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Mon-Sun. 5:30 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
"Excellent pizza and really friendly delivery guy - pizza comes fast and warm with a yummy crispy crust! I had the turkey ham and pineapple -…" read more »
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I've been back here two more times, once with a group and once with one person only. Both times it's been just as fabulous as the first time!
Only caveat: try really hard to get a reservation, or be prepared for a wait.
Went with a group. Our table was ready more or less right on time. There were five of us, so we got… Read more »
After my second visit in as many weeks, I can definitely say the pastas are amazing. I especially loved the celery root tortelloni with extra vecchio balsamic. The pasta has a delicate texture and the combination of balsamic, butter and celery root is creamy and divine. I've had it twice now and it keeps getting better. Last week, I had a pheasant pasta in broth which was almost as amazing. Again, wonderful texture and a great balance of flavors. I also really loved the pork terrina with beets & arugula. It was served crispy and hot. With a melt in your mouth texture and a nix of interesting flavors and textures, it was a real winner.
I really wish I felt the sane way about the pizza. I'm all about good basics. The margherita-with tomato, basil, fior di latte, and extra virgin olive oil-was just so so. The verzada-prosciutto braised savoy cabbage, taleggio & red onions with the addition of a farm egg- was absolutely delicious. I especially loved the cheese. But in both cases (making allowances for the egg) the pizza was soggy in the middle and lacking in the crispiness I associate with thin crust pies. My second visit didn't change that impression. I hoped the pizza thing was a fluke (see why below).
They get an entire star because of the hostess. I missed my own birthday dinner by almost and hour (after leaving 1/2 early) because of amazingly horrific traffic. Some of my guests were equally delayed. After calling to let them know we'd be late and calling again to beg to keep my table, they assured me they would hold it. As hot as this place seems to be (and it was PACKED), that in itself was a miracle deserving of a star.
Unfortunately I had to take that star back, because our service on my birthday was really rushed. We were definitely late, but ordered in a timely fashion and were moving along fairly well on our own. We actually finished almost 30 minutes ahead of when they said we would need to. We definitely had time for dessert, but didn't feel like having it there when it was obvious they wanted us out. Kind of a mixed message considering they could have just opted not to save the table.
A small quibble (for me, the omnivore, not so for some of my friends), this place isn't that vegetarian friendly. with all the wonderful things available to us in this state, one would hope that will change. An additional choice in each category would make a drastic difference.
I'm not sure it's worth all the hype, but the pasta truly is transcendent. My advice? wait til some of the frenzy wears off.
You are telling me that there is actually good pizza in the Mission and you aren't talking about Pizzeria Delfina?
Apparently there is and just a couple of weeks ago I was sent on a mission to the Mission to see (and taste) for myself.
The crust is thin and there is a hint of salt in the background. This is a good thing. I love salt and I can go on forever just how much salt and I get along. It's ok, I have low blood pressure and low cholesterol. It runs in the family. The toppings? fresh and plentiful. But again, not overly plentiful where everything just gets lost. The pizza can get a little watery in the center but I can deal with that. It is pizza after all.
Reservations are very limited with only a few tables available. Arriving at 6, we waited for about an hour before a table was open.
Better than Delfina? not in my opinion but an excellent alternative that offers not only pizza but great service and a nice vibe.
This place is impossible to get a reservation, but if you walk in and wait it will be under an hour wait. The bar area is very inviting and they are very good at bringing you drinks. The wait list however is all the same no matter where you sit, bar, table, community table, not a huge fan of that practice since my BF and I came for date night.
As we sat down, they told us they ran out of 2 of the 4 of the pasta dishes, that was very poor planning since the menu is not huge and this is their specialty.
The food, was good but not amazing, the lamb tongue salad was well balanced but a very small portion, although beautifully plated. The pizza was good, but the cheese was a bit rubbery, not the high quality mozzarella I would expect, but the dough was superbly baked. The pheasant entree was good, but the portion was small as well and unless you took a bite with everything on the plate it lacked flavor.
One thing that was absolutely annoying to us, we sat at the bar and the bartender's friend stopped by and they talked very loudly for about 10 minutes, I mean we couldn't hear ourselves think let alone talk. The manager should have been paying attention and the employees should be better trained.
All and all, the prices for what you get are good, the food is tasty and the atmosphere is fun and a mix of Mission and SOMA, parking is quite easy too.
Fabulous. Perfect. Amazing. All of it. Start to finish.
Homemade, rich, flavorful pasta: pappardelle with pork shoulder.
Light, crisp and chewy, perfectly-executed pizza: prosciutto and some sort of fancy delicious cheese (can't remember the name - amazing food clouds the brain, apparently).
Absolutely, wonderfully decadent desserts: chocolate budino with cream and sea salt, and chestnut cake with Humphry Slocombe brown butter ice cream.
Aptly-matched glasses of wine, chosen with aid from our friendly and hard-working waitress.
Snag a reservation, bear the long wait, do a dance, sell your soul to the pizza gods - do whatever it takes to get in and enjoy Flour + Water. Yum yum yum. It's a yum party. Party full of yum. Yum.
The flavor that flour + water features in their dishes is definitely to my liking, over the traditional Italian-American red-sauce joints. For someone who doesn't like the wider sized pastas, the pappardelle was very well textured and flavorful. Pork shoulder that was in the mix wasn't over salty and was fine. The yams were well toasted and were well done with butter. The pear soup served as a nice antipasto that complemented the complimentary bread well. Overall, it was much to the liking of my palate with lighter flavors that didn't make me feel like I'd been making out with tomatoes, cheese and garlic.
I had the chestnut cake with ice cream and that was very good. A nice flavor for the cold evening with the warm apples, pomegranate to complement brown butter ice cream and cake. I'm not a fan of chocolate, and had a tea spoon sized portion of the chocolate budino. It was a chocolate over-sensation and I definitely did not like it...I'm guessing if you like chocolate, it'd taste good.
Service was very nice here and everyone was very attentive to make sure everything was taken care of. The wait was a little excessive at around 90 minutes, but if I'm with friends that really doesn't matter too much for me. I definitely wouldn't recommend being on a set schedule for the evening if you're dining here on the weekend. Also, not that it's a huge knock, but I felt f+w would have home-brewed iced tea...not tejava :p
Was talking to a work colleague and he asked me why I was so happy, I said I've been trying to get a dinner reservation at this new restaurant and I finally got one at 9:30PM.
My friend said wow, that's late must be a great restaurant, what type of food do they serve.
I said its a new pizza joint.
"Pizza? And you need a reservation -- its only pizza."
Well I kinda felt foolish since its true, its only pizza.
So it was with this trepidation that I went for my 9:30pm reservation and guess what I waited for 30 min more before we were seated. We ordered 2 appetizers, 2 pasta dishes and 2 pies (yes there were only two of us but we wanted to try it all).
The pasta was good -- the apps we fine and the pizza, I was so ready to feel vindicated for having to wait so long to get a reservation and I was so ready to go to work the next day to let my colleague know how amazing the pizza was -- well it was OK.
Plus I had to pour my own wine.
The ongoing buzz about Flour + Water was what lured me to walk through its doors. Not to mention it's within walking distance from my apartment so no excuses there! My roomie and I endured a painless 30 min wait on a Sun night around 6:30pm a few weeks ago. Best idea to go in pairs or else the wait might take well over 2 hrs. We couldn't make reservations either since it was booked for several weeks out on Open Table. Talk about a popular joint!
It had a cute, romantic ambiance set by the candle light but also a rustic quality with all the natural wooden furniture. We ended up sitting at the bar area where I got an awesome view of the action in the kitchen! (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) It just made the whole experience that much better. Our waitress/bartender wasn't the most attentive but was sweet and our food came out really quickly to my delight and surprise. A $6 glass of rose wine was a great choice for the meal...light with a hint of sweetness. The affordable price helped too!
While waiting for our food, we munched on some slices of fresh-baked country style bread with a firm/crispy exterior and a soft middle. It was paired perfectly with some olive oil. (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) This is the way I like to eat bread! Yum! Luckily our entrees came out shortly after we finished off the bread and we didn't have to ask for more. =P
What we indulged in:
sarda pizza ($15) - Padrone & gypsy peppers with tomato, capers & pecorino (we requested no cheese since my roomie is lactose intolerant and they were accommodating). It was mouth-wateringly delicious!! The dough was slightly salty with a thin crust but was still sturdy enough to be held up without falling apart. The peppers had a bit of heat to them which was great but they could have used less capers. Let's just say it was gone in no time and we wanted more! (http://www.yelp.com/bi...)
pappardelle with braised pork shoulder and rabe leaves ($17) - I've never had this type of wide, flat pasta before but it was really light so I enjoyed it thoroughly. The pork was so tender that it just fell apart in my mouth and was full of wonderful flavors. It wasn't too saucy but didn't feel dry either which made for a perfect combo! The sauce was so tasty that we couldn't help but dip our pizza crusts in it. haha (http://www.yelp.com/bi...)
It didn't seem like a ton of food but we were both happily stuffed after that meal. Unfortunately, that left no room for dessert but I have my eye on the chocolate budino next time! Flour + Water lived up to the hype and I can't wait to come back for another mind-blowing meal!
After a lecture last, night a friend and I decided to head over to Flour + Water to see what the buzz was about.
The restaurant was packed when we arrived, the only seating options were the last two seats at the bar or the communal table near the entrance of the restaurant. After deciding on the communal table, we sat next to each other and reviewed their simple yet beautiful menu. We decided on a nice full bodied bottle of Italian wine, we had the chef prepare an arugula salad (not on the menu. I think we started a trend because our table companions ended up ordering one as well) the margarita pizza and the pheasant tortellini. The dinner was excellent. Our server was attentive, bringing out our order in stages giving us the opportunity to relax and enjoy the bottle of wine. At the end of our dinner we to took a look at the desert menu and decided on the chocolate budino with espresso-caramel cream and sea salt....amazing.
If you have not been to Flour + Water I recommend heading over with a reservation, order a bottle of wine, relax and enjoy the items on the menu. Don't forget to end your meal with the chocolate budino with espresso-caramel cream and sea salt.
I went to Flour+Water on a Sunday evening for dinner without a reservation. We had four people in our party and had to wait about an hour or so, which we had expected. We ordered a bottle of bubbles to keep us preoccupied while we waited in a small (and a bit cramped) area close to the bar. The owner came out with our bottle of wine which he poured for us. Apparently they have someone at the bar taste each bottle before it is served so as to ensure none of them are bad. One of my friends was trying to start up a conversation with the owner but he wasn't very interested in talking. (The owner also said he doesn't "Yelp" - minus brownie points!!)
When we were finally seated towards the back of the restaurant near the mural, we had an idea of what we wanted to order but also wanted some suggestions from our server. We decided to go with the verzada pizza (recommended), agnolotti pasta (recommended), paparrdelle pasta, roasted pork leg & belly, and a side of sauteed turnips and spigarello. I thought the food was very delicious. My favorite dishes had to be the paparrdelle and pork leg/belly. The paparrdelle were tiny dumplings filled with pork shoulder in a very flavorful tasty sauce. I thought it was absolutely delicious. The pork leg and belly was also impeccable topped with glazed yams. I loved the texture of the crunchiness against the softness of the pork belly. This dish is very rich and fatty (super thick piece of pork belly) it is definitely a dish you should share. I thought the sauteed turnips was also very good; a nice light side to compliment the heavy dishes we ordered. The agnolotti pasta was very good though it wasn't my favorite. Lastly the pizza was also good, yet again not my favorite dish (felt I can get a similar type of pizza at Pizzeria Delphia and other such places).
For dessert we ordered two orders of their chocolate budino with espresso caramel cream and sea salt. My friend was insistent that we order more than one which was a good call. It was heavy but good. The sea salt was a nice contrast and they were much more aggressive in the amount of salt they put into the dessert. I've tried my handful of sweet/salty desserts but I thought this one was a bit edgy in the amount of salt it had. Again, good dessert but not my favorite. A couple of us also ordered some dessert wine.
Overall I thought the food was very good, the ambiance very warm and rustic, the wait staff was friendly...the only drawback was the not so friendly owner. Maybe that's just the way he is? Oh well, the food is good so I'm sure I'll be back again.
I have heard so many people rave about this place, I had to try it. I tried 3 or 4 times at different time of the night and each time there was a 30-40 minute wait and I could not wait that long. Finally I made it there right before they opened last Wednesday and it was a horrible experience!! Why are San Franciscans so eager to suffer rude, snobby staff just for a trendy eating experience? A few of my complaints:
-We arrived before they opened their doors at 5:30pm on a wednesday. There were 5 other people waiting with us and because we did not have a reservation, we were asked to sit at the community table right by the door. I knew it would be too cold for us and considering the place was practically empty, asked if we could please sit at a table. The woman refused until a man came out to ask what the problem was and we were given a table.
-I asked for suggestions for a "regular white wine", she told us about a great Pinot Grigio they have and I almost ordered it until it occurred to me to ask how much it was. $52!!! No thanks. Then when our cheaper wine arrived, she made a big speech about their special practice of the bartender first opening the wine for us, graciously sniffing it to be sure it is not corked and then letting us pour it ourselves. Great, put it in your stupid manifesto and just give me the darn wine please.
- We ordered a salad, a pizza and a dessert, all mediocre. Then I ordered a pasta dish to-go to bring to my husband who has also been curious about this place. I ordered the pappardelle which luckily is a slightly fatter pasta because there were only 5 pieces of pasta in the dish! That comes to $4 per string of pasta.
-They also rushed us at every stage of the experience. They came 5 times to see if were ready to order, brought the check while we were still eating and then came 5 more times to see if we had paid it yet.
So, please, if you love to wait, to eat at a table with strangers, to be spoken to condescendingly by 20 year-old waitresses, and will swallow anything the SF hipster mob tells you to, Flour + Water is for you.
I won't be going back.
Went there last night for dinner..and immediately loved the warm atmosphere...We were told the wait was 45 minutes but got seated in more like 20.
The service was very friendly...the food was absolutely delicious...
While my company was the highlight of the evening..the the duck and mushroom pasta was right up there...
A place this great hardly needs another rave review, but here we go. Flour + Water is like the new hip cousin of Delfina, sure it's a little bit harder to get to, and sure, you can't be "seen" eating at one of the sidewalk tables, but in my opinion, flour + water is by far the winner of the two. ( but who said it was a contest?)
The restaurant itself is cute, clean and modern looking, and despite what the S.O. claims, I do not believe it has a nautical feel to it. There is a large communal table up front with mostly two person tables in the rear. The tables are pretty much reserved for those with reservations, which you need to make far FAR in advance. I've eaten at both the communal table and reserved tables and have enjoyed both. The only possible down side to the communal table is that all the good smelling food right next to you is actually off limits (unless you're willing to steal a strangers food). I really liked the earthy feel to the place, the tables are all solid wood with few embellishments to distract from their beauty, and who couldn't notice those iconic kitchen napkins with their green stripe (as I embarrassingly looks in my kitchen drawers to see a pile of them stained and dirty).
As for the food, it is simply divine. When we go here we generally will order one pizza and one pasta and share. The pizza has a distinctly salty crust which is complimented by a delicious creamy sauce. I couldn't get enough of the crust. Of the pastas, I have had ravioli both times, pumpkin and the most delicious mushroom ever. friends have ordered the meat and claim it is delicious as well, but I'll let them be the judge of that. The S.O. and I love any restaurant where there are enough vegetarian options where we are not stuck ordering the same thing, and this place definitely fits that bill. On top of a cozy atmosphere and knock out food, the wait staff has always been courteous and helpful in pairing wines and recommending desserts.
Overall, if you have not tried Flour + Water yet march yourself down there and experience what can only be called one of SF's best new restaurants. (I here as a walk in it's best to come early when they open, otherwise you could be waiting for quite some time.)
Went here last night for the first time. Super Impressed!
We sat at the bar and the bartender Emily was AWESOME. She made great suggestions and took really good care of us.
The food was delicious! We had pizza with a fried egg on top, yams, bigoli pasta and an outrageous dessert, the chestnut cake with brown butter ice cream. Yumm.
Can't wait to go back!
i haven't yelped in awhile, but this little place brought me back into the mix. dinner tonight here was, well, fabulous and i will be back here with my pops when he visits next.
ambiance gets like a 5 and the food get like a 5 and i'm not really sure why i'm not giving this place a 5 except for maybe the fact that i had to google some of the ingredients to figure out what they were. go here. eat and enjoy!
So why review a place with 256 reviews, because its in my neighborhood, and that's the kinda place Flour and Water is, a neighborhood restaurant. My wife and I were planning on going to SPQR and were on our way. We passed Flour and Water and the wait didn't seem to bad. We rolled up on a close parking spot and decided it was fate.
The interior is something more aligned with the Marina than the mission, but it is warm with lots of wood and good lighting. i loved the big community tables and wine bar.
We had a lamb tongue salad, a pizza with panchetta, and a chessnut pappardelle pasta with braised pork shoulder. All of it perfectly good, although not very interesting. Maybe that's their strength or maybe its a weakness, but either way, Flour and Water is not somewhere I would travel a long way or stand in line a long time to to eat at.
That said, the Mission is clearly picking up its game and the restaurants are clearly getting better.
I actually didn't eat here because the hostess was such a little B; completely snappy, rude, and unhelpful. We dropped in to put our name on the list and brave the +1 hour wait. I have no problem waiting, but when the staff is rude and inhospitable its just not worth it.
In my opinion, if a restaurant doesn't have a place to wait (ie; bar, lobby, etc) they should call you when your table is ready. I don't see why you should be forced to wait on the sidewalk.
Case in point....Bar Tartine. Yes, we ended up eating there, and yes we waited in the Elbow Room until they called us. Its not that hard people.
Luckily I don't live in SF so I don't have to torture myself with the following decision any time soon: to go back to Flour + Water or not to go back to Flour + Water?
The service is atrocious. We had a 9pm reservation on a Sunday night, had to wait 15? 20? minutes for a table, and proceeded to wait...and wait...and wait some more for our courses, going through at least 2 servers in the meantime. My BFF and I, both New Yorkers, could not believe this was acceptable to the rest of the room, but -- frustrating and wonderful all at the same time -- the food was pretty awesome. Aarg! Why couldn't it be awful?
It was mid-September, so I started with some sort of light watermelon salad, followed by the pasta bigoli. Our first waitress picked out the perfect light red wine for me, but then she disappeared and we had a succession of other servers, which was kind of confusing. It was so late by the time we finished that we almost didn't have dessert. Thank god we did, because yup, just like they say -- the chocolate budino is heavenly.
So I am completely torn. Atmosphere and service, not really something I'd want to subject myself to again. Take out, please?
My first time here, had to wait 2 months for a reservation for me and some friends. Parking was ok, the atmosphere is pretty pleasant and the service is good. I had the pappardelle pasta with pork shoulder which was really good, my gf had another pasta with pheasant and that was bit more flavorful We had a couple of pizzas and we ordered one with egg which was very good. Then for desert I had Moscato desert wine which was ok and I like the chestnut cake with ice cream very good. BIt pricey though average plate was about $15. Would recommed trying yourself, the chestnut cake is a must and the pappardelle w/pork shoulder as well.
A busy restaurant that will hold your table for an hour because the birthday girl is stuck in horrific bay bridge traffic due to yet another dimwitted big rig driver who apparently doesn't see the HUGE SIGNS FLASHING SLOW DOWN BECAUSE THERE'S AN S-CURVE AND DEATH IN YOUR FUTURE is clearly a gem. I wanted to hug our hostess.
However, upon sitting, we were definitely rushed, despite the fact that they told us we wouldn't need the table to turn until 8:15 (sitting at 6:45).
Wine list is surprisingly reasonably priced for such an "it" restaurant. Doesn't it kind of seem like flour+water is the blonde-haired, country music singing, false-eyelash-wearing restaurant of the moment?
Anyway, we ordered a crispy pork terrine appetizer (melty tasty pork inside, yum). Then out came two pizzas--a margarita and a tasty one with pancetta and cheese and onion and a nice tasty duck egg in the middle. Unfortunately, the pizzas weren't what I really wanted. There was no crispiness to the crust, the center was soggy... either they hadn't been cooked at a high enough temperature, or they were just not cooked enough period. However, the stars of the show were the pastas. A pheasant tortellini in brodo was delicate and soul-satisfying, but the celery root tortelloni were RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME. I'd come back and order three of this dish just for me. The creamy filling of the tortelloni was covered in silky fresh pasta, cooked to perfection. Little tasty cubes of celery root added a different texture, and the whole plate was covered in butter, with some aged balsamic vinegar drizzled on top kind of like the way drool is hitting my desk right now...
Sorry. Wrong picture to be painting. Anyway.
Unfortunately, we couldn't eat all the delicious sauces accompanied by the pastas because our requests for more bread were ignored by the waitress who was clearly anxious to kick us the heck out of there. Sad.
For dessert, we walked the four blocks to Humphrey Slocombe. Do yourself a favor and do the same--get some fresh air and pretend that you're walking off the pasta in the four blocks between, so you totally deserve that cup of secret breakfast!
Flour and Water has been given the thumbs up by the professional reviewers but roundly panned by many foodies for attitude and hard to get tables and for food that doesn't transport. Being a genius, I get there at 5 PM for the 5:30 opening so that I can walk in and not wait. Doing this also got me a nice welcome at the door and smiles throughout my meal from an attentive but very busy wait-staff.
The room is fairly small, nothing in particular to grab your attention save the food, so it had best be good. A younger set having made reservations get the tables. An older set grabs up seats at the common table and the bar. A mix of locals and people from further afield; everyone having a good time and comparing notes on the food.
I start with thinly sliced lavender smoked duck breast that comes with currants and pomegranate, for sweetness, pine nuts, for texture, and greens, for the sake of greens. At first, I was a bit disappointed with the plate. You see my eyes didn't roll back in my head, I wasn't transported. The duck was still duck. On reflection, I decided that this was a very nice way to begin a meal. A well-composed plate of food.
Al dente chestnut pappardelle was accompanied by nicely braised pork and a porcini mushroom. Very nicely done, and the mushroom was remarkable. This plate is a tease. You see there is only one of those incredible mushrooms in the mix and you desperately want more. That's the point, however, and it was a point well taken..
A mixed roast of goat was transformative. Three perfectly prepared cuts of the beast were tender, tasty, lusty, sensual, the whole deal. This plate of food held my attention and did not tease. Rather it gave its all and came through.
I had a lovely time at Flour and Water.
Soooooo....
Tonight I waited ALMOST TWO HOURS for the privilege of eating pasta and pizza at Flour and Water.
Was it worth the wait? Methinks not.
Is anything worth a two hour wait?!
Truth be told it was delicious food, great service and a fun ambiance (hence the 4 stars) but the pasta portions were a bit on the petite side (I know, food snobs, in Italy pasta is a first course and the portions are supposed to be small...EAT ME!) and they never offered us any treats to compensate for the heinous wait time.
I ended up chatting with the other suckers in line outside and one group had been waiting over two hours and this was their FIFTH attempt to eat at the joint. Another trio of women had a 7:30pm reservation and were not seated until 8:00pm. WHAT ARE WE ALL SMOKING!?
Restaurant people, listen to my advice: If people are willing to wait TWO HOURS in the cold on the corner of Harrison and 20th to eat at your restaurant (which will no longer be crazed after the Michael Bauer review is forgotten in a few months) offer them a few nibbles or a complementary glass of shitty house wine so they will feel loved and not be starving cranky whores by the time they are seated. This golden nugget will get you far!
Anyhoo..once the hype settles and the wait time is no longer INSANE this will be a great place for a yummy meal and great service.
Finally went to this place. Because this place is very popular, we got there before 6pm, and were able to sit immediately.
The food is simple and tasty, with an emphasis on local produce and being homemade. We ordered the following:
1) Turnip appetizer - they were delicious, cooked with lots of garlic
2) Pizza, with kale and potatoes, topped with wild arugula (we had the proscutto put on the side) - the arugula, which is extra, added a nice zest to the pizza, I'd definitely recommend it
3) Chantarelle and lobster mushroom pasta - good, but not special
4) Celery stuffed tortelloni - this was our favorite, it was so good and yummy, very strong celery taste, if you like celery
For dessert:
5) Chocolate budino - this was the best thing of the night in my opinion, so rich and lucious, I could eat it all by myself
6) Chestnut cake - this was OK, but the brown butter ice cream was to die for
The decor is simple and tasteful, nice dark wood tables and chairs. Very interesting mural painting in the back (fish with lines attached to moth wings).
The place is medium sized, but fills up very quickly. It can be a bit loud too. Go early to avoid the wait and crowds.
It's a bit pricey, but worth it. For 3 people, the total came out to $24/person, which is pretty good. But we didn't get any wine because we don't really drink. If we had, that of course would've made it quite a bit more expensive.
I'm definitely planning on going a few more times.
We (2) arrived at opening, which is 5:30, without a reservation -- our mistakenly reading of the website which indicates that there are no reservations for more than 6, rather than fewer than 6 or some number that is more the norm in places that don't accept reservations. It's a counter-intuitive reservation policy compared to most places. We were offered a spot at the communal table or at the bar, and chose the corner of the bar. Seats are not especially comfortable, and eventually the then empty bar filled. Owner or someone in authority brought his laptop over after we were seated to show us the reservation policy; I was rather over it by that point.
Ordered a mid-range bottle of wine and when it was arrived were told that it was "casual service," which turned my head: what does that mean after they have opened it and placed it in front of you with two glasses? Struck me as odd in that it is so little added effort to pour the wine. Sure, I can pour my own glass of wine, but why? Give me the corkscrew and let me have at it if you are going to call it casual. Pour they did not, until the very end of the meal when they were all to eager to start pouring out that last glass. I waived them off at that point, in that that the whole policy seemed transparent and self-serving at that point. It wasn't a suble hint, and it wasn't well rec'd. Geez, we'd arrived at 5:30 on a Weds evening, nose pressed to the door; I hardly felt pressure to vacate the BAR before 7:00.
Food was fine, but nothing special compared to what's available in the general vicinity. The pasta (tagliolini with 'shrooms) by far outshone the pizza, which was limp in the middle and a far cry from Delfina or other local pizza haunts (e.g.,Piccino). I ordered the roasted turnips, and now realize that I actually rec'd the brussel sprouts, both of which I will eat any day. They were good but a bit too salty with the capers, which were an unncessary addition. I like them both, and hence didn't pay attention to the misdelivery, but Delfina does a better job of each. I think that the roasted veggies and the pizza suffer from an oven that is not hot enough. Perhaps the oven is not hot enough at opening time?
While the bar waiter seemed to imply that the salad would come first, then the pasta, then the pizza and the roasted veggies, everything came as we were still working on our salad, which itself had arrived rather quickly after ordering. It all felt rushed and as if I was lucky to be there, which I didn't feel that the place deserved given the alternatives. Yes, it's a diverse and showy crowd, but, frankly, that's secondary to the food as far as I am concerned.
I really wanted to like it, had driven by and lusted for it, and it was a birthday treat from a friend for me. Felt kind of bad that she had spent so much on something so mediocre. If I went back and was seated at the bar or communal table, both of which I would consider inferior to a table, I would slow down the service by insisting that the food be brought in courses or ordering by the course. In my book, I'd much prefer to take my chances at snagging a table or counter seat at either Delfina Pizzeria (18th) or Delfina, La Ciccia or Piccino. And if that fails, pick up something at BiRite, either to-go or to cook at home; you can't beat Bi-Rite for all-around friendliness, quality or shopping vibe.
I was hoping with the famous names behind the scene for something great. The place was packed on a Sunday night. The scene was quiet and inviting with the candles everywhere and natural wood. It took awhile for the hostess to appear, she was either setting tables or getting people's drinks because it was several minutes before she appeared.
We started by sharing the warm potato and lamb's tongue salad with poached egg. I thought the taste was good but a little overwhelmed by the amount of mustard. My husband didn't like the textures.
It was tough to decide between the pizzas, pastas, and meat dishes. The pasta servings appeared to be reasonable size from what I caught of glimpse of at other tables. I ordered the pork leg and belly while my husband requested the pasta with duck and mushrooms. While I'd say the taste was decent, I had a tough time with the pork legs because of the tendons or whatever unchewable strings were woven within my slices of meat. It didn't taste bad, it was just frustrating for me to have to deal with the chewiness. It could have been just my teeth as my husband didn't have as much of an issue with it. His pasta was simple with a clean mushroom flavor.
For dessert we shared the chocolate budino (similar to pot au creme). It was a surprisingly big portion. It was very chocolately and the sea salt and espresso creme were a very good complement. Personally, it was so rich, we couldn't quite finish. Very tasty, but I would only order this to share.
This was an anniversary dinner for us, so I have to say I was a bit underwhelmed. It's fine, but I'd rather be at Delfina.
The hostess was more than accommodating to our party of seven (no reservation and we showed up at 11:30 pm).
We ran into a friend at the door who was raving about the roasted game hen. I was tempted, but ordered the Pumpkin Tortellini with sage and hazelnuts- simply delicious. Two other friends ordered the Tagliatelle pasta, ate it quickly and considered ordering another because it was so good (you can tell they make their own pasta here!). Our friend ordered the skate and raved how well it was cooked.
The only disappointment of the evening was a side of brussel sprouts. Diners at the table felt it was too salty (unsure if it was the salt or capers). Our waitress quickly apologized and whisked it away. Unfortunately it was the last portion of the evening so she couldn't replace it, but she handled the situation well.
The dessert menu was so original we couldn't say no. We had an amazing rosemary panna cotta with fig compote, a unique blend of savory and sweet. The chocolate budino with espresso caramel ice cream and sea salt was super rich with an unusual texture (similar to Nutella). The desserts were amply portioned and perfect to share. We were all blown away by the flavors.
A visit to flour + water also deserves a trip to the restroom to check out the surprising decorations: a menagerie of scientific specimens that reference the California Academy of Sciences or the curiosities at Paxton Gate.
Definitely a new favorite in San Francisco!
So, I stumbled upon this restaurant while visiting from Santa Cruz during the summer and absolutely loved it. We are a group of great food and wine lovers (some are restaurant owners). Although it was very busy the staff was friendly and we did not have to wait too long to get seated at the community table! Everything we ordered was delicious, savory and fresh!!! Naturally I could not wait to take some other friends there in order for them to enjoy the same experience we had. And it finally happened, we went back two weeks ago and even though we did not have any reservations, the friendly staff :) seated us after an hour wait and I find that sipping good wine with your friends on a Saturday night while waiting for a table is fun. The table we got was great and sure enough we were not disappointed with the food. I loved their autumnal menu, their dessert menu and they make a pretty mean cappuccino! :) I could go on describing what we liked, but will limit myself to saying that I would and will recommend Flour and Water to all my friends. Great job!
Flour and Water.
It's not that simple.
Goat Tongue - I would recommend ordering this.
Skate aka type of Ray entree - Very different and I'd try it if you are adventurous. It's a stringy fish that is a cross between crab. Very flavorful and great texture, but if you don' t like fishy this might not be for you.
Pomodoro Pizza - Ehh.. the crust needs to be crispier.
Pumpkin Tortellini - Very good and a favorite of the night.
Beer and wine available, but even with a limited selection the wine was good.
The wait was brutal. This place is popular, but man... something needs to be done when you say a specific time. Luckily I am a patient person and can chat with the crew. The service was mixed. If you can get a reservation good for you, otherwise, be patient.
We knew this would be a little pricey, and that we might wait a while, but it was still worth it to celebrate a birthday/visit a friend in the city.
As long as you have good company, the wait isn't bad. And frankly, this place is so self-consciously SF yuppie -- the web site talks about its decor -- that we knew what to expect. We also were very kindly offered wine while we waited.
The pasta portions were a bit on the small side, but they were absolutely delicious. The flavors were beautiful and subtle. I had something with mushrooms and duck.
Sometimes when I'm at a restaurant I think I can make this at home. Well, there was no way I could make this at home. I can't make my own pasta, and I don't have any idea what made my dish so delicious. It was well worth the wait, as well as knowing I was eating something different for a change. (I'm a picky eater, so we took a bit of a risk, especially since the menu can change daily.)
Also, bread *is* available on request, and as far as I could tell on my bill, free, even when we asked for a second portion shortly before dessert.
Dessert, for us, was slightly disappointing. Two of us ordered something to share, and it was tiny and 3/4 presentation. That, however, was the only disappointment of the night.
The ambiance was nice and the food was excellent. I would definitely go again, even though it was a long hike for us -- and I'm not a fan of walking.
I really don't enjoy being a hater but there is only one way for me to put this: your wait staff sucked! - big time.
I've only been once but that one time really ticked me off. If you've read a few of my reviews you know how important good service is to me. And by good service I don't mean to be pampered.. let's be real we aren't at Dankos or Michael Mina but I think a decent service is expected if I end up paying $30 or more. Actually decent and friendly service should be a given even if my bill came out to $5.
It doesn't matter to me if your restaurant is packed and if ppl would like to be seated. If I pay money I would like to feel welcomed and not like a burden, not like just another customer that is taking somebody else's seat in the house.
The entire time we felt rushed: first through the menu & drinks and once the appetizers were served it was just like an assembly line.
Appetizers came 10 min after we were seated, after 10 min the main dishes were served although we weren't even done yet with the appetizers.
The bill was placed on our table 15 min later while we were still finishing one of the dishes and without any word of desserts they might offer.
By then I was already pretty ticked off but the kicker was that the staff kept coming back to check if we had paid. Mind you, we were still eating.. the main dish... still eating.. I was furious.
So now you might ask why 2 stars and to be fair I thought the food was alright. Nothing special, not worth the hype that has been created around flour + water recently but still good enough.
the wait is definitely worth it!! i arrived at about 7pm - friends arrived at 7:30 - and we got seated at about 8pm. (if you can make reservations -they're booked about a month out, right now....)
the only other restaurants i can compare are delfina in sf and babbo in nyc... as for the taste and flavorful-ness of the food.
i absolutely love the decor of the restaurant. very open and modern rustic.
We started off with a few ipa's and glasses of recommended white wine...
then for the pizza we had the ...
margherita - tomato, basil, fior di latte, extra virgin olive oil
verzada - braised prosciutto & savoy cabbage, pecorino & red onions
-the margherita was gobbled up and finished first... =)
for the pasta...
agnolotti dal plin
pappardelle with pork sausage, cipollini & mustard greens
-the agnolotti was a type of dumpling filled with meat and veggies. very tasty sauce. the texture reminded me of a russian dumpling my grandma use to make us - pelimini.
i definitely loved the pappardelle... i fell in love with this type of pasta in nyc at babbo.... it was delicious!
for our entrees we had the...
roasted pork leg & smoked belly with soft polenta, braised brussel sprouts & mustard jus
seared pheasant breast with parsnips, pancetta, chanterelles & cipollini
-delicious, both in their own ways! the roasted pork, had crispy piece of cracklings, that reminded me of filippino & chinese roasted pork skin...
for my favorite part of the meal 'DESSERT!!' we had shared the...
chocolate budino with espresso-caramel cream & sea salt
- absolutely delicious combination of flavors! sweet and salty-ness goodness!
the only thing i can say that perhaps could be improved, was the timing of the dishes... at times it took a little too long to bring out the next dishes... waited long than we'd liked, but we had great company and conversation, so it wasn't too bad!!
I liked the decor, (done by the guy who owns Paxton Gate) I loved the pasta, but the pizza was really disappointing and the service, though friendly, was less than completely professional, which I'm generally ok with, but prices at this over-hyped spot call for a little more.
Until they sort out their problems with the pizza, I wouldn't even bother ordering any pies. The pasta is divine, and the starters and contorni are interesting. Skipped dessert, so I can't comment on that.
Regarding the service, I got talked into a wine selection by the server that turned out to be completely wild. It was a very very unconventional bottle, and I just don't think the server should be recommending something so totally out there unless he makes it clear that it is really that weird. He made it good for us, and didn't charge us for it and we bought another bottle. But I've never had to send a bottle of wine back that was recommended by the server. So maybe it was a learning experience, but I think he should have done a better job with that.
"We make the kind of food that chefs like to eat," Mr. McNaughton said of the restaurant's cooking style. Given the restaurant's name, it should come as no surprise that pizza and pastas are focuses. The kitchen has a wood-fired oven, and Jon Darsky, the pizzaiolo, is a skilled operator; even before you take a bite, the aromas that waft through the restaurant make that abundantly clear." -NY Times
Great experience from beginning to end.
A friend and I came on a Friday at 5:15p (since it opened at 5:30p) without..GASP..reservations but were seated right away.
I ordered.
I ate.
And I left happy.
A good friend of mine knows the chef here so we were referred to try it out. The food was awesome, some of the better Italian I've had - pizza - skate - pasta - wine. Well worth the 20 minute wait with a bottle of wine & very nice ambiance. I'm definitely looking forward to my next visit.
I've been twice. Once I was one of those 'people' in line at 5:30 the second I managed to snag 8:45 reservations the day off. This place is more than pizza folks, I love the pizza (margarita and pomodoro). It's on Par with Delfina. You have to venture out to the pastas and the secondis (Sp?). The food is amazing, I've had pork cheeks and several pasta specials that were do die for. They switch up the menu, but you won't leave disappointed. And most importantly save room for dessert. The Chocolate Budino is the best. I mean like stab your boyfriend with a spoon if he tries to eat your half good. I know, a knife or a fork would be better, but they had already cleared the table.
It's a 3 star instead of 4 or 5 star because of spotty service, the first time we had really great service, the 2nd not so much. It's wildly popular, so I've probably wanted to go 5 or 6 times. But, I have only been twice because I couldn't get reservations at a normal time. I'm not the one to walk in and wait an hour plus for a table. Mama gets cranky when she's hungry.
And lastly and most importantly they have this "casual" wine service - which is a load of crap. The wine comes to the table already opened and apparently tasted and you have to pour yourself. If I'm going to pay a restaurant markup for a bottle of wine, I'd expect better service or they should lower their wine prices.
Let's say 2.5 stars.
Last night I went, after much anticipation, to Flour + Water. It was a late dinner, at 10pm on a Sunday, and the restaurant was, accordingly, pretty quiet. We had a reservation and were seated right away (as were two walk ins - at the bar) by a friendly hostess. The atmosphere is pleasant, with great décor and flattering lighting, but the Led Zeppelin soundtrack was a weird addition to the ambience. And I like LZ.
The menu is smallish, but not disappointingly so, with 5 antipasti options, 4 pizzas, 4 pastas, and 4 entrees. We ordered the pomodoro pizza, the pumpkin ravioli with sage and hazelnuts, and the brussels sprouts.
The pasta was the best part of the meal, - good textures and with well-balanced flavors - but wasn't mind bogglingly good. The sprouts were roasted with garlic and capers, and also fully acceptable, but nothing I couldn't have easily made just as well myself. The pizza, which I'd heard highly praised, was...fine. The crust is chewy and charred at the outside and soggy towards the center. The toppings were fresh and high quality, but it wasn't a terribly flavorful execution considering that heirlooms and garlic were present. I thought there was too much arugula, too. Maybe we should have gotten the kale, speck and pecorino version, but I rather view pizza as a delicious vehicle for tomatoes/tomato sauce.
We had the chocolate budino for dessert, which came highly recommended by our somewhat lackadaisical server. It included the sea salt gimmick (which, despite my terming it thusly, I am wildly in favor of), and was topped with espresso crème. It came in a largish ramekin and was served cold. I prefer A16's version, which is warm, has some sort of crunchy element, and is served with olive oil and sea salt. That said, my date liked F + W's better, and I am not a fan of "crème"s in general.
Because the pizza style and menus beg comparison, I wouldn't choose F +W over A16 or Beretta. A16 is less casual, but at the same price point, and with superior service and overall better execution, I can't really envision the scenario wherein I'd revisit Flour + Water.
I really wanted this place to come through as a Pizza + Beer/Wine spot. Which it is; but not how you want it, it's just trying to hard, it could be more FUN. Its stuffy even with the servers in t-shirts.
The Mission already has great sit down pizza and Italian (Delfina, Little Star, Il Cantuccio, etc) the neighborhood doesnt really need another; even if it is on the "other side".
I would have really liked a tasteful family style pizza joint, you know; with the guys after the game, the kids on a weeknight, great delivery, etc. Basically a sit down Serranos with a more authentic/better menu. Oh well.
Also when I went no bread. NO BREAD, the place is called Flour + Water and they didnt have any bread. Im not a tacky "wheres the bread" diner, but if youre going to call your restaurant Flour + Water, than maybe you should have some artisan breads and homemade pastas, not just mediocre pizza and overpriced charcuterie.
Flour + Water = boring and overpriced.
Did your pappy ever tell you about the Great Chair Shortage of '09?
Well pull up a...shucks, stool, I guess... and set a spell...
It was a terribly warm and non-stormy night. I had left Mary "Pop"-pins Castro Sing-A-Long early due to a party popper incident in the seat next to mine. I was having a bad night, and I just needed things to go right.
Five of my pals were waiting for a table outside Flour + Water - Chairs at about 7 pm on a Friday night. The fiercesome five-some was about to get sat when I mysteriously drifted down from the skies holding an open umbrella.
But when the hostess was told that our party of 5 was now 6, suddenly things were not very supercalifragilisticexpialadotious.
"Oh, oh, oh," she said. "Six? I dunno..." She gracefully went groping for the manager deep inside the quite warm confines of the uber-hip pizza palace.
A cool female manager materialized. "I'm afraid we have a Chair Shortage," she told us. "I am short three chairs and seating your sixth friend...well... I SHUDDER to imagine the consequences.
"Why, if the fire marshal were to walk in and see YOU" (everyone turned to look at me) "seated in an EXTRA chair... we would get SHUT DOWN!! I'm SURE you understand..."
We did not, in fact, understand. It would take much more than a spoonful of sugar to get that bizarre statement down, for there was a chair by the hostess stand that seemed to be unused, and there was a family of four taking up a huge bench + chair conglomeration that could have seated perhaps... wait for it... SEVEN.
Not to mention a hefty share table full of chairs with people on them.
"I think three chairs have been stolen. We have a CHAIR SHORTAGE. What can we do?"
Chim-chimeny chim-chim-cheroo-like, we gamely volunteered to be split up between two tables, a 4-top and a 2-top, both with full chair counts. We made faces at each other across the vast divide and shared bottles of wine to overcome our forced separation.
The pizzas were totally mediocre and not up to Delfina's snuff, but the waitstaff and hostesses and managers were all quite friendly and sweet.
Just totally, utterly insane.
The food was fine but not worth dealing with the horrible management.
Usually, I am more than happy to spend any amount of money for great pizza but I'd go anywhere else just on principle only....
I've been a few time... once was good except I could tell the manager (I think his name is David) wanted us to leave. He appeared irritated that we had finished our meal and were only drinking wine. Mind you we'd had 4 courses and a few bottles of wine. I thought the whole point of Italian hospitality is to savor and enjoy the food and the atmosphere.... Flour + Water makes that impossible.
The only thing I found somewhat interesting during my recent trip to Flour + Water was the bathroom, but I'd still rather just head over to Paxton Gate to satisfy my need to check out random oddities like bird skeletons and coral.
Maybe it was all the hype that left me more than a little disappointed that once I made it to Flour + Water, it never amounted to anything other than "ho hum". Maybe it was the bland interior, or the overly casual servers who looked like they just rolled out of bed and into last night's skinny jeans so they wouldn't be late for class at SF City College. Look, I get the casual vibe you're trying to sell here, but come on! Even the waitstaff appeared too uninspired by the joint to care. Or pour my wine, apparently.
The menu is small but inventive, at least when you view it on paper. We decided on the roasted squash with pistachios, watercress, and lardo to start. It was ok, but the texture - mush - made it so you didn't really want to have more than one bite. The pasta we ended up with was definitely the stand out dish, but it's hard to go wrong when your dishes main ingredients are tomato sauce and pancetta. The pizza we chose - the melanzana - was a too salty combo of eggplant, capers, garlic, gaeta olives, and tomatoes. We picked at it, asked them to box up the rest, and we never saw it again. We just didn't care enough to ask about where it ended up.
The chocolate budino dessert was delicious. But again, velvet-y desserts with flavored creme topped with sea salt are being done, and done better, all over this town. Maybe it was the items we chose, or maybe I was in a particularly salty mood, but I left Flour + Water totally wishing I'd gone to Beretta.
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