MALIBU LOCALS ONLY: TAVERNA TONY'S

Taverna Tony's Restaurant is about as close as Malibu comes to having  a local canteen -- somewhere that people congregate on an almost daily basis.  It is not uncommon for Malibuites to eat at Tony's greek restaurant several times a week, and then to pick up his food to go on nights they're staying home.  And if the restaurant is the local hang-out, then Tony himself is like the unofficial Mayor of Malibu.  He knows everyone, and everyone adores him. 

Nothing makes Tony happier than to be able to "put people together" -- he introduces regulars to each other and encourages them to get acquainted.  "Do you know so-and-so" is how most of his sentences start. One of the reasons that Taverna Tony's is so successful is that the  
proprietor is almost always there.  With the exception of when he and his wife travel to his native Corfu, Greece for a holiday, he is can be found dressed head-to-toe in black, greeting guests and looking after their every desire.

Before Tony brought his delicious Mediterranean fare to Malibu, he ran a series of successful Greek restaurants in London.  But there is no question as to where "home" is nowadays.  Tony is on a first-name basis with every movie star and studio mogul in Hollywood.  But perhaps the customers he is fondest of are the children who come to his establishment.  No one can charm a child like the man in black, and once he makes friends with a child, they are devoted to him  
forever.  Maybe that has something to do witht he fact that he serves them bowls full of home-made ice cream with chocolate sauce and whipped cream!