Cube 63

I was here this past Monday and was extremely disappointed. As you can tell from my other review this is a spot that I love. I always ranked it really high on my NYC sushi list and always encouraged people to visit.
The issue wasn’t with the fish, it was with everything else. For starters there were only two other tables there and waiting for the ice water that I asked for was like waiting for Godot. They had the ac off and the door open on an extremely muggy day. I finally got it after the third time.
The sushi looked great when I first saw it but as I started to eat I noticed that the rice was off. The texture was horrible and when I really got a good look it was kinda mushy and it just threw me off.

You come here for what Cube 63 is — a BYOB sushi place with painted Rubik’s Cubes and neon lights adorning the wall when you walk in. Luckily, they let you bring liquor, unlike many other BYOB restaurants in Manhattan (I don’t know what’s up with that, it’s not like you’re losing your liquor license. I mean, you never had one in the first place).
The sushi is decent, and by decent I mean I’ve been ripping vodka while trying to navigate a plate of what you literally cannot mess up — a vegetable roll and seaweed salad — with chopsticks and shot glass in hand. This is why Cube 63 gets 4 stars when I’m normally very picky about my sushi: they know what they do and they do it well — let their patrons get smashed for $ 22 all-​in.

How can yuou not love a place that’s BYOB !!! Cube 63 Roll and the Mexican Roll are on my fav list plus the Volcano Roll is pretty awesome…
Once a month this place comes to mind as a place I should revisit…

I have been to cube 63 more than a couple of times and its always been pleasant. The food is good. I have had better dont get me wrong, however I wouldnt mind steppin’ in here if I needed a sushi fix.

Despite rumors that Cube 63 has closed, it is still in fact alive and kicking. (I think they just moved a few doors down.) Initial impressions: it is narrow and too dimly lit. I personally think it would be more appealing if it were more illuminated — the current dimness makes it feel shady to me.
Because it is a) a BYO, and b) in a very social area of LES, it is important to manage expectations before frequenting Cube 63. Our table of 6-​ish brought bottles of vodka and tequila, and were (not surprisingly) quite raucous during the entire evening. While part of me felt sorry for the other patrons who were clearly trying to make it a classier evening than we were allowing, in retrospect, they should have known what they were getting into. Poor fools…
The rolls are quite tasty, and the servers are very friendly. We were by far the last group left before they closed, but they did not rush us at all. (On the contrary, the acquiesced quickly — and almost suspiciously — to our offerings of tequila towards the end of our meal.)
My personal favorite establishment in the AYCD /​BYO sushi universe remains New Ashiya (don’t judge). However, given its prime location in LES, we’ll definitely be back to Cube 63.

Cube 63 is now simply Cube. Cube has the same chefs, but different owners plus some new interior decorations: a laser light show and cheeky wall murals. SO Japanese and therefore SO awesome.
Same as before, the joint is BYO and the menu has the same special rolls as well. My fav! I recommend the 63 roll, volcano roll, double spicy crunch roll, and the pink lady roll. Tremendously tasty (and just $ 25 apiece when I split with a girlfriend!).
Also notable is Cube’s «A» sanitary rating. That should quell your suspicious notions of why the first outfit opened and closed so frequently over the last year. Crossing my fingers that Cube is here to stay for good!

Cube 63 is a cute little sushi place in the LES. The fresh sushi, interesting rolls, and friendly attentive staff makes it a great place for dinner with a group of friends or for a date! Very reasonable prices as well!
The best part about this place is that it is BYOB!!! You cannot find many places in BYOB places in NYC these days and they don’t even charge you a corkage fee!
Must try: spicy miso soup, delish! I can eat this soup all day!

First thing is first — it’s BYO!
The place itself is small and a little inconspicuous. My friend and I almost missed it! The place seats about 25 or so people. When we went for dinner, majority of the diners were in groups. I could see how this could be great spot to have dinner with a couple of friends, it’s BYO and it’s not very big, so it’d be cool just to have drinks and hang out. However, if it’s just two people (like me and my friend) well it’s hard to hear each other talk.
The sushi is good. Our food came out right away and the service was attentive. We ordered a spicy tuna roll which was good not too spicy, salmon roll, salmon skin roll and some shrimp roll. All good, nothing out of the ordinary.
Cool place to have some sushi and drinks, but I’d recommend for a groups of 4 or more, otherwise, if you’re on a date — you may have a hard time hearing each other.

Saturday evening, 10pm. Six girls walk into a tiny green restaurant on Clinton Street for dinner.
The Scene: polo shirt wearing preppies standing around pouring vodka shots and chanting frat songs. Tables of long-​haired, designer-​dressed girls loudly gesturing. A few friendly servers dart in and out between the seven tables trying to clean, deliver platters of sushi and take shots with the pushy Frat boys while remaining upright. Cemeteries of long forgotten food sit in front of ruddy-​faced patrons while they work diligently to kill their BYOB bottle of tequila.
The six girls look down at their bottles of vino and wonder aloud what they’ve stumbled into this evening.
—-
While Saturday evening was basically a total shit show we managed to wait the half hour past our reserved table time to be seated snugly with our line of wine bottles opened one after the other in a row. The menu is pretty standard and the real winning roll of the evening was the Cube 63 roll. Beyond that, the focus is on drinking here. It was pretty amusing to watch as the staff tried to delicately extricate drunken buffoons from in-​demand tables and as the wine flowed, our group began to really enjoy the once startling scene.
If you go here on the weekend, be sure to make a reservation and really bottles of liquor are quicker than the wine you normally bring to BYOB dinners. Though after plowing through a bottle between 4 people in less than 3 hours I doubt that party will last for long.

Since I can’t give this place a perfect 10, I’ll have to settle for 5 stars.
First things first: BYOB and no corkage fee.
Amazing and affordable rolls (most «standards» hover around $ 6 and «specialties» go for $ 10 – 15).
Polite and friendly waiters, fast service, and happy to pour your drinks for you.
The green light ambiance was a little much for my buddy, but I think it’s pretty chic.
This is the only place in NYC I will go for sushi– the dragon roll and spicy yellow tail are enough to fly across the country for!

BYOB + Sushi ($ 6 avg price for rolls) + nice staff + take reservations = dangerous but delicious combo.
No need to say any more.
Well, one thing more… remember what your mama told you — you pay for what you get. This sushi isn’t gonna rock your world but it’s also not gonna give you an upset stomach. It’s solid, cheap food.

Yay for a real BYOB with Great sushi!
Went here last night for a nice laid back dinner, good fast service, fresh sushi and not crowded but not empty.

I hadn’t been to Cube 63 for about five years, until last night. I was a little nervous that it may not be as good as I remember, considering that I was 23 and hadn’t experienced food like I have at this point in my life. I just want to say, I can’t wait to come back to Cube 63. The sushi rolls are interesting and the sashimi was fresh. Also, it is BYOB, so if you are looking to save a few bucks on booze, this is a great spot. On a side note, you have to make reservations, because this place is super small and can only seat like 40 people at a time. Also, eat slowly if you want to sit and drink some more, because as soon as you’re finished with your food, they hand you the check and try to push you out.

Why does this place still exist?
It’s far, the wait is long despite having reservations, its very crammed, its overpriced, the sushi rolls are f-​ing miniscule, and the service is bad.
I’ll tell you why its still around… it’s BYO! Unfortunately, this is one of those places that is popular only because its a BYO. I usually love BYOs, but come on, give me some decent food with my own alcohol.
It’s funny how there is a craze for two kinds of places in New York — BYO and Mixology. One makes you bring your own cheap alcohol and the other makes you delicious, creative cocktails but for a hefty price. New York really is a city of extremes.

Went on Saturday night, overall eh. I can see how this was a hot spot 3 years ago, but now its just overhyped and too loud. The rolls are much smaller than other places, but the prices were comparable. The saving grace of the place is the BYOB. The only downside of that is when you bring 4 bottles of wine like my group did, you have only an hour and a half to finish them all before they kick you out. My friend in his drunkeness broke a glass, the waitstaff didn’t care just wanted us out to give the broken glass table to people waiting. There are betters options in the hood.

Cube 63 is just that, an unassuming Cube at #63 Clinton Street. My expectations of this LES byob sushi joint were quite high before patronizing it. Unfortunately, my experience was pretty disappointing, slightly offset by the good company and booze I brought with me.
If you decide to give Cube 63 a try, you must have a reservation. To be safe, call and confirm your reservation — I know several friends whose reservations have been lost upon arrival. I made a reservation a week in advance for a party of four on a Friday night. Additionally, I received a text from the restaurant asking me to confirm on the day of the reservation.
When I arrived at Cube 63, I must admit I was excited. The tiny cube was packed with groups of people huddled around small tables. I happened to notice that all the patrons looked sick, mostly attributable to the green light that floods the restaurant.
After waiting roughly 30 minutes past our reservation, my party was seated. We were told in advance that our table could only be had for an half and a half and that after we would be asked to leave — not a great way to start a meal. We ordered a variety of appettizers and rolls, all of which were good and came out of the kitchen in a timely manner. Our waitress was very attentive and the atmosphere was fun for a group of friends on a Friday night.
Let’s get one thing straight here, by no means is the sushi or any food at Cube 63 worth the trek down into the far reaches of the LES. Everyone comes for the byo policy. You might think you are getting a great deal, but Cube 63 boasts a similar price point to any sushi restaurant in the city. Tack on the money you spent on booze before even showing up to dinner and Cube 63 sets you back just as far as Hane or Amber (I recommend both over Cube 63).
All in all, Cube 63 was just okay. The food was average and having to wait for a table long past a reservation was pretty annoying. If you’re looking for a place to get drunk with your friends and don’t feel like making a mess at your own apartment, then Cube 63 will provide you with the perfect solution. If asked to make the voyage down here again, I’d likely pass on the offer.

At some point in the not-​so-​distant past [5 years or so], sushi was relatively new to me and Cube 63 was the place where I first started to appreciate it. I remember it being a semi-​romantic dinner… yea, we were seated close to the patrons next to us, but everyone was well behaved and the BYOB thing was kind of a novelty. I don’t remember it being particularly loud and I think we waited maybe 10 minutes for a table. All in all, it was an enjoyable experience.
Flash forward to about two weeks ago — I am hell bent on having sushi and the only place I can think of nearby is Cube 63. There’s at least 10 people standing around outside on a Monday night. Bad sign. Every time the door opened, a blast of screeching voices from inside would blow out onto the sidewalk. While my boyfriend went to find out how long the wait was [mostly for our own entertainment at this point], I peeked inside and it looked like a zoo full of monkeys having a dinner. Seriously, people were throwing their hands in the air, shrieking, scurrying around, taking pictures of each other, all within a 20 by 10 foot dining space. I wouldn’t have been surprised if someone flung a fistful of poo at that point.
Ok, that was a little harsh, but you get the picture.
Then my boyfriend comes back — an hour and a half wait for two people. Wha– for sushi? On a Monday night? With monkeys?
Fuck that. Thankfully, Sachikos is nearby, which I found out about that night. Thanks for that tip, Unilocal

This place was much better before it went the way of Zum — ruined by large groups finance types who TALK REALLY LOUD.
Yes, it is small — So please, don’t bring your bring group here.
And please, finance guys and the LI girls you love — keep your voices down.

This place was a bit disappointing. Besides having a poorly done mock-​minimalist theme, Cube 63 is just too damn cramped. There’s probably only six tables in the whole place, and even then you’re still performing circus contortions in order to get to your seat without bumping into neighboring chairs or spilling over drinks on the wobbly metal tables.
The dimly lit interior and cold, bare, concrete walls inside resemble a mausoleum (perhaps of some minimalist architect?), or a jail cell. Not a very enjoyable atmosphere, if you ask me. Worse, the hard walls end up magnifying and echoing sounds in this small space, making it hard to have a decent conversation. Everyone just ends up shouting at each other. We had to repeat our order to the waiter a couple of times to get it right.
Regarding the food, while the sushi is well made with good quality fish and a decent size of fish in each roll, the overall roll size is pretty small. Even though the prices are reasonable, you’ll end up ordering a lot to satiate any level of hunger. The appetizer sizes are also similarly stingy. All of this adds up to a hefty bill in the end.
However, this place is BYOB, and with BYOB I suddenly gain an unusually high tolerance for crap. Well, I wouldn’t tolerate poop, exactly, but I become less picky. You could make McDonald’s BYOB and I’d love it there (seriously).
So, come here if you are looking for a BYOB sushi joint, or a quick snack; otherwise, don’t bother.

My friend has been trying to get reservations at Cube 63 forever now with no such luck, but last night was our lucky night as the rest of NY cleared out of town for wherever New Yorkers disappear to in the summertime.
When we first stepped into Cube 63 I could see why it’s difficult to get reservations… there about 6 tables in this tiny tiny restaurant! And 6 tables in a restaurant that has very good sushi (I was impressed) fill up fast!
Loved that this place is BYOB because while a popular concept in Chicago, BYOB seems to be a rarity in NY. Our party of 4 shared a few bottles of pinot grigio (picked up at a liquor store on the way) with some delicious yet interesting rolls for about $ 25 a person! This may very well be the cheapest meal I’ve had in NY! Even cheaper than most meals I’ve had in Chicago!
I wish I could recommend a few rolls for my fellow Unilocalers, but unfortunately when I drink too much wine I tend to forget the important things… like the names of sushi rolls. Fortunately, I don’t think you can go wrong with anything you order here. We ordered 5 rolls ourselves and they all disappeared pretty fast… almost as fast as our bottle of wine.