Ben Sawyer and his team are ready for their resurrection. They’ve taken the soul of the now-closed Delmar Loop hotspot Blue Ocean and brought it back to life in Oni, a Japanese pub now open for its soft launch in the Grove. Full hours start on April 1.
The space is immediately bright, full of natural light from windows facing Manchester Avenue and the heart of the Grove. At night, the restaurant is filled with red neon light. Both looks serve an intimate yet energetic experience for guests in the 60-person spot, whether they have a reservation or are looking for walk-in room at the bar or high tops.
The decor is as much a nod to Blue Ocean, a beloved sushi spot formerly found in the Loop, as it is to all things Japan. “We wanted as much connective tissue as possible, right, so people can come in and say ‘Oh, I’m back,’” Sawyer said.
The front room, which houses the bar and high tops for walk-ins, features posters from Blue Ocean, as well as bookshelves full of manga and Japanese records. Eventually, Sawyer envisions a quiet DJ spinning next to the bartender.
The back room, for which reservations are encouraged, has a wall of oni masks, the notoriously hard-to-kill demon from Japanese mythology for which the restaurant is named. Sawyer has an artist working on more, with the intention of filling the wall. Neon abounds, with a view of Mt. Fuji behind a wooden samurai sword, as well as signs formerly found in Blue Ocean.
Sawyer has struck a balance between paying homage to his former haunt with the posters and signs while also showing off the beautiful architecture of the new space, which formerly housed Tempus. Several walls include murals painted by Sawyer and other local artists, and exposed brick ties the restaurant back into a classic, elevated feel.
“We want to feel like a pub as much as possible while also having a degree of elegance,” Sawyer said. “We love the idea of taking Blue Ocean to the next level.”
Oni is a family endeavor; Sawyer’s mother is the restaurant’s baker, and his nephew, Caleb Sawyer, is the head chef. Kevin Woolfolk joins the team as head sushi chef.
Sawyer notes that most hot items will come out fast, but that’s because the work is constantly going on. Caleb Sawyer has designed a menu that is somehow inherently St. Louis, inherently Japanese and totally unique all at once. The chicken broth that goes into his Golden Chocobo ramen alone simmers for 16 hours, not to mention the time it takes to fry and simmer the aromatics. The effort it takes to prepare is apparent in the depth of flavor to the ramen, which along with the chicken broth includes miso tare, aromatics (think garlic, ginger and Sichuan peppers, just to name a few), fried chopped chicken, bamboo shoots, enoki mushrooms, corn and an onsen egg.
The team has brought back the Goons, the savory crab rangoon variation made with a higher crab to cream cheese ratio than a typical Rangoon, plus soy sauce, garlic and white pepper. Sawyer’s team has utilized a thinner wonton for Oni’s Goons, staving off the greasy texture prevalent in your average Rangoon.
Arguably the most unique item on the menu is the Oni St. Paul, crafted with a homemade Japanese milk bread. This twist on a St. Louis staple is made with a Japanese egg pancake with cabbage and Japanese sweet potato, thin sliced pork belly, onion and Kewpie mayonnaise, plus pickled ginger, nori and eel sauce.
Sushi chef Kevin Woolfolk has crafted a full sushi menu, including nigiri and sashimi. For sushi rolls, guests can choose from a classic or original section. The classics include rolls like the Dragon, a California roll topped with eel, avocado, sweet potato crunch and eel sauce. Originals feature rolls such as the Cardinal, full of crab, cream cheese and tempura shrimp, plus spicy tuna, green onions, spicy mayo and eel sauce on top.
While Oni is still nailing down its liquor license, a full bar and cocktail menu are to come, including six beers on tap, both local and Japanese. Mocktails are available now – including a stellar NA Negroni – and not to worry – they don’t just taste like juice. Sawyer hopes to branch into house-made kombucha, NA gin and plum wine by utilizing the restaurant’s fermentation room.
The full menu will be available during Oni’s opening hours. “We thought about doing a lunch and late night menu, but we just couldn’t sacrifice any item,” Sawyer said. “It seems like every item is so important to our identity and to why people would even come in the door.”
Starting April 1, Oni will be open seven days a week. Lunch will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and dinner will be from 5 to 10 p.m. On Fridays and Saturdays, they’ll be open until 1:30 a.m.