Owner Chef - Akiyoshi Saito

Born in the city of Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, Akiyoshi Saito grew up familiar to sushi dining as his parents owned and operated a local sushi restaurant. After obtaining a national cooking license from a culinary school in Japan, Saito gained 10 years of experience at various Ryotei's (traditional upscale Japanese restaurants) in Tokyo before returning to his hometown to serve sushi and other Japanese delicacies at his parent's restaurant.

His ambition of coming to USA was finally realized in 2001, where he learned American style sushi in various Seattle area restaurants. In 2008 he became the owner of Cutting Board Japanese restaurant in the growing Georgetown area in Seattle, WA.

In order to pursue his dream of making a new omakase-style restaurant, Chef Saito opened SAI Sushi & Sake in 2020.