Akai Sushi, the new Wheeler District restaurant from Viet Pham, featuring executive chef Shinichi Okamoto, opened in September, but the grand opening is October 10. A newcomer to hospitality, Pham spent more than 20 years operating a tennis academy in Minneapolis before coming to Oklahoma City. 

“My first time in OKC was about 25 years ago, coaching tennis,” Pham said. “After a match, I met Ban Nguyen (Jimmy’s Egg) and he invited me to eat with him. He said it was unusual to find Vietnamese Americans playing tennis at that level back then.”

Fast forward 25 years, and Pham ran into Nguyen again, this time at Mahogany. He was there with friends for dinner, and he’d been scouting OKC for opportunities. 

“A good friend owns a sushi bar in Minneapolis – probably the best sushi in the city – and he helped me think through owning a sushi restaurant, after warning me not to do it,” Pham said, laughing.  

Driving down Interstate 40, he noticed the Wheeler District. He didn’t know what it was, but he recognized it was close enough to downtown to benefit from the proximity, and so he reached out to the district. That was nearly two years ago. By any metric, Akai has been a laborious process. When I met Pham last summer, he didn’t know how long it would take to get open; he was still raising money, but he has an infectious energy and an affable demeanor that makes it easy to believe he’ll push through just about any obstacle. 

And so we arrive at the grand opening. Pham is quick to praise his team, and rightly so. A project like this one, with so much potential in a stunning space, attracts talent, and he has a wealth of it back and front of house, beginning with Chef Shin. Without hyperbole, it’s fair to say he’s raising the level of sushi in OKC, and Japanese food overall. His taste in sake has helped shape the bar menu, too, and we will all benefit from his skill, experience, and palate. 

Veteran chef and kitchen manager Luke Fry has joined the team, and he brings stability and positive energy wherever he lands, as has one of the city’s most promising young chefs, Delylah Davis. Both are thrilled to be learning from Chef Shin. Industry standouts Lana Ingram and Aaron Fletcher are GM and bar manager respectively, and they are solid, reliable hospitality pros. The bar program is certainly centered around Japanese whiskey highballs – the honeysuckle is a must try – -and sake, but there is creativity at every level. 

Dinnes Studio handled the interior design, and the space is now among the most beautiful in the city, joining standouts like Broadway 10, Perle Mesta, nonesuch, and Tellers. “I have tons of ideas,” Pham said, “but I need someone to execute them and tell me what’s possible. I can’t imagine anyone better to work with on this.” 

Pham also took a trip to Tokyo in 2023 to check out restaurants in the style he wanted for Akai. Many of the design touches, glassware, and dinnerware emerged from inspiration he gathered on that trip. The wall of sake cups is the most striking component, especially when you learn it was all done individually by hand, but the table in the private dining room is its own story, so be sure to ask Pham when he stops by your table. 

The menu is focused, with roughly 40 percent of the space dedicated to signature and classic rolls. The Cherry Blossom is the standout, but the Forbidden Garden shows that a talented chef can make a remarkable vegan roll when inspired to do so. The black cod with saikyo miso is the best piece of fish I’ve had in Oklahoma. But the humble Mentaiko potato salad – not really humble but it is potato salad – is for people who think they don’t like potato salad; for current fans, it will add one more favorite to your list. Yes, there is nigiri, of course, and crudo, but you expect that from a Japanese restaurant. What you don’t expect – outside of Awaji – is a fish program of this quality, plated this beautifully. Finish with the matcha creme brûlée, because it’s matcha creme brûlée. 

 

Pham’s energy shows up throughout Akai. The serving staff is upbeat, well trained, helpful, and efficient without hovering. The division of bar, sushi bar and main dining disperses the noise throughout, making for a pleasant rumble, but never a roar. The beautiful space could be cold and austere in the wrong hands, but Pham is at the center of the chaos, chatting, laughing, checking on tables, telling stories, looking for all the world like a guy who ought to be running a high end restaurant in a city on the way to becoming a food destination.