Manuscript — Restaurant in Tacoma

We tried manuscript for Sunday brunch. We had a 10:45 reservation and had no issues being seated. Based on the amount of people seated, that time would have been fine for walk in, but by the time we left the place was completely full.

I would love to start with the good: The food was great. I had the Open Face Break Beets. The golden beets were tasty with delicious chive goat cheese and nice pickled carrots. It came with fingerling potatoes that were overall pretty good with a nice coating of coarse salt. My partner had the Eggs in Purgatorio. The flavors were really good with high quality sourdough. He did end up ordering an additional side of bread as he prefers more bread with a shakshouka type dish, but that’s just up to personal preference. The portions of both dishes were perfect, around two bites more than I could eat in one sitting. The prices were very reasonable for the quality and portions of the food.

What could use improvement: The restaurant was incredibly loud. There was music playing in the restaurant, but that was not the issue. There is zero sound dampening in the dining area and the noise level from all the surrounding table’s conversations made it to where we could barely hear each other talking at a regular conversational level. It was pretty overstimulating at times. There seemed to be only two servers and a bartender while we were dining. This resulted in the service being pretty slow (although both servers were very nice and apologetic). It took around 45 minutes from the time we were seated to receive our food. The restaurant was also very cold. We were seated by the large rolling door and the temperature in that area was super uncomfortable. We had to leave our jackets on throughout brunch and were still pretty chilly. This wasn’t aided by the fact that the only warm drink they serve is coffee, no hot tea or other beverages. Lastly, I’m not a fan of the plates. I know that may seem like a nitpicky issue, but the plate was so lightweight that my partner had to hold it while I cut my dish up, otherwise it was twisting and sliding all over we the table. Not a deal breaker, but something that could use improvement.

Overall, I think the place has a lot of promise and we will try it again in a few months when staffing kinks have been worked out and the...

I'm unclear on what the vibe of Manuscript is supposed to be. We've got Audrey Hepburn, Walter White, DB Cooper in the men's bathroom, and a National Treasure poster (to say nothing of rendering the Tacoma aroma as a riff on a pack of Malboros; lousy)? Not sure what, if anything, that should be conveyed here, especially since so much of the venue—including its name—is more literary than pop culture iconic.

Cocktails were pleasing. My partner ordered the pomegranate temple and said, "It tastes like pink!" Which it does: it's almost a less-sweet and boozy pink lemonade. I opted for a bartender's choice based on gin and tart. We think it was a gin and grapefruit juice cocktail, maybe with limoncello, but our server never explained what was in it, so.

We order the beet farmer (VG) sandwich and the bucatini pomodoro (VG). My partner described the beet farmer as tricky to eat since the bread was grilled a little too much, making it tough-and-chewy on top of tough-and-chewy. The beet was cooked nicely per their liking, and the pickling on the carrots was also a hit. They did end up eating it like an open-faced sandwich by the end, however. (The fries were skinny, well-seasoned, just not crispy enough for us, but still absolutely delicious.)

The bucatini order was... small, which was disappointing. It seemed like a lunch portion that was missing its salad or seasonal vegetable. However, the sauce was bright and homey, and while the pasta was just a little past al dente, it was toothy and pleasing to slurp up.

Since I was still pretty hungry after gobbling up my pasta, we ordered the dippin' dough (only available on the happy hour menu), and it was stupidly good. The bread was nicely toasted and a little springy still, and the dipping sauce, whole different from the entree's sauce, was also bright and a little creamier (we think they mixed in some parm).

Bottom line: Food pretty solid, overall, but all served in...

We came here when this place was just a brewery and pizza joint!

Then I heard that a new restaurant opened up in Tacoma and wanted to try it out. Did not realize it happened to be the same location.

For starters, love the decor and vibe that the restaurant encompasses -more of a refined Italian pizza/pasta venue. It was not busy at all, there were only about three other tables besides ours.

Ordered their Pomegranate Temple which was good and strong. Only needed the one drink the entire time we were there.

Appetizer of choice to try? Truffle Fries. They were not my favorite but I enjoyed them as the thickness and crunchiness was to my liking, only. Personally, they were just heavily drenched in chopped raw garlic that threw off the overall flavor of truffle. I was only able to tolerate a couple bites.

Star of the show for me: the Bucantini Pomodoro with Salmon. The salmon was perfectly cooked with a crispy crust and flaky/juicy center. It meshed wonderfully with the robust flavor of the sauce and texture of the pasta. The pasta was so fresh and also perfectly cooked. I would come back just for this dish alone.

Service was good too, for the most part. Greeted, seated, given a few minutes to review menu and placed order for drinks/app. The waitress that helped us was welcoming and attentive overall but wished she would have checked in a little bit sooner, before we were left waiting to place our entree orders. The others at the table practically finished the fries before she managed to return to our table and ask what we wanted. Nonetheless, it was a...