Chef Jono at V&V — Restaurant in Leeds

My husband and I took the train up from Macclesfield, Cheshire for an evening at Vice & Virtue for my husband's birthday, on the strength of ambitious menus, the restaurant's Instagram and the 4.5 star Google reviews. There were a couple of compelling aspects to the visit, and I don't at all love to leave negative reviews but I'm keen to add some balance here, as we were left underwhelmed by our evening.

The positives were firstly the staff, who were all brilliantly attentive, young and chatty, full of energy for the restaurant's visions and who clearly loved entertaining diners. The second standout was the presentation - each dish was prepared with meticulous attention to aesthetics.

The key point to highlight is that this isn't a fine dining restaurant.

When we approached the restaurant and realised it was situated above a beer shop, we kept an open mind and were looking forwards to uncovering a city secret. The space was intimate, but let down by cheap faux leather turquoise banquettes that had a feel of Slug & Lettuce, and erratic, mixed-style cutlery which I imagine is meant to be 'quirky' but when you're paying £70/head, misses the mark for polish, as it's stylistically closer to what you'd get in a suburban brunch café. These were the first hints that our experience would sit under par.

The staff greeted us by name, which was disconcerting as this made it clear to me that we were the only diners. As we booked a week in advance, the only reasonable time available was 5pm. I assumed this would mean a 5pm-7pm sitting, however we were the only diners for at least 30 mins. Sitting alone in an empty restaurant, placed next to the coat rack, did nothing to stoke any sense of ambiance. I'd much, much rather have seen no availability, than be the only diners for a very long stretch of time, as the vibe was dead on arrival. This was compounded by blaring music which cycled through Madonna, Jack Johnson, Alicia Keys and the Lighthouse Family, with zero cohesion. This early 00s pop-music jukebox was far from the elevated, Michelin-punching experience we were anticipating.

The dishes came out in alarming succession. My menu was the vegetarian tasting menu, but I'm very sorry to say that I didn't truly enjoy a single dish. It all seemed interesting 'in theory' but little actually worked on the palette. Cream cheese on a floppy waffle triangle isn't a credible snack for a reason. It created the sense of asking a teenager to go through whatever's in the fridge and knock something together for breakfast. Just because it's a new thought doesn't mean it's a worthy experience, and when it's costed at essentially £10 per dish, the wit falls flat.

This is the thread throughout the whole menu - when 'innovation' is foregrounded, you expect revelations. So very little of this tasted desirable, and I can't possibly believe that it's purely, 100% subjective - especially not at the prices proffered.

My first two dishes were fridge-cold, and so tasted of... cold. The vegetarian menu comprised lazily-rendered versions of the standard fare tasting menu, instead of freshly devised dishes tailored to a vegetarian palette. This would have been acceptable in 2007, but not in 2021. Swapping out a roast scallop at the heart of a curried dish with a thick circular chunk of courgette was depressing. Replacing a steak of dry-aged beef with a brick of bitter celeriac, drenched in rich gravy, was bleak. Layering it with rubbery cabbage even more so. Replacing wild trout ponzu with diced beetroot felt sad and tokenistic. The flavour profiles were all darkly umami bar the cornflake tart, which was the best dish (bar its gloopy, pectin-heavy jam). No other profiles featured, which is the singular point of a tasting menu.

The vegetarian menu is clearly an afterthought, and I find it incredible that it was costed at the same price as the meat/fish menu. I find it equally staggering that mocktails are £8.

All in, a very forgettable night, at £188 + £50 train fare...

The restaurant is decorated in a 1930s vibe with jazz and blues music playing in background which contributes to the overall atmosphere. The ambiance was somewhat spoiled by a wine fridge in a corner at the end of the restaurant and an open kitchen which didn't really seem to have too much behind it.

Service was extremely friendly although perhaps a bit over eager in its politeness to the point that it felt forced.

We went for the 7 course menu which seemed a happy medium.

Before the first course, we were presented with a gyoza which was tasty with a hint of lemongrass although nothing special. On top of the gyoza was a pea stalk which didn't really seem to add much but turned out to make an appearance in numerous courses that followed.

The first course was Heritage Tomato Salad, with olives, black truffle oil, goats cheese and croutons. We were told that the tomatoes came from the chef's Mother's allotment, which was nice touch. This dish was a highlight. The different tomatoes provided texture and it achieved a summery tangy flavour which was wholesome yet refreshing. Delicious!

Next was Whitby Crab Salad with miso, carrot and orange, leek (all in the form of purée) and game chips. Another delicious course and beautifully presented. Pea stalks made their second appearance and again didn't really add anything to the plate.

Black Pudding Pakora followed with parkin, rhubarb gel, pea purée, whiskey smoke and scallop. The plate was brought to the table with a glass dome over it full of smoke which allowed for a dramatic introduction to the dish. Again, beautifully and artistically presented. I like that a Yorkshire touch was given to the course with parkin crumbs. The black pudding seemed to be over cooked and almost burned to a cinder in some parts to the extent that it was brittle and crumbled on contact with the fork. It still tasted good with the accompaniments on the plate. Overall a dominant flavour as would be expected from the black pudding but not really hitting the mark. Again pea stalks made an unnecessary guest appearance on the plate.

Course four was salmon with vanilla mayo, baby beets, caviar and wheatberry salad. Top marks for artistic presentation with a burst of different colours on the plate and the obligatory vanilla mayo drops spread around the plate. All very tasty with complimentary flavours. The salmon might have been slightly over cooked but not a deal breaker.

Organic sous vide sirloin was the final "savoury" course and was accompanied by foraged herbs, red cabbage, coquina, pickled beetroot, oyster mushrooms and mustard. Surprisingly the sirloin was buffalo - a first for me. Another artistic plate with puréed veg and intentionally placed drops of sauce. It was a perfectly tender cut that was cooked just to the right amount of pinkness. The foraged herbs which provided a crust around the buffalo were dominated by oregano which prevented a full appreciation of the meat flavour. Pea stalks...

And onto dessert. Round one was a sticky toffee cake topped with vanilla and a raspberry gel together with ice cream and meringue. Not an impressive start to the sweets with cake lacking anything special and reminding me of the type of cake found behind clear plastic flaps in motorway service station restaurants. Well presented though. The second dessert was dark chocolate and rose brownie with brittle, hazelnut, praline, salted chocolate ice cream and bilberry. All very tasty in a chocolate overload kind of way but again nothing stand out or unusual. The chocolate "pop rocks" which crackle in your mouth seemed somewhat gimmicky, unnecessary and cliched.

I really wanted to leave Vice and Virtue feeling wowed and that I had experienced something special but unfortunately that wasn't the case. The meal was very good but not great. With some refinement and attention to detail, Vice and Virtue could be taken to the next level. Less pea stalks as a garnish would be a great...

Signature tasting menu: access to the restaurant is difficult, three flights of very steep steps, on entering the restaurant it was very brightly lit which highlighted the very tired and worn appearance of the restaurants fixtures and fittings, it is a very small floor space with tables too close together. The food: the first two courses were excellent, the gunpowder hummus was very well presented, light and flavoursome, the malt loaf was also excellent - very moist. Unfortunately, from there on things went downhill, The ramen broth was lukewarm, with a raw egg in the bottom of it, this is not everyone's taste. The French onion soup whilst quite flavoursome, did have a greasy after taste; the fish and chips were a joke, so-called chips were sprinkles and looked like they had been poured straight from a snack pack, the fish was buried in a very rich and heavy green pea sauce, the fish was quite tough and watery, and quite clearly overcooked. The steak and ale dish was also buried beneath a very rich and heavy sauce, and there were lumps of gristle in steak which could not be eaten. The mango coconut lime was once again excellent, very light very flavoursome, but the shiitake mushroom tiramisu once again was very heavy and rich and overly sweet. Shiitake mushrooms are my favourite mushroom when cooking at home and are great when presented with steak or chicken however they certainly did not work for us in desserts. It is my opinion that the rich and heavy sauces, which overwhelmed several of the dishes, were just a good vehicle to disguise the poor quality of the dishes main ingredients. Price for a 175ml glass of wine was £14. The tasting menu for two was bought as a gift, but when it came to scan the voucher at the end of the meal, we were told was only £75 on it, the cost of the tasting menu was £79 per person excluding service charge. Our bill was over £200, with just 2 drinks, we paid the extra and informed the gift giver of them saying it a was only £75, not the £158 it should have been. Understandably she was not happy about us being over charged so much and contacted the restaurant manager who was very helpful and polite. However, she then received a phone call from chef Jono who was obnoxious and rude regarding the matter. The money has now been refunded but we will not be returning or recommending this venue. I wonder how many times they have got away with this “mistake” due to the person was received the gift being too embarrassed to go back to the person was...