It Started With a Love of Cooking

Before Tin Top became a Bon Secour favorite, there was a love of cooking, a family that enjoyed gathering around good food, and a dream that eventually found a home along Alabama's Gulf Coast.

Bob Hallmark didn't always know he would be in the restaurant business. Before opening Tin Top in 2004, Bob was a general contractor.

But food had always been part of the story. Growing up with four brothers and a mother with a passion for cooking, Bob developed his own love for preparing food and bringing people together around the table.

Years of entertaining family and friends and preparing memorable spreads eventually helped turn that passion into something more.

A Restaurant Takes Root in Bon Secour

In 2004, that dream became a reality in Bon Secour, Alabama.

Tin Top began building its reputation the old-fashioned way: one plate, one table and one guest at a time.

The idea wasn't to make dining complicated. It was to serve good food, use quality ingredients, welcome people warmly and create the kind of place where guests wanted to come back.

The Finest of Casual Dining

Tin Top has never needed white tablecloths or unnecessary fuss to take food seriously.

“The finest of casual dining” captures something that has always made Tin Top special: a relaxed place where the food still matters.

Fresh Gulf seafood, oysters, Southern coastal favorites and hand-cut steaks belong at a table where people can settle in, enjoy themselves and simply have a good meal together.

That balance between quality and comfort became part of Tin Top's personality — and remains part of it today.

Good Food Has Always Been at the Center of It

Restaurants change over the years. Buildings evolve, menus grow and new guests discover the place for the first time.

But some things shouldn't change.

At Tin Top, the heart of the restaurant remains remarkably simple: start with good ingredients, cook them with care and serve them with genuine Southern hospitality.

From the Gulf, to Your Table

Being part of coastal Alabama means the Gulf has always had a place at the Tin Top table.

Fresh seafood, Gulf shrimp and oysters sit naturally beside hand-cut steaks and Southern favorites. It's food that reflects where Tin Top comes from without forgetting the family-style hospitality that helped start it all.

Locals know the restaurant. Visitors discover it while exploring Bon Secour, Gulf Shores, Foley, Orange Beach and the surrounding Alabama Gulf Coast.

And somewhere along the way, first-time guests have a habit of becoming familiar faces.

More Than Two Decades in Bon Secour

More than twenty years after Tin Top first opened its doors, the restaurant continues to welcome longtime regulars, new neighbors and Gulf Coast visitors looking for a memorable meal.

A lot can happen in two decades.

There are more stories, more photographs, more favorite dishes and generations of guests who have made Tin Top part of their own traditions.

But underneath all of it is the same simple idea that helped start the restaurant in the first place: cook good food and take good care of people.

Still Cooking in Bon Secour

Tin Top's story isn't finished.

We're still here in Bon Secour doing what started it all — preparing food we're proud to serve and welcoming people through the door.

If you've been coming to Tin Top for years, thank you for being part of the story.

And if you haven't visited yet, there's a table waiting for you.