See inside new Sunderland seafront restaurant Six that's bringing something different to the city

A new restaurant and wine lounge has opened on Pier Point, Roker, offering meat and cheese boards, cocktails, wines and more.

Six only opened its doors last weekend, but already has a waiting list for peak times with people eager to try out its plates and platters which have a firm focus on local cheeses, charcuterie, seafood, vegetarian options, sides and specials.

It’s been created from five former car parking spaces in the Pier Point development and complements its neighbouring businesses by offering something different.

Co-owner Richard Cooney has 28 years experience in the pub trade, having previously been involved in well-known businesses The Broadway, The Ashbrooke and, more recently, The Belmont in Durham.

He’s teamed up with business partner Tracey McCluskey for Six, who previously owned Relish in Sunderland city centre and then its successful spin off catering company Relish the Thought.

They combined their passion of good food and wine to create Six, which Richard says has been a labour of love.

"I was most recently at The Belmont in Durham but I wanted to come back to my home town of Sunderland for one last blast,” he explained. “There’s so much development along the seafront with Stack opening and it’s a very exciting time to be opening a business here. We’ve had a lot of great feedback on the look of Six.

"You’ve got coffee places down here, fish and chips, a pub, a tearoom, but with the charcuterie and cheese we’re offering something a bit different, so people can get a bit of everything along here now. When the weather’s right, there’s no better place to be.”

The name Six is inspired by six soldiers who, in 1587, defended the mouth of the river provided by the Abbs family so they could be granted land on the North side of the Wear. As well as six pillars supporting the restaurant, its menu is divided into six lunch plates, six boards, six sides, six red wines, six white wines, six sparkling wines, as well as cocktails and draught options.

Manager Georgia Cooney designed the cocktail menu with the coastal location in mind.

She said: “We’ve really tried to do something unique with the cocktail menu, so we have a mermaid mimosa with glitter, a Roker Blue which is garnished with a dolphin made from a banana and pink snapper where we take a photo of the customer with a Polaroid and clip it to the drink.”

Six, which has created 12 new jobs for the area, is open seven days a week from 11am and is open until 7pm on Sunday and Monday, until 10pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and until 11pm on weekends.

Evenings and weekends are primarily for booked tables, but during the day people can call in for coffees, lunches and take away picnic boxes.

Speaking about the food and drink offering, co-owner Tracey said: “People really enjoy the fact that they can come in for a nice glass of wine and a cheeseboard on the seafront. You can also order dishes for take away so you can take them down to the beach.”

Six was due to open on April 18, but opening was delayed due to lockdown.

Seating has been reduced from 46 to 28 inside to meet Government guidelines and booking through its website is advised. Other measures include track and trace, no standing at the bar with table service only, hand sanitiser and dedicated servers for each area who keep a distance.

The opening comes as the Echo is running its #SupportLocal campaign to encourage people to use local businesses and boost trade.

For a guide to Sunderland cafes back open for business with social distancing measures see here.

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