Birthday at Tin Roof

Once again it's Mary's birthday; it seems to come sooner and sooner as time goes by. Instead of us going somewhere in Los Angeles or Santa Monica, she decided we should go locally which means the beach area.  I gave her some choices and after I mentioned to her that I was recently at Tin Roof and had their amazing Brussels Sprouts, she decided we should go there.

I had just previously blogged about my last visit and had sent it to the manager Zachary Blackmar. To my amazement,  he responded to thank me and let him know the next time I visit the restaurant so we can introduce ourselves. That was 2 weeks ago.

Shortly after Mary and I were seated, Mr. Blackmar came to our table to introduce himself and brought us 2 glasses of Prosecco to celebrate Mary's birthday. We both thought it was a lovely gesture. While we looked at the menu, a server came to deliver a plate of calamari, Mary and I looked at each other and told her we didn't order that. Shortly after her departure, she came back with the bowl of calamari and said it was compliments of Zachary, the manager. The calamari was nice and crisp and before our third bite, another server came with our favorite amazing Brussels Sprouts. After all that food we thought we should split an entree. We decided on the Steak Frites with Bearnaise sauce. The steak was already split for us, something, not all restaurants do since it is more work for them. Our very competent server, Scott took the initiative to have the kitchen split it for us. The steak was cooked to perfection and went well with the Bearnaise sauce. The fries also tasted wonderful with the sauce.

Mary and I could hardly move, especially since we cleaned out our plates. Scott brought the birthday girl a special treat which Mary gladly shared. Zachary came back to make sure everything was good. It was more than good. I had nothing but praise for this manager especially because of his age. He is a young man. I have dealt with numerous managers, some better than others. Mary told him of her experience recently at a local well-known restaurant where the service was terrible and when she complained, the manager that looked like he was in his twenties didn't bother to come to the table, he just told the server to not charge for the dessert. Bad managers don't have the insight that a dissatisfied customer will spread the word of their experience; which is commonly known as "word of mouth" and we all know how that goes. Sometimes this can make or break a restaurant.

Needless to say, we both enjoyed the evening. Mary felt very special and will not forget this birthday. I thank our server Scott and special thanks to Mr. Zachary Blackmar. If you ever need a recommendation, I will always be here for you. You are truly an asset to Tin Roof.

Tin Roof Bistro is located at 3500 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Manhattan Beach, California.