Everyone has raved about Michelin star Leeds restaurant The Man Behind the Curtain.
The spot in Vicar Lane has received rave reviews for its tasting menu by chef Michael O'Hare. As someone who loves fine dining and considers myself to have a wide palette (which basically means I'll eat anything except Brussels sprouts), I decided to see what all the fuss is about.
To give you an idea of my experience this isn’t showing off but I have been to some very fancy restaurants in my time and I love a tasting menu, trying out new flavours, and being adventurous with my palette.
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So I expected this would be right up my street. I was excited, and ready to dive in.
I went in on a stomach fuelled by porridge at 8am and several cups of coffee. By 1.30pm my mouth was watering for the raved-about food. I walked inside to a marble staircase and the place instantly offered a luxurious feel.
The atmosphere
I liked it. I thought 'this is a bit of me'. I felt rich and like I secretly own a boat in the south of France.
I was greeted by a very nice front of house woman who took me to a seating area with white sofas and soft fur throws. It wasn't until I took a double take that I realised the throws resembled some of the dogs I've seen walking around Hyde Park.
I was offered a menu of cocktails - I thought 'here we go, this is right up my street'. But the problem was the fancy cocktail names were listed with a hefty price tag minimum of £15 for a single sip, but there was no description of what ingredients is in them.
I kept things classic and ordered a Cosmopolitan, accompanied with a glass of water. It was served on a marble table, and the atmosphere was lush - so calm and edgy.
Then I was taken to my table. This is when things took a turn for the worse.
The food
The staff couldn't do enough for me and treated me like a princess. They introduced me to the wine menu, where I was expected to pay £2,000 for a dessert wine - of course there was no way I was doing that.
I was waiting for a while for my food and usually when I've been to five-star or Michelin star restaurants in my time, I have been served complimentary crusty bread and butter. I hate to be a diva but the hunger was kicking in.
Then along came the first course. The waiter greeted me with a fake white egg with a black star on it.
The problem was the staff brought the items over, gave me the cutlery, but didn't really explain much from there. So I opened the 'egg' treasure chest and inside was tuna tartare with a spicy sauce.
It was nice and fine, there wasn't much to it and I wasn't overwhelmed. I was thinking 'right, I'm so hungry that was to start there's got to be something bigger coming next'.
Next came a prawn on top of an old fashioned phone. It did look pretty cool but I didn't get the point of it. All it is is a prawn on a telephone - I wouldn’t call that MasterChef quality.
I love prawns so I knew how to open the shell but what if you didn't know how to do it. Secondly, while I do love seafood it literally tasted like it had just swam out of the ocean and onto my plate.
Where was the tikka they said was on it? Plus, I had to eat it with my bare hands. Maybe I don’t want prawn juice all over my suit I wore today. This course wasn’t a vibe for me.
Things then got even weirder as I was given soup. Bingo - I love soup - but this wasn't soup. They brought me this cold cheese thing with ice on top and called it soup. At this point the hunger prevailed.
Next up was a scallop - one of my favourites. The sauce it was dressed in was really nice. But again I wasn't gasping for air or astonished as I expected I would be by this Michelin Star menu. And by this point fourth course in my stomach was still rumbling. I thought it would be a bit inappropriate to ask for chips and a Diet Coke so I kept my pretend posh demeanour in tact.
After is the cod in squid ink - put it this way, if you don’t like fish, and I mean like really like fish, you’re pretty screwed. But you cannot deny the fish was beautifully cooked and peeled off my fork amazingly.
This was followed by pork. The dish looked so unappetising - is it just me that thinks eating food that looks like a bonfire isn’t appealing? I don’t want to eat black food that looks burnt. We want colourful vibrant food that draws me in not scares me away.
The pork was very nice but again, was it outstanding you ask? Well, no. I was then told I would be moving onto desserts despite barely having anything to eat for my main.
I was served a mini tiramisu and then a dark chocolate and olive cake. These took so long to come out that I began to get agitated - I don't have all day. The saving grace was the four macaroons that came at the end and were all different flavours.
Final thoughts
I think this restaurant is quirky and definitely offers something different. But as someone who loves being adventurous with food and thought this type of venue would suit me, I just didn't get it.
While the place looked beautiful it was just really weird. Even the knife and forks were abnormally small. If I'm paying £190 for a meal I want proper cleaned expensive looking silverware.
As much as the interior was sexy looking and fun, and the crockery and glasses used were beautiful, the most important part of a restaurant is the food and frankly I left super hungry, unhappy and unimpressed by the food.
Half of the dishes I could have made in my kitchen, and I think a pot noodle has more flavour than some of the dishes placed in front of me. I would tell people to go for a one-off experience, but I would not recommend it for a good and delicious meal.
