Hidden gem of a restaurant delivers success on a plate

The owners of a Japanese restaurant in Derby, which earlier this year was named as a top 100 eatery by the Good Food Guide, have finally been presented with their Marketing Derby Food and Drink Award.

At the awards ceremony, which took place at The Chocolate Factory, in early October, Ebi Sushi won the Outstanding Achievement Award.

However, due to work commitments on the night, no-one from the Abbey Street restaurant was available to collect the award.

So, Christopher Tebbs, inward investment executive at Marketing Derby and Food and Drink Awards lead, accompanied by managing director John Forkin and Yuji Tomobuchi, from Toyota Manufacturing UK, recently decided to pay the restaurant a visit to deliver Ebi Sushi’s award in person.

For many years now, the restaurant has been serving authentic Japanese cuisine, lovingly crafted by its Japanese chefs.

Often described as one of Derby’s “hidden gems”, this year the restaurant was mentioned in the Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Local Restaurants across Britain.

The guide’s anonymous inspectors up and down the country put the restaurants mentioned in 60,000 nominations to the test before announcing the 100 spots that made the list.

Ebi Sushi was one of just two Derbyshire restaurants to make the top 100.

The unassuming restaurant serves a variety of small plates, authentic sushi and sashimi – and is often frequented by the city’s Japanese community based around Toyota.

Now, the team at Ebi Sushi have another accolade to add to their name – after being presented with their Marketing Derby Food and Drink Awards trophy, a specially commissioned plate made by Royal Crown Derby.

Designed to shine a light on Derby’s brilliant food and drink businesses, the awards aim to recognise and celebrate the very best places to eat and drink across the city.

This year, more than 5,000 nominations were received – with 12 awards handed out on the night.

Christopher said: “It was an absolute pleasure to visit Ebi Sushi and present them with their award in person – and sample some of their delicious food at the same time.”