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flour + water
Categories: Restaurants Italian Restaurants Pizza Italian, Pizza
2401 Harrison St(between 20th St & 21st St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
Neighbourhood: Mission
(415) 826-7000
- Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 5:30 pm - 11 pm
Fri-Sat 5:30 pm - 12 am
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Ambience:
- Trendy
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
1112 reviews for flour + water
Review Highlights
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"Chocolate Budino w/espresso-caramel cream & sea salt." In 57 reviews -
"Chocolate budino is a must for chocolate lovers." In 168 reviews -
"Had a pizza with buttery bone marrow on it." In 64 reviews
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- A Yelpy Insight: Vegetarians go nuts for this spot. See more places they like.
1112 reviews in English
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Review from Alexander R.
San Francisco, CA
5/22/2012
Busy, busy, busy. Flour+Water is an Italian restaurant that is known for is pizza. So if you come here and don't try the pie, you're missing the point.
Don't think that nothing else is good because plenty on the menu is gonna' tastes good in your mouth. Make sure you get a pasta and an antipasti to round out your meal. it's all gonna be good, swears its, man!
I will admit that the hype around this place when it first open made me stay far away until just recently and I can say that it's not the ultimate but they did serve a good meal. I'm unsure if I like Beretta more, I might. I like the vibe over at Beretta more but that whole long wait for a drink makes it a hassle. Flour + Water just has wine so that made drinking easy. -
Review from Jess C.
Updated - 5/15/2012 1 Check-in Here
Aleppo paccheri with pork sugo & broccoli di ciccio - DEELIcious rigatoni style pasta with pork. Kinda on the small side for $17 though.
Salsiccia pizza - Decent sized, delicious pizza with pork sausage. The quality and combination of toppings on the pizza here is just amazing. I loved the contrast of textures of the caramelized sweet onions and the pork sausage.
Thyme bonet with honey, macerated strawberries & pistachio crumble - This is so delicate and tasty, I don't even like pistachios! It reminded me of a dessert I had at Cupola.
I love Flour and Water, I just wish they lowered the price or boosted the quantity on the dishes. The pizzas are surprisingly a better deal compared to Beretta and Deflina in terms of quantity of toppings and volume but still expensive (~$17). The wine is delicious and decently priced (sparkling red Lambrusco and Nero were good). However, they seem to be skimpy on volume of pastas and appetizers ($17 for a small bowl of pasta?!).
Note: I tried the complimentary bread again this time around, and it was good. Must have gotten a bad batch last time!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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12/13/2011
Flour and Water is finally a restaurant that has met the hype. One thing you have to realize is that… Read more »
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Review from Leanne S.
5/11/2012 1 Check-in Here
It took over a month to get in but we finally got a sitting at 10:30pm on a Friday!
Great atmosphere and huge selection on the menu of unique items. The food was amazing! It was well worth the wait even if I went to sleep with a stomachache from eating soooo late. ;) -
Review from Kristen C.
Menlo Park, CA
5/23/2012
Amazing!!! My husband and I came here on his birthday and we felt like we were in Italy! The place gets packed...quick! We were thereAnn a Tuesday night at 5:50, they open at 5:30 and got the last seats...at the bar!! The next couple had to wait like 30-40mins! The food is worth it! I didn't think the service was anything to write home about, but the food is what really makes it worth it. Go for the tasting menu! So delicious!
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Review from Frishtah A.
San Francisco, CA
5/25/2012
I really think Flour and Water is overrated and is all about hype for the latest trendy thing. I went there this month for a co-worker's birthday dinner making the reservations two months in advance and was not super impressed. The thin crust pizza was soggy in the middle and BURNED on the crust. My colleague's pasta dish was unacceptably salty. I wanted to send it back but she was much too polite to do that. I paid $28 for a small piece of salmon that was supposed to come with seasonal vegetables that only included two pieces of overly done carrots and a watery leaf of lettuce. The desserts may have been better but they had ran out of what I wanted to order by 6:45 PM. The espresso caramel and sea salt dish was interesting to taste. It seems that the clientele is Zynga and Twitter employee that just moved to SF and want to experience the latest trendiest happening in town. The place did bring back some fond memories of the dot com bubble days in the City.
Finally, the service was good...I have to admit. -
Review from Mike V.
San Francisco, CA
5/4/2012 1 Check-in Here
My cousin and I arrived at this corner spot on a rainy/chilly Wednesday evening. The wait for 2 was about 20 minutes which we were totally happy with waiting. The young lady at the front was amazingly helpful, and also offered to take our wine/drinks order while we waited (I found this a bit peculiar as she was manning the Host stand) but after ordering our wine, we saw no delay in our receiving our drinks. She even came over to us and asked if it was to our liking.
We sat at the communal table, and ran through the menu... Holy cow did it all look delicious! The best thing that can happen at a restaurant, is that you DON'T KNOW what to order, because it all sounds so amazing... this will happen to you at Flour + Water... We ordered a fennel salad to start. My cousin ordered the pork/spring onion agnolotti, I ordered the Lamb Raviolini w/ a mint/pea sauce. We also ordered a side of asparagus w/ breadcrumbs/lemon zest.
The salad came out --- we devoured it. It was just SO_PERFECTLY dressed (not in the designer suit kinda way...) tossed with just the right amount of an amazingly balanced vinaigrette. The greens still had a vibrance and life to them, rather then wilting under a heavy oil slick/dressing.
Our pastas came out. Both amazing! The pork/spring onion agnolotti totally took the win on this one though!
Sadly, the asparagus never made it out --- I chalk this up to possibly not speaking loudly enough (what can I say, I have a soft voice ;-) ) We weren't charged for it either.
The reason this place did NOT get 5 stars... My cousin found a hair in the Agnolotti as she finished it up! We told the waiteress in a discrete manner as to not freak out everyone else around us (quite surprised my cousin didn't freak out anymore --- she just loved the agnolotti THAT MUCH!)
We ordered 2 desserts, and they brought a 3rd one out (probably due to the hair incident.) I'm hazy on dessert details... But i remember a rosemary something or other that I had, that was the absolutely perfect balance between sweet and savory --- exactly how I love to roll when it comes to dessert.
We walked out into the Rainy Wednesday evening and waddled happily to our bus stop :) -
Review from Smithy S.
Pleasanton, CA
5/22/2012
Yummy pasta - smaller portions than I would've liked considering the price, but still very good.
Pizza: I think ours was a dud - burnt, not just on the bubbles around the crust, but on the greens on our pizza! Really burnt to a crisp, and it really killed the pizza :(
Dessert: DELICIOUS. Loved loved loved the almod cake w/ honey and the chocolate budino! Best part of the meal, easily. -
Review from Tyler J.
San Francisco, CA
4/28/2012
I went for my birthday the other night and was totally blown away. The food was AMAZING!! Totally worth the hype. Our server, Sidrah was a total sweetheart. She was very helpful and thorough. Being a waiter myself I know that by the end of the night you're tired and it's hard to maintain the same level of service you start with. She was energetic and enthusiastic and a great representation of the integrity Flour and Water is known for. She even took the time to chat with us about her recent trip to Spain. We ordered all of the pizzas on the menu and they were really good. The pasta is what we really came for, and it was fuckin fantastic.
Lamb raviolini with charred calcot and oregano-super tasty. Lamby all the way though. I've read reviews by idiots who criticize Flour and Water for their lack of sauce. I don't know what the hell that means. If you want Prego or Ragu then don't bother coming here. The sauce was rich and sweet with a really intense lamby flavor. Yes the portion was a little small, but you pay for quality. Ask your server and they will guide you. Sidrah told us how much we needed to order.
Campanelle with tesa, pea leaves. cured egg and breadcrumbs- super good! smoky, creamy, and sweet all at the same time. The texture from the breadcrumbs totally made this dish. The freshness of the peas really brightened up the whole thing. I know they smoke the tesa on their roof and you can really feel the craftsmanship and care in this plate of pasta.
Cappellacci dei Briganti with rabbit sausage, asparagus, and green garlic- the winner of the night. EVERYONE at the table was blown away by how good this was. Some were skiddish of rabbit but with one bite were immediately converted. I could go on forever about how good this was. Just order it if they have it...or any rabbit for that matter. You won't be disappointed.
All in all...Fantastic food. Fantastic service. The decor is phenomenal. This place does everything right. You feel the attention to detail and passion everywhere in this restaurant. Thomas McNaughton is the shit. He's an all-star in the culinary world with a crew of dedicated professionals who operate as a cohesive and exemplary unit. Come eat here! -
Review from Linda L.
San Francisco, CA
4/25/2012
As my first ever yelp review I decided on flour+water. After 2 long months of waiting the night has come to eat at the place that "supposedly" Steve Jobs couldn't get a table at.
The service was awesome. The gal that helped us out took the time to explain what the different pastas were since the menu looked a lil alien. Due to a semi full tummy (yeah i know dinner before dinner was a bad idea) we decided on 2 pasta dishes and a pizza. The pasta dishes are a bit small for the price they charge.
maltagliati with porcinis, green garlic & nettles - the pasta was cooked perfectly. Very tasty.
strozzapreti verde with whey braised quail & ramps- at first glance i thought i was going to eat mini green worms. But this quickly became my fav dish of the night. Reminded me of nice chicken pot pie.
salsiccia - pork sausage, tomato, capers, chili, caciocavallo & salmoriglio- pizza may not be their strong point. Had much better else where
All in all I would definitely come back on an empty tummy for the pasta tasting menu. No thanks to pizza. -
Review from Robin C.
Santa Rosa, CA
4/23/2012
Let me start by saying the service was excellent, no complaints there. The food, however, was mediocre at best. After taking three weeks to get in, this was the experience. Here is what we ordered:
crispy pork trotter with green garlic purée, pickled carrots & almonds - this looked like two tiny chicken nuggets on top of salad. Very small and nothing special
agnolotti dal plin - probably the tastiest of our items. Extremely small portion, it tasted like a small meat ravioli without any sauce.
cappellacci dei briganti with rabbit sausage, asparagus & green garlic - pasta with a few small pieces of sausage, the asparagus was cut so tiny you couldnt tell the difference between that and the green garlic. This was the least favorite.
cocoa tajarin with duck livers, yellowfoot mushrooms & douglas fir - interesting pasta...it was dark brown, ok flavor.
rabbit loin with braised fennel, ramp purée & crispy potatoes - this was the biggest of the dishes. The rabbit was cooked properly, it, crispy potatoes were nice, sauce was OK.
Total tab for one appetizer, four plates, four glasses of wine, and one dessert plus tip = $200. For $50 a head, it was not worth it. It wasn't terrible, but I would not go back. "OK" would be the term best used to describe it. If you want KILLER Italian food, go to Delarosa in the Marina. It's much better. If you are dead set on hanging in the mission, go to Beretta. -
Review from Annie F.
4/11/2012
Based on the wait alone, it took me 2 years to get here. As I was standing outside in the rain at 5:10 with my husband, I thought, "Am I crazy?" But the 2 couples on either side of me had also not yet been to the restaurant, so I felt somewhat reassured.
Flour and water has great service (though we did have to ask twice for bread), absolutely delicious pastas and pizzas, (and yes, I'm like the millionth person to say it, but the budino is large and divine), and a solid wine list. I highly recommend the asparagus pasta, the hen pastas, and any of the pizzas. The squid pasta was VERY fishy, but if you like that kind of thing, well, it's right up your alley.
I think what prevents me from giving it 5 stars - (1) just the difficulty to get a reservation (since I live in the east bay, I can think of other equally tasty Italian restaurants like Delfina, A16, Pizzaiolo, etc. that are easier to eat at), and (2) the slightly elevated prices for appetizers. I would consider giving it 4.5 stars if yelp let us!!
Note: the hostess will NOT seat you if your entire party isn't there. So we were 2nd in line, but we were waiting for my friend and her husband (who were parking the car). I was sort of bummed since we spent all that time waiting, but it looked like they tried to save a table for us (?). Not sure. I'd just make sure your whole party is there by 5:30.
My overall impression is that the food and service are top quality, but it's a bit out of the way for me, it's a bit pricey, and it's hard to get a reservation. -
Review from Matt Y.
San Francisco, CA
4/17/2012
Just came here last night after two months of anticipation (that's how long it took to get a reservation) and got the Pasta Tasting Menu. Couldn't be more impressed. This is no Olive Garden Never-Ending Pasta Bowl -- the quality and variety of the pasta is unlike anything I'd ever tasted, and everything was flavorful and refined without weighing you down.
I would have given every dish 4 or 5 stars individually, but my favorites were the Mushroom Triangoli with Thyme Brown Butter (think the most buttery, mushroomy ravioli you've ever had) and the Tajarin with Braised Duck (really light, almost like a chow mein, but with bright acidic notes.) The appetizer and dessert were also great--very light and fresh. No question the best pasta meal I've had outside of Italy, maybe ever. -
Review from Jennifer L.
San Francisco, CA
Go here for the pasta, not the pizza. Being a huge pizza fan, I was excited to sample their thin crust pizzas... but after having a bite of the pasta, I was like... dammit, why didn't we order all pastas???? The pasta was AMAZING.
My friend (Kimberly F.) made a reservation for 6 TWO MONTHS in advance! She said that was the soonest they had! Holy crap. 2 months reservation? It better be good! We went this past Friday at 8:15pm. After seeing the menu, we decided to order family-style, and this is what we ended up ordering for 6:
ANTIPASTI:
*Halibut Crudo (3 stars): This dish was small, and unfortunately there wasn't enough for everyone to have 1 piece of halibut (there were 5). But everyone managed to get a bite somehow. The dish was a little too salty for me. But the fish tasted fresh, and I liked the combo of asparagus/fennel/tarragon.
PIZZA (fyi, each pizza comes with 6 thin slices):
*Margherita (2.5 stars): It wasn't terrible, but the mozzarella was really sparse, and I wish it could have been a bit more spread out. But the defining attribute of their pizza was salty and burnt crust. I've never tasted such a salty crust, which actually made the burnt taste more apparent!
*Prosciutto: I can't rate this one because I didn't have a slice. But one of my friends thought this was the best pizza because they were generous with the prosciutto, and the flavor combos were unique in a good way.
*Salsiccia (3.5 stars): This was my fave pizza of the bunch. The pieces of sausage were pretty big, and they were really flavorful & meaty. The rest of the ingredients masked the salty crust a little bit more... but it was still salty like the margherita one.
PASTA (this is where it's at friends!):
*Radiatore with Roasted Hen (5 stars): WOW! AMAZINGLY GOOD! The spiralish pasta was cooked to perfection!!! The hen meat was tender, and the sauce was light and refreshing. It tasted like a super fresh, farm-to-table dish.
*Garganelli with Braised Lamb (5 stars): SO GOOD! Wow, they must make their pasta from scratch because the pasta texture is out of this world. The pasta was very fine and rolled into thin tubes, but surprisingly it still had the perfect, al dente consistency. Lamb meat was really good, and once again, the whole dish was so fresh!
DESSERT:
*Chocolate Budino (3.5 stars): It was a dark chocolate budino, topped with sea salt and espresso cream. Was a bit too thick for me, and I'm not the hugest fan of espresso but it was still worth finishing.
*Citrus Bonet (4.5 stars): I liked this a lot! The brown sugar added a nice crunch, and the citrus bonet was perfect (not too sweet or tangy).
The pizza here was underwhelming (go to Zero Zero or Pizzeria Delfina instead), but I probably will be back another night to have a dinner full of delicious pasta! I just hope the line won't be outrageously long... -
Review from Jia min C.
San Francisco, CA
4/15/2012
In real life, I'm never as hyperbolic as when I describe food. However, great food is great food and it does make me euphorically happy. I think I left Flour + Water with hearts in my eyes tonight.
Got a last minute invite. Friend of a friend made a reservation for 6 about 2 months ago and needed to fill the spot. I only knew about the place because I passed by it a couple of times on the UCSF Shuttle. The name and the decor intrigued me enough to make a note of it to check it out at some point. Reservation was for 8:00.
Place was packed when I walked in. Plenty of people just standing around and waiting for tables. I heard that they save about half the tables for walk-ins. (It's a small place.) However, at some point they stop taking walk-ins, and my understanding is that the walk-in wait can range from 1-3 hours. 3 hours?!?! The party standing next to me ordered a bottle of wine while they were waiting. They asked the hostess whether it was unusual for the people waiting to order an entire bottle. The hostess said no, it was actually quite common.
Side story: I heard that Steve Jobs tried to do a walk-in at some point, and ended up leaving because he couldn't deal with the wait. If true, I love that they didn't kow-tow to Steve Jobs. Maybe they are PC-users? Hahaha. Maybe they were burned one too many times by Apple products.
They seated us fairly close to our reservation time, which has often not happened at other restaurants. Also, we were missing one of our party, but they let us sit down anyway. They weren't going to let us order anything until she got there though. Luckily she got there right as we sat down.
The menu was confusing. I know no Italian. The wine list was filled with unfamiliar names as well (except Nebbiolo and Sangiovese, I suppose). I asked the waitress for a rec, told her I usually like zin, and she recommended the Nero d'Avola. Excellent recommendation! I really liked the light sweetness of this wine-- it was very easy to drink. Small pour though, but that's okay.
I ordered the tagliarini with duck, and the beets. Again, I didn't know what most of the words on the menu were. We speculated that the different names were just the various shapes of pasta. My friend had the garganelli with braised lamb, which I got to sample. All were excellent. I especially loved the beets. It went well with the tagliarini as I'm trying to incorporate more vegetables into my life. I especially loved the citrus-ness and the arugula. My friend had a slight complaint about the portion size, but it was nice to actually have space for dessert rather than eat until I want to puke (my "diet" is to actually stop stuffing myself until I want to puke, so this worked out for me).
For dessert, I ordered the chocolate budino. OMG!!! It was amazing! It was described to me as like pot de creme, so I was sold from the outset. The espresso cream was so light and went so well with the heavy chocolate mousse-y stuff. And the sprinkling of sea salt... I'm so in love.
Personal bill came out to under $50 pre-gratuity, so not bad at all. I mean, I definitely can't do this on a weekly, or shouldn't do this on a monthly basis. But yes, the food was excellent.
Bonus praise: The menu notes that you have to ask for bread. We didn't end up asking for bread. I actually appreciate this because I know sometimes the bread just ends up untouched and wasted.
Nit-picky stuff: Two other people in our party ended up ordering the same wine as me. So we probably should have just ordered a bottle. My friend thinks the waitress should have suggested we get a bottle instead. However, I can't really hold it against her, as I kinda feel that was our bad. It would have been an appreciated extra step, but I'm not going to hold it against her for not doing it -
Review from Vrushali P.
San Francisco, CA
4/1/2012 1 Check-in Here
So delicious that I thought about this meal constantly days after I went. It was worth the wait (yes there is a wait, but I don't really expect to not have a wait at a great restaurant on a Friday night).
I got the bianco pizza which had riccotta and lots of garlic. The crust was thin but a pleasing combination of chewy and crispy. The flavor was amazing! Buttery garlic, ricotta, with herbs and a hint of citrus.. omg *swoons*.
For dessert, I had the citrus bonet with vin santo & brown sugar crumble. I loved every last morsel. It was a custard like with brown sugar and bruleed citrus slices on top. So Yum! It was small, but very rich. -
Review from Shannon H.
San Francisco, CA
3/30/2012 1 Check-in Here
Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, Yumm. Amazing. The worst part about our whole visit was the wait (told us it would be two hours -thankfully they got us in in 45 min) our own fault for not making a reservation for a Saturday night.
Servers, hostess, everyone was extremely nice and helpful.
I wish I could remember what pasta we got because it was AMAZING (checked online but looks like the menu changes on a regular basis - which I love and makes me want to come back again and again). Also got the margherita pizza - delish! Cooked to perfection.
Tried a couple of wines - they were decent but not my favorite.
The decor, ambiance, and vibe of the place is enough to make me want to come back - added bonus - fantastic food. -
Review from Lauren J.
San Francisco, CA
3/30/2012
Absolutely excellent pizza and pasta.
We sampled some of both, group of four, had had the reservation for a month in order to get in at a reasonable time for dinner.
As it turns out, they reserve half of their tables for walk-ins and on a week night, you can come in fro the street and likely not wait for a table! -
Review from Tru D.
Santa Clara, CA
4/20/2012
I was here the other night celebrating a birthday. I just had to write a review and give this restaurant and staff KUDOS! We had a few strong drinks prior and I think we were very close to being that obnoxious drunk table.
However, our server Sam and the rest of the staff were awesome and just went with it. It was my first time there so she made she that I ordered the egg on my pizza and not only suggested a bottle of wine but also provided a sample of a few different wines.
The décor was great, normally I wouldn't notice these things, but I was in the company of two interior designers that pointed stuff out. There was even a group trip to check out the bathroom décor.
Try to make reservations if you can, we had about a 1 hour wait which was just enough time to grab a drink around the corner. Although, they will serve you wine while you wait.
Thank you to the staff at Floor n Water for such a fabulous dining experience! -
Review from Martha E.
Mission, San Francisco, CA
4/15/2012
Went to Flour and Water for a special occasion and decided to do the pasta tasting menu. The best tasting menu in all of San Fran as far as I am concerned. Each pasta course is very unique and completely different from the one before and a delicious dessert follows it all. Definitely reasonably priced at $60.
Flour and Water has become my favorite restaurant in SF. The key is to get to the restaurant early if you don't have a reservation (wait in a line outside) - I promise it is worth it! -
Review from Ethan B.
San Francisco, CA
3/30/2012
Flour + Water is truly an amazing restaurant, but there is definitely a strategy to getting the most out of your meal.
First of all, you should know it's likely to be at least an hour wait if you want to eat around what most people consider dinner time (possibly longer). So plan to put your name down and then go for a walk for a while. If you come back a bit early, you can always sit outside and sip on a glass of wine. If you don't want to wait, reservations can be hard to get but are definitely attainable a couple weeks in advanced if you don't mind eating late (around 10pm). Another great way to get a seat without a reservation is to just show up on a rainy day.
Now onto the food.
Their pastas are by far their most delicious items and the best pasta I've ever had. They aren't actually very expensive for a dinner (at less than $20 for most if not all), but they come in small portions. For some people, this can be a relief from the usual giant portions, but for those who have bigger appetites make sure to order an appetizer if you go the pasta route. If you don't want to spend as much, you can also ask them to bring you a side of quality bread with dipping oil (on the house).
If you are more concerned with the quantity of food, I suggest ordering pizza. While the same price as the pastas (or much less for the basic margherita) they are more filling and still very delicious. I especially recommend the salsiccia, but we all have our own taste.
Finally, make sure you save room for desert because the citrus bonet is amazing.
Oh, and they have a very good wine list if you have the money to spare.Listed in: Fancy Feasts
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Review from Meredith C.
San Francisco, CA
3/19/2012
My girlfriends & I have been dying to come here...so bad that we haven't even be able to get into a pasta class! Expect to a long wait, small portions, and high prices.
Reservations are hard to come by unless you're booking for a few months out. At least that's been my story. There were 3 of us girls that waited on a lucky night for under 45mins at around 9pm. We decided to go all out and start w/ a bottle of wine while we waited.
We ordered most of the "favorite" pastas -
pork francobolli with lavender, cocoa nibs & orange zest - 2nd top fave!
garganelli with veal polpettine, lamb's quarters & horseradish
radiatore with roasted hen, prosciutto, meyer lemon & arugula - this was probably my fave pasta!
squid ink corzetti with pork sausage, clams & calabrian chili - least fave
cappellacci dei briganti with rabbit sausage & asparagus
And the following pizzas -
prosciutto - ricotta, fava leaves, melted leeks & agrumato
salsiccia - pork sausage, broccoli di ciccio, calabrian chili & montasio
All of this came out to about $120 pp. Parking is hit or miss. It wasn't TDF status because I was hoping for greatness. Service was really good I must say. -
Review from SiliconValleyShoeGirl l.
Santa Clara, CA
Updated - 4/30/2012
Over the years I've visited about 8 times. The service during my last visit was really inexcusable. The server accidentally spilled a glass of red wine on my dining partner. There were apologies made, and towels brought out to mop up the mess. But there was no offer of comp'ing us an appetizer, a glass of wine, anything. This was red wine folks, all over my friend's jacket, which was a dark color, but still, it's effort she will have to go through to launder red wine out of it, when it wasn't her fault. The food is good, but this type of service will keep me from coming again.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/26/2010
This was the best meal I've ever had in SF, even better than Gary Danko. To start we had the speck… Read more »
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Review from Ashish P.
Cypress, CA
5/13/2012
I was recently diagnosed with a gluten-sensitivity, but I made an exception for Flour + Water. Highly recommended by my cousin who is a student at UCSF, this place unfortunately was just okay. The food was pretty average- the pizza & pasta were not that memorable. Being from an Indian background- I love for my food to have really strong flavors and aromas. This restaurant unfortunately did not deliver in that department. The atmosphere and ambiance, however, were above par. The dessert was the saving grace of the meal and absolutely delicious. Chocolate mousse w/ coffee foam and sea salt. Wine pairings could have been better as well.
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Review from Femme B.
Beverly Hills, CA
5/16/2012
hipster pizzeria
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Review from Nikki C.
San Francisco, CA
5/10/2012
Stellar experience from amazing food to friendly staff. The pizza is crispy and delicious, the pasta is delicate and fresh and the meats are spectacular. Definitely save room for dessert. I'd recommend the chocolate budino. Absolutely tasty!
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Review from Sarah H.
San Francisco, CA
4/3/2012
Another place in my neighborhood, although I'd heard all about Flour and Water before moving to this area. All of the pastas are amazing. I've had one or two of the pizzas which also were good (add the egg!), but pizza is pizza and hard to mess up. It's the pasta that is truly amazing and memorable. The garganelli with lamb and the pork belly raviolini... I couldn't want to dig into my leftovers at lunch the next day!
Would have liked a bigger wine by the glass selection, and it can be pretty crowded so often times you'll have to wait a little while if you don't have a resi, but definitely well worth it! -
Review from Ed U.
Finally... Jamie W. and I have wanted to try flour+water for quite a while, but the sight of that queue when we frequently passed by on Harrison was just too overwhelming for us. And then he had a brainstorm. Since the 49ers didn't make it to the Super Bowl this year, we knew we wouldn't be too upset to miss the game and thought everyone else would be home watching it. Not quite. We did end up being the first in line that Sunday evening, but the line still formed around the block for this über-popular place. So now that we've manipulated heaven and earth to get a table, was it up to the hype?
Oh yes. Yes indeed. Owners David Steele and David White and especially chef Thomas McNaughton have figured out a certain zeitgeist in San Francisco dining and really captured culinary lightning in a bottle. Don't believe me? Try the $17 Cocoa Strozzapreti, a truly savory chocolate-accented pasta bursting with robust flavor thanks to the braised duck and salsify (see photo). A stunning dish that could have easily encouraged me to ask for seconds despite the semi-hefty price tag. From there, it was easy to pick out which pizza to try because those magic words were emblazoned on the $16 Tesa - pork belly!
It was a wood-fired round of thin-crust joy with not only pieces of smoked pork belly but also braised cabbage, fior de latte (which is a velvety variety of mozzarella), and parmigiana (see photo). I don't think that lasted more than five minutes between the two of us. To balance out our carb intake, we also ordered the $7 side of Roasted Turnips mixed with spigarello leaf broccoli, garlic, chili flakes and a squeeze of lemon (see photo). Delicious with the turnips attaining a nice, toothy texture. We buzzed through the main meal so quickly that we felt a need to extend the pleasure with a couple of their signature $8 desserts. The first was the Blood Orange Polenta Cake with fresh cream and candied almonds (see photo).
Not overly sweet with just the right texture to the polenta to soak up the juice of the blood orange. The second was the Chocolate Budino with espresso caramel cream and sea salt. Decadently rich even by Italian budino standards with just enough of the salt to counter the sweetness of the chocolate. I had their French-press coffee to wash it all down, but frankly it was an excuse just to stay in the warm ambiance just a bit longer since we managed to get served all this glorious food in less than an hour. Gee, my mother told me I should chew slower to enjoy my food. Also because there were children in China starving for strozzapreti. Guess Mom was right.
FOOD - 5 stars...really superb execution on laid-back Italian cuisine just trendy enough to satisfy your taste buds
AMBIANCE - 4.5 stars...warm vibe with heavy Mission-style furniture, surprisingly intimate for such a buzzing place
SERVICE - 4.5 stars...very nice and attentive but not unctuous by any means
TOTAL - 5 stars...flour+water just proves it is more than the sum of its parts -
Review from Nino R.
2/22/2012 1 Check-in Here
I have a huge gripe with this place. Why are the portions so small?! I can eat this pasta all night long and I would prefer the portions to be much larger.
What gives?
But seriously, this is a great pasta shop. The menu is tweaked every night and the offerings are great.
I had the Oxtail Raviolini w/ Chanterelles & Sage. I'm always down for anything with the pork belly or oxtail in it. And oxtail stuffed into ravioli is most likely going to be amazing. And amazing it was. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough on the plate. I would have loved a double portion.
The table bread is hearty and perfect for sopping up sauces. My plate was wiped clean by the time I was through.
Flavor town... -
Review from Irina P.
San Francisco, CA
5/1/2012
What a lovely little place, although I cannot say that the food is amazing. The space is intimate and there is a rustic feel to it with lots of candle light. If you're looking for a tasty meal, I would probably suggest another restaurant, however, if you're looking for a casual conversation and a glass of wine, I highly recommend this spot.
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Review from T H.
San Francisco, CA
5/5/2012
The staff was five stars! Very professional- knowledgeable, attentive and pleasant, without being obtrusive. The food was fine, but not exceptional. Unfortunately, the center crust of the pizza was soggy. Really soggy. Great space, comfortable, music a bit too loud.
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Review from D M.
San Francisco, CA
3/27/2012
Every bite here is delicious. It's like every bite, no matter the combination, has been prepared to be the perfect bite. When I finished a plate I got a little sad.
I dined here with my mom last night. As I said, the food is delicious and worth the wait. But, the portions are tinsy. My mom and I ordered another pasta instead of dessert. We left happy.
Good things come in small boxes. Same goes for pasta. -
Review from helen t.
Updated - 4/9/2012 1 Check-in Here
my friend and i took a pasta class in the dough room on fri night and loved it. the class was not cheap, BUT in addition to making 2 types of stuffed pastas, we sat down to an awesome dinner. we had 2 apps, 4 pastas, and 2 desserts, PLUS a ton of prosecco and wine during the entire course/dinner. the whole thing lasted close to 5 hours, and was informative and delicious. it didn't hurt that chef thomas was the one teaching us the entire course.
this is probably the easiest way to have dinner at the restaurant, since reservations are so hard to come by!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/12/2010
we had a reservation for 4 people at 915 last night, and we were seated right away. they don't have… Read more »
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Review from Ziyan C.
Updated - 2/22/2012 18 photos
Drool... pasta tasting menu... for only $60...
Just plan ahead, unlike me. I've got a boyfriend who doesn't eat beef and had to skip on the veal sausage romanesco. I really should take dietary restrictions into consideration before dating someone. Do note that they serve every course family style.
And don't get me wrong on the 4 stars - I was wavering between 4 and 5. I absolutely love flour + water. This is probably one of the best Italian spots in the city. But compared to cities like NYC and Boston where this quality of Italian can be found in troves.. it is really a more relative stand-out. For someone who's visiting SF for a weekend, I wouldn't necessarily note flour+water as a must-try spot, unless they were truly craving some great Italian.
Overall on their pasta: there's a mix of soft and al dente. Normally I prefer pasta cooked on the softer side, but I realize that flour + water is incredibly careful in perfecting the texture to go with the rest of the ingredients and the dish as a whole.
* MUST-HAVES: Taleggio w/ balsamico, Cappellacci w/ rabbit, Rosemary bonet
* Citrus salad w/ avocado, tarragon, fennel, & shaved radish
3 stars
Good flavors but there is so little of everything, you have to pick and choose every bite just right to get all of them together. A little underwhelming of a course.
* Taleggio scarpinocc w/ aceto balsamico
4.5 stars
One of my faves. Balsamic vinegar on pasta - what genius!!
* Cod fagottini w/ citrus, castelvetrano, & soft herbs
3.5 stars
As good as fish in pasta can be, in my opinion! I think seafood is a little strong to be wrapped up in pasta but the meat itself was very tender and fresh and the citrus a nice counter to it.
* Smoked duck francobolli w/ fresh horseradish
4 stars
Simple, nice, well done. Super soft meat, just enough not to overpower the pasta/ cheese shavings on top.
* Cappellacci dei briganti w/ rabbit polpettine, cipollini & mustard greens
4.5 stars
(replaced orecchiette w/ veal sausage & romanesco)
As sad as I am about missing the veal, I LOVE the rabbit meatballs in this dish. They are so rich and the pasta so soft and perfect...
* Tajarin w/ hen giblets & chili flakes
4 stars
A little on the salty side, but the pasta was a soft perfection, there was just enough creamy sauce with cheese on top, and the giblets were hearty and delicious.
* Rosemary & black pepper bonet w/ pine nut crumble
4.5 stars
Oh WHAT was this explosion of flavors in my mouth?? The rosemary was subtle but fantastic (we had to refer back to the menu to figure out what it was). Think of this "bonet" as the most fancy & delicious flan you've ever had, with extra texture from the crumble on top. I was in love.Listed in: Favorite places in SF
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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10/18/2011
Had to be online at midnight on 8/6 to snag a dinner reservation at a decent hour 60 days later, on… Read more »
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Review from Bradley N.
Woodside, CA
2/1/2012
Why wait 30 minutes in the cold for a two hour meal?
Why, indeed.
Because it's not just eating. It's eating OUT.
Let me break it down for you: ambiance + carbohydrates + alcohol = good times for all.
Plus, who makes fresh-from-scratch squid ink pasta at home? Unless you're from Palermo or something, and Sicilians ain't exactly the Yelping kind.
And, who else bothers to put fresh nettles on their brick-oven pizza? Outside of Tuscany, that is. And the Florentines have better things to do (like buying new shoes) than writing Yelp reviews.
And, outside of Venezia Giulia, where can you get a crisp and fruity food-friendly wine to wash it all down?
Flour + Water = the Italian boot in a San Franciscan nutsell.
That's worth a 30 minute wait, if you ask me. Because it's not just about the food. It's about the whole package: the space itself; the ueberhip underlit bathroom; the wines and beers by the glass; the commitment to doing it slow, doing it right, doing it pure + simple. Like sex, but with squid ink. And I'm not THAT kinky.
Personally, I know someone (let's call her "my wife") who can make a kick a## golden chanterelle pizza with a crust so thin that it makes the Olsen twins look fat (sorry Mary-Kate. I always liked you better. I can tell the difference, even if Bob Saget can't). But who has time to blanch a bunch of nettles ?? And honestly there is only so much squid ink that I can use on a weekly basis. And unless you have an Umbrian-sized famiglia, I doubt you'll be making fresh pasta every night after a 10-hour workday.
But they do here. Each and every freakishly foggy day in the city by the Bay.
I can wait 30 minutes for THAT.
Flour + water + 30 minutes shivering in the cold (well, the low 50s) = a meal to remember. A meal OUT, not in. That's gotta count for something, right? I'll give that 5 stars, any day.
4 for the food, and 1 for doing the dishes. Grazie. My ink-blackened taste buds thank you.Listed in: SF Day Trips
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Review from Suresh G.
Mountain View, CA
3/19/2012
I've been here a few times.
Okay the good - really awesome pizza, some of the best pasta I've ever had, and awesome dessert.
The bad - the maitre d'. Very rude to the extent where it seemed like she didn't want people coming there. We walked in (they say they have half their tables for walk ins), put our name down and asked her how long it would take to get a table. She said 3 hours. We asked her (politely) if she could call us when a table becomes available, she flat out said no. We asked if we could call and check, she flat out said no. She was super rude and it was so awkward, that one of the other workers at the restaurant came and explained to us why it was hard to take/place calls.
The cocktails are also average.Listed in: Pizza
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Review from Rose A.
So I'm not really picky about my pizza. I enjoy thin crust, pan pizza and deep dish all the same. But what I don't like is a soggy pizza. My husband ordered a Margherita pizza with an egg and despite the fact that it was soggy, it was still a great tasting pizza. The tomato sauce wasn't too tangy, the cheese was ooey-gooey and the egg with the runny yolk was a great addition.
The Cured Duck Breast I wasn't so crazy about. Although I really liked the kale and parsnips, I wasn't impressed by the duck itself.
However...I loved the Rabbit Raviolini! These cute little ravioli were cooked well. The preserved lemon brightened up the dish and the pistachios added a nice crunch in contrast to the tender rabbit. Just the right amount of creamy sauce. Not too rich, either. Overall, a wonderful dish.
I also enjoyed the Chocolate Budino with Espresso Caramel Cream & Sea Salt. I'm not sure what the difference is between a budino and a pot de creme, but that's what the consistency was like to me. The espresso caramel cream was really tasty, too. The espresso wasn't too strong with just hint of caramel. Plus, I'm a sucker for any salted sweet nowadays.
My husband and I sat at the communal table, which is a great way to meet new people and see what other dishes look like. -
Review from doreen d.
2/2/2012
What am I missing here? It took me a month to get a normal reservation. I have heard that it is wonderful and I will "love it". Sadly not a huge fan. Not sure why the big hype on this place. We had two appetizers as a start and one of them was ok. Presentation of the duck was nice, small and expensive for what we got. Very artsy display does not make up for the taste and consistency of maybe the worst dish I have ever had in the Cauliflower sformato. Not sure what it was supposed to taste like but me and my friend were debating the flavor to be close to what baby poo or broken dreams would taste like. Please trust me on this one.
Pizza for main dish was fine. It was not amazing. It was not memorable. It was just pizza. In a city full of good pizza. On to the beer. I really wanted to drink my Black Lager because I love them. Sadly the tap system is messed up and they are tapping all of their beer off with no head and too much gas pumping into the system which makes even good beer taste bad. Call the distributor - they will fix it.
Good things - our waitress was awesome. Space was nice. Water was free. -
Review from Raman R.
San Francisco, CA
4/27/2012
You have to be careful with Yelp. It's sort of like in your office--you mention you're hungry and the weird guy from the copy room says "oooo, you have to try this place." Bells go off in your head. Why the hell would I ever listen to this idiot?
People who give flour + water bad ratings are probably not the people I would ever listen to. It's a charming interior with excellent service and really amazing Italian food. It's sort of neck and neck with the other really great Italian restaurants in town and it's my personal favorite. -
Review from Vivek N.
San Francisco, CA
4/17/2012
After F+W made it to the best pizza in the nation list, I had high expectations. I ordered the a pizza which was good- not "absolutely the best". The service could have been tighter. It may have just been the waitress who served me, but I thought there was a lot of room for improvement on the service front. I may give it 3.5 stars on the upper end, but do not think I will be rushing back anytime soon.
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Review from Nhung T.
Oakland, CA
2/23/2012
The ambiance was great here and it opens pretty late. I had the prefix menu with wine paring and also ordered a pizza, yes I'm a pig. Think their menu changes pretty often.
Lets start with the Salsiccia pizza...although I love thin crust, but this time it didn't rock my boat. It was just a plain sausage pizza. I don't quite remember the prefix menu, but nothing stood out. I recall eating some kind of pasta dish stuffed with cheese.
Maybe I'll come back to try other entres.
