We were looking for an Asian restaurant in the Syracuse area last weekend and my husband stumbled on the Iciban Japanese steak house. We were meeting up with friends who have slightly less adventurous palates, so we figured this place would have something for everyone.
The parking lot was surprisingly full at 4:30PM on a Sunday, which we took to be a promising sign. There were plenty of tables available, although the hostess indicated that sometimes several separate parties are seated together at one large table/grill. That seemed odd to me, but perhaps it is the norm at this type of place.
The menu is fairly large, including sushi, steak, tempura, teriyaki and more. My husband had the "regular" sushi dinner, which included about a dozen pieces of sashimi and California rolls. He said it was good, but not as good as we used to get in NYC. I had the vegetable tempura which was deliciously crispy and among the best I've had. Our friends both had the steak, which was cooked in front of us by a very entertaining and skilled chef on the built-in grill top on our table. He wowed us by creating large flaming blazes, flipping ingredients through the air, and bouncing an egg repeatedly on his metal spatula. He definitely wasn't Japanese, but we didn't care!
I would recommend this as a place to go with friends, but also with guests that you don't know too well. (The flying food will give you a topic of conversation!) Be aware that the table-top flames and flying knives may be scary for small kids.
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