08/07/08

CLOSED

by mass5

Shut down in July due to poor business. They got what they deserved.

Stuffing citysearch ballot boxes to win audience awards, deleting unfavorable customer reviews, and writing fake favorable reviews isn't just unethical and in poor taste, it can destroy a restaurant that can't meet high customer expectations it generates.

A confusing business model that focused more on style instead of substance didn't help either.

Karma sukks losers dry.

• Pros: Interesting Decor
• Cons: Unethical

05/01/08

JUST LIKE THE OLIVE GARDEN.....

by ElmerHiggins

....Another place to avoid if you have food allergies, as you will NOT be accomodated.

Qube's chef is downright hostile to people with food allergies. He came out to discuss the menu with my allergic friend. Based on the chef's description, she ordered the Kobe Beef. The chef told her it was unavailable, though another person in our party ordered and received it, as did a few nearby diners. The chef was very clear that he not only refused to prepare something especially for my friend, he'd make sure she couldn't eat anything at all while she was in his little empire.

I have seen very few places as dismissive of the needs of its customers.

• Cons: ULTRA-CRAPPY SERVICE

04/16/08

Great experience

by Faredoneright

This restaurant has "this and that" reviews, true. Our time there was memorable. On a complex scientific scale they'd be down right GREAT (for you laymen). Was I overwhelmed? Yes. Felt comfortable by the owner and wait staff, yes!

The owner sat us at our table, explained the menu, gave us no boundaries and assured us we'd be in go hands with Andrew. Our evening was beyond memorable..

The food: Outstanding flavors, unsurpassable presentation, delivered and presented with such grace. Explained to the tee (because I had no idea what was what). Flawless! A new Generation of food is what we were introduced to.

The service: First off; being seated by the owner is a privilege; don't take this lightly. Followed by his highly trained staff, there knowledge of their food and spirits (overwhelming to me), is the extra push. Their food is designed to please your mouth and their staff conveys is perfectly.

Our experience: We celebrated our thirtieth anniversary here and loved every moment of it. We'll be back for our thirty first without a doubt.

Erin Case

• Pros: Rewarding food, service
• Cons: Parking

Editorial Review by Whitney Ricketts

by Anna Roth

Owners of the Tamarind Tree remodeled the old Qube space to create a sleek and modern incarnation of their beloved ID spot.

03/19/08

Overpriced and overrated, but decent

by BaroloP

There are a lot of other places to get a very nice meal with good atmosphere and a decent wine list apart from Qube, and I feel like many provide better value and less pretension. Maybe I'm just tired of everyone gushing about the latest attempt to dress up basic Asian recipes or even Pacific/Asian Fusion as something completely new and mind-blowingly great. To that end, Qube just seems like the newest one of those, with the attendant expensive architecture and expensive printed menus. Boom Noodle is a similar concept.

Qube seems to be one of those places you see joked about on TV where the person orders the steaek entree and it comes out as two little bites on a big empty plate. The "pro" of this is that we ended up sampling many dishes across the menu because we had to order more food after it was clear that the first batch of 3-4 things had less calories than a snickers bar. The con is that we still felt hungry after that, and we're just two people that eat reasonable portions (I'm not asking for Claim Jumper here...).

Especially considering the small amount of actual food you're purchasing, the high prices seem unjustified. It's hard not to feel like you're actually paying more for the "ultrahip" remodelling job and other frills than for what you went there for.

The wine list is interesting, but a tad pricey like the food. I was able to locate a decently priced French wine, but it was pretty obscure and I think they should make it a bit more approachable for casual wine drinkers. They should stop touting the "award-winning" pomp to the customers. Anybody who cares about an award winning wine list already knew that before they arrived at the restaurant, and anybody else is just needlessly intimidated.

We got those Chinese New Year come-again coupons, but probably won't bother with using them...there are too many other good places that are already a better value without discounts.

Personally, I would rather a little less hip,

• Pros: Decent wine list
• Cons: High prices, small portions, pretensious vibe

03/10/08

Splendid in every way - flavors, presentations & service

by live206

Start it off with one of the pear martini and Qube has got us hooked. Striking presentation with a good balanced flavors; not a bad way to set the mood for a romantic night. Moved on to some appetizers and the ahi tuna & watermelon "satay", wow, what a combination. Then, shared couple more plates like the black truffle gnocchi and the pork belly, both were excellent. Dessert did take a little longer than expected but hey, it's a friday night. Overall a wonderful experience, love to go back.

• Pros: Creative Food
• Cons: Parking

02/19/08

Cool place, attentive service, some food issues

by samsigphi

My girlfriend and I decided to visit Cube while in Seattle (visiting from Portland). Our reservation was honored promptly and the servers were quick to cater to our needs. We each had a cocktail, both very good, but not quite as amazing as you would hope for the price. The meals were more of the same, good, but not as good as the price would indicate. I had the turf set, and she had the surf set. The portions are small, but cumulatively, they add up to a full meal, and a full stomach. The surf set was better than the turf set for a few reasons. The first course of the turf set was foie gras served three ways. The center piece was quite tasty and good, but the other two were individually too rich, let alone paired together. Instead of a bit of goodness in each, it was like eating I cannot believe it's not butter by the spoonful, and then saying, oh wait, it's not butter, perhaps I should be eating a tub of butter instead, eating a bit of that, and going back for a third course of margarine. While good, you cannot possibly eat it all due to the richness in how it was prepared, and thus are left leaving 10 dollars worth of wasted foie gras. The second course of the turf set was 3 examples of Kobe beef. They were each quite tasty, but again, quite quite small. So that you're not left full, they give you a serving of rice with the beef? That's fine I guess... but dry rice, with steak? Steak that already comes with a small amount of mashed potatoes? Rice and mashed potatoes? I'm really not sure what they were thinking, but it didn't work. The desserts were delicious. The surf set was delicious, but perhaps a little bit more substance would have made it worth the price, and a return trip for dinner. The only consolation was that for the chinese new year they gave us each a 10 dollar gift certificate for a return trip. Since we had 20 free bucks to b low, we used it on some appetizers the next day, and they were quite good.

• Pros: Service, Spending a lot of money, Trendy setting, some foods
• Cons: Spending a lot of money, some foods, value

02/15/08

Terrible customer service....

by ElseeAnn

My friend and I went to Qube back in November, and I still remember the terrible customer service, the long wait time between courses, the lack of attention from the waitstaff, the noisy atmosphere, feeling claustrophobic in the restaurant, others getting served before we were even though we'd been there longer, etc. It was not the enjoyable time we had anticipated, and we ended up leaving before the 3rd course was served because it took too long to get to us (30 mins between courses). The only positive was the food that we were actually served was good.

• Pros: Food was okay
• Cons: Customer service, wait time between courses

02/15/08

NOT cool on Valentines day

by lanny27

I'll start with the good - the food - portions are bit small, but overall they presented a tasty and innovative Valentines day menu.

Now with the bad - seating arrangement was NOT cool - they had 10+ couples (myself and boyfriend included) lined up ELBOW TO ELBOW with strangers on their long bar-table-thing. As they were seating us at this bar, I asked if we could sit a normal table - and i guess you have to "Special Request" a table (who would have thought that you have to ask for a dining table when you make reservations?). I'm not a big girl (115 lbs), but I was definitely cramped, and we had to use our "6-inch" voices all night while listening to the polite couples on each side of us try to whisper as well. If you're gonna force us to sit at the bar-table, PLEASE consider adding a little space in between the a bar stools - try at least 6 inches - and get coat check or something.

Next con, you MUST order what your party orders - there's two options on Valentines day - the 4 course or the 9 course pre-set menu. I wanted the 4, and my boyfriend wanted the 9. Well - NO CAN DO. Apparently the chef doesn't allow the same "table" to order different size courses. So we ended up going with the 4 course for both of us.

Also, watch out for AUTO ADDED GRATUITY! For a couple to go to a "nice" restaurant, I've never heard of auto adding gratuity... that was kind of TACKY Qube. Probably could have made MORE money if you didn't auto add that in.

But like I started out with in the beginning... I liked the food. But ultimately - NOT cool on a special day.

• Pros: Food
• Cons: Seating arragement, same-order requirement, auto-gratuity on a couple, DON'T go on special occassions.

01/20/08

Great bartender, kitchen needs some help!

by spony

I went with the turf tasting and it was mediocre at best. A Kobe beef topped with a truffle butter and a Kobe beef tartar, then the short ribs were all delicious, the Foie Gras first plate was so-so, the desserts were anything but admirable. The pastry chef just wasn't up to par. The kitchen was pretty slow between courses and while the food wasn't great, the bartender was really what made the place great! If you're looking to grab a bite at a new place, then give it a shot, you won't be blown away, but you'll get a decent meal. I don't know that I agree with the Top Fine Dining and the list of awards Citysearch has actually awarded the place though with the exception of their bar.

• Pros: Great bartender, fun meal
• Cons: Slow kitchen needs some help