DINERS left scathing TripAdvisor reviews for Gary Neville and a MasterChef star’s “pretentious” restaurant – before it was forced to close.
The Manchester United legend set up high-end Leeds joint The Man Behind the Curtain with chef Micheal O’Hare in 2014.
Ten years on, the restaurant has gone into liquidation with debts reportedly totalling £1million – half of which is owed in tax.
Nearly a quarter of the restaurant’s last 100 TripAdvisor reviews were just one or two stars out of five.
One West Yorkshire diner wrote: “Nothing more than an overpriced, pretentious gimmick.
“Absolute dross, tiny portions in a silly setting – went for a burger after.”
Another said: “Disappointed but laughed about it afterwards. Cold and uninviting.”
They added: “Extremely small portions and wine package was not to each course.
‘Not worth the cost at all. Pretentious BS. Eaten at restaurants all over the world with and without a Michelin star.
“This was the worst by far. An experience never to live again! If you don’t laugh about it though… which we did all the way home.”
But the restaurant still had an average rating of 4.5 stars from more than 1,500 reviews.
Other patrons raved about an “enjoyable meal” and “such a cool unique experience”.
The restaurant’s signature dish was denia red prawn served on a telephone – a homage to Salvador Dali’s “Lobster Telephone”.
Posting on LinkedIn seven months ago, Neville said: “A few years ago I signed one of the most instinctive and incredible deals I’ve ever done.
“I went into partnership with Michael O’Hare on The Man Behind The Curtain restaurant in Leeds.
“At the end of a meal I had at the restaurant, Michael presented me with the bill.
“But it wasn’t a normal bill, it was a bill accompanied with a note that said this will give you 50% of the restaurant.
“From that moment on I was the co-owner of a Michelin star restaurant in Leeds!
“Fast forward to today and it’s taken a brave and courageous decision for Michael to give up his Michelin star.
“He has opened a new restaurant, Psycho Sandbar, that I went to earlier on in the week.
“It’s a sensational restaurant with an unbelievable experience and a brilliant job from Michael and his team.”
Gary added: “If you ever get the chance to visit, I highly recommend it.”
Gary retired from professional football in 2011 and has gone on to build up a £100m empire.
Gary has been listed as a director of 56 businesses on Companies House – and while he has interests in media, hotels, pubs, restaurants and education, his most impressive work has been in property development.
The footballer first got into property development in his early 20s and now has a chain of hotels and townhouses, as well as development projects.
Among the most high-profile interests are Stock Exchange Hotel and Hotel Football, which between them hold £32million in property assets – almost a third of his corporate net wealth.
The star owns a 40 per cent share in the Stock Exchange development, which is close to Piccadilly Gardens, in Manchester, alongside former teammate Ryan Giggs.
He also co-runs the luxurious Hotel Football, which overlooks Old Trafford.
Last year, he co-founded the company St Michaels Propco 2, a joint venture with Betfred CEO Fred Done.
Its operations form part of the £400 million St Michael’s project, a development on and around Deansgate Road, in Manchester city centre.
Earlier this year he joined Dragon’s Den as an investor, alongside Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones, Touker Suleyman, Sara Davis, and Steven Bartlett.
Michael appeared on the 2016 series of Masterchef and since then has featured on cooking shows including the Great British Menu.
