Behind Suzaku
Seven Years in The Making
Suzaku is more than the opening of another restaurant. It is the result of seven years of experience, the coming together of different people and a shared belief in what we could create next. Everything we learned through Toriton has helped shape Suzaku, but this was never about simply recreating what came before. It was about taking that experience, building on it and using it to move forward.
Suzaku, The Vermillion Bird
A Name With Meaning
Suzaku is the Vermilion Bird, a figure from East Asian tradition associated with the South, fire and summer.
For us, that connection to fire felt particularly fitting. Fire represents energy, passion and movement, reflecting the determination to keep creating, evolving and pushing forward.
Toriton represents the experience we have built over seven years, while Suzaku represents what comes next. It carries everything those years have taught us while leaving room for new ideas, new influences and a new direction.
From Toriton to Suzaku
Experience That Shaped The Future
Seven years can teach you a great deal. Through Toriton, we have learned about restaurants, hospitality, our customers and ourselves. There have been successes, challenges, long days, late nights and countless lessons along the way. Suzaku could not exist without that experience, but it was never intended simply to be another Toriton. It gave us the opportunity to look at everything again, from our food and service to our identity, our approach and the experience we want to give every person who walks through our doors.
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Suzaku became a chance to take everything we had learned and use it as the foundation for something new. We could keep the values and experience that had served us well, while also questioning what could be improved, developed or approached differently. It allowed us to move forward with greater confidence, creating a restaurant shaped by the journey that came before it but with its own identity, direction and ambitions for the future.
One Shared Direction
Different People, Different Strengths
As Suzaku developed, so did the team behind it. Mathew and Nico brought their dedication and experience, Robyn brought professionalism and a strong understanding of the standards we wanted Suzaku to represent, while Miselle and Tongai brought fresh perspectives and new ideas.
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Around them is a wider team, each contributing something of their own. We come from different backgrounds, professions and experiences, and it is those differences that have helped shape Suzaku into something stronger than any one person could have created alone.
The Next Chapter
Suzaku Come to Caterham
After months of planning, conversations, decisions, changes, long days and even longer nights, Suzaku Izakaya has arrived in Caterham. What you see today is a new restaurant, but what we see is everything that came before it: the experience built through Toriton, the dedication of the people who have stayed with us, the ideas brought by those who joined along the way and the belief that we could create something even better together.
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Opening the doors is not the end of the journey. It is where the next part begins. Suzaku will continue to grow and develop as the people behind it do the same, while carrying forward the values that brought us here: trust, loyalty, respect, courage and the determination to do things well, together.
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Born from trust, Built by people, Inspired by culture, Driven by passion.
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Seven years ago, we lit a single flame. Seven years later, we have carried it into Suzaku. This time, we do not simply want it to burn. We want it to take flight.
