Five Years, Three Restaurants, One Big Family

And a Journey That Started With a Simple Dream

Five years ago we opened the doors of Sushi and Salad in Ely with a very simple idea:

to serve fresh, honest Japanese food to the community around us.

We didn’t have a big expansion plan or a corporate strategy.

Just a small team, a lot of passion, and the hope that people would enjoy what we cooked.

Today, Sushi and Salad has grown into three restaurants — Ely, Stamford and Saffron Walden — and soon we’ll be opening our fourth in St Ives.

Sometimes we still stop and look at each other and think, how did this happen?

And then we look around the dining room — at familiar faces, regular customers, and the conversations happening around the tables — and we remember something important.

This was never just about us.

It has always been about the community that supported us along the way.

Local Roots, Real Relationships

Being an independent business means something very real to us.

It means we know the people behind our ingredients.

It means the fishmonger calls when the tuna looks particularly beautiful that morning.

It means the greengrocer sets aside the best avocados because they know how much we care about quality.

It means early mornings, small deliveries, and sometimes driving ourselves to collect produce because we want to choose it with our own hands.

We don’t have corporate procurement departments or anonymous supply chains.

We have relationships.

Relationships built slowly over years of trust, early mornings, handwritten invoices, and shared respect for good food.

And those relationships are part of every plate we serve.

Why We Keep Traditional

Over the years we’ve added new dishes and new ideas to the menu.

But there are some traditional dishes we will probably never remove.

There is a reason for that.

At Sushi and Salad Saffron Walden, there was a wonderful lady in her nineties who came every week with her family. She was Japanese, and every visit she would order the same traditional dishes.

For her, it wasn’t just a meal.

It was a memory.

The flavours took her back home — to another place and another time.

When she passed away, her family wrote to us. They told us that Sushi and Salad had given her something incredibly meaningful in her final years: a small piece of Japan right there in Saffron Walden.

A place where she felt connected to home again.

We still keep that letter.

On the difficult days — when the kitchen is busy and the hours feel long — we read it again.

It reminds us that what we do matters.

Because sometimes food is more than food.

Sometimes it’s comfort, belonging, and memory.

A Place Where People Grow

Restaurants are busy places. People come and go. Lives move forward.

And honestly, that’s something we’re proud of.

Over the years we’ve seen young people join our team and grow into confident adults. Some arrived looking for their first job, others discovered skills they never knew they had.

Rob started with us in front of house, welcoming guests and learning the rhythm of the restaurant. Over time his curiosity about the kitchen grew stronger, and today he works as a sushi chef — crafting the dishes he once served.

Neemu’s journey has been just as special. She began on the floor with the team, moved into a team leader position, then into management, and today works closely with us as an executive assistant helping support the business as it continues to grow.

And then there are our chefs — some of whom have been with us since the very beginning — quietly working behind the scenes day after day, perfecting their craft and helping build the kitchens that our restaurants are known for.

Many of our team members have been with us for years. They have grown with the business, shaped it, and helped create the atmosphere our guests feel the moment they walk through the door.

Some people stay and build their careers with us.

Others take what they learned here and move on to new adventures.

Both make us incredibly proud.

Because Sushi and Salad has always been more than a restaurant.

It’s a place where people grow.

The Customers Who Built This With Us

If you’ve ever visited us, you are part of this story too.

The couple who come every Friday for sushi night.

The student who spent weeks studying at our Ely counter during exams.

The families who discovered us in Ely and later followed us to Stamford and Saffron Walden.

You chose a small independent restaurant when the easier option might have been a chain.

You recommended us before we had reviews.

You supported us when we were still finding our feet.

Because of you, Sushi and Salad became more than a restaurant.

It became a place people feel connected to.

St Ives — The Next Chapter

Later this year we will open Sushi and Salad St Ives.

Not because we had a big expansion strategy, but because so many people asked us to come there.

The new restaurant will have the same philosophy we started with in Ely:

• the same trusted suppliers

• the same attention to detail

• the same welcoming atmosphere

Just a new town, and hopefully many new friends.

Thank You for Five Wonderful Years

As we celebrate five years of Sushi and Salad, we want to say thank you.

Thank you to the customers who have been with us since the very beginning.

Thank you to the team members who work tirelessly behind the scenes every day.

And thank you to the communities of Ely, Stamford and Saffron Walden for supporting a small independent business.

We feel incredibly lucky to be part of these towns.

And we’re only just getting started.

With gratitude — and a little wasabi,

The Sushi and Salad Family

When people think of Japanese food, they usually picture sushi, ramen, miso soup, or maybe a steaming bowl of donburi. Pasta? Not so much. But let us tell you a little secret from our kitchen to yours: Japan makes pasta too – and it’s absolutely delicious.

Create Japanese dishes at home, savour more at Sushi and Salad