Shiro Japanese Steakhouse
5860 Kingstowne Center #180
Alexandria, VA 22315
703-313-9000
Though Shiro Japanese Steakhouse has a sushi bar, the main reason
to go there (as one might deduce from the restaurant title) is
the teppanyaki (or hibachi) tables, where chefs cook your meal
right in front of you on a large hotplate. While not popular
among the Japanese, many Westerners find hibachi an exciting
and tasty experience, and Shiro certainly delivers. They offer
all the standard hibachi food options one would find in most
other Japanese steakhouses: steak, shrimp, chicken, and combinations.
Shiro also provides higher-end options such as lobster, hibachi
filet mignon, or a combination of the two as a kind of Japanese
style surf-and-turf.
Included in the price, which ranges from around $15-20 for
the regular options and combos, are vegetables (carrots, onions,
mushrooms, zucchini, and mung beans), white or fried rice, salad,
and soup. Shiro’s fried rice is made with what the chefs call
their “yum yum sauce” – a paste consisting mostly of mayonnaise
that’s designed for eating with meats, and also costs slightly
extra, as compared to the white rice. Also somewhat unusual about
Shiro is their choice of soup. Most Japanese restaurants and
steakhouses provide miso, but Shiro instead gives its patrons
sunomono, which is a clear soup made with onions.
While Shiro is one of the better Japanese steakhouses in the
area, it is not without certain drawbacks. The shrimp the chefs
make for an included appetizer in all meals is very good, but
the hibachi-style main entrée shrimp doesn’t meet quite the same
standards. Also a possible downside is that Shiro is not consistent
in the chefs they employ. Some of the chefs are absolutely excellent,
cooking everything perfectly and being engaging and entertaining
all the while. However, some of the chefs, for whatever reason,
are basically decent with cooking but not the performance element.
They do the “tricks,” like catching eggs in their pockets or
making a volcano out of onion rings, but clearly don’t have the
same zeal for entertainment as some of their counterparts. All
in all, though, Shiro is worth checking out. And if you’re having
a birthday, and let them know ahead of time, they’ll snap a picture
for you and put it on their wall.
-D.S. (07/30/08)
Website not available. But for other takes, you can check out Yelp
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