Much like the tuna on its menu, draped over a mound of sticky rice or diced into tartare, Oklahoma City’s newest sushi restaurant started out small. Bluefin tuna, a prized ingredient in the best Japanese restaurants around the world, begin life no bigger than an eyelash, before eventually growing to several feet in length and several hundred pounds in size. So too, AKAI evolved from a seed of an idea into the most ambitious and impressive sushi spot in the metro — and the only one where a chef puts on periodic Maguro Kaitai shows, literally breaking down bluefin tuna behind the sushi bar.
A project long in the works, AKAI debuted front-and-center in the rapidly growing Wheeler District in October 2024, culminating a 22-month buildout filled with intricate design details, a hidden omakase room and that action-packed sushi bar, where chefs — including seasoned sushi chef Shinichi Okamoto — work with the oceans’ freshest, from bluefin tuna and red snapper to octopus and Spanish mackerel. It’s all courtesy of owner Viet Pham, a native Minnesotan who, after decades working as a tennis coach in Minneapolis, chose to pursue his restaurant dreams in OKC, a market he saw as ripe for growth and opportunity.
His passions and experiences are woven throughout the restaurant, from the Japanese greeting of “Irasshaimase” etched into the entryway floor to the Japanese coins lining the wall by the bathrooms, and the 500 sake cups displayed across the main dining area. Subtle nods to the sea can be felt throughout, including rippling light effects behind a banquette, silvery ceilings that conjure the surface of water, even light fixtures dangling above the bar, reminiscent of translucent sea glass. And that’s to say nothing of the food menu, a seafaring spree so pristine and fresh that you’d never guess you were in a landlocked state.
The menu trades in comforting classics with novel updates; the rock shrimp tempura comes with Sriracha ranch and micro celery, while miso soup features spicy snow crab and yuzu kosho. Even edamame comes with kimchee butter, while shishito peppers are flecked with bonito flakes and potato salad features cod roe and poached egg.
Sushi, though, is the main character. Bluefin belly, in all its fatty richness, comes as both nigiri and sashimi, along with other prized specialties like amberjack, octopus, sea urchin, scallops, snow crab and sweet shrimp. Signature rolls allow the chefs to really flex their artistic side, such as the Tropic Thunder, a kaleidoscope of color and texture rolled with shrimp tempura, spicy salmon, spicy tuna, mango, sesame aïoli and unagi sauce, with a dramatic tangle of crispy burdock root for crunch. The Cherry Blossom, too, is a rainbow of jumbo lump crab, avocado, cucumber, tuna, yellowtail, bright-yellow yuzu masago and tangy yuzu yogurt sauce along with crispy onions. The Shogun, meanwhile, is a rice-less and nori-less roll that wraps tuna, salmon, yellowtail and jumbo lump crab mix in delicate slivers of fresh cucumber.
The restaurant offers omakase tasting menus, with multiple courses of sushi, and a dedicated dining room — hidden behind a speakeasy-style wall — in which to partake in a private degustation. For those who prefer turf to surf, AKAI features a decadent selection of Wagyu beef dishes, including a nigiri-style Wagyu with dashi soy, garlic chips and 24k edible gold flake, as well as items like chicken karaage, dashi-braised short ribs and Fuji apple-marinated lamb chops. The bar, meanwhile, is stocked with all manner of sake and Japanese whiskies (try the A5 Old Fashioned, with smoked fat-washed Japanese whisky and orange liqueur caviar), plus a Japanese highball machine, doling out crystal-clear Japanese whisky sodas.
Quality seafood is not new in OKC, but the kind of sushi experience served at AKAI — a Japanese gem with tuna-sized ambitions — marks an exciting new chapter for a city that is, increasingly, asserting itself as a dining destination on an international scale.
Interested in learning more about local flavor in Oklahoma City? Check out OKC After Dark: Your Guide to Local Night Life.
