The savior of Seal Rock brings an oceanfront classic back to life

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Chef Alfred Schilling has already lived a life. During his recent — and brief — retirement, the former master chocolatier behind SF’s Alfred Schilling Chocolate tracked Siberian tigers in Russia and chased gorillas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the start of his career, he worked at Maxim’s in Paris; by its apex, he’d cooked for four U.S. presidents.

Now, well into his 70s, Schilling is back in the kitchen — and not quite where you’d expect. 

The French-born chef and serial entrepreneur has embarked on a new adventure: This month, he reopened the decades-old Seal Rock Inn Restaurant on the edge of the Outer Richmond. The space, with sweeping views of the Pacific across the street, had been dark for four years.

The first day back drew 400 customers, some of whom lined up outside, pressing their faces against the windows, before the doors opened at 8 a.m. Schilling had hoped for a quiet first few weeks. Instead, he says, the team has barely been able to keep up with a constant stream of customers seeking coffee and a panoramic breakfast. “I was thinking, ‘My kitchen is too small,’” he says, collapsing into a chair after yet another nonstop service. “It’s not normal, you know? But the Seal Rock is an institution.” 

Schilling, who has lived in San Francisco for 30 years and speaks accented English peppered with French, knows a thing or two about institutions. In the ’90s, he was the self-described “chocolate king” of San Francisco. Alfred Schilling Chocolate, Restaurant, and Pastry — a confection shop and cafe that was located at 1695 Market St. — was known for both hand-dipped truffles and Sunday brunch. Schilling counted Fortnum & Mason in London and Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan as clients before he closed the business in the early aughts. He retired to travel the world, but his savings ran dry. So in 2014 he returned to the city to open Schilling & Co., a restaurant and catering company that served some 14,000 meals a day at its pre-pandemic peak. 

Now, he’s turned his attention to reviving the Seal Rock. The restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch, serving a simple menu with French flair. The standard two-egg breakfast, for example, comes with tender herb roasted potatoes and a tomato Provençale, oven-roasted and covered in an herby mix of garlic and breadcrumbs. Since he’s got a spacious commissary kitchen, everything — from the bulbous sourdough boules, each scored with an oversize “S,” to the pork sausage patties studded with coriander — is made from scratch. 

But it’s clear the location is as much of a draw as the chef or his food. Even when the gray-blue ocean is barely distinguishable from the foggy sky, solo diners sipping bottomless cups of coffee look toward the water like they’re waiting for a star to take the stage. 

Prior to opening, Schilling overhauled the space, adding black-and-white floor tiles, stained-glass details, and bronze statues of Greek goddesses that peer out across the tables. The second dining room, which Schilling calls the “terrace,” feels like being outdoors: Banquettes sit beneath walls of windows that look out to Lands End, with string lights dangling overhead.  

Next month, Schilling plans to open the restaurant for dinner, leaning more heavily into French classics like cassoulet and slow-roasted lamb, plus a selection of local fish — which will be hauled in on his own vessel. (Tiger-tracking chefs apparently have their own boats.) 

Schilling says the dining room has been full, not only with his longtime fans but with residents of the Richmond. Excited to have a solid neighborhood staple back, they’ve turned out in full force, introducing themselves on the way in and calling out, “See you soon!” as they leave. 

So, does he have his sights set on a second retirement someday? 

“Never,” says the man who clearly learned a thing or two about an idle mind while he wasn’t working. “The retirement thing is boring. I like to be in the kitchen.” 

The Standard recommends:

Two-egg breakfast with housemade sausage patty $20 
Coffee (includes refills) $4 

Total: $24