Seal Beach Restaurant Retreat

Mike Balchin and The River’s End Café

One in a Series of Surfrider Member Stories

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to the following copyrighted material. For permission to reprint or excerpt it and/or link it to another website, contact them at  

surfwriter.girls@gmail.com

The River’s End Café – located at the Northern point of Seal Beach where the San Gabriel River ends – is that one-of-a-kind place you hope to find, but rarely do.

On a strip of sand all by itself, this tropical, beach-side restaurant (15 First Street, Seal Beach, CA 90740) serves a mix of American, Caribbean and Central American dishes.

It was started as a labor of love by general contractor Mike Balchin, an avid surfer and long-time member of the non-profit Surfrider Foundation Huntington Beach/Seal Beach Chapter. The restaurant caters to surfers, cyclists, beach-goers, people walking their dogs, and anyone looking for a gourmet get-away with a killer ocean view.

  

These cyclists rode down from Long Beach

Balchin told SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel that the restaurant “is a way for me to connect with the community and provide a place where outdoor enthusiasts can stop and enjoy the beautiful Seal Beach coastline.” 

Mike Balchin

 

Before he could open the restaurant Balchin said, “Four years of letters went by with the City Manager to get the permits. I spent a year building the place…going there every night to work on it.”

 

When it came to designing the menu, Balchin picked the kind of food that he likes to eat and has enjoyed on his surfing trips. Offering breakfast, lunch and dinner choices, it’s a blend of traditional favorites with some unexpected twists.

You can get eggs practically any way you like them – in scrambles, con chorizo, omelets, and more. The crab cakes eggs Benedict was a definite winner with SurfWriter Girl Patti’s husband Greg.

Greg Kishel enjoying the River’s End coffee

  

Other breakfast items include pancakes (apple, banana or blueberry), French toast made with cinnamon batter, chilaquiles (tortillas mixed with eggs, tomatilla sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese), quesadillas, and the House Special Huevos de River (eggs and the fish-of-the-day topped with garlic basil sauce). 

And, when it’s on the menu, don’t miss the Italian omelet, a delicious and spicy blend of eggs, sausage, marinara sauce, spinach, mushrooms, and jack and feta cheese.

The lunch menu has all the beach classics – burgers, hot dogs, fish tacos, fish and chips, thick shakes and smooth root beer floats. 

 

There are also sandwiches and salads, enchiladas and tostadas and other dishes you’ll want to try, including the mango chicken, made with grilled chicken breast topped with sliced mangos and Brazilian Carioca butter and served with black beans and rice. 

For dinner you can enjoy the sunset and an array of gourmet choices – New York steaks and filet mignon, apple gravy pork chops, halibut, salmon and shrimp dishes, and a variety of enchiladas and pastas. For dessert leave room for the Crepes Tropical (diced mango and oranges sautéed in brandy and honey and dusted with powdered sugar).

Fresh tropical mangos

While you’re relaxing and letting the ocean breezes put you in a mellow mood, take some time to look at the photographs, artwork and memorabilia on the walls – the café is a shrine to surfing and to Seal Beach. 

And, on those damp, June gloom mornings or crisp fall and winter evenings, just wrap yourself in one of the lap robes provided at each table. 

The River’s End’s pristine location is just the place you’d expect Balchin to put a restaurant, given his many years as an environmental activist. “I’ve had a passion about preserving the beach from the beginning,” said Balchin. “Saving Bolsa Chica was the start in the 1980s.”   

In addition to its outstanding location and food, The River’s End Café is known for its collection of plaster surf monkeys gathered above the register. Balchin brought one of the monkeys back with him as a souvenir from a surfing trip to Mexico…and they’ve multiplied. 

 

To find out more about The River’s End Café, go to its website www.riversendcafe.com.  When you check it you’ll find something you don’t usually see on a restaurant website – updates on the local surfing conditions!

www.surfwritergirls.blogspot.com.

Please post your comment below. Comments will appear the next day.