Chapeau!
126 Clement St
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415)750-9787
Chapeau! @ Inner Richmond - SF
We first came here last year for San Francisco's Dine About Town Event ($35 for a 3 course prix fixe meal) and had a wonderful dining experience here. This year we return and would like to share our wonderful experience with photos.
[Chicken Pate & Chicken Mousse]
This was a complimentary chef's tasting dish. The only way I can describe this was when you take the first bite, the aroma that wafts into your mouth is a sweet durian flavor. Yes, durian. And then a few seconds later you'll start to get the liver/pate flavor working into your taste buds. Despite its tiny size, I felt that it was just enough for me. Any more would have been overwhelming. -Kitty [4/5]
It was a nice touch that made the experience that much more enjoyable. Plus, it tasted like durian; I need not say more. -Ducky
[Escargots de Bourgone in Butter, Parsley, & Garlic]
This is probably the fourth time I've had escargot, but the second time I've had it without being served with a butter pastry bread with the escargot inside. Chapeau's escargot is not chewy at all, but very soft. Personally I prefer the ones with the pastry because I feel that in this style there's nothing to soak up the butter and oil that the escargot is practically swimming in. Word of warning your mouth will smell like garlic for at least a day or two. -Kitty [3.5/5]
I still felt it was quite delicious and we could eat it with the complimentary bread! - Ducky
[Trio of Salmon]
[Gravlax, Tartare & Caviar, Egg Mimosa, Fried Capers, Creme Fraiche, and Micro Herbs with Lemon Dressing]
This was an interesting dish. It was a salmon tartare surrounded by a large piece of gravlax, which is a kind of cured salmon. The gravlax has a somewhat salty taste with a refreshing salmon flavor. The capers and creme and dressing was all a very nice touch. The capers were done in a way that was not too overpowering that I have experienced at other restaurants. The capers provided a nice savory and tangy pickled flavor that went well with the salmon and tartare. It is a definite try if you go to Chapeau! As the dish is raw like Japanese sashimi, I would not advise people who do not like sashimi to eat this. Kitty had some difficulty eating any of it. -Ducky [4/5]
[Bacon Wrapped Tenderloin with Parsnip Puree and Braised Swisschard in Apple-Calvados Sauce]
This was a tender medium rare tenderloin. The parsnip puree has the texture of mashed potatoes but its flavor is quite sweet and goes well with the swisschards and sauce. I recommend eating all three (four if you can fit some of the tenderloin in your mouth) in one bite and let all the flavors work together: sweet, tart, savory. I did not particularly taste bacon but it can be seen wrapped around the tenderloin giving it's salty and crisp crust. I expected nothing less from Chapeau! (though to be honest I liked Ducky's skate wing dish more) -Kitty [4/5]
[Skate Wing in Brown Butter with Fingerling Potato, Sauce Grenobloise, and Mache]
When I ordered this, I had no idea what a skate was. I thought it was a type of eel, but, after a quick Googling on Kitty's Iphone, I discovered that it is a halibut-like fish. Everything on this dish was delicious. The skate flesh itself was very buttery with no fishy taste to it at all. Kitty loved it and so did I. The sauce was a very savory yet a bit sweet and the fingerling potatoes just soaked it all up. I had never eaten mache before and can only describe it as a cross between bokchoy and celery. -Ducky [4/5]
[Nuage de Noix]
[Roasted pistachios, Almonds and Hazelnuts in a Frozen Chantilly and Italian Meringue]
This dessert was excellent! It's served chilled and its texture is a cross between soft ice cream and mousse. It was very light and did not have a too sweet taste. Every bite you'll get a pleasant crunch from the nuts that are embedded in this dessert. You can't see too clearly from the photos but this dessert was surrounded by mandarin oranges swimming in a slightly alcoholic syrup. I really recommend this dessert over the other desserts (aka profiterole or creme brulee) since you won't find this in many other places. I imagine the Nuage de Noix to go very well with coffee also. -Kitty [5/5]
[Tahitienne Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee]
I have never tried a real creme brulee before, so I chose it as my dessert. Let me just say this dish is not for those who do not like sweet creamy things. I generally do not like sweet creamy things. I don't like pudding and I do not like overly creamy cakes. Creme brulee is essentially pudding under a crispy layer of caramelized sugar. Not something I would personally get again. I'm not saying it was disgusting, but it doesn't satisfy my taste buds. If you like sweet puddings, you would love this. I don't, so I didn't. -Ducky [1/5]
For someone who does appreciate creme bruelee, I thought it was well made. The torched sugar on top was not too burnt to leave a bitter after taste like most creme brulees do. It definitely took the weight off of the sweet cream. Creme brulee fans, I definitely recommend this :) - Kitty
A final note about Chapeau! Receipts/bill is given to customers in a hat which I think is very cute. They do this because Chapeau! is a play on the French word for hat, but with an exclamation mark it means "wow". The chef is very personable. He likes to walk around his restaurant and shake everyone's hands and thank them for eating at his restaurant. This puts a face to the restaurant and really gives Chapeau! a more family feel. A word of warning for the ladies; as you walk towards the door to leave, the chef may hug or European style cheek kiss you! We knew about this because this was not our first time here. We tried to make a break for the door while he was occupied, but we could not escape, LOL. Aside from that, our dining experience was very good. It is currently one of my favorite restaurants to eat at in SF. -Ducky [4/5]
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