SakiTumi Grill and Sushi Bar serves fresh sushi and grilled menu items for a varied experience.
USC alumnus Dave Shaw has owned and operated the fusion restaurant for 13 years. Fusion means different cuisines are combined under one menu and, in SakiTumi's case, more Americanized sushi is paired with grilled items such as hibachi, seared salmon and burgers.
"We're one of the only restaurants in this entire city, actually, to bring in fresh fish for our sushi menu," Shaw said. "We get fresh tuna loins overnighted from Hawaii, usually about four times a week."
Though most restaurants have bright pink tuna, SakiTumi's tuna is garnet-colored. The color is perfect for Gamecock fans, and also means that the tuna is fresh and has not been injected with CO2 and Cryovac sealed.
Not only is the fish fresh, but everything else is, too.
“There's nothing that we serve here that comes frozen out of a box. Everything we do here, we make fresh in the kitchen,” Shaw said.
Being a fusion restaurant, Shaw believes there is something for everybody at SakiTumi. Even if one family member loves sushi and another hates it, both can find something on the menu that appeals to them, he said.
There's a certain confidence about SakiTumi. Salt and pepper shakers are not provided on tables and are only provided upon request. This is because, as Shaw said, "the food comes out of the kitchen already so well-flavored."
Earlier this year, SakiTumi introduced Sunday brunch to its offerings. This came after Café 116, a popular brunch location in Columbia, was sold and SakiTumi decided to collaborate with some of the former employees to make their own brunch.
Sunday brunch has its very own menu with many creative dishes. A s’mores stuffed French toast, sweet potato cinnamon pancakes, red pepper shrimp and grits and a bloody Mary cheese melt are some of the many menu items exclusive to brunch. However, SakiTumi does not serve sushi during Sunday brunch.
SakiTumi is located in the Vista, but it's not in plain sight. It is "located in the back of a building and down an alleyway," Shaw said, but that does not keep it from being successful.
“There's no way we would have survived 13 years, through the Great Recession, being in the back of a building with hit-or-miss parking, if we didn’t have some amazing quality food,” Shaw said. “We’re hard to find but easy to love.”