SULU offers Asian-style tapas, with food fired on an authentic Japanese grill
Where in Saskatoon can you enjoy bao buns made from scratch, a cocktail featuring rum from the Philippines and skewers grilled to perfection on an authentic Japanese grill?
The answer is SULU, now open at 226 Second Ave S.
Local foodies will be familiar with the location. Previously home to both Sticks & Stones and Food & Beverage YXE — owned by Grassroots Restaurant Group — the space is no stranger to incredible eats.
SULU is no exception. It's the second Saskatoon restaurant opened by Andy Yuen and Rachel Kong, the couple behind the beloved Odd Couple restaurant in Riversdale.
"We always loved the layout of this space," Yuen said of the Second Avenue spot. "Rachel and I actually used to come here after our shifts at Odd Couple. So we spent enough time here as customers already."
Yuen is excited to offer a menu at SULU that combines Vietnamese, Cantonese, Japanese and North American flavours to deliver an Asian-style tapas menu.
From 1 restaurant to 2
Yuen and Kong opened Odd Couple in 2014, alongside Yuen's parents. Yuen grew up in Hong Kong and immigrated to Canada with his parents in the 1990s, while Kong first came to Saskatchewan from Guangzhou to study at the University of Regina.
Although Yuen's parents had operated Chinese restaurants in Saskatchewan for years, Yuen wasn't initially interested in opening his own restaurant; he trained as an engineer. But when the opportunity to open a restaurant presented itself nearly 11 years ago, he decided to take the plunge with Odd Couple.
The road to opening SULU began after the couple welcomed their first son in 2024. They decided to stay in Saskatoon and continue to build on their network and relationships here with another restaurant.
They got the keys to the Second Avenue location in October 2024 and began renovating. They kept the original layout, including an expansive wood bar in the back of the restaurant, but added new upholstery and decor, including stunning red lanterns that hang throughout the restaurant.
SULU's doors opened in February 2025. The couple chose the name to signify new beginnings.
"Every sound in Chinese can be a written character. 'SU' can mean many things, but one of them is 'revive' or 'reborn,' and then 'LU' for us means dragon," Yuen said. "So we were reviving this space in the Year of the Dragon, and then our son was born in 2024 as well."
WATCH | Come with me to SULU restaurant:
Come with me to SULU restaurant
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An evening spot with a menu to match
Yuen said that when he was planning SULU's menu, there were two things on his mind. The first was creating an Asian-style tapas menu that would be perfect for light dinners, after work drinks or late nights.
The second thing on his mind was a meal that he and Rachel ate in Osaka, Japan, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, at a restaurant that featured an authentic Japanese grill.
"It was the last meal we ate out before COVID-19," Yuen said. "I just kept coming back to it."
Yuen decided to put one of these Japanese grills in SULU. He said there is only one other grill like it in Saskatchewan.
The grill cooks skewers to a perfect tenderness using charcoal and infrared heat.
SULU offers several skewers, including chicken, tofu and prosciutto-wrapped grapes, which are a customer favourite. The skewers are a must-try at SULU, given the unique grill, and a perfect option to start with.
Other popular items include their bao buns and dumplings — both of which are made in-house — and their Korean fried chicken, which is the original recipe from Sticks and Stones. Be sure to also try one of their hand-crafted cocktails or mocktails, which are a perfect menu accompaniment. The Lucky Rabbit cocktail, for example, incorporates White Rabbit candies that have been melted down into a syrup, alongside local vodka from Lucky Bastard, to create a sweet and citrusy drink.
Yuen said the menus at SULU and Odd Couple are very different, but both restaurants have strong focuses on curated selections of delicious eats in a setting that's modern, warm and inviting.
"It's about the food and the drinks, but the world is crazy right now so we want people to be able to come in and find an escape — both at Odd Couple and SULU," Yuen said. "I'm grateful, and people so far walk out of here happy, and that's what we wanted."
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