Flour + Water, San Francisco

It's been 3 years since Flour + Water first opened its doors, and the restaurant is still going strong.

Flour + Water was recently named one of the Best Italian Restaurants in the U.S. by Travel + Leisure and there are few folks, if any, that would disagree with that.

The chef and partner, Thomas McNaughton, trained and worked at top notch restaurants in Europe and San Francisco (Gary Danko and Quince) before opening Flour + Water. He also trained at a pasta 'laboratory' in Italy to learn how to perfect the art of pasta making.

Their Neopolitan style wood fired pizzas are excellent, but their main focus is pasta and they do an outstanding job of it. A 7-course pasta tasting menu is available for $65 if you want to sample their different hand crafted pasta dishes.

Corn Tortelloni with Prosciutto and Chives

Don't understimate the amount of effort put into the planning of their pasta dishes. They are really well thought out, with each type of pasta perfectly complementing the sauce it is paired with. Their menu changes often but their agnolotti dal plin is a classic favorite, and their cappellacci dei briganti is a nice ode to the forgotten Italian brigands that existed until the mid 19th century.

Cappellacci Dei Briganti with Goat Sausage, Rabe & Aleppo Pepper

Proscuitto Pizza with Summer Squash, Thyme, Lemon & Fior de Latte

Melon & Grape Salad with Pickled Shallots, Fresh Tarragon and Olive Sea Salt

Wood Oven Roasted Butter Beans with Padron Peppers, Lardo & Bread Crumbs

If you want to learn more about different pasta shapes and what sauces they pair well with, check out The Geometry of Pasta. If you're at the restaurant, ask to see their copy while you wait for your meal.

Earlier in the Spring, the partners of Flour + Water opened up Central Kitchen (California cuisine) and Salumeria in the same Mission District area.

Flour + Water
2401 Harrison Street
San Francisco, California, USA
Telephone: 415-826-7000