Scott's Chowder House now open on Lower Fillmore

Scott's Chowder House now open on Lower FillmorePhoto courtesy of Scott's Chowder House
Jay Barmann
Published on June 23, 2022

A new location of Scott's Chowder House has made its debut at 1325 Fillmore Street, in the space formerly occupied by Afro-Caribbean restaurant Isla Vida, which closed in 2019, and before that Black Bark BBQ.

The impending arrival of the new location, the fourth in the Bay Area for the seafood soup mini-chain, was first reported on by SFist in January. Scott's Chowder House is a collaboration between chef Laurent Manrique, chef Sammy Reyes — the executive chef at Scott's Seafood San Jose — Olivier Daridon, chef Patrick Albert, and Scott's Seafood San Jose owner Steve Mayer. The company is only tangentially related to the original Scott's Seafood, which has a 46-year history in San Francisco and then in Oakland's Jack London Square, where it remains. The brand has other locations under separate ownerships in Walnut Creek, Sacramento, and San Jose.

Running the kitchen at the Fillmore location will be chef Michael Mann, who most recently worked at Prospect.

Scott's Chowder House is a fast-casual concept that opened its first location on South First Street in San Jose in late 2020. A second location in San Jose followed, as well as a San Francisco location on Grant Avenue downtown, a few doors away from Manrique's Cafe de la Presse (352 Grant Ave.).

The menu features New England-style and Manhattan clam chowder, as well as lobster bisque, seafood gumbo, and a vegan chowder — cups and bowls range in price from $10 to $16, with 32-ounce quarts going for $29. The Fillmore location menu also features both raw and barbecued oysters, a Caesar salad, a shrimp Louie salad, crab and lobster rolls, a crab cake sandwich, a burger, and a fried chicken sandwich. And entree options include fish and chips, Boston mussels with fries, crab cakes and fries, and grilled shrimp kebabs.

Manrique has said that the secret to great New England clam chowder is a bit of sherry added at the end for nuttiness. And Manrique says he sources fresh seafood daily from Monterey to make soups and sandwiches fresh for the restaurants.