Psycho Sandbar Leeds: Michael O’Hare unveils menus and prices for his new restaurant as bookings open

Reservations for Psycho Sandbar are now available from Friday March 8, as well as the chance to dine in the restaurant on Valentine’s Day. 

The ‘surf-shack’ themed restaurant will offer two menus - a new-format tasting menu for £165 per person, or an a la carte menu filled with seafood.

The Great British Menu judge said his new restaurant would be more versatile and accessible than its predecessor, The Man Behind The Curtain, which closed down at the end of December.

The Vicar Lane restaurant, located on the basement floor of Flannels, is currently being refurbished. Ahead of the official opening, Psycho Sandbar will host a special ‘Candle Light in a Building Site’ event on Valentine’s Day. 

Diners will be the first to try some of the restaurant’s new dishes with a five-course tasting menu for £95 per person, with a pescatarian menu available on advance request. 

Michael O’Hare announced in October that he was rebranding his Leeds restaurant, reimagining the entire space and the food on his menus. 

Psycho Sandbar is described on its website as “less show-and-tell - our focus now on produce, execution and choice”.

A sample of the tasting menu includes 10 dishes, with a wine pairing for £95 extra or a ‘prestige pairing for an additional £175. 

The new a la carte menu includes five oyster dishes, raw fish such as scallop warmed in coral and lardo and Kuzu dumplings served with beef, tuna belly, caviar or compressed cucumber.

There’s a selection of small plates, including Denia prawn cooked in bone marrow and truffle, lobster with Thai bisque and tomato tartare with olive juice and vanilla granita. 

The larger fish courses include line-caught turbot which is cooked on the bone over an open fire. There’s skate wing basted in marine plankton butter, and Psycho Sandbar’s signature fish course - Emancipation - cod, potato and vinegar with dashi of cod skin.

Main courses include the vegetarian enoki donburi - a tempura rice bowl with fermented strawberry hoisin, pickles and crispy onions - and the sharing Thirkleby duck for 3-4 people.

Diners can choose from five desserts, including a collaborative dish with Parisian skater and artist Benoit Bahy. 

Prices range from £4.50 for raw oysters served with shaved ice mignonette, to £68 for the sirloin main course - Gunma prefecture A4 with foie gras, smoked eel and long pepper sauce. 

Reservations are now live on the booking platform Tock, and an a la carte booking requires a deposit of £30 per person.