Arriving at Hatch back in 2019, Abeja Tapas Bar became the city’s smallest tapas bar, tucked away under the Mancunian Way.
A former academic at the University of Manchester, Ana Villegas managed to transport an authentic tapas bar from her hometown of Granada into a tiny shipping container in the city centre, with food inspired by her family recipes.
She also came armed with a diverse menu of tapas classics, alongside some decidedly more unique offerings, served with some cracking Spanish beers, sangria and some truly excellent Vermouth. It was a place where you could go down and eat some great food, chat and have a relaxing drink – and it wasn’t hard to spend a few hours in there just soaking it all up.
Everything was there for the perfect Spanish taverna experience, and Abeja was massively popular down on Oxford Road before they decided to move on at the beginning of 2022.
Since then Ana and the team have been popping up here and there, but after a very successful stint at Stretford & Sale’s Food Halls a few weeks ago – they’re setting up shop in the ‘burbs for the whole Summer.
Abeja’s exceptional tapas dishes will be available:
May 30th – June 19th at Stretford FoodHall
June 20th – August 14th at Sale FoodHall
August 15th – September 11th at Stretford FoodHall
Obviously, this is great news for us all who live in or near one of these places, and indeed, with Stretford Food Hall approximately 3 minutes from my front door, I believe I’ll be spending the next few months engorging myself on Patatas Bravas and Croquettes at every opportunity.
Even if you don’t live near Stretford or Sale, they’re both on the Metrolink and make for a great day out – that’s filled with tapas (obviously).
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