Given its hospital setting, Manna Restaurant is an atypical dining establishment suffering from symptoms associated with common service deficiency.

In Castle Rock 1st Adventist Hospital, Manna oversees the dining room and patient meals. The eclectic menu looks promising, but with little input from our overworked server, it was impossible to learn specifics about most dishes.

For example, the beet Rueben ($7) is described as a sandwich served with corned beets, sauerkraut, Russian dressing and caraway cream cheese on marbled rye. Since corned beef is brined, we couldn’t help but wonder what makes corned beets. Unfortunately, our server offered no insight; we took our chances.

Corned beef is brined in salt, but the golden beets didn’t taste particularly salty. It was simply the use of the sweet root vegetable in place of beef with the traditional Rueben ingredients. It worked well!

From the small bites section, we started with crispy Brussels sprouts ($4) and Elotes Tots ($4). The sprouts are roasted to an unsightly dark green color doused with fish sauce vinaigrette. It was the latter we found intriguing. This is briny without being overwhelming.

Elotes is grilled corn with a creamy chile sauce coating with cojita cheese. We expected the corn to be the main attraction; instead tater tots overshadowed the plate. More corn and cheese mixed with the tots would make a difference rather than the former merely a sparse topping.

One of my dining companions is a fan of pickles, so she was

drawn to the pickle pizza ($9). Admittedly, we were intrigued. “Local” pickles and sliced jalapenos dot a Parmesan white sauce over a sturdy crust. We weren’t able to confirm the source of the pickles, although another menu item features house-made sweet pickles.

As for the pizza, the two main toppings vie for attention: tart and tangy vs. hot and spicy. Neither wins, but they do provide balance.

The Nashville hot chicken katsu ($12) was the one thing our server did have the scoop on: the cayenne-based hot sauce. She recommended getting it on the side. I would have liked more suggestions from her, but am grateful for this one, at least. On a scale of 1 to 10 this was a 20, and that was simply dipping pieces of the fried chicken into it. It was too hot to enjoy, but its absence also meant the chicken was dry. Served with a large portion of house-made sweet pickles, and green goddess dressing for the grilled radicchio salad, the small chicken breast looked like an afterthought.

I’d heard good things from readers and others who have dined at Manna. It’s obvious the restaurant experiences the same issues as others regarding staff shortages. A more knowledgeable, engaged server would have helped.

Three requests were necessary before water glasses were refilled.

The menu includes soups, including a “soup of the moment,” along with sandwiches, pizza, burgers, Asian-inspired entrees and more. Specials change daily and prices are reasonable. The dining area does not feel like a hospital, but the adjoining marketplace is busy with medical staff grabbing quick bites on the run.