En Rama Tacoma - Restaurant | Cocktails | Private Events — Restaurant in Tacoma

Overall the experience was meh to okay. While other reviews have described the place as small, one is truly unable to grasp the size of the space until you're in there. As others have noted, there is a (90min) time limit to your dining experience which is stated when you book your reservation. We'd booked for inside seating however after sitting for a few minutes and requested to sit outside, but were told that our dining time would be reduced to 60min if this switch occurred. We opted to stay at our original table. Note that because the space is small, it is a bit hard to hear if your partner speaks low/softly as it can get noisy and you're relatively close to the kitchen where noises and smells are also wafting from. Service appeared a bit rushed as we were approached not long after for our orders. Given it was our first time, we needed a few seconds to peruse the menu for both drinks and food. Eventually we ordered a diet coke and Margarita Speziata along with the focaccia, octopus in Olive Oil and chilled crab salad small plates to follow with the two options from the fresh pastas. Alas, diet Coke was not available, instead "we have regular in a glass bottle." In what parallel universe are these two items remotely similar substitutions?

The small plates arrived quickly and while the portion of butter was generous it was sloppily placed on the place. The octopus was tender overall, with the taste of it reminding me of sardines (not sure if this is good or bad). Because of my crustacean allergy, the crab dish was consumed by my partner solely, so I am unable to provide honest feedback. However he did note that it was overdressed and needed more crab overall. He described it as "one note". Our main courses arrived soon enough and frankly mine was miniscule and looked sloppy overall. It appeared hastily plated with little attention to the fact that as diners we "eat with our eyes first". Little to no garnish was present on the dish. The pasta was under. There's al dente, then there's "thank the Lord I have a good dentist!", this pasta offering was the latter. The accompanying sauce was grainy and gritty, which as the dish chilled over time begun to not be appetizing. I tasted some of my husband's birria pasta dish and while this had more flavor, would have greatly benefited from further condiments (cilantro, green onions etc, the items used to enhance birria). Despite being pasta dishes, no cheese were offered table side. We opted to forgo looking at the...

TLDR: Great drinks, amazing food, charming atmosphere.

We broke our two-plus year streak of not dining in at En Rama tonight, a date night planned to be on the patio. But when we got there it was raining hard, and luckily there was a spot at the bar. Such a delicious, delightful meal. I enjoyed their version of gin and juice, one of my favorite things. There are many appealing sounding cocktails, and I look forward to coming back for them.

We enjoyed the creamy and rich pimento cheese with thick, toasty bread to pull apart and slather, and hot, spicy pickles - the pickled vegetables were a very nice surprise - grapes (!), celery shards, or was that fennel?, radishes, not too sour and perfectly caliente. We also shared the mussels, with lardons of slab bacon in a luscious lemony sauce. I had a lovely, nutty sherry with that, suggested by the bartender (a charming guy who did not mention his name and appeared to be doing the work of three people).

We also shared the anchovy pasta, so good - a rich pasta with filets of anchovy in a gorgonzola and garlic sauce, amazing. My husband, a beer drinker, enjoyed the one beer they have, on tap - some sort of lager (so if you are a beer drinker, I guess be aware that you have one choice). We had dessert, because why not? Our first date out (or inside! not takeout!) in two years! I had a slab of blue cheese and a sherry which seemed almost caramelized, and stole bites of my husband's cornmeal cake, which seemed like a pound cake, with blackberry mousse and other delicious garnishes.

This place is fantastic. The food is high level but it's comfortable and easy. The staff were charming and friendly, and the drinks are perfect. It's everything I love about Tacoma, plus cooking to make your foodie heart skip a beat. A perfect date night. We...

Good (but could be a little better?) We were in no way unpleased with our meal, everything was good. Starters: I highly recommend ordering the bread and butter/oil&vinegar, one of their tins, and the braised chickpeas for starters. The bread is fresh and fluffy, and perfect for eating with the chickpeas. Drinks: (These are just personal taste notes!) Beta was just that, “beta,” because we did not particularly enjoy the smokiness paired with the briney super saline, Mezcal Penicillin was a little sweet and one of the favorites of the night, and the 50/50 Martini was also a solid drink. Entree: En Rama burgers and the cavatelli. The cavatelli was good, but definitely al dente. It was slightly more firm than I usually like my pastas, but flavors were great and you could tell the pasta was fresh. We saw another table order the bolognese and really wish we had ordered it too! The burgers are what many people see on their instagram and for good reason; they are quite decadent. That being said, I wish they could have accommodated a simple request. I REALLY APPRECIATE the honesty of our server when I asked exactly what kind of “American cheese” they use. He told me they use Kraft slices. I expressed my hesitation and asked if I could sub the cheese (they obviously have other cheeses in the restaurant) and he said they would not be able to do that. He reassured me though that the burger would be good. So we ordered the burger and it was good. Not something I would order again if I went back (unless I was in the mood for a big greasy burger that was healthier/better quality). I just wish they could have accommodated the request to swap the cheese. For me, the bun was the best part. Freshly baked, soft, a hint of sweetness, and...