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	Koban Japanese Restaurant Japanese Contemporary Manhattan Style and Traditional Japanese Food
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	Koban Japanese Restaurant Cuisine: Japanese Noodles Asian Price Range: Moderate

Address

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2016 Merrick Road
Merrick, New York 11566

Phone1:  516-223-9200
Phone2:
Fax:          516-223-9257

Website

Hours of Operation
Monday:	11:45AM	10:00PM
Tuesday:	11:45AM	10:00PM
Wednesday:	11:45AM	10:00PM
Thursday:	11:45AM	10:00PM
Friday:	11:45AM	10:30PM
Saturday:	11:45AM	10:30PM
Sunday:	1:00PM	9:30PM

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Reservations: Not Required

Dress code is: Casual Attire

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Restaurant Bio:

For a place that emphasizes the raw, Koban is really cooking. 

Unpretentious and straightforward, this good neighborhood restaurant is what you'd like to have around the block, if not closer. It prepares Japanese fare with skill, imagination and no special effects. 

The dining room itself looks as if it had been a luncheonette in an earlier life. Consider it modest, spare, to the point. "Earth tones" seems too extravagant a definition. But the spot is bright, courtesy of the lighting and the kitchen. 

Beef negimaki, or scallions wrapped in thinly sliced sheaves of meat, is a tasty and tender starter, with an undercurrent of teriyaki sauce. Tuna tataki, or sliced and marinated tuna in a vinegary sauce, gets a boost from chilies, and also is recommended. 

Vegetable tempura arrives blond and crisp, if not filigreed and delicate. The vegetable combo is better than the shrimp tempura, which doesn't offer quite as much crunch. Grilled scallops, on skewers, are tender and sweet. 

Refresh your appetite with hiyayakko, or cold bean curd accented with dried bonito flakes, scallions and soy sauce. Agedashi tofu, or fried bean curd, is deftly done. And a cool seaweed salad provides both a contrast and the right flavors. 

But the house's dumplings are routine, whether you're nibbling on steamed shrimp shumai or pan-fried beef-filled gyoza. The vegetable gyoza is singularly bland. 

Miso soup is standard stuff, though a bit more generous than most with bean curd. The clear fish broth with shiitake mushrooms, scallions and seaweed is a fuller, richer choice. Soybean soup with nameko mushrooms similarly is a bracing selection. 

Sa-sa-mi organic chicken translates into a breaded and deep-fried treat that turns out both oily and dry. Skip it in favor of the pleasing chicken teriyaki or the chicken salsa piccante, a diverting number sparked with red chiles. 

Beef teriyaki is a first-rate, grilled cut of rib-eye that would be all right without the sauce and gets better with it. Salmon teriyaki similarly is a reliable entree, glossy and cooked to order. 

Koban sends out respectable sushi and sashimi. The portions of toro, or fatty tuna; and maguro, beefy red tuna, are ample. Likewise, buttery yellowtail, more assertive mackerel and toasty eel. 

The special rolls show some flair. If they're not exactly for purists, they're still fun. The lobster roll with spicy mayonnaise stands out, along with the "green dragon," a production combining eel and avocado; and "big daddy," a crayfish roll. 

"Spring snow" means spicy yellowtail, scallions and white tuna -- a lively combination. The "hurricane" roll does have a storm of spicing to it: tuna sauced with the zing of a hot pepper. The traditional spider roll, of fried soft-shell crab, also receives a welcome jolt from chilies. 

Sometimes, the over-orchestration can undo the roll. Rainbow dragon brings together shrimp tempura, three varieties of fish and a topping of eel, for a union that doesn't quite harmonize. The "crazy" roll underscores its lunacy by concocting an unwieldy alliance of shrimp tempura, tuna, avocado, cucumber and eel. 

After a couple of these, you doubly appreciate the less extravagant pairing of yellowtail and scallion. The unencumbered salmon skin roll and the fresh salmon roll also are commendable. 

For dessert, Koban does inflict the technique of tempura on ice cream, a process meant to create hot-cool and crunchy-soft contrasts. But even when it's done to perfection, you still wonder why the experiment is undertaken. 

Instead, have your ice cream straight, whether red bean, green tea, vanilla or chocolate. Or just enjoy the ripe honeydew melon. 

Some things are best uncooked. 

--Reviewed by Peter M. Gianotti, 10/17/04

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User Ratings and Reviews
Based on 8 reviews: 4.1 rate me
Posted on 01/05/2010 by: Spicytuna1 User Rating: 2 I choose to dine at this restaurant after reading all of the great reviews, and boy was I dissappointed. I would expect this poor quality of sushi from an all u can eat buffet or a super market prepared tray! The tuna was still semi frozen. I dont mean to sound like one of those sushi snobs who only eats in the most expensive of NYC restaurants, cause Im not. If you are looking for very good sushi in Nassau County try Sushi Ya or Taiko in RVC, also Moca in Hewlett. All are ten times better than Koban. The only reason I gave Koban 2 stars and not 1 is because I did not get sick.
Posted on 01/05/2010 by: SushiGirl User Rating: 1 How could anyone give this restaurant 5 stars!? All of the other reviews were a couple of years ago, so maybe they dont use the same quality product that they used to? I ordered the sushi for two and recieved unedible rubbery eel, browning tuna, and special rolls that were nothing special at all. Also the worst spicy tuna that Ive ever had. Stay away from this place!! I eat sushi more than any other food on this planet, so trust me on this.
Posted on 12/23/2007 by: anonymous User Rating: 5 Great Sushi with a NYC appeal. Good date restaurant.
Posted on 05/27/2007 by: LouieBag User Rating: 5 Always Great and Fresh Sushi.
Posted on 01/23/2007 by: anonymous User Rating: 5 Koban is great! I went fishing with my son the other day and caught a nice sized Tuna. I brought it to the Sushi cooks at Koban and they were more than happy to prepare the fish for me and make us some delicious sushi out of it. Thanks a lot I really appreciate that.
Posted on 01/12/2007 by: anonymous User Rating: 5 I tried koban last nite for the first time, WOW I am impressed... the other reviews were on the money. -James
Posted on 12/31/2006 by: anonymous User Rating: 5 My family and I ate here last night and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The service was excellent and the food was delicious. I highly recommend this Sushi place to anyone.
Posted on 12/27/2006 by: anonymous User Rating: 5 This is the only Sushi place I know that offers brown rice on rolls. My favorite is the Tuna Summer Roll.

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