A new Japanese matcha dessert house has opened in Manchester city centre at the new Circle Square development.
Called Tsujiri, it has moved into Manchester’s newest neighbourhood on Oxford Road. It is the second opening in the city for the brand, which is already established in London and abroad.
When Tsjuri opened its first location here in Chinatown mid-pandemic, it saw foodies flock to its basement shop for a taste of its bright-green matcha basque cheesecakes, ice cream and lattes.
Now, it is expanding with a second underground cafe ten minutes’ walk down the road. Situated under Vita Living North, here you’ll find an array of different Japanese desserts alongside its various bright and colourful teas.
Soft serve matcha ice cream is just one of the tea-based desserts on offer. / Image: Tsujiri
A chef whiskes matcha. / Image: Tsujiri
Focusing on a traditional Japanese dessert menu, including sundaes built using matcha-flavoured ice creams, all matcha used in Tsujiri’s desserts is sourced directly from Japan.
The company, first born in Kyoto in 1860, is over 150 years old, and still uses the same matcha from its Japanese hometown across its restaurants today.
This vibrant green matcha can be found within most of the new cafe’s menu such as its soft serves, teas and cakes. It is also selling bags of matcha that can be enjoyed at home.
The health benefits of matcha are widely celebrated, from its antioxidants called catechins, which are said to be the key to anti-ageing, to a high amount of substances with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
Consuming matcha daily is also thought to be good for your mental health, with researchers saying that the natural compounds in matcha act on natural serotonin and dopamine systems in the brain. Like we needed another reason to go and get that bright green cheesecake.
Speaking on the new opening, Nicholas Moo, Co-Owner of Tsujiri said: “We are excited to open our second site in Manchester, we love the Japanese dessert culture and it is becoming an increasingly popular offering across the city, so can’t wait to welcome people in to try it out.
“The location at Circle Square is perfect, because not only does it have a thriving community with its residents and office workers but it is situated very close to the University, meaning the site has a naturally high footfall and we cant wait for people to come in and try it.”
The new Tsujiri site is open now at Circle Square from 12-9.30pm seven days a week.
Food & Drink
Lively Irish pub Nancy Spains set to open in Manchester for the first time
Daisy Jackson
An Irish bar famed for its live music is heading up to Manchester for the first time, and is promising £2.50 pints to lure us in.
Nancy Spains will be venturing out of London for the first time promising to bring the ‘ultimate traditional Irish pub experience’ to the Northern Quarter.
If you were to ask what the hottest trend in hospitality is right now the answer would, apparently, be Guinness. We’re drowning in the stuff.
This latest opening is more about Murphy’s, another Irish stout, than Guinness (they actually won’t serve Guinness at all) but the craic will be much the same.
Nancy Spains is actually set to open almost directly opposite the aforementioned Salmon of Knowledge, taking over the former Corner Boy unit on Stevenson Square in the heart of Manchester.
To celebrate its opening, the pub will be serving its first 5000 pints of Murphy’s for just £2.50, so that it can show off the atmosphere that’s established it as ‘one of London’s favourite pubs’.
They’re promising an array of Irish whiskeys behind the bar, live music performances, and a lively late-night setting.
Nancy Spains was set up by three brothers who travelled all over their home county of rural Kerry researching Irish pubs, before launching two venues down in London.
They want it to balance a traditional pub with the vibrancy of the city.
Peter O’Halloran, co-founder of Nancy Spains commented, “We’re so excited to be launching in Manchester, bringing Nancy Spains to the heart of the Northern Quarter.
“After the success of our two venues in London, it was only right to bring Nancy Spains’ infectious spirit and Irish pride to Manchester. Slainte!”
Nancy Spains will open its first Manchester pub on Saturday 15 March at 21 Hilton Street.
Lucky Mama’s – The Italian restaurant serving pasta in a dough bowl and ‘pregnant’ pizzas
Daisy Jackson
Lucky Mama’s is a local sensation, thanks to its slightly whacky but delicious Italian creations like pasta served in a bowl made of pizza dough and its latest offering, a ‘pregnant’ pizza.
What on Earth is a pregnant pizza, you ask? Firstly we should stress this is a nickname we’ve bestowed upon the dish, rather than Lucky Mama’s chosen branding.
But essentially it’s a helping of fresh pasta that’s folded into the bubble crust of the pizza, like a half-calzone.
Lucky Mama’s started life when founders Mamadou Dhiam and Gaby Santos set up a trailer in their backyard in Eccles in the depths of lockdown.
But thanks to a formidably loyal following that’s spread the word of Lucky Mama’s far and wide, it now has two pretty pink restaurants in Greater Manchester.
Back in 2022, they threw open the doors to their Chorlton restaurant, before returning back to home turf for spot number two in Monton in 2024.
The recipes are fresh and pretty authentically Italian up until the last step, when they throw a curveball by loading their pasta into unconventional vessels.
‘Pregnant’ pizzas at Lucky Mama’sTraditional Roman pizzasLucky Mama’s pink restaurant in Chorlton
Their pasta pizza bowls are what they’re best known for and they fly out of the kitchen – this is where pizza dough is placed around a metal bowl before being baked in an oven.
Then it’s piled high with freshly made pasta, with popular flavours like cacio e pepe, mushroom alfredo, and rasta pasta.
Pasta is available in a regular ceramic bowl too.
You’ll find Lucky Mama’s at 565 Barlow Moor Road in Chorlton; and 217 Monton Road in Eccles.
Georgina Pellant -
2nd September 2022 
