Bonda
The Man Behind the Curtain

The Man Behind the Curtain

3rd Floor, Flannels, 68-78 Vicar Ln, Leeds LS1 7JH, United Kingdom

Wine • Fish • Asiatic • British


"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."

Truffles Bistro

Truffles Bistro

20 Bank Street, DG1 2NX, Dumfries Galloway, United Kingdom

Steak • Pasta • Tapas • Curry


"I’m not quite sure where to start with this as I’ve never experienced such poor service in a restaurant before but I’ll try. So we were a party of 10 celebrating my mother in law’s 60th. My partner isn’t from Dumfries and Galloway so just told me he’d looked this place up and decided to book it. I hadn’t really heard of it and had initially wanted to go to the Bank but after looking at reviews of Truffles and seeing people speak highly of the food I thought let’s give it a try. I noticed many speaking about how awful the owner was but I thought surely he can’t be that bad if people are still going and people are still leaving good reviews. How wrong I was! Another warning sign I should have noticed was that we initially booked in for the Friday but changed to the Saturday and they were able to accommodate that easily last minute so clearly aren’t busy. We were running 15mins late. I called to let them know and apologise. The waitress who answered the phone was accepting of this and said it was ok. On arriving the owner ‘greeted’ us. I again apologised and he shrugged his shoulders but let us in. We all sat down and he immediately came to ask us if we wanted drinks. We were looking at the drinks menu and discussing what we wanted when he repeated in a slow and aggressive tone DO.YOU.WANT.ANY.DRINKS??! It was extremely awkward. My dad asked about red wine and he used his notepad to lean over my dad and aggressively hit the menu and point to a wine on the list. We ordered drinks which included 2 pints of beer. As he walked away we all felt very uncomfortable and decided we did not want to spend our money in such a venue when the atmosphere was cold and aggressive. We all decided to leave. My partner spoke to the owner letting him know his front of house manner was appalling and that we’d be leaving. He said he didn’t “understand people” and that he expected us to pay for the pints that had been poured. I gave him a £20 note and he aggressively gave it back to me, stating he had no money in the till to give me change and swiftly snatched the pints back and put them behind the bar. We then left and were politely accommodated in the Bank next door (which I would highly recommend). As we left, the waitress apologised on our way out. I actually felt bad leaving her in such a cold and horrible environment. That owner should not be front of house. He is rude. He is right, he doesn’t understand people and has no people skills whatsoever. I would avoid this place like the plague and go next door to the Bank! (The one star is for the waitress who we had to leave behind)"