Since closing its doors at Hatch last year, Manchester’s tiniest tapas bar has been almost constantly on the move.
Chef-owner Ana has busied herself hosting kitchen pop-ups in Stretford and Sale Food Halls and at The Chorlton Green, but now she’s found a new home in the Northern Quarter whilst she keeps working on her own bar in Chorlton.
As of Thursday, 11 August, the scientist-turned-chef will officially take over the kitchen at Alvarium from Lazy Tony’s Lasagneria with her Abeja concept.
Ana is known for serving inventive and unusual southern Spanish dishes like “berenjenas fritas” (aubergine fries with molasses), which we can confirm will be making a return to the menu alongside other recipes passed down to her through generations.
Abeja has found a new home. Credit: The Manc Group
You’ll also find painstakingly-sourced plates of charcuterie and cheese and tapas staples like Spanish tortilla and patatas bravas, the latter of which is available three ways as part of a £9 lunch deal between the hours of 12 and 4pm.
Elsewhere on the menu are a range of sourdough tostas made using Holy Grain bread, Iberico pork tenderloin pinchos, fat shell-on prawns and homemade croquetas, with sweets like chocolate churros and a Spanish almond torta to finish.
Food and drinks at Abeja in the Northern Quarter. Credit: The Manc Group
When the team announced plans to close their Hatch site in January this year, they wrote on social media that it had been ‘an incredible journey […] despite opening a few months before Covid’.
Having begun the business with zero experience in the hospitality industry (Villegas left a twenty-year career as a research scientist to open Abeja), it was with heavy hearts that they decided it was time to move on from Hatch.
However things are definitely on the up for the kitchen, with Ana confirming that they are going to be busy working away at a new permanent site whilst running the Alvarium kitchen.
She told The Manc: “While we keep working on our own bar in Chorlton, we are really excited about this new venture in the Northern Quarter.
“It’s a great opportunity to work alongside Alvarium and want to make our home here for the long haul. Even the name it’s the perfect match for Abeja, as it stands for Beehive in Latin.”
Abeja is open at Alvarium from X to X between the hours of X. Find them in the Northern Quarter just off Tib Street.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
Manchester
Five Manchester artists we’ve been listening to this month | July 2025
Danny Jones
Hello again, it’s us: The Manc, or more specifically, our Audio North arm – back to talk about the music coming out of Greater Manchester that we’ve been listening to over the past month.
If you’re new here, it really is as simple as that, and whether they’re revered veterans of the region’s music scene or what we think might be the next up-and-coming thing, as long as it’s from ’round our way, we’ll give it a chance.
Five native artists, three recommended tracks from each and hopefully hours of exciting new listening if you play your cards right.
Headphones and playlists at the ready. Here’s what we had on in July.
Manchester music we’ve been into recently
1. poor effort
We’re kicking things off with an experimental project from Salford-born and Manchester-based musician and writer, Matty Dagger, whose new outing in the spoken word space immediately caught our attention when it came down the grapevine. It’s a bit alternative, a bit punk and very Manc. We love it.
Some might say it’s reminiscent of Yard Act and Sleaford Mods, which would be fair, but more specifically, our first listens gave us Stockport’s very own Hello Cosmos with a sprinkling of Oldham’s Seb Lowe (both previous monthly picks). The lyrical/vocal delivery is charmingly casual and anecdotal.
Dagger’s poor effort couldn’t be anything less than; there seems to be a very considered approach to the more electronic style of spoken word and poetry-driven music. You can complete the discography already, but we’d start with ‘you’re wrong, i’m right (symphony)’, ‘HMRC’, and then ‘City of Hope’.
Cool visual aesthetics going on too.
2. Victoria Jane
Next up is a big knee-jerking turn in genre and overall temperament, as if Dagger has been making us pay microscopic attention to every word and Greater Mancunian reference, this local musician hooked us in with her somewhat quieter but inviting timbre of voice and smooth, almost sleepy melodies at times.
Victoria Jane may have been born in London, having previously collaborated as part of the Vibbar collective, but having moved to 0161 as a kid and falling in love with Man United, she’s always immersed herself in the Northern way. The R’n’B act also presents BBC Radio 1 ‘Future Soul’ show.
Her work really hits all the notes you want, from smooth and soulful singing, to not quite voice cracks but soft, intentional breaks that often feel nigh on agonising – as if she’s into you and welcoming you to slump back the other way. ‘The One’, ‘Voicenote Freestyle’ and ‘On My Own’ are our picks.
Number three is, admittedly, another big whiplash when it comes to overall experience, but it’s one of the most unique musical discoveries we’ve made in a hit minute. This musical duo is called Phellotape, conceived by double bassist Alice Phelps and multi-instrumentalist producer Thomas ‘Twem’ Twemlow.
They met while playing in the queer alt-rock outfit, The Irrepressibles, but this project could be branded as anything from alternative and/or experimental to maybe even art pop. All we know is the multi-talented mix of instruments within almost every section, and pulling from numerous styles is pretty staggering.
Rather fittingly, there are only two recorded tracks to their name so far; ‘Rain’ is a quiet, atmospheric song that puts you in mind of London Grammar with a mix of the xx and Massive Attack, while ‘Hungry Ghost’ is quite easily one of the most interesting tunes we’ve heard in the past decade. No exaggeration.
4. 10cc
Fancing something more familiar for number four? Well, as a born and bred Stopfordian myself, every now and again I go back and admire some of the incredible names that recorded at the town’s famous Strawberry Studios – one of which is Stockport‘s very own 10cc. Great name, great band.
The moment I heard my then-teenage brother play ‘Donna’, I was baffled as to why he was playing what I then just dismissed as “old music”, before it quickly got stuck in my head. Is it their best tune? No. Does it still hold a special place in my head and heart? Yes. Do they have other standouts? Absolutely.
For the record, while most people recognise the likes of the controversial ‘Dreadlock Holiday’, I’d argue ‘Good Morning Judge’ is their best track and the first time I listened to it, I thought it was one of the coolest sounding intros ever. Still do. ‘I’m Not In Love’ with them, but they are a core childhood memory.
A hugely undercelebrated of Greater Manchester music history (Credit: AVRO/Dirk Annemans (via Wikimedia Commons)
5. Oasis
Speaking of legends who evoke nothing but feelings of hometown pride, legacy and pure admiration, it’d be the most see-through lie ever to pretend that we haven’t spent most of this last month listening to the almighty Oasis amid their comeback tour.
We had the pleasure of being there at Heaton Park and up on ‘Gallagher Hill’, which now has its own precious place in British music history, and July as a whole still feels akin to a fever dream and similar to what we imagine Glastonbury is like for those nearby when it takes over their entire universe.
July 2025 really was “biblical” and we don’t think we’ll ever get over it, so, last but not least, we’d thought we’d give a special shout-out to some of our favourite tracks that didn’t make the setlist. ‘Don’t Go Away’, ‘Shock of the Lightning’, ‘Round Are Way’. Done.
As The Masterplan proved, everything from the so-called ‘filler’ album tracks to those B-sides is better than most other bands could dream of. As you were x
Chotto Matte – Amazing new images show how Manchester’s luxury new rooftop restaurant will look
Daisy Jackson
Chotto Matte is one of the hottest openings of the year in Manchester, a luxury new Japanese-Peruvian restaurant with a sizeable rooftop terrace.
Plans for the Nikkei restaurant were announced several years ago as part of the plans for Gary Neville’s landmark St Michael’s development.
The development has been taking shape behind the old facade of the Bootle Street police station, and is already home at ground level to Circolo Poppolare and Grind.
But much higher up, you’ll soon find Chotto Matte, a brand famed for its Japanese and Peruvian cuisine.
Chotto Matte will be located at the top of No.1 St Michael’s, with views across the Manchester skyline.
Inside, there’ll be a 502-cover restaurant, as well as a 348-capacity roof terrace with access to those panoramic views all year round.
Expect open sushi and robata counters, large private dining rooms with access to the terrace, and lighting that shifts from day to night, plus bold graffiti-style murals by an as-yet-to-be-announced local artist.
On the menu designed by executive chef Jordan Sclare, there’ll be signature dishes from across Peru but made with Japanese techniques, like sea bass ceviche, Nikkei gyoza, and Pollo Den Miso (miso-marinated chicken with carrot, daikon and yellow chilli yogurt).
That’s alongside cocktails, live music every weekend, and what looks set to be a truly beautiful restaurant space.
An opening date has been released now along with a whole raft of new CGI images – and it’s all set to open for real in October 2025.
CGIs of Chotto Matte in Manchester
How Chotto Matte in Manchester will lookA bar area in Chotto Matte ManchesterThe rooftop terrace will be year-roundA bar area A local artist will create bold graffiti-style muralsChotto Matte’s private dining
It’s the first time Chotto Matte has ventured into the North of England.
Founder Kurt Zdesar said: “Manchester is one of the UK’s fastest growing cities with a booming hospitality scene making it a perfect place for Chotto Matte’s next site.
“Working closely with Gary Neville and Relentless Developments, I knew the St Michael’s site was exactly what we were looking for as soon as I saw the plans. What Gary has created is vibrant, bold and sophisticated, everything we are as a brand.
“We are really looking forward to launching and taking over one of the most beautiful roof terraces in the city whilst bringing our new Nikkei dining concept to Manchester.
“St Michael’s will be one of the most sought after locations in the city and we are so proud to be part of this development alongside Gary and his team.”
Gary Neville, Director of Relentless Developments said: “Opening our doors at No.1 St Michael’s after more than 15 years of planning and development is a really proud moment for us. Chotto Matte is a global brand with a wealth of experience and exactly the kind of occupier we wanted for our stunning top floor and roof terrace.
“I’ve really enjoyed working alongside Kurt and look forward to welcoming him and his team to Manchester ahead of the launch later this year.”
Chotto Matte will open in Manchester in October 2025 – you can stay up to date with the latest at their Instagram account HERE.
Georgina Pellant -
10th August 2022 
