Flour + Water

»Review: Flour+Water

I've been meaning to post this review for some time. I've visited Flour+Water at least eight times since they have opened. The food here is always very good and -- important in SF -- consistent. To drive home this point of consistency, I did visit once and all their pizzas were pulled from the menu... they did this because the chef was happy with how the dough turned out. Although I was initially...+READ I've been meaning to post this review for some time. I've visited Flour+Water at least eight times since they have opened. The food here is always very good and -- important in SF -- consistent. To drive home this point of consistency, I did visit once and all their pizzas were pulled from the menu... they did this because the chef was happy with how the dough turned out. Although I was initially set back since my visit was for the pizza, I was happy to see they care about what comes out of their kitchen.

I always have great things to say about the food and service. The food is solid Italian food with lots of interesting flavors and a focus on fresh ingredients. The service here has always been fantastic as well.

There are things to not like but there are ways to keep that from being a problem too. For one thing, Flour+Water only takes reservations for half the restaurant. The other half are reserved for walk-ins and even then the wait can be very long (witness the famous picture of Steve Jobs storming out since he did not have a rez). I never asked this but it would seem the primo spots are always kept for people that made reservations in advance because some of the other seats up front are more open and it seems to be busier there. My personal recommendation: Go with a reservation or go knowing there will likely be a long wait and perhaps not the best table in the house. Without a reservation, plan on either waiting in a packed space in the front (and I mean packed) or perhaps head back toward the Mission a few blocks and grab some beer or wine at Shotwells bar.

The noise level is sometimes a bit much as well. I once worked with a chef who told me they play louder and faster music to move customers along more quickly. At Flour+Water it would seem they try this trick on a regular basis but everyone just ignores it and enjoys long, leisurely meals anyway.

The menu changes very frequently and I believe they print it daily. The appetizers are usually a small list with some decent items. I must admit that aside from the salads, neither me nor my friends order from the appetizers very often.

Pastas are made from-scratch and each has its own unique sauce. They just started a $60 pasta tasting + $40 if you want a pairing. Seems like a good and interesting idea but the whole table has to order it so if you want to try this, plan it with your friends ahead of time. While still on the subject of their pastas, they are fantastic. Some are stuffed with meats, others like the papperdelle (sp?) usually come with a delicious melt-in-your-mouth meat, and so on.

I usually go for the entrees or the pizza. As mentioned before, the pizza dough is made in-house, has a nice crispy texture and a few carefully selected fresh toppings are added (no pepperoni and meatballs here). At my last visit, I had a white pizza (no sauce) with roasted zuchinni and cheese... it was delicious.

The list of entrees are typically very small but very good. As a matter of fact I think people overlook the entrees and jump to the pizza or pasta instead.

If you go and find the fish-forward appetizers a bit much but want something to nibble on with your group of friends, do what lots of people do... order a shared pizza and then order your meal. This does bring me to one last key point about Flour+Water and that is portion sizes. While I think you will find the food great and worth a wait (maybe not 3 hours), you will likely not be filled with just one pasta or entree. I highly recommend getting a few things (or the aforementioned pizza) and sharing.

Flour+Water is becoming a regular hangout spot for me because they have all the things I want... consistency, great service and of course really good unpretentious food. If you are not into the waiting around for awhile or a very loud atmosphere, you will likely be put off by the place so know that up front.

Overall I give the restaurant 4 stars, which for me means it has met my requirements to be a regular spot.

-Bill-COLLAPSE / REPLY (by billraymond, created June 21, 2011)

»Private Dining Room at Flour + Water

All,
I had to post about the wonderful dinner we had in the private dining room at Flour + Water. I didn't even know that they had a private room. It is out the back and up some stairs in a newly acquired space. They do all the plating right in the room and it makes for a very intimate party with the chef explaining each dish as it is served and the sommelier describing each wine as it is...+READ All,
I had to post about the wonderful dinner we had in the private dining room at Flour + Water. I didn't even know that they had a private room. It is out the back and up some stairs in a newly acquired space. They do all the plating right in the room and it makes for a very intimate party with the chef explaining each dish as it is served and the sommelier describing each wine as it is poured. The menu is very different from the regular menu, chef said that they have more opportunity to experiment/cook things they cannot do downstairs.

We had 8 courses each of which was better than the next. I didn’t set it up but learned that you can work with the chef to customize it to your liking. We also had a couple of people with dietary restrictions and they were able to accommodate on the fly.

I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a small, private party. We were 12 people and easily fit around the large table. Not sure how many more would fit.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (3 Replies) (by sfgal2, created January 3, 2011)

michael bower (by Oakland Barb, created January 8, 2010)

Flour + Water report:
In general, the pizza is pretty good. It is by far the most authentic pizza napoletana we have had in the USA. We'll go back, as it was good, but it wasn't amazing and frankly the staff is obnoxious.

The good: the pizza is cooked approximately correctly, with nice blistering and a limp center. Pizza dough is well-salted and flavorful, perhaps almost too salty which is...+READ Flour + Water report:
In general, the pizza is pretty good. It is by far the most authentic pizza napoletana we have had in the USA. We'll go back, as it was good, but it wasn't amazing and frankly the staff is obnoxious.

The good: the pizza is cooked approximately correctly, with nice blistering and a limp center. Pizza dough is well-salted and flavorful, perhaps almost too salty which is the first time I've ever thought that about a pizza. The tomato sauce, in contrast, is under-salted. That was problematic on the margherita, which didn't have salty toppings, but perfect for the napoletana with its salty anchovies, capers, and olives. The margherita lacked a drizzle of olive oil and the cheese was on the tough side, probably not high enough in fat content, but overall these were great pizzas, better than A16 or Berretta. Some simple tweaks would make them just about perfect. Our chestnut pasta with braised pheasant was also delicious, though on the salty side and would have benefited from some good quality balsamic in limited quantity to brighten the flavors.

Staff/service: from start to finish, the consistent theme seems to be "we're booked solid, we're amazing, we do it our way, and we don't always think about the customer's pleasure." The first time we tried to go, we went on a Saturday shortly after 5 or 6 when they. They'd just seated the first wave of walk ins who lined up early, and had a small crowd already standing around the bar. They estimated the wait at 1-1.5 hours, but wouldn't let us put our name on the list and either call us in an hour when our table was ready, or let us come back in 45 minutes after waiting somewhere else, despite them being too full to offer us any sort of hospitality while we waited. Last night, we came with a reservation, but the receptionist was deeply engrossed in what looked like a personal phone call that did not involve her checking the computer for availability, and we stood there for over 5 minutes staring at the clean and ready table at which we were eventually seated while she ignored us. Not a great way to start a meal.

When we ordered our food, we had 2 pizzas, a pasta, and a side of veggies. We told the server to bring it in whatever order made the most sense, since we figured the pizzas might be a bottleneck and the busy kitchen might appreciate the flexibility. Unfortunately, after our first pizza we waited about 20 minutes before a different server came by to apologize for the wait, blaming it on their special Italian pizza oven, as if there is only one size of oven in all of Italy. I asked her about the pasta, and she said it hadn't been fired, but our pizza was in process--in other words, the entire delay was avoidable, and the whole conversation was confusing because of the way she dribbled out information, and ultimately it was too late for the pasta to be fired despite the impression she originally gave of some flexibility.

They also explained to us as they delivered our opened bottle of wine, "the way we do wine service here is open the wine at the bar, check if its corked, and then let you pour yourself." Wow, thought I, it looks like all the wine is still in the bottle. How do they check it? Smell the cork, which smells like cork but not a corked wine? The wine itself was fine, but a rough tannin-bomb caused by the winemaker over-pressing the must and breaking open the bitter grape seeds. I'm to the point where I almost consider that a flaw, and some sort of warning would be nice. I feel like the attitude at Flour+Water is some sort of ill-informed hipster idea of excessively tannic red wine being more authentic. The list also had Planetas and other wines made by super-modern style winemakers, so mainly I suppose I'm annoyed that the recommendation from the waitress didn't mention the rough tannins.

We never did get our side of veggies, I assume because they were supposed to be wood oven roasted and would have to go through the poor overworked Italian pizza oven.

Some chili oil, like what A16 offers, would also be appreciated. Flour+Water just had chili flakes on request.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (15 Replies) (by SteveG, created October 15, 2009)

»You'll get your fifth star when you aren't impossible to get into, flour and water.

The food here is really quite good. But the wait is incredible. They take some reservations but I've never had much luck with that -- the thing is to go early (not on a weekend), and you should still expect to wait upwards of 45 minutes. For your patience, you will be rewarded with super fresh, super seasonal dishes. And pizza with a fantastically chewy, sourdoughy crust. (by davina, created September 17, 2009)