We meant to open one restaurant. Manhattan Beach got two.
Tin Roof Bistro was supposed to be the easy one.
The Simms family had been feeding Manhattan Beach for three generations. Their grandfather ran The Kettle. Their father built Mimi’s Café. So when brothers Mike and Chris Simms found a historic building with a hidden courtyard in Manhattan Village, they knew exactly what it should be: a wine bistro, a little Santa Barbara a few minutes from the sand.
Then the permits stalled. For more than a year, the courtyard sat waiting on a single signature. Rather than sit still, Mike went looking for something to do in the meantime, found a small space a few blocks away on Manhattan Beach Boulevard, and started building a craft-beer pub called Simmzy’s.
You can guess what happened next. The week Simmzy’s opened its doors, the Tin Roof permit finally came through. For the first time, Mike went from opening one restaurant to running two at once. Tin Roof Bistro opened on July 27, 2009, with Chef Anne Conness, twenty-two wines by the glass, and the courtyard we’d waited a year to fill.
It’s been the South Bay’s favorite secret ever since. We’re still family-owned. The fountain still runs. Pull up a chair.
Everyone’s favorite secret in Manhattan Beach. Pull up a chair at our family’s table.
The things worth keeping.
Wine, worn lightly
We built a serious list and run it like friends, not sommeliers. Central-coast syrahs worth arguing about, a Stash List of allocated bottles, and the Simms Wine Club for the people who want the good stuff first. Pour, don’t pontificate.
A scratch kitchen with a straight face
Wood-fired pizzas with leopard-spotted crust. The Fearless Caesar. Short ribs that have outlasted three menu redesigns. Made from scratch, named to make you grin before you order.
Treated like a regular
Family-owned mostly means we’ll remember your name and your wine. Three generations have ordered the short ribs since opening week. The welcome is the whole point.
One of eight neighborhood places, all family-owned.
Tin Roof Bistro is part of Simms Restaurants, a family-owned South Bay group. Same hospitality doctrine, eight different rooms, from a wood-fired steakhouse to a coastal oyster bar.
Come find the courtyard.
Round the corner, find the fountain, and stay for the long afternoon.