The Man Behind the Curtain - Leeds

Simply amazing. Always admired Michael O'Hare and my wonderful husband treated me as a surprise. Wonderful food and atmosphere. My only complaint is that I wanted to buy one of Michael's signed books but they said that they didn't have any and would email with details to buy and have posted to me but as yet nothing

This is the third time we have come here. Let me start by saying the food is excellent as it always has been. However, below are a few reasons why this was the worst experience we have had at MBTC (any probably any Michelin star restaurant): The waiters were disorganised and clearly the kitchen wasn't delivering on time. We waited for wine pairings to be provided for courses, and waited a long time for courses to be provided alongside the one pairings. All of the waiters barring one were new from a year ago (never a good sign). The one that was a seasoned veteran was almost running at one point to make sure we had the wine pairing on time. Kudos to him but he shouldn't have been put in that position. The wine pairings themselves. They advertise 600ml, it was probably more like 450ml. There was massive variance between my serving size and my wife's. Not the end of the risk but when you pay just under £200 for an insignificant amount of wine, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Speaking of a bad taste in the mouth. For the above reasons the experience wasn't perfect, however this was compounded when we spotted that they were offering tables for the same menu size at almost a third of the price we paid. There is no ability to cancel and rebook at a lower price because of the deposit. A bit outrageous to be honest. And finally, Michael O'Hare was not there on the night. This is not the end of the world despite the fact that all three times we had been he hasn't been cooking. However, when we heard someone on an adjacent table say that they had been three times and had never had him in the kitchen it irked me. I get that he has a life and a family but seriously, what are the chances that this is pure unfortunate coincidence? Again, I would like to stress that the food was fantastic. However, clearly this restaurant is going through a significant period of change induced by negative factors about which we will remain unsighted. I love this restaurant and hope that the rebrand into early 2024 revitalises the experience.

What a great experience this was. I went with my wife as a treat (she retired that day) and we both loved it. Each dish was intriguing and PACKED with flavour. The flavour of the chilled soup was amazing I could have finished a gallon of that. The duck perfect, and the petit fours was something I wanted to eat as slowly as possible, just to savour it a bit longer. I could talk about every dish, but why spoil the surprise? Thanks, we 'll be back.

Having heard that the concept is finishing at the end of this year, and this restaurant being on our food bucket list for many years, we moved schedules and booked travel from 200 miles away to experience this before it disappeared. It’s disappointing to say the least that the experience nowhere near made it worth the effort we put into getting here before it ends. The blonde man on the front desk/serving some courses was apathetic throughout the whole evening, bordering on hostile at times, we certainly didn’t feel welcome. There was a guy that served us with lots of tattoos and jewellery who was fantastic and really friendly and engaging however so compliments to him. We have dined at several Michelin starred restaurants and have to say this was the only one where we have left hungry. While the flavours of the dishes were fantastic, the amount of money people are paying, to leave hungry from a restaurant is unbelievable. The octopus and the duck dish were stand outs in terms of their flavour, while the Dali to Delhi prawn dish was lukewarm and that was probably the most disappointing dish. We felt looking at the reviews that we were potentially not served a few dishes that others have had in the recent past, the macarons for sure are one signature dish we did not get, we were also in and out within 90 mins which seemed very rushed for the experience and cost. Definitely the worst Michelin rated restaurant we have experienced, disappointing after having had such high expectations and anticipation for this. It feels like perhaps as they know they it is coming to an end, they feel no need to wow their customers any more.

Similar to the review below, I too though my it a wonderful restaurant with excellent staff and attention to detail… However… I love fine dining and I will pay to do so when I can. This was bittersweet as it was both a taste sensation yet a value disaster. Everything tastes absolutely incredible and the flavours can simply not be faulted. But when the first dessert appears you have to ask seriously was that all I’m getting??? I’m paying a small fortune for literally 5 mouthfuls of food. Again the flavours cannot be faulted. It is pure genius. But you simply have to feed people to some degree especially those who are willing to pay such extortionate prices. Lastly I had the same experience as the previous reviewer…. I went to pay my bill and was presented with a bill that was at least £300 per couple more than what we had. When I questioned it, in a flash I was presented with a new bill that didn’t include the overcharge but it was already in his hand when he gave me the overcharged bill!!! So basically they were going to try and charge me £300 more than we had but happened to have another bill ready just in case I questioned it…. Things are absolutely awful financially in the hospitality industry at the moment. But nobody should morally resort to this as a safety net.