New Restaurant Alert: Cube 63
Had the pleasure of dining at the new Cube 63 on Court Street the other night; it's an offshoot of Cube 63 in the Lower East Side. (The website is here, but it crashed Firefox when I tried it.) Best sushi I've had in the neighborhood, definitely one of the better looking dining rooms in the neighborhood too, but even if it was a mercilessly ugly box, I'd still be going back for the sushi. The restaurant is located in the former space of the kids' store Laughing Giraffe, and the below-street-level room has wholly been changed, very sleek and sexy with a blue/grey and black color scheme and delicate chandeliers made from translucent shells. There's even a little lounge or private party room in the back that wasn't being used during our visit.
As for the food, the wasabi shumai had just the right hint of the nose-clearing spice that just happens to be one of my favorites. We sampled yellowtail, Spanish mackerel, arctic char and oro toro on special from the sushi menu, and not one of the huge pieces of fish draped over a mound of rice disappointed. Of the rolls, the Mexican with jalapeno, spicy salmon and whitefish was my favorite for tang, while we found the Tahiti with tempura shrimp, eel, cream cheese and fish eggs a very comforting non-confrontational roll. We were ordering a bit timidly as we always tend do when trying a new sushi spot, but next time I might be more adventurous and opt for the omakase dinner. Prices were reasonable as well, with sushi about $3 a piece ($8 for the oro toro), regular rolls about $5 and specialty about $12. Oh, and it's BYOB. Bon appetite.
Has any one else had an experience there? While Cube63 is a little far from our place, it's a definite upgrade from Fujiya, which has gone down in quality of late. I've actually never been to Osaka, as everyone I've ever asked about it has always said decent things about it, but followed that up with the word "expensive."
Photo to come ...
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Shinjuku on Atlantic is good. I've been pretty disappointed with most of the sushi places in the neighborhood. Of course, this general downgrade in my mind has coincided with the discovery of some of Manhattan's best (on the expense account), as well as Blue Ribbon in Park Slope. I hate Park Slope with a passion (elitist snobs who have no good subways), but you can get me to come there with an invite to Blue Ribbon.
Osaka is good, but tightly packed, and the bloom has come off the rose, as most do. Faan is similar.
You can note that there are no actual Japanese people running these places, they're usually Chinese.
Yeah... I made the mistake of going to the wrong Cube 63 recently. Thankfully the Delancy stop on the F isn't that far from Bergen St. Nothing like getting to the restaurant, calling your dining companions and saying "So when are you getting here?"... "Umm, we're already here! where are you?"
Love Cube 63! The Volcano sushi is to die for, but also they have amazing quality. The space is beautiful. Have you seen the party room in the back? Osaka has been the best in the neighborhood, but only in that "it won't give you food poisoning" type of way. The pieces are too big, and they are not particularly creative.
I look forward to they day Cube gets it's liquor license. Has anyone else been to Taku, by the way? Japanese homestyle cooking (not sushi, but ramen). FANTASTIC sake menu!!
Thanks for the tip. We've been looking for a good sushi restaurant in the neighborhood. Osaka used to be our favorite, but I think the quality has been lacking lately and I got sick the last time we ate there. Hana Cafe on Smith is decent, but nothing special. We'll definitely give Cube 63 a try soon.
ki is the spot
!!! it is the old osaka chef, hence the decline in quality over there. the music at ki, is a bit cheesey and loud, but prices and quality of fish are great!
i had a horrible expensive experience at cube 63 on court.