The Man Behind The Curtain in Leeds

Been a couple of times. Very good restaurant. Some food in my opinion odd..lolMichael had a chat showed us the kitchenHighly recommend as a treat.

Brilliant food, superbly cooked and presented. Pricey, though.

Simply the best dining experience ever! Great venue, brilliant interaction with the staff and amazing food and wine

Always a pleasure the dishes taste delicious always have a unique touch to each plate, and always cooked to perfection.

Total disappointment, I was bought a voucher for my 30th birthday on the recommendation of a family member. Id heard great things and seen some of the previous menus and everything looked so exciting! Im a huge foodie and love to try new dishes and I took a friend for her 30th knowing it was going to be a very special occasion. We arrived 30 minutes early as requested in the booking and were quickly seated in the bar. We were offered a drink after 10 minutes of waiting then had to wait another 20/30 minutes before we were taken to our table. The service was good, I cant fault that, however the food was very disappointing, everything seemed to have a burnt, fishy, bland tang to it, I cant describe it any other way. I suppose I expected more interesting flavours but it was about as exciting as the boring colour theme, everything black and white. Id been looking forward to visiting for about 2 years as the voucher was bought during the pandemic and booking wasnt the easiest process.The lady who came with the bill didnt appreciate my honesty in advising the food was very dull and when I discussed the obligatory service charge given the disappointment she turned quite rude and abrupt and insisted we paid it. Over £600 between us spent on a meal which wasnt enjoyed left a very bad taste in my mouth. I definitely wont be returning and will discourage anyone I know wishing to visit. Save your money and go somewhere better. Shocked and disappointed

Amazing venue only topped by the food and staff who were so attentive and caring.A great experience from first course to last and worth every penny

AMAZING!!! What an experience… from going down to a ‘basement’ which was eye popping - but the food…. OMG, the food!! Lunchtime menu was taste bud blowing - delicious doesn’t even hit the mark! If you want to try something you’ll never forget… this is it 🤩

What a restaurant. What an experience. Everything was world class and definitely worth a try. Absolutely sensational food and service. It’s like a work of art.

Best fine dining xp in my life. Went for the full wine pairing, amazing, yet I ended very drunk since I dont drink so much. Still dont regret it. It is very expensive, but it was all quality, from the table details, the bathrooms, the service, the advise, the food... just wow. In retrospective, there is a more accessible wine option, which I would recommend if you dont want to end up hammered, the waiter did point it out, but it was a special night and wanted the full xp. Also, if you dont like seafood, you will need to skip 3 dishes, although I did try them, and the outside flavour was amazing, so to get best xp, you need to like seafood! My wife had my share. Although you can make it without it, but some of the star dishes are indeed Seafood, so... have a think. The cod was out of this world, the garlic soup was unique and a pleasure to devour, the fuagra the only one Ive ever liked (surprise), just to name a few. Trully an amazing experience. Ten tables, very detailed service, go early to enjoy a pre-drink. Best Anniversary 🍾 celebration.

Ive been to a lot of Michelin starred restaurants in my time and I have to say this was up there with the most expensive and right down the bottom as the biggest let down on so many levels.Honestly the food was OK. Some places impress with every course and some are a mixed bag. This is definitely the latter. Id say about 3 or 4 things really stood out as excellent, one of those being a tuna hand roll canape at the beginning which owed its success to the quality of the fish over the execution. But thats fine. Not every dish is going to hit for every diner, although I think we were objective enough to be able to say that overall a lot of the dishes were style over substance.We opted for the Prestige wine pairing which came in at a whopping £185 per person - a chunk more than the food itself. All in all this was a massive let down. A couple of glasses were lovely, the rest very average. two of the eight servings were Champagne which were neither well paired nor particularly exciting. One was a yuzu sake which had no place at all alongside the spiced prawn it came with.As for the service - I entered the restaurant to find myself essentially hemmed into the stairs while one of the chefs greeted his friends and stood to chat a while. Even the reception staff seemed to find navigating a way around to get me in somewhat awkward.My brothers water glass was left empty for a couple of courses at a time more than once.The toilets were spattered with urine on the seat and floor and showed no sign at all of having been checked since service began.Some elements of the tableware for the meal were clearly past their best with a bizarre leopard print place mat being set down for one course with battered and tattered corners looking like something that had been taken off sale due to excessive damage in a TK Maxx.We closed the meal off with a coffee and the final course "macarons Damien Hurst". What it actually is is a large tray of multi coloured macarons arrayed to impress of which you get to pick just one. These are nice but very chewy. When we jokingly asked the waiter if they get to polish off all the leftover macarons at the end of the day that are presumably produced to ensure the same visual impact for each customer he said "we get to take some home on Saturday when were done with them but not before". The restaurant is open from Tuesday to Saturday. We went on Friday. I suppose we know why they were pretty chewy at least...When the lady came to take payment and asked if everything was to our liking I had to be honest and say that this was both the most expensive and least enjoyable Michelin starred dining experience I have ever had. Not so many years ago I stayed with my partner at the Waterside Inn in Bray. A three Michelin starred restaurant. We had the full tasting menu, wine pairing, a beautiful room for the night and breakfast in bed delivered all for around £200 more than the price of the trip to The Man Behind the Curtain.Her response was pretty pathetic for somewhere aiming this high. She said she was sorry to hear that and would pass on the feedback to Michael, before proceeding to take the full payment including 12.5% service charge (£93.30). It was only after that I decided it was probably best to speak to the manager who again showed no signs of any efforts to make amends beyond noting the feedback until pressed with a litany of grievances.Eventually he finally offered to refund all, or some, of the service fee - whichever I felt was most suitable. No decent establishment should even enter into a discussion about this after such an experience. The service should have been removed without comment or discussion, not after some lengthy and in the end fairly unsubtle suggestion.This place would be mildly disappointing but still an experience at half the price. Not even close to worth the money or the star its apparently held for eight years now.£840 not so well wasted...

Wow! I’m a simple man with generally simple tastes, however… after trying the taster menu at Man behind the curtain, i now appreciate what i would have called “snobby” or “pretentious”. It was amazing, i had never been challenged by food before. I also had the wine pairing which was fantastic.Anyone thinking is it too posh for me to try? No, it’s so good there the staff make you feel at ease not like you don’t belong. If you’re on the fence about trying, this is my humble advice, be honest, if you don’t know much about wine, tell them, if you have questions ask them. Don’t pretend to know things you don’t know and enjoy the experience. I have been twice now and am booking in again soon!Complex tastes, amazing staff, slick yet inviting premises. Just a great experience!

My partner has always wanted to go to this restaurant and last year we finally made it as a belated 40th birthday dinner.The food was incredible and the waiting staff amazing.I would recommend to anyone who loves food and isnt fussy.Yes its not cheap but it wasnt pretentious in any way.

This was the most memorable dinning experience I have had so far in my life. My husband and I treated ourselves as part of our mini-moon around the UK after our wedding in April. The setting of the restaurant was so atmospheric and you immediately lost yourself in the environment. We went in the evening where all the lighting made it look like a James Bond movie set. The staff were superb, extremely friendly and passionate about what they do. Special mentions were Matt, Jess, Emily and of course Michael OHare himself. You all made it so special for both of us. The most memorable dish for me was the Emancipation dish. The cured cod was nothing I have ever tasted before! AMAZING! The wine pairings were creative and complimented the food so well. Every aspect of the dinning experience was thoughtfully orchestrated and made the whole dinner exceptional. Thank you so much.

On the whole, most of the dishes are too salty to me. It is really hard to say the food is very good. The plus side is the fancy plating. The stuff reminds me of the French lol

Visited twice and both times were outstanding. Just the very best food and wine, without pomp or pretence. My ideal restaurant in every way.

Such a special place. Such an experience. You wont be disappointed

First off, and surprisingly given the nature of the food, it was an utterly unpretentious experience. No stony faced waiters, no cold formal ambience, just a genuinely relaxed evening with warm and friendly staff. The kind of place (if not for the smart dress codewhich makes you feel you could pop in for a quick bite to eat in your comfies!We went for the permanent collection with the prestige drinks pairing. I hadnt looked at the menu ahead of time so every time the table was reset for the next course, I was excited to see what I was going to get. And I wasnt disappointed. The food and presentation was delicious and just a whole lot of fun. My particular favourite was the pate and caviar!OK, it isnt cheap, but think of it as paying for an experience where the food is just included. We were there for about 3.5 hours in total and enjoyed every second. We were told theyre due to launch a new menu, so I have no doubt well be back!

The food didn’t disappoint, but one particular male member of staff was particularly rude ,We had to ask him to drop his attitude and not to serve our table, shame he let his team down .Spoilt the experience with his attitude of “ I’ll top up your wine in my own good time “Perhaps he should remember, customer pay his salary.

Last night was our 1st visit to Man Behind the Curtain (Feb 17th). It was the most amazing experience from start to finish. Not pretentious or intimidating at all with very welcoming staff.The real star of the show is the food. We enjoyed each of the dishes and cant decide which was best, for me personally it was the Tuna Nigri and Hand rolls - amazing.Id highly reccomend it to anyone- an azimg experience!

This is the only fine dining restaurant Ive left thinking - Did I just get fleeced here? Was that the Emperors New Clothes?. I get that these expensive restaurants are special occasion venues but when the cheapest bottle of wine on the menu is £60 and the food and presentation is overly reliant on silly gimmicks, it makes you think whether it was actually worth it.A lot of thought has been put in to the aesthetics and atmosphere of the restaurant - from the black marble floor, dimly lit lights, relaxed cool music and black toilet paper - this is definitely a vision that has been brought to life. Unfortunately the presentation of the food took place over the food itself.The first course of scrambled egg and seaweed with a spicy edge served in a fake eggshell was a good start. The prawn served on a telephone (mimicking a Salvidor Dali scuplturewas enjoyable but got me thinking, why am I eating food served on a fake telephone?The white gezpacho and granita tasted nice and savoury but the granita just left the whole dish cold. The scallop served in a black shell was decent but covered in squid ink - why? So the food matches the floor tiles? The next dish, Emancipation (served on the final dinner for the Great British Menuwas dissapointing. The texture of the fish was perfect but the dish was overwhlemed with vinegar and again more squid ink.The iberico (covered in squid ink unsurpisnglywas nice but my knife couldnt cut through it. The Sex Wax dessert, served on a mini surf board was tasty but the presentation didnt make it any better. I assume the chef likes to surf but so what? The final dessert of macarons (served away from the table and closer to the entrance/exit), came on a large canvas to look like Damian Hirsts Pill painting.Overall it felt like almost every dish had a silly twist to it and by the end it just felt pretentious. I assume the lunch menu I ate doesnt change very often and the same hits are rolled out day after day. The menu also lacked vegetables which was noticeable.Some of my complaints might feel like nitpicking but when youre paying hundreds for food and drinks for two people - its OK to be a little critical. The service was fine and the somellier/drinks guy was very friendly in a genuine way, he wore a suit whilst the female staff wore an edgier unfiform of long socks, white jackets and trainers, felt like they were presented as eye candy for the diners.Im glad I went to experience it for myself but I wont be in a rush to return or recommend it to friends.

Full credit! The team also make the experience well worth the money special thanks to Tom for being so friendly and understanding with my questions. Also pay for the wine pairing worth every penny.

Wow what an amazing place, the food was a taste sensation. The attention to detail in regard to not just the food but also the Decor X we felt so special

Weve been wanting to come here for a couple of years and it certainly didnt disappoint. Yes; its very expensive, the drinks menu is quite limited, but the food was like nothing weve ever eaten before. All of the dishes were very imaginative, crazy, quirky, but most importantly delicious. We had the matched juice for each course which were equally surprising but all very tasty. The chefs clearly take pride in what theyve created. The staff were very friendly and welcoming.

Some of the best food Ive eaten in my life. Had a wonderful experience. Wish the cocktail menu was a bit more extensive as if you dont like gin, whiskey and vermouth its rather limited. Wine list good though so made up for it :). Would definitely recommend. The emancipation dish is just beautiful.

Absolutely amazing service from start to finish. We had the taster menu with the wine pairing. Would definitely recommend as a birthday treat 👌

The decor and the dishes exude the flamboyance of the chef, and are worth the meal price alone. The food is very creative, as is the plating, but unfortunately several dishes fall short on depth of flavour and complexity. Nonetheless it’s definitely a recommended experience.

Wow. Without doubt one of the most visually pleasing and visually perfect Michelin meals we’ve experienced. The menu itself is very clever. Particular highlights included ‘Emancipation’, ‘Black Caesar’ and the incredible ‘Ajo Blanco’ . At times some of the dishes looked better than they tasted, which would be my only minor critique, on this otherwise very solid 1star. Bravo Mr O’Hare 👏🏼

How many different ways can you say wow?! What an experience. Definitely worth a visit, although due to the prices not somewhere you can visit too often, unless youre rolling in money! That being said for a special occasion treat its well worth the expenditure. Each course delighted us just as much or more than the one before it. The staff were amazing, so attentive and friendly. I cant pick any faults not even a small one. The restaurant itself is trendy and opulent. Even the toilets are decadent. What a way to spend my birthday.

If it was possible to give 10 stars I would...its incredible!!! Its an experience I will remember for a while. I cannot reccomend this place enough.

Excellent service, stunning food, a wonderful experience. Wouldnt hesitate to come again!

What a place to eat, don’t go expecting meat and two veg, it’s all about the flavours here. 14 courses of surprises served by young knowledgeable staff straight out of a Robert Palmer video. It’s not somewhere you would go every week (£500 with drinksbut it’s somewhere you should try at least once in your life

A very special restaurant experience for my birthday celebrations. Had been hard to get a table and we felt fortunate to have a Friday lunchtime booking confirmed.We knew this would be special...But wow! The decor, service and experience were unlike any other. And weve been fortunate enough to enjoy one and two star restaurantsStunning dishes with a mostly monochrome colour scheme. Plating and presentation was out of this worldThank you to the whole team for a fantastic lunch and one heck of an experience 🤘

What can I say.Superb superb, superb.Loved every second of it and it truly was like being part of an experience, not just a meal.One piece of feedback to the servers- we need to be able to HEAR what you are saying so if you have a strong accent then slow it down. More exciting if we know what we are eating.Truly excellent server tall chap, ginger/blond hair, slim and stubble. His introductions were AWESOME.Food blew us away. Amazing combinations, mind blowing flavours.Few months and well look for the new menu.

I so want to give this fabulous place 5 stars. The food was nothing short of spectacular and, until right at the end, the service flawless but so friendly. However, we were given the after dinner drinks menu and then ignored completely for over 20 minutes. My husband also had to ask to get his jacket back as it had been forgotten. For the price we paid these oversights are disappointing. We couldnt quite belive it after the impeccable experience wed been enjoying up to that point and can only deduce that our previous waitress had gone for a break and nobody picked up the slack but its such a shame as the rest of the experience was truly special. The food was without question amazing. Hopefully one day well return so I can give 5 stars!

Amazing food and atmosphere. Great location for a special location.

Amazing food. Amazing service. Amazing experience. Best meal out Ive ever had to be quite honest. Just absolutely loved it.

Fantastic service, extravagant presentation, the drama of the meal made it really special.

One of the more expensive higher end restaurants I have been to and I didnt feel the quality of the dishes reflected this

Its difficult to describe how good the experience was, from service to taste, the decor to the overall ethos- all were outstanding. If you have the opportunity to go - do, it will be an experience youll not forget.

This was one of the best dining experiences I have had in a long time. On par with the Fat Duck but at half the price.I can wholeheartedly recommend The Man Behind The Curtain. I loved the 1980’s rock feel.The staff were amazing and we were grateful for the wine sommelier for answering all of our questions.Having seen the chef on the Great British Menu, it was a dream come true to finally taste the fish and chips course.Finally, thank you for a wonderful evening. The 14 course and flight of wines is a must.

Cant say anything that hasnt already been said: truly amazing experience, start to finish! Each course was sublime. The signature Emancipation cod loin was great, the white garlic granita was also...forget it, cant pick a favourite! Stop letting these reviews block your senses and go there. Now.

Amazing doesnt sum it up. Perfect food and brilliant service. But the location and finish to the new restaurant is absolutely mind-blowing. Love it. The signature cod dish is not just photogenic, but tastes and smells out of this world. Recommended.

I wanted to love this place but regrettably I left disappointed. Yes the food looks beautiful, yes the setting is full of brooding atmosphere and yes the service is of a high standard, yet I left feeling somewhat cheated. The food for me was hit and miss. Some beautiful new flavour combinations, some that made me feel physically sick (the oyster in garlic soup). We had the prestige wine pairing which did not come cheap and did not pair with the food well at all. The wine flowed, oh did it flow. Great normally. However the portions were so small that by the end I felt queasy. Would I go back? No. Am I glad I tried it out? Absolutely

A very special place on the UK fine dining map. You don’t often find places that are the living, breathing vision of a chef who is an artist.This isn’t your typical top restaurant where a team of financiers plonked a celebrity chef in the kitchen. All the minutia and detail, from the anti-establishment skater sculptures to the perfectly-paired plate ware, is a deliberate choice.And the food is exquisite.

Leeds only Michelin star restaurant lives well and truly up to its reputation.Expensive, but a very special experience.All 16 courses are absolutely incredible as individual sensations alone.Staff regularly come to the table, very polite and helpful.The whole place has an alternative feel about it which goes down extremely well with the more Avante Garde food.Incredible drink selection from high end champagne and wines, also non alcoholic pressés that will blow your mind. The violet and ginger was particularly special.

stunning!!! Absolutely amazing. exquisite food. Sublime. Fabulous staff, hostess, chefsEverything was perfect. Blows your mind.

A refreshingly new take on how to do a Michelin started restaurant. There is artwork dotted around, the staff are pretty young, friendly and knowledgeable, there is also music playing in the background for added ambience.We did The Permanent Collection, Michael O’Hare’s take on a taster menu and paired it with the prestige matching wines. We were not disappointed with the food or the wines, nor the knowledge of the sommelier.A fantastic special place to dine out and I would happily return on another special occasion.

Very pleasant staff but the venue is not nice, theyve tried to make it feel a bit arty but for the price Id expect better, toilets are grim, a few rolled up hand towels doesnt add class.The food is interesting, Michaels signature take on fish and chips is great (particularly if youre a fan of Great British Menubut the rest of the tasting menu felt disjointed and a bit of a let down. Ive had tasting menus before and this is the only one Ive had where we felt the need to grab a burger from McDonalds on the way home as we werent full.Sevice is added by default which always annoys me.

Truly amazing. Having watched Michael OHare cooking on TV meeting the man in person and tasting his food creations didnt disappoint. The food looked and tasted exquisite. Each course was presented and then explained to us before we were left to taste it and the recommended wines complimented the food combinations perfectly. Service excellent. Ambience and surroundings amazing. Even the toilets were quirky.

Had to book lunch here 10 months in advance and oh it was worth it. You enter through the lift of a clothes shop (very cooland you walk into a warehouse / art gallery style dining room. The staff were attentive but not overbearing. The food was exceptional. The lavender dessert was one of the best desserts Ive ever had but there were numerous stand out dishes. The whole experience was phenomenal and highly recommended.