Birmingham chef finds ‘new stage to perform’ in Mountain Brook

Restaurateur Abhishek Sainju is the owner of two popular eateries in the Magic City — Abhi Eatery and Bar at The Summit and MO:MO: at The Pizitz Food Hall.

But Sainju isn’t just a hard-working entrepreneur. He’s also a true creative who derives great pleasure from his adventures in the kitchen.

“This is my hobby,” he said. “This is what I love to do—cooking, creating things, sharing it with people and getting their feedback. That helps me better my product. It gives me ideas for our next product.”

Sainju is currently working on both new recipes and a new restaurant, his third.

He’s opening a second location of Abhi Eatery and Bar in Mountain Brook Village, with a menu featuring cocktails, curry dishes, noodle bowls and sushi. He’s taking over the upstairs space at 2721 Cahaba Road formerly occupied by Avo, which announced its closure in January.

Sainju said he hopes to open the restaurant by late June, barring construction delays, and plans to expand his sushi and cocktail menu at the new Mountain Brook location.

Unlike his restaurant at The Summit, the new space will have a full sushi bar, according to Sainju. “I am excited because I get to build it from the ground up,” he said.

The menu at the new location will be a mix of old and new items and will change frequently, too. He said he will serve burgers at the new restaurant modeled after a dish he serves at The Summit, and there will be some old favorites served at the new eatery, such as momo dumplings, noodle bowls, ramen, stir fry and special curry dishes he’s working on.

Sainju previously worked as a bartender at Surin West in Five Points South and played and sang with rock and roll bands, but ultimately decided to make food his career. In 2011, he bought a sushi business located at Target and began doing pop-ups before founding Everest Sushi in 2013.

Just a few years later, he opened the first Abhi location at The Summit in February 2017, followed by MO:MO: in April 2017, serving Nepalese dumplings and Vietnamese sandwiches. 

Sainju was reluctant to discuss all the menu items he has planned for his Mountain Brook location, including some new dishes he isworking on.

“I want to keep some surprises,” he said, laughing. He did say he wants to do some “totally new dishes,” and he is excited about the look of his new space.

“I want people to get the wow factor when they walk in the restaurant,” he said. “It will be totally different. It will not be copied from any other restaurants or any other cities.”

However, Sainju said the most important concern for him is the quality of the food, and he wants his diners to really enjoy their meals.

“I like to see that my customers are eating as if nobody's watching,” he said. “That tells me a lot, that they are enjoying it.”

Sainju learned about food growing up in Nepal.

“My mom, she’s the one who taught me to cook healthy,” he said. “Back in Nepal, everything is organic.”

He continues to use quality ingredients at his Birmingham restaurant and buys produce from about 25 area farmers.

“It is a lot better quality,” he said. “It might cost a little more, but you are getting a better product and it lasts a little bit longer,” said Sainju, who is able to find Thai basil organically grown in Alabama.

And, it is a chance to help support the community, he said.

“I grew up in this community, and to see how Birmingham has grown over the years … I am super excited just to be a part of it,” Sainju said. “The city would not be like this if we were not together. I love this city. This is my city, my town.” 

At press time, Sainju was still deciding on the Mountain Brook restaurant’s name, but said it will be open seven days per week.

For updates, call 969-6858 or go to the “Abhi” Facebook page.