Restaurant Manager

Position Summary We are seeking a highly motivated, polished, and hospitality driven Restaurant Manager to join the leadership team of an upscale fine dining steakhouse in Palo Alto. This individual will be responsible for overseeing daily restaurant operations, maintaining exceptional service standards, driving financial performance, developing team members, and ensuring every guest receives a memorable luxury dining experience. The ideal candidate possesses strong leadership skills, a passion for hospitality, extensive food, wine, and beverage knowledge, and a proven track record in high-volume fine dining environments.

Key Responsibilities Lead daily front-of-house operations while maintaining the highest standards of service, professionalism, and hospitality. Ensure flawless execution of guest experiences from arrival through departure. Hire, train, coach, and develop service staff including servers, bartenders, hosts, bussers, and support personnel.

Conduct daily pre-shift meetings focused on menu knowledge, wine education, service standards, and guest engagement. Monitor labor costs, scheduling, productivity, and payroll compliance. Drive revenue through strategic upselling, wine sales, premium menu offerings, and guest relationship building.

Maintain excellence in food presentation, beverage quality, and service execution. Resolve guest concerns professionally and proactively, turning service recoveries into loyalty-building opportunities. Partner closely with the Executive Chef and culinary team to ensure seamless communication and execution.

Monitor inventory, ordering, and cost controls for front-of-house supplies and beverage programs. Ensure compliance with all California labor laws, food safety regulations, alcohol service standards, and company policies. Analyze financial reports, labor percentages, sales trends, and guest feedback to identify opportunities for improvement.

Maintain the restaurant's luxury atmosphere, cleanliness, and attention to detail at all times. Build relationships with VIP guests, local business leaders, hotel partners, and community members. Qualifications Minimum 3-5 years of management experience in upscale or fine dining restaurants.

Extensive knowledge of wine, spirits, craft cocktails, and fine dining service standards. Proven ability to lead, motivate, and develop high-performing teams. Strong understanding of labor management, budgeting, and cost controls.

Experience managing high guest expectations and luxury hospitality environments. Excellent communication, problem-solving, and conflict-resolution skills. Ability to work evenings, weekends, holidays, and extended hours as business demands.

Food Handler Certification and Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) Certification preferred. Proficiency with POS systems, reservation platforms, scheduling software, and Microsoft Office. Desired Traits Passion for genuine hospitality and guest satisfaction.

Strong presence on the dining room floor. Attention to detail and commitment to excellence. Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-expectation environment.

Entrepreneurial mindset with a focus on growth and continuous improvement. Compensation: Competitive salary, performance-based bonus opportunities, comprehensive benefits package, dining privileges, and significant growth potential within an expanding luxury hospitality organization. More detail about Arya Steakhouse, please visit https://culinaryagents.com/entities/1096333-Arya-Steakhouse