remain closed until further notice, and we are confident it is ready to reopen. Everyone with a booking is being contacted directly.'Six by Nico offers multi-course tasting menus where every six weeks the menu features a completely new theme or destination.In recent months, reviews across several Six by Nico restaurants have raised complaints about slow service, loud music, hygiene issues and food that customers have described as bland or overpriced.Some have also claimed there is a stark difference between the carefully presented dishes they see being served to influencers online and what arrives at their own table.Digital creators have become a familiar sight at the restaurants – as marketer Toast points out, such young businesses are known to run highly structured, aggressive PR campaigns that lean heavily on influencers to create buzz around every fresh menu launch.Some now say Six by Nico's constant pursuit of the perfect shot has contributed to slow or chaotic service – while others have questioned why the food they receive does not always resemble the immaculate plates they have seen online.On TripAdvisor, reviews across several locations reveal a string of complaints about bland food, lengthy waits, poor service and alleged hygiene problems.