A ‘Peruvian-Japanese’ restaurant will cap off the new St Michael’s building, being built by former United legend Gary Neville. Chotto Matte will take the 20,000 sq ft space for its new restaurant space.
Founder Kurt Zdesa, formerly of the upscale Nobu and Hakkasan chains, already has Chotto Matte restaurants in Miami and Toronto, and this will be the second in the UK outside London. Other branches are set to open in Doha, San Francisco and Los Angeles later this year.
The cuisine is called Nikkei, and combines Peruvian and Japanese influences. It will open in the summer of 2024, and will feature ‘open sushi counters, robata grills, table side torched sushi, lava stone and graffiti inspired artwork’.
Speaking about landing the new restaurant, Gary Neville said: “This deal aligns perfectly with our vision for St, Michael’s and the five-star quality we are aspiring to with this project. We are pleased to be bringing this world class, innovative brand to Manchester.”
Kurt Zdesar added: "We are delighted to continue our expansion plans and allow more people to experience the very best of authentic innovative Nikkei cuisine across the UK.
“I am personally very excited to bring Chotto Matte to such an ambitious place. I have been monitoring the city's growth for years but never found the right opportunity until now.
"It is only when meeting with Gary Neville and understanding his vision, with Relentless, for this first of a kind development that I felt a great synergy with our brand.
“The city is growing at an exciting pace and timing couldn’t be better for Chotto Matte to bring diversity to the local landscape. I see this new opening as an important part of our international expansion plan.”
The St. Michael’s development is currently in progress via Neville’s building company Relentless, and is situated on Jackson’s Row just between Deansgate and Albert Square, on the site of the former Bootle Street police station, though it has gone through a number of iterations during its planning.
The project has been in gestation for a decade, with plans at one time to make it a boutique five-star hotel. However it will now comprise office and apartment spaces, along with a large public square.
It’s said that the project will bring £120 million of investment into the city, and provide around 1,800 jobs. It’s set to be finished in 2024.
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