Birmingham sushi chef Abhi Sainju is too humble to name a restaurant after himself, but everybody who is familiar with his imaginative culinary skills insisted that he do it.

So tonight, the Napalese-born chef will open his first restaurant at the Summit, and, yes, it's called Abhi.

"I didn't want a restaurant named after me," Sainju said in an interview with AL.com. "But the Bayer (Properties) people suggested that and everybody said, 'Hey, that's a unique name and everybody knows you.' I was like, 'OK, but I'm still not OK with that.'"

Bayer Properties, which manages the Summit, also is the developer of the new Pizitz Food Hall in downtown Birmingham, where Sainju will operate a food stall called mo:mo, which will serve Nepalese dumplings and Vietnamese banh mi. The food stall should open within the next few weeks, Sainju said.

Abhi, his restaurant, is located in the former Primeaux Cheese & Vino space at 300 Summit Blvd. It will be open for dinner only initially, but after a few weeks, Abhi will also serve lunch, Sainju said.

"I want this (restaurant) to be for the people who have supported me," he said. "I'm so happy to do this for Birmingham, and I'm happy Birmingham has allowed me to do this."

Sainju is well known among Birmingham diners as the founder of Everest Sushi, which he served at catered events and private parties and at the Blue Monkey Lounge in Five Points South. More recently, he was executive chef at the Asian fusion restaurant Bamboo on 2nd.

"We are extremely excited to help showcase Chef Sainju's talents at the Summit," Sam Heide, vice president of leasing for Bayer Properties, said in a media release. "His story and rise in the culinary ranks is so inspiring. Sainju is humble and hard-working - a perfect example of what makes Birmingham's food scene so unique and special."

The Abhi menu will feature many of Sainju's signature dishes, including momos served with an Alabama tomato vinaigrette, the KFC (Kathmandu Fried Chicken), the Wham Bam Birmingham sushi roll, and classic ramen and spicy miso noodle bowls.

Sainju also plans to introduce several new dishes, including seared tuna with calamansi ponzu, sekuwa lamb skewers, and gado-gado, an Indonesian dish with sauteed seasonal vegetables and a house-made peanut sauce.

Sainju is partnering with the Urban Food Project to get seasonal produce from local farmers who follow sustainable agricultural practices.

"The menu is going to be changing all the time," he said. "We'll have daily specials, and we might have a secret menu because I have so many things to introduce to Birmingham."

Abhi will also offer an Asian-inspired cocktail program crafted by bar manager Steven Bradford. The bar menu will feature such signature cocktails as a Cognac Old Fashioned with shitake mushrooms and rosemary and Matcha Tea served with Bombay gin and Green Chartreuse.

Hours for Abhi are 5 to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 5 to 9 p.m. Sundays. Once the restaurant begins serving lunch, it will open daily at 11 a.m., Sainju said.