Ray Lee

Coming Up

Restaurant photography put the dining room under study before the sushi counter became the workplace. Early in their career, Ray Lee worked as a restaurant photographer until 2009, building a visual discipline around fish, plate structure, service movement, and the way a room responds to a course. The move from documenting restaurants to operating one came in 2009, when Lee became chef-owner of Akikos. The useful carryover was not sentiment but method: attention to detail, texture, light, pacing, and the narrow interval where preparation becomes service. Akikos has remained the anchor while the work has expanded into new rooms and uses of the original site. Since 2023, Lee has been chef-owner of Akikos at Avery Lane.

Where They Are Now

Omakase at Akikos in San Francisco is built on trust, sequence, and close handling of product, with Lee serving as Chef & Owner from 2009 to the present. Fresh fish flown in from Tokyo is central to the format, while a tasting menu shaped by dry-aged fish gives the meal its emphasis on concentration, timing, and controlled restraint. Continuity matters when a restaurant changes rooms. Speaking about the opening of Akikos at Avery Lane, Lee said, "We are honored to continue to build upon the experience for our loyal guests and first-time diners alike with the opening of Akikos at Avery Lane." The statement frames expansion as an extension of an existing standard rather than a break from it. The sourcing language around Akikos stays close to artisan ingredients, sustainable and seasonal products, and recipes informed by travel as well as family tradition. In practice, that places the cooking between product discipline and personal reference, with seasonality setting the working limits. A restaurant’s craft includes the counter, the room, the sourcing, and the trust built course by course. Lee also said, "It is truly humbling to have the opportunity to bring this vision to life in such a spectacular setting." The setting is part of the work, but the measure remains the sequence placed in front of the guest.

Signature

Signature dishes include Inventive dry-aged fish. The phrase points to a working idea in Lee’s cooking: fish assessed not only for freshness, but for depth, texture, and what time can do when the handling stays controlled.

In Their Words “We are honored to continue to build upon the experience for our loyal guests and first-time diners alike with the opening of Akikos at Avery Lane.” “It is truly humbling to have the opportunity to bring this vision to life in such a spectacular setting.”