Chapeau! is a family-run story where Philippe Gardelle knows the first names of all his regulars and welcomes new customers like old friends.
The Story
Nothing in Philippe’s childhood suggested that he would one day run one of the Richmond’s favorite bistros. Born to a Corsican father and an American mother who chose to raise their children speaking only French, Philippe arrived in San Francisco in his thirties, barely able to speak English.
He grew up in a large, modest family that went through its share of ups and downs. “The casinos of the South of France ended up winning what my parents had spent years building,” he says with a smile. At 16, school ended and odd jobs in the restaurant industry began. Philippe learned on the job, restaurant after restaurant, chef after chef until he had his own restaurant, and even appeared in a television episode with Jacques Pépin.
In the late 1990s, he joined his brothers in San Francisco. “The grass is always greener elsewhere,” he says, laughing. With $70 in his pocket, he took over the space of a small restaurant a few blocks down from the current address on Clement Street. Legend has it that, lacking enough chairs, they borrowed some from neighboring restaurants. Ten years later, in 2008, the team moved into a larger space, where Chapeau! settled in for good.
The Atmosphere
Chapeau! doesn’t play the card of pretentious fine dining. “I want my cooking to be refined, but not in the stuffy sense of the word,” Philippe explains. The restaurant is only open in the evenings, with about fifty covers and a team of four, including a sous-chef who has worked alongside him for more than 27 years and knows his standards by heart.
His wife, Ellen Gardelle, runs the dining room, alongside Philippe’s brother. Their son, Andrew, cooks by his father’s side. Many customers describe Chapeau as an extended family: you arrive as a customer and leave as a friend, for ten, twenty, thirty years running. David, our neighbor at the bar, has been coming two or three times a week for about a decade. At the table next to us, a Sunday regular asks Philippe which wine to pair with his cassoulet.
On the Plate
Everything is made in-house – bread, brioche, ice cream, sorbet – using carefully chosen ingredients: meats from Sonoma farms, and Valrhona chocolate. Philippe built the menu around the dishes he loves to eat: cassoulet, escargot, and French onion soup. From the amuse-bouche to the crispy vol-au-vent, the creamy scallops, all the way to the indulgent chocolate fondant; everything is executed perfectly.
So why the name Chapeau!? It comes from Philippe’s flamboyant youth: always a hat on his head, a rabbit-fur jacket on his back. When he arrived in California, the hat remained his signature, and it eventually gave the restaurant its name. It’s easy for Americans to pronounce, and a fitting nod (“chapeau,” meaning “well done” or “hats off”) in both of our favorite languages.
As for me, I say: “Chapeau, to the artist!” After four hours spent talking with Philippe, tasting his dishes paired with wines he selected himself, and watching the steady stream of regulars come and go, I left Chapeau feeling like a regular myself, and already looking forward to going back.
MerciSF Rapid Fire:Favorite French bakery in SF: a little spot on 18th Street.Favorite French restaurant in SF: L’Ardoise.Favorite dish on his own menu: the cassoulet.What he’d miss most if he left California: his customers, the regulars, and the diversity of his neighborhood. “I think a foreigner is better accepted here in San Francisco than anywhere else, even today.”What he misses most about France: his friends, the long meals, the stories shared over a glass of wine. Incidentally, Philippe also writes (and sings) his own songs.
Chapeau!, 126 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94118
Closed Monday and Tuesday, dinner only, Wednesday through Sunday
Dining and Cooking