Our Story
Restaurant shua (pronounced /‘shwah/) offers a contemporary approach to Vietnamese cuisine through an everchanging tasting menu experience rooted in Texas seasonality and global influence.
We invite you to not just to dine, but to connect; to the land, to the culture, and to one another.
Joshua Zacharias was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and started his cooking career on a total whim while working at a fish delivery company after being persuaded to join the kitchen by a chef he had been delivering to. Initially, Joshua had sought out a career in stunt performing after studying martial arts for many years. After years of putting strain on his body, he was looking for a new path. Without any formal training, Joshua put his head down and allowed his passion for food to flourish.
From learning the basics of cooking under chef Wayne Martin, the man whom Joshua considers his mentor and the one who kick started his career, to then spending time in contemporary French restaurant Sous Sol, focusing on seasonality and the importance of local farmers. Joshua often credits his mental and physical discipline he obtained through martial arts as a key to his initial success during the long, grueling hours of kitchen work.
Before relocating to Dallas, he made a few pit stops, one including spending a short time in the refined kitchens of the MICHELIN-starred and Canada’s 100 Best recipient Alo Food Group in Toronto, ON. Joshua then joined the Uchi Dallas team as a Sous Chef, where he was taught refinement through Japanese technique and philosophy.
A year later, Joshua found himself on the opening team of Sushi Kozy as a Sous Chef, and soon after was promoted to Chef de Cuisine where he played a pivotal role in the restaurant being awarded an inaugural spot on the MICHELIN Guide 2025.
Now, Joshua runs Restaurant shua, a supper club he initially started in Winnipeg back in 2018 under the name “Stefan Supper Club”, with his partner Brenda and focuses on showcasing Vietnamese cuisine through Texas seasonality by highlighting local farmers and artisans. He is proud of his Vietnamese heritage and looks to pave the way for modern Vietnamese cuisine in America.
Brenda Perez is a DFW native and was born in Fort Worth, TX but moved to Dallas in pursuit of a culinary career. She attended the Art Institute of Dallas and enrolled in the baking and pastry program, with aspirations of opening her own bakery one day.
While working a food and wine event through her school, she met Graham Dodds who would later become her chef at Wayward Sons on Lower Greenville where she worked up until it closed in 2017. Immediately following, she went to the famed Uchi, learning all of the hot line stations before finally making the switch over to the pastry world, pursuing her initial passion. After a 2-year stint, she left to continue learning the hot line, working as a line cook at David Uygur’s Macellaio, sister restaurant of the highly acclaimed Lucia in Dallas’ Bishop Arts District.
Once COVID-19 shuttered the restaurant and Brenda was laid off, she found herself wanting more and saw no where else to go but Austin. So, she packed up everything she had and made the move, eventually staying in Austin for 4 years. Brenda took this new opportunity to expand her resume and skillset in the pastry department, learning new bread and lamination techniques, working with chocolate, and being a member of the pastry team at the now MICHELIN-starred Barley Swine.
In 2024, she was contacted by Paul Ko, who she had previously worked with at Uchi, to join the Sushi Kozy opening team as the Head Pastry Chef. Excited by a new venture, she moved back to Dallas and got to work, where she created the foie gras mochi donut, a dessert that was deemed one of the best bites of 2025 by Brian Reinhart of D Magazine. There, she met Joshua, and the two immediately connected through their philosophy on food.
Brenda would eventually join the Restaurant shua team as the head of pastry, and a partner to Joshua — both in the business and in life. Inspired by the vision of pushing the boundaries of Vietnamese cuisine and excited to learn more about the culture, she has immersed herself in the mission and has continued to make waves in the pastry world in Dallas.
Photos courtesy of The 5 Club / Shannon Cui