Best craft beer bar: Simmzy’s
Simmzy cicerone Peter Shuey pours a Cismontane brew. Photo by Anna Cox
Hats off to the Brothers Simms, Chris and Mike – or better yet, a tip of a tasty pint to a family that has raised the game for fine food and drink in Manhattan Beach and the South Bay. The Simms family launched locally with the purchase of The Kettle by Tom Simms Sr. , and the family has since opened such signature restaurants as Tin Roof Bistro and MB Post (where Mike is managing partner).
Arguably their most brilliant stroke of culinary genius was opening Simmzy’s four years ago, filling what in retrospect was a glaring lack in downtown MB. The Simms did three things immensely right from the get-go: they tore down the front wall of a formerly struggling restaurant site just two blocks from the MB pier and let the air in; they built a creative and impeccably sourced artisanal pub menu; and they installed 24 pulls pouring strictly craft beer. It was a big hit from the very beginning and has continued unabated – rare is the time, at any hour, that Simmzy’s isn’t overflowing.
Mike Simms says the secret to Simmzy’s success is far more than the sum of its parts. It’s about the people – four years later, more than a quarter of the original staff (12 out of 42) are still aboard. The triumvirate of Chef Mike Rubino, general manager Peter Shuey, and beer buyer (soon to be cicerone) Greg Bechtel are at the helm. “You see a lot of the same faces in the restaurant here,” Simms says. “We love our people, and they love our guests. That is what it’s all about.”
Simmzy’s, 229 Manhattan Beach Blvd., MB 310-546-1201, www.simmzys.com
Runner-up (TIE): Hot’s Kitchen, 844 Hermosa Ave HB 310-318-2939, www.hotskitchen.com
Abigaile, 1301 Manhattan Ave Hermosa Beach,(310) 798-8227, abigailerestaurant.com