the man behind the curtain restaurant information established 2014 current owner s michael o hare head chef michael o hare food type modernist cuisine rating michelin guide aa rosettes street address 68 78 vicar lane city leeds country england seating capacity 40 1 reservations yes website official website the man behind the curtain is a restaurant in leeds west yorkshire england run by michael o hare . it opened in 2014 and is located above a clothes shop . the restaurant has a reputation for modern and often unusual food with modern and artistic presentation . it was awarded a michelin star in october 2015 and three aa rosettes in 2016 . it is currently the only restaurant in leeds which holds a michelin star and the second restaurant in the city to have been awarded one . contents 1 overview 1.1 menu 2 reception 3 see also 4 references 5 external links overview edit o hare had previously worked as the head chef at the blind swine in york but considered leeds a more suitable location for high end dining and opened the man behind the curtain in 2014 . 2 3 the restaurant is located on vicar lane above flannels clothes shop and takes its name from a line in the wizard of oz pay no attention to that man behind the curtain . 1 4 5 after opening the restaurant without a name o hare said i get a lot of people asking me if i m the man behind the curtain . you can t stop it but you can mock it . 6 it is currently the only restaurant in leeds which holds a michelin star and the second restaurant in the city to have been awarded one the first being jeff baker s bistro moderne which closed in 2013 . 7 8 the restaurant seats up to fourty people and is decorated in artwork by o hare s friend schoph and features sculptures by gareth griffiths . 6 2 o hare describes the food and ambience of the restaurant as not particularly based on what i wanted but on what i hated and didn t want . 1 menu edit after opening the man behind the curtain soon gained a reputation for very modern and often unusual dishes including olives wrapped in edible cellophane salt and vinegar ox cheek and chocolate pudding and pork rinds . 4 the dishes also have imaginative names such as the insecurity of postmen in oakley sunglasses and inception of a spacecat in black . 6 o hare doesn t consider himself to have been inspired by anyone saying i don t think you have to say i am inspired by x ... i want things first and foremost to look great . anyone at this level can make something taste nice . he is also keen not to draw comparisons to noma having worked there under acclaimed chef ren redzepi saying it s not what we are doing here . o hare describes a lot of food at the restaurant as quite spanish because that is the style of food he enjoys eating . 1 the restaurant serves a twelve course d gustation menu . 5 reception edit writing in the guardian in 2015 marina o loughlin said there are items that jar but if a chef can put a silky foam of potato laced with puffed wild rice on top of an elaborate chocolate dessert and have you laughing out loud as you fight over it turns out it s scented like a salt and vinegar crisp he s doing something very right . 5 in a review for great british chefs gemma harrison wrote it blew my mind and i can t wait to go back and have it blown all over again . 9 time out rated the restaurant 4 stars out of 5 in 2016 and said although not cheap a destination restaurant that s truly worth a visit . 10 the restaurant was awarded a michelin star after just over one year of opening 11 12 4 and awarded three aa rosettes in september 2016 . 13 see also edit list of michelin starred restaurants references edit a b c d menuwatch the man behind the curtain . thecaterer.com . retrieved 15 october 2016 . a b hughes mike . the man behind the phenomenon . www.bqlive.co.uk . retrieved 12 october 2016 . pantry lindsay . men behind the curtain gary neville and ryan giggs team up with leeds chef michael o hare . www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk . retrieved 15 october 2016 . a b c restaurant review the man behind the curtain . www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk . retrieved 12 october 2016 . a b c o loughlin marina 6 march 2015 . the man behind the curtain leeds restaurant review . the guardian . retrieved 12 october 2016 . a b c six things you need to know about the man behind the curtain . www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk . retrieved 12 october 2016 . behrens david . michael steps from behind curtain to bring michelin star to leeds . www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk . retrieved 15 october 2016 . jeff baker we had good times and great memories . york press . retrieved 15 october 2016 . harrison gemma . the man behind the curtain review great british chefs . great british chefs . retrieved 14 october 2016 . the man behind the curtain . time out leeds . retrieved 14 october 2016 . david behrens 2015 09 16 . michael steps from behind curtain to bring michelin star to leeds . yorkshire evening post . retrieved 2015 10 22 . leeds restaurant the man behind the curtain awarded michelin star . timeout.com . 2015 09 09 . retrieved 2015 10 22 . love laura 27 september 2016 . the man behind the curtain eston chef s eatery awarded rosettes . gazettelive . retrieved 14 october 2016 . external links edit official website coordinates 53 47 53.8 n 1 32 23.1 w 53.798278 n 1.539750 w 53.798278 ; 1.539750 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title the man behind the curtain & oldid 744489961 categories 2014 establishments in englandrestaurants in yorkshiremichelin guide starred restaurants in the united kingdombuildings and structures in leedsrestaurants established in 2014hidden categories coordinates on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 15 october 2016 at 15 34 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view