Oh Vashon adds new flavors to island dining

Published 10:30 am Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Tucked along a side street in uptown Vashon, the island’s newest restaurant grew from a longtime friendship and a shared desire to create something together.

Oh Vashon is the island’s second Asian restaurant, offering Vietnamese- and Chinese-inspired dishes, Thai influences and a bar featuring inventive cocktails.

Its opening broadens the range of cuisines available locally while giving islanders another place to experience foods and flavors rooted in Asian culinary traditions.

The “Oh” in the name comes from one of the two owners, Unchalee Ayucharoen. It’s common for Thais to take a nickname (often given at birth), so she goes by Oh.

Likewise for her friend and business partner Sasatorn Pongburanakit, who has always been known as “Pink.” Oh oversees the cooking and the bar, while Pink manages the business side of things. Pink is originally from Bangkok (known for its spectacular street food scene), while Oh grew up in a small Thai town named Chantaburi.

Oh first came to Vashon in 2012 to help open May Kitchen and lived here for a year. Then she started and managed the popular Thai Ku restaurant in Phinney Ridge for 10 years, but she felt a strong call to return to the island. “From the moment I arrived,” Oh said, “I knew Vashon was home.”

Meanwhile, Pink began a business in 2012 called Pink’s Ice Cream, featuring Asian flavors; it was successful, and she sold it in 2015.

Pink — who lives on Queen Anne with her two children — visited her friend on the island often, and they discussed the idea of starting a food-related venture. “Our original idea was a food cart,” Pink said, but when the current space became available, they decided to go all out and start a restaurant.

It hasn’t been easy. They opened initially in late March, but despite the fact that a kitchen was already there from a previous restaurant, King County required them to completely redo the plumbing before granting them a permit. After the work was complete, they reopened on June 22. “We were so grateful for the support of the community here,” Pink said.

The menu is varied. It’s primarily a mix of Vietnamese and Chinese dishes, with some Thai influence thrown in. “We wanted to do something different,” explained Pink. “To fill a gap [in the local scene] by offering some variety.” Oh feels that her cooking honors her roots, while “fitting the island.”

They adapt to whatever ingredients are available, but most dishes are made from scratch, including the various sauces. “Oh is a very creative person,” Pink noted. “She likes to experiment. We’ll try new dishes as specials, and if they work and are popular, then we might add them to the regular menu.”

Popular dishes include beef pho and a couple of Pink’s personal favorites, beef bulgogi and lemongrass chicken. Oh Vashon also offers some extremely creative Asian salads as well as a variety of appetizers, sandwiches and rolls. There are also some sides and a kids’ menu.

The restaurant has an “Asian saloon” theme. “Sort of ‘where East meets West,’” explained Pink. The “Lin Jiu” bar takes its name from Pink’s Chinese last name, Lin — her father was Chinese — and “Jiu,” the word for “liquor.”

The drinks menu features some remarkably creative Asian-inspired cocktails: Examples include “Remembering Pearl” (vodka, Taiwanese spiced tea, simple syrup and tapioca pearl), as well as Amai Old Fashion (Japanese whiskey and yuzu) and Wu Xiang Old Fashion (made with five-spice bitters).

“We want to be seen as a hidden gem on Vashon,” Pink says with a smile. The “hidden” is somewhat literal here: The restaurant is sufficiently tucked away that you might not know of its existence unless your business took you down the side street concerned (officially, the building’s address is 9923 S.W. 178th St., but the restaurant opens onto 100th Ave. S.W., just beyond the post office).

Oh Vashon is open at various times seven days a week for lunch and dinner. The full menu and other details can be found on its website, ohvashon.com.

Phil Clapham is a retired whale biologist and writer who lives on Maury Island.