Coming from Fairhope, we turned right off Highway 98 at Magnolia Springs and drove straight to the end of Highway 49 to the new Tin Top Restaurant and Oyster Bar. Sitting majestically beside the beautiful Bon Secour River, like a great big lodge, it is more reminiscent of visiting someone's home on the water.  

It was a rainy day when Zeb and I went for lunch, but the outside open-air porch with a view of the water was the place I wanted to be. I coveted an umbrella table on the deck, but because of the wet weather, the porch was best. Arriving shortly after they opened, the tables were covered up with Friday lunch patrons, mostly our Northern Visitors, aka snowbirds, tan, happy, and in t-shirts advertising the various places they had patronized over the winter. 

We sat at the bar and observed the setting, instantly comfortable under the Haint Blue ceiling. (According to folklore, it protects homes from "haints" or evil spirits and tricks insects into thinking it is the sky, preventing wasps and spiders from nesting.) We wondered if the present clientele had any idea of this Southern tradition. Bob Hallmark, the owner, stopped by to say hello and commented on how the flock arrived on February 1st and had kept the restaurant extremely busy for the month.

“I hate to see them go,” he said. Don’t worry, Bob, Spring Break is next, and with the food and atmosphere at the Tin Top, I'm sure that beach vacationers will soon line up.

The menu was extensive with many choices of seafood, steaks, and other house favorites, but oysters were on our mind. We couldn't decide, so we went with a dozen oyster sampler, which was a combination of four different baked oyster selections: Margaret, Rockefeller, Dirty Dozen, and Tin Top. They were shucked right in front of us at the bar and then sent to the kitchen on the half shell to be baked.

My favorite was the Margaret with a simple Parmesan butter sauce and the Rockefeller, which is the traditional spinach and Parmesan. The Dirty Dozen and the Tin Top Oysters have won two awards, Best Seafood Baldwin County (Gulf Coast Newspaper) and Best of Brunch (Coastal Wine Tour), and have house tasso ham cream sauce and house crawfish sauce, respectively. So fresh and delicious, on my next visit, I will order two dozen. 

Since this restaurant is located next to Bon Secour Fisheries, our main course was definitely going to be seafood. Zeb ordered Shrimp and Gouda grits with a housemade crawfish sauce, and I elected to get a shrimp po'boy with a side of coleslaw and French fries. Please take note of the photo of my sandwich; there must have been more than 3 dozen fried shrimp, so many that I couldn't find the Gambino’s French bread!  Cody, the bartender, took good care of us, and in another “small world” moment, I discovered that he was from upstate New York, born and raised in the town where I attended college.

Bob didn't initially envision a life in the restaurant business. Before opening the popular dining spot in 2004, Bob was a general contractor, and his former wife (amically divorced) Patty was a teacher. Their journey began with a shared love for cooking, cultivated in a home where Bob grew up with four brothers and a mother passionate about food.  

For 20 years, the previous Tin Top was located in an old gas station just up the road, a smaller space, but the food put it on the map as ‘destination dining.’ The new location, which opened in August 2024, seats 250 people and has everything needed for a wonderful dining experience. The vibe is relaxed and casual, with the coastal setting, attentive service, and incredible menu offerings making it a desirable destination for food lovers near and far.

You can even arrive by boat; there are docks and pilings for dockside transportation. Bob has plans to build a tiki bar outside and is excited to offer patrons a place to hang out while waiting for a table. (They don't take reservations.)  There is live music on Thursday evenings and for Sunday brunch.  Al.com coined the phrase ”It isn't fine dining, but it's the finest of dining.” 

Wherever you live in the Scenic 98 Coastal area, the Tin Top is worth the drive, by boat or vehicle. I think it’s the attention to detail that Bob instills in his staff, and the fresh offerings, of course, that keeps people coming back again and again. 

Hours are Sunday 10 AM–9 PM, Monday–Wednesday 11 AM–9 PM, and Thursday–Saturday 11 AM–10 PM.