The Mandolin Cafe

Ok the wife and I went there for our Anniversary. Being that my wife is Japanese and I lived in Japan for a number of years, we know a little bit about Sushi. I gotta say, that is the WORST Sushi we have ever eaten in our entire lives. Beyond Disappointing. Not fresh at all. The Eggs, the eel and the Salmon were still frozen. Yet the owner swares it was fresh. The staff was very slow and very rude. We ate only one piece of sushi each and decided this place was garbage. The wait staff wanted to argue with us about the freshness of the food then told my wife «she didn’t look Japanese». I would Never Recommend this place to anyone

Mandolin Café is now Mandolin Steak and Sushi house and is incredible:

I still don’t much care for coffee but the Mandolin is so much more than a café. Wine by the bottle and glass, beer on tap, fantastic menu, love of my life working behind the counter…
The seating options are all-​encompassing, ranging from counter top with high stools to long 12 seat tables and of course couches and comfy fireplace chairs. They do live music and other cool events and have no problem with you monopolizing a table for nerdy games while you drink and eat.
All I’ve had so far is their nachos, but they were very impressive. Huge, too. Yummy. Couple that with a Deschutes and suddenly the guy who doesn’t like coffee is much more comfortable with his coffee snob friends.
Try it, you like it!

A groovy coffee house to meet the crowd, have a bite and catch up on WiFi work. They’re always nice and the room fresh. Give it a try. You may happen on live music!

Life has imitated Unilocal… in my review I mentioned that a major reason to go to the Mandolin was if your brother is playing open mic night.
A few weeks ago, a girlfriend invited me to go the the Mandolin to hear her brother play.
Oh dear.

A great place to meet friends for tea and coffee.
Live music most weekend nights, and yummy food.
A Great place to study and play board games.
Every time I have been I have always enjoyed the atmosphere: D

One of the things I like best about this café is the fact that it’s on my way home from so many places which makes stopping for a cup of tea the easiest ever. Met a friend there for tea and splurged, to heck with my diet, on a chai tea latte. One of the best that I’ve had locally. The sandwich menu looked equally as interesting so will stop and have lunch another time on my way home. Lots of parking both right in front and across the street where they ask the folks who are going to be there for hours to park. Just a nice place to sit and visit with friends, very homey and inviting and the staff so pleasant.

I like to go here in the evening to work and listen to great music. In the past two weeks, I’ve heard two really good shows of local acoustic folk and cover stuff. Very sweet and endearing performers. And I can get work done on my laptop at the same time (though they need more outlets!).
There’s a giant menu, including lots of tea, but the prices are confusing. I don’t know why a large pot of tea costs $ 4.50 and a small mug of tea costs less than $ 2…seems like about the same cost to the owner. But their tea selection is wide and tasty.
Service is not the best. One time recently, I saw servers sneaking outside toward the end of the evening and potential customers hanging around until they finally left in frustration. Baristas were telling some people the café was closed (before closing hours) and then serving others who came in afterwards. Another time I got a server who informed me it was her first day and seemed overwhelmed and confused by everything, poor thing. The food is okay; big restaurant-​sized selection.
But overall, this is my current favorite coffee shop in Tacoma – good and relaxing vibe, especially in the evening, large menu, and excellent live music.

I cannot recommend the Mandolin Café unless a band is playing that you are interested in hearing.
First, the menu price and the price they charged were two different things, There was a 33% difference between the two. When I pointed it out, it was explained to me that the menu was not current, and they refunded the difference. Since the menus were printed on cardstock or paper, there is really no excuse. A trip to a printer is in order. It is also illegal to misrepresent pricing in this way,
The food was unimpressive, the menu was varied, but didn’t seem to have cohesive theme. Offerings ranged from burgers, to pasta, to comfort food, and some seafood offerings. There were some ambitious dishes, and the dish I tried had some unique ingredients, but somehow it just didn’t get pulled off. Dishes are as written, so don’t expect a salad or bread unless you order them. They had a nice appearing dessert cake, but we were unimpressed with the cake slices we selected.
This is a self service type of place. Meals are ordered from the counter, you are given a number, and the meals are delivered to your table, Water is self serve as well, so if you are asked if you need anything else, it is a truly rhetorical question.
The Mandolin Café desperately is trying to be hip. The décor is ecletic, and there are orignal artworks throughout the café. However, it felt like it was trying too hard to be hip, and it just didn’t feel authentic. The sound system was having difficulties, and it took away from the performers.
Pricewise, it was expensive for a limited service establishment.
I want to quailfy this review and say that I had not visited the Mandolin Café under the old management. They are currently advertising they are under new management.

Pretty good cake, though rather expensive. The tea is nice, too. And they have local music acts playing here often.
The parking lot is a bit small, so on a busy night you may end up parking on the street.

Super-​cute place; I have to give props for that. I love the décor and the way the space is laid out. It’s a great place for a group to meet up, if you can get over the lack of parking.
However, every time I’ve been here I’ve been disappointed by the coffee. It’s not very good. Last time I specifically said «for here» so I could get the leaf or heart drawn in my foam. No pretty picture, and my drink was lukewarm and watered down. If a café has bad coffee drinks, that’s pretty much a deal breaker.
I also had lunch here once and wasn’t impressed. The sandwiches were on the small side, and the soups were tasty but nothing to crow about.

The Mandolin Café is a great place to meet up with friends and feel comfortable spending and hour or so over a cup of coffee. The baristas leave a bit to be desired. Some have a attitude and should realize they live in Tacoma, and get off their self-​righteous pedestal.
The coffee is great. The food is hit or miss, but I’m usually looking for a bagel and a mocha and at the Mandolin, I do great.

Food is alright, though I wouldn’t really recommend the omelets. Tea/​coffee is alright also, nothing mind-​blowing.
Free wifi, and often good live music! Best café in the neighborhood, though nothing compared to some of the hallmarks in Seattle.

The positives:
1. free wi-​fi
2. usually a full, enticing dessert case
3. lots of plugs for your laptop
4. lots of seat, most of it comfortable
5. delicious tea, many choices
The not-​so positives:
1. annoying, super annoying music [they really should take a cue from Starbucks *gasp* and quit with the Deliliah’s at night playlist]
2. the music acts that perform here are more often than not, not very talented and playing in a public venue will not make them more talented.
3. 50% bitchy servers/​50% clueless servers
4. the coffee is sub-​par and used to be valhalla (what happened?)
5. never enough parking
My most recent experience of this place serves as a good example of it’s flip-​floppedness. The person at the counter looked at me like I was an idiot when I asked for chai tea in a pot [and then tried to tell me they didn’t serve chai tea in a pot] until I pointed it out on the tea board. And then I ordered a cupcake size cheescake that was delicious. And proceeded to play an hour of mancala while grimacing for not bringing my own music.
:sigh: What are you going to do? It’s the best option in Tacoma, but it could really use some tweaks.

This place is a prototype for what a «coffee house» should be. And thankfully it has not been made formulaic and duplicated across the country.
Consistently friendly staff, amazing coffee and a great assortment of tasty menu items.
And to top it off, lots of live music choices.
On my half-​dozen visits here I have seen and made it a point to return to see the T-​Ville Swing band, whose Django-​gypsy music always blows the roof off the place.
Free and peppy Wifi, interesting people to study in captivity, and great ambiance. And like a previous reviewer said, large but still cozy.
My kind of place.

3.5 stars.
I’ve been going to the Mandolin for a long time now, since it first opened while I was attending UPS. It’s gone through many changes in décor and menu selections and it’s hardly recognizable now from the simple coffee shop it once was.
Overall, it’s a good place to grab a cup of coffee and conversation with a friend, play a board game, or enjoy a music show. The food and drinks are decent and not competitively priced (think more restaurant prices than café prices), parking has gotten easier (now you can also park across the street in the Pizza Time parking lot), and service is a mixed bag (but usually not great). Sometimes seating is difficult and the noise level is pretty loud so don’t expect to get much work done (unless you bring earphones and listen to your own music or don’t mind lots of chit chat and other background noise). I only go back when a friend wants to meet up there, but I definitely don’t see it as a place to run in and grab a cup of coffee to go — too much of a hassle, with the lack of parking, lines, and overall crowded environment.

In one of my visits, I found Mandolin’s Strawberry Chicken Salad. This creation begins with a spring green/​romaine mixture that leans more toward the greens, less toward the romaine. This I love. Nothing is worse that the crunch of those tasteless white romaine ribs amongst a flavorful and tender array of spring greens, but I understand when restaurants feel the need to mix the texture up in order to please everyone.
On top of this green bed lies fresh, juicy, and perfectly ripe strawberry slices and extremely flavorful blueberries mixed with blue cheese crumbles and strips of roasted chicken. Homemade Italian dressing can be found on the side in a small cup — right where it belongs.
Red wine and free wifi? Yes, I love to drink while I work. Steph D. productivity at its best.

Mandolin Café for me is… like once in every 6 months you just wanna go back to McDonald’s for something you so know it’s no good. Then you get what you exactly expected and won’t go back for another 6 months. But probably no more after the last visit.
They now have a kitchen to serve breakfast and stuff. I went there for that.
First, coffee was burnt. I went there around 9AM on Sat and coffee already tasted like it was sitting there for hours like the one you get at work for free. And no refill. They didn’t ask if I want decaf.
Second, their menu is so limited. They had only a few choices like a combo of eggs, sausage or ham, potatoes and toast, quiche, waffles and a few others.
Third, food was overpriced for what it is. I tried the combo with sausage and regretted. I’m not a professional cook but the sausage tasted like it was microwaved and browned a little bit to make it look like it was pan-​fried. It had gummy texture and was too moist and sweet. Potatoes were bland. Eggs could have been better in fried rice but not by themselves. Toast was OK — very buttery. But it didn’t come with jam or anything. Not worth $ 9. All they had for seasoning on the table were salt and pepper.
Marc P and Steve C’s descriptions of customers were so right on that I couldn’t stop laughing. So I guess it was worth going to experience that. But man, that odd vibe…

The Mandolin used to be a very very cool place to hang out, but with recent management changes they are pushing food and beverage more and catering to the idle housewives, yuppies, and the REI apparel crowd. It’s a perfect study in microgentrification.
By hanging out I mean you could take friends and actually have a conversation over some of the best coffee in Tacoma or Seattle, or study or just think. It was a authentic atmosphere. Now they’ve got noise going all the time. Sure a lot of college kids studied there and hippies whatever, but that made the place. Now it’s just another poser deal for the gentry. And that awesome coffee roaster they had on sight? He’s been jettisoned for a big stainless steel sandwich assembly station to feed the foodies «unique» sandwiches. They may still use his coffee idk.
I gave it three stars because who can fault a business for wanting to capitalize on the Mandolin’s history and make some good money off weekend pretend cool-​cats and idle upscale housewives with nothing to do during the day and money to burn.
The last few times I’ve been there I felt what it must be like to live in some exotic tourist destination where some bus just deposited a bunch of (hungry) silver haired Americans, to take in the local culture. «Ohh isn’t that cute, how unique, or what a great idea, blah, blah, blah».
To be honest the place looks the same, even the staff are still, well, a mixed bag of eccentricity, but it’s much more of a studied eccentricity. I imagine they have a box of old 80’s era concert or statement t-​shirts somewhere in back that is the rotating basic uniform.
The new owners strategy of slowly replacing the original staff with their own loyalist, decked out to play the role has gone well. Service and consistency is better and gone are the days when the staff are totally immersed in their own boho worlds, inconvenienced by reality every once in a while with an order. No, some of these folks can sling the quiche and panini like nobody’s business, and they look the same as the old staff.
But the faux reticence of the staff is as fake as the blissed-​out look on many of their customers faces as they listen too overamped acoustic music played by «bands» with lutes, squeeze boxes and homemade string instruments, and whose members seem to have never met each other before the day of the show judging by their musicianship. The audience just sips their bottom shelf white wine acting like they’ve just attained enlightenment.
But all good things must come to an end, and remember, the Mandolin used to be a Napa auto parts store, so we are still in positive territory.

Huge place, but very cozy. Great place to go with a group, or feel comfortable sitting by yourself facing the window watching the world pass by. The Mandolin Café has a good amount of character. They have the standard coffee menu, a great looking choice of pastries, and it looks like they also offer some sandwich/​meal options.
They have an area where they roast their own coffee (which is pretty tasty), but its some of the strongest Ive had in the Northwest). No complaints, just means I have to shave my chest more the next day… haha j/​k.
Oh and I think they have live music most nights. They had a acoustic country duo playing when I was there. The music can be a little distracting, but its a nice change.
Outlets for laptops are at a premium, but they are available (but you will have to do some looking). Wifi is free and fast.