I first came to Flour + Water when I won a free wine dinner there. It was a blast with some amazing food (and a cookbook!), so I knew it was going to be a place that I needed to return to in the future. When I knew my parents were coming, I casually convinced them they needed to try a new Italian restaurant instead of their usual North Beach haunts. Luckily, they agreed, so on their first night here, we came in to check out the food.
They do a pasta tasting menu which I was really intrigued by, but alas, I didn’t feel like it was something I should force upon my family, so we ordered a la carte. They also have a very Italian forward wine list which is great to see in the United States. I also (stupidly) forgot to take a photo of the menu, and they change up their dishes A LOT, so some of the dishes I’m having to come at solely from memory. The menu is also nicely split up where the left side of the menu is the vegetarian dishes and the right side is the non-vegetarian. It’s very handy if you have dietary restrictions!
We decided on arancini and the matusake sformato from the starters list and a salumi plate. We also wanted to try one of their fantastic sounding pizzas so we ordered the speck pizza with asian pear and gorgonzola. We also decided on two pasta dishes: A gnocchi that was the special for the month and a veal and padron pepper pasta dish.
The sformato came out at first and it looked amazing. I was really hoping it was going to taste as good as it looked, and it really did. There were so many different flavors and textures, and it was a really fantastic way to start the meal. The arancini were also full of flavor and a hit around the table. The salumi plate had a variety of meats on it, and everyone one of them was interesting and soft. The start of the meal was definitely delicious and absolutely surprising as there wasn’t a bad dish to be had.
The pastas came to the table next. My dad wanted to leave some of his portion of the gnocchi for my mother (as she loves good gnocchi and he is usually indifferent), but as soon as he tasted it he decided that he was going to have his entire portion. It was definitely a tasty dish with a creamy sauce and the butternut squash with it really elevated to a higher level. But the best dish of the night was definitely the Padron pepper pasta. There was just enough spice in it to make it delicious, but not overwhelming. The pasta had a great bite to it and the veal was delicious. Everyone at the table was raving about how good it was, and I was really hoping it was going to be in the cookbook when I got home (Spoiler Alert: It’s not). Finally, the pizza arrived. And while it was a very good pizza, it just felt kind of average compared to everything else we at that night. Which was sad, because it really was one of the better pizzas I have eaten in the city, it just lacked something everything else had.
I knew after the mains I was going to have to have dessert, so I ordered the pannacotta and the lemon pine nut cake for everyone to share at the table. We also tried some of the dessert wines which we had never had, and everyone really seemed to enjoy what they ordered. The pannacotta was my favorite of the two desserts, as it had a rich buttermilk taste and the fresh grapes were fantastic. The pine nut cake was lacking somewhat in flavor and texture for me which was a bit disappointing given the fantastic meal we had just had.
Flour + Water definitely impressed me with their fantastic pasta dishes. Everything from the service to the food was practically perfect. The pasta tasting menu has gone close to the top of my list for meals to have in San Francisco, and I’m definitely looking forward to going back and ordering it with my partner. If you’re looking for some very fresh, modern pasta, Flour + Water should be at the top of your list to try out. I am also going to be trying out more of the dishes from the cookbook, as the few I’ve tried so far have been very delicious!
Score: 5/5
Recommendation: Sformato or a Padron pepper pasta if it’s on the menu!
Flour + Water
2401 Harrison St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
