• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Guide to Walt Disney World
    • Guide to The Magic Kingdom for Beginners
    • Guide to Epcot For Beginners
    • Guide to Animal Kingdom for Beginners
    • Guide to Hollywood Studios For Beginners
    • Walt Disney World Useful Information
    • Guide to Disney Springs
    • Disney World Tips
      • Guide to FastPass+ at Walt Disney World
      • Avoiding Crowds at Walt Disney World
      • Walt Disney World Mistakes to Avoid in 2023
      • How To Find Characters at Walt Disney World
      • How to Beat the Orlando Weather
      • Guide to Visiting Walt Disney World with Disabilities
      • Disney World Survival Guide
      • A World of Fabulous Fascinating Facts
      • Guide to Walt Disney World Transport
    • Disney World Resorts for Beginners
    • Guide to Walt Disney World Dining
      • Guide to Walt Disney World Character Meals
      • Guide to the Disney Dining Plan
      • Visiting Walt Disney World with Food Allergies & Intolerances
  • Cruise
    • Top Cruise Articles
    • Disney Wonder
    • Jewel of the Seas
    • Allure of the Seas
    • Oasis of the Seas
    • Independence of the Seas
    • Harmony of the Seas
    • Crown Princess
  • Disney World News
  • Universal Orlando
  • Contact Us

Modern Life is Good

Disney World, Universal Orlando, Cruise & Family Travel

You are here: Home / food / The Man Behind The Curtain Review of Magical Dining in Leeds

The Man Behind The Curtain Review of Magical Dining in Leeds

December 21, 2016 by @Modlifeisgood Leave a Comment

We review Michael O’Hare’s Man Behind the Curtain Leeds only Michelin Star Restaurant.

The Man Behind the Curtain is gaining a growing reputation for imaginative, modern, artistic and unusual cuisine. The Restaurant is located above a clothes store in Leeds, West Yorkshire and opened in 2014 by chef Michael O’Hare. It received a Michelin star in October 2015 and three AA Rosettes in 2016.

The Man Behind the Curtain entrance

We first became aware of The Man Behind the Curtain following Michael O’Hare appearing on finals week of Masterchef 2016. We were fascinated by the innovative cuisine that Michael created with the contestants. Prior to his appearance on Masterchef Michael also appeared on Great British Menu winning the fish course.

Michael O’Hare is from Redcar, North Yorkshire, England and started cooking whist at University. He will shortly be opening an extra restaurant at the National Football Museum in Manchester called The Rabbit in the Moon. Staff described to us this new restaurant as being “Space-age Asian”.

Getting a table for the restaurant is not easy but we managed to secure a cancellation the Saturday before Christmas. Finding the Restaurant is not easy either and our taxi driver did not know where it was. The Restaurant is located above Flannels Clothes shop on Vicar Lane and you must enter the shop to get in.

Man Behind the Curtain Leeds Michelin Star Restaurant

Staff in the Restaurant are friendly and decoration is minimalist. Walls are decorated with drawings/graffiti and the is ambient music playing throughout. Food is a tasting menu and on our night we were served 10 delicious courses. We also chose the wine pairing which was well explained by our waiter. The menu provides little sign of the food you will be served during your 2 hour experience. The evening tasting menu is charged at £75 or £130 with wine which represents I feel good value.

Man Behind the Curtain leeds England innovative , artistic cuisine
Menu The Man Behind the Curtain

First up was a duck dish from Michael’s new Restaurant The Rabbit in The Moon. This was delicious and if the rest of the food is the same we will soon be hearing much more about this new venture. I understand that footballers Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs are partners in this new venture.

Duck Course from Rabbit in the Moon

Our next course was veal sweetbreads which was certainly one of the most visually stunning dishes. This dish certainly had a kick and was not my wife’s favourite.

Veal Sweetbread

Our next course was served with the most wonderful Vermouth which had been marinated in Olives and Oranges. This course was a Beef Tartare and was an absolute delight.

The wonderful Vermouth from The Man Behind the Curtain
Msn Behind the Curtain
Beef Tartare

We then moved on to the fish dishes. The first dish was Swordfish (or at least we thought it was) but previously I have heard this described as Throat of Hake. However it was delicious but was pure white unlike the rather yellow picture below. The was a list of rather complex extra ingredients like all the dishes served throughout the evening.

Well we found out later it was in fact saltfish! The man himself let me know….wow! Just shows who might be reading your blog “behind a curtain”.

salt fish not swordfish x

— Michael O'Hare (@hairmetalchef) December 21, 2016

 

Man Behind the Curtain Leeds Swordfish
Saltfish

Next up was a crab dish which was some sort of multi-coloured lasagna. This was in my opinion the most stunning dish and perhaps the most tasty. This was an achievement as I actually don’t like crab!

Man Behind the Curtain Leeds AA Rosette and Michelin star leeds
Crab

Next up was one of Michael’s signature dishes which featured and won The Great British Menu. This was Michael’s rather unusual take on fish and chips. Covered in Squid Ink and I’m not sure what but with a delightful piece of cod underneath. To be honest I didn’t get this dish and it was my least favourite on the menu. To me it was all just a bit too odd and I managed to get my face covered in Squid Ink. But that is the attraction of taster menus we all try different things some we like and some we don’t…. in this case it was one I didn’t but the rest of the menu was fantastic.

Man Behind the Curtain
Fish and Chips Michael O’Hare Style

Now it was time for the meat dishes. First up was Ox Cheek braised and served with several dips. This dish was fantastic and I would have loved a bigger serving.

The Man Behind the Curtain Leeds Braised Ox Cheek
Braised Ox Cheek and Dips

Next came another signature dish pork, with egg, edible eggshell and anchovy. I loved this and was as fantastic as I expected. My wife loved but felt the fish addition was unnecessary. We had seen this dish on Masterchef and was one of the things that had attracted us to the restaurant.

 

Pork and Edible Egg Shell

Time for dessert and what a dessert it was! Chocolate Mousse, Violet Ice-cream and silver chocolate served with potato custard(yes you did read that right) and Beetroot rice. The dessert was fantastic and had me laughing over every bite,

 

Dessert The Man Behind the Curtain
The wonderful potato custard

Finally we came to coffee served with some caramel and the most amazing cupcake you must eat whole. I will leave the surprise the cupcake contains but you must do exactly as the waiter says.

Man Behind the Curtain
Coffee, caramel and cupcake containing a surprise

Fantastic food in a fantastic venue and well worth the wait to get a table. Although the meal isn’t quite perfect you can’t help but feel it will not be long until The Man Behind The Curtain will be awarded a 2nd star.

Now who fancies trying some Space-age Asian?

Fancy bring something similar at sea? Visit Wonderland on Harmony of the Seas read our review.

Filed Under: food, Restaurant Reviews Tagged With: food, foodie, leeds, michelin

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Search Modern Life Is Good

Who are Modern Life is Good?

Welcome to Modern Life is Good we are a Family Travel site specialising in Walt Disney World Planning, Universal Orlando, Orlando Attractions & Cruising.

We are family of 4 based in the United Kingdom who have become Orlando Fanatics and Enthusiastic Cruisers. We hope this website will help you plan the perfect Family Vacation.

Our blog is updated regularly with handy family travel tips, guides & reviews. We also bring you all the latest Walt Disney World Updates & Disney World Rumours in our monthly Disney World News.

Follow Us

Subscribe to Modern Life is Good

Loading

Footer

All About Us

  • About Me
  • Contact Us
  • Terms & Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Share

Blogger
Delicious
Digg
Email
Facebook
Facebook messenger
Google
Hacker News
Line
LinkedIn
Mix
Odnoklassniki
PDF
Pinterest
Pocket
Print
Reddit
Renren
Short link
SMS
Skype
Telegram
Tumblr
Twitter
VKontakte
wechat
Weibo
WhatsApp
Xing
Yahoo! Mail

Copy short link

Copy link