O’Hare was appointed as creative director of the Manchester United football legends GG Hospitality business in 2016 with a remit to oversee a string of ambitious restaurants.
Billed as a “space age Asian restaurant”, The Rabbit in the Moon opened in early 2017 and relaunched in March of this year following the departure of head chef Luke Cockerill.
O'Hare had hoped his Manchester debut would win the city its first Michelin star since 1977.
The restaurant - which is located in Manchester’s Urbus building - will continue to trade under the leadership of John Granghan and general manager Charlotte Rasburn, who are both alumni of O'Hare's Michelin-starred The Man Behind The Curtain
O’Hare is understood to now be focusing on his Leeds restaurant, which moved into a larger site last year.
The decision means the chef's plans to launch two further restaurants, The Man Who Fell to Earth and Our Friends Electric, at GG Hospitality's upcoming hotel in Manchester's former stock exchange building will no longer go ahead.
BigHospitality understands the project will now feature just one restaurant which is set to open early 2019. Plans for the opening will be revealed over the next few months.
GG Hospitality said in a statement: "Michael O’Hare has stepped down as culinary creative director of GG Hospitality. Michael made the decision to focus on his critically acclaimed restaurant, The Man Behind The Curtain in Leeds."