Brothers’ Asian eatery scoops diners’ accolade

TWO brothers are celebrating after their Asian fusion eatery was voted best restaurant by diners on a national website.

Aqua Eight, in Lion Street, Ipswich, was voted the Best Overall Restaurant by users of www.opentable.com – an restarant bookings and review website.

The restaurant also came top in the Best Restaurant for Service category and was voted one of the top three restaurants for Best Ambiance, based on more than 250,000 votes.

Owners Patrick and Vincent Wing Cheung said they were very proud to receive the accolades. “It’s nice to get recognition for our hard work,” said Vincent. “It’s a whole team effort – from the kitchen to the bar staff.”

In the last year, the brothers have invested in customer service training for their front of house staff.

“Soon after we implemented the training, we saw the benefits and started having to offer two dinner sittings at prime times to respond to customer demand,” Vincent explained.

“We also moved up from the 16th ranked restaurant in Ipswich on Trip Advisor customer review website to the top Number 1 slot. Our staff know they are in the business of offering great service as well as excellent food.”

The brothers launched the restaurant four years ago after becoming fed up with what Vincent describes as “average restaurants with average food.”

As well as Aqua Eight, they own noodle bars, including one in Ipswich, and plan to open another in Hammersmith.