This is Flour + Water's modern take on cacio e pepe meets carbonara. Fresh spaghetti is tossed with nuggets of house-cured pancetta, foraged black trumpet mushrooms, and finished tableside with a raw egg yolk, Pecorino Romano, and cracked black pepper. The fat from the pancetta and the soft yolk emulsify into a silky sauce. It's a signature dish that appears regularly on their menu.
Tips from diners
Request a table where you can see the open kitchen — watching the chefs plate this dish is part of the experience.
This dish changes slightly depending on the season and what mushrooms are available. Fall versions feature different varieties than spring.
This pizza changes seasonally based on green ingredients available — in spring it features fresh asparagus and nettles, in early summer, young zucchini. The dough is fermented 48 hours and baked in the wood-fired oven until the crust is thin with leopard-spotted blistering. Finished with a lemon squeeze and good olive oil, it's refreshingly light for a pizzeria.
Tips from diners
Walk over to their pasta shop at 3000 20th Street if you're in a hurry — they serve individual pizzas and sandwiches for lunch without reservations.
Each season brings a different antipasto — they might preserve vegetables in-house and combine with fresh farmers market finds. Spring could be baby artichokes and new peas; summer, grilled eggplant and roasted peppers. It's designed to share and to whet the appetite before pasta.
Tips from diners
Order antipasto as a shared starter — it's generous, colorful, and gives your group time to decide on pasta courses.
When McNaughton features handmade gnocchi, it typically appears with a delicate sauce that lets the pillowy texture shine — brown butter and sage, a light tomato, or house-made ricotta. It's not on the menu every night, so ask your server if it's available.
Tips from diners
Call ahead to ask if gnocchi is being served that night — it rotates in and out depending on the evening's menu.
Flour + Water sources cuttlefish from local fisheries and builds a slow-cooked ragu that becomes silky over hours. The pappardelle dough is tinted black with squid ink, creating a striking visual that hints at the marine depth of the sauce. Finished with a splash of assertive olive oil, fresh chili, and bright pea tendrils, it's a textbook example of McNaughton's understanding of how fresh pasta amplifies sauce.
Tips from diners
This is one of the most visually striking dishes on the menu. If you're not sure what to order, let this guide you — the execution is reliably excellent.
Flour + Water opened in 2009 on Harrison Street and immediately set the standard for Italian cooking in San Francisco. Co-chefs Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Pollnow build their menu around hand-rolled pasta made fresh each morning in their own pasta shop. The restaurant combines Neapolitan pizza (from a wood-fired oven), Northern Californian seasonal ingredients, and impeccable Italian technique. Every pasta shape is designed for specific sauces — the restaurant famously rotates dishes based on what's available that day.
Reserve through Resy at least 2-3 weeks in advance for weekends. Walk-ins can stand at the communal table if there's space, but expect a 45-60 minute wait.
Come Tuesday-Thursday for shorter reservations lead times and a calmer dining room. The food quality is the same, just less crowded.
The pasta changes daily based on what the chefs decide to roll that morning. Ask your server what's best tonight rather than making up your mind before arrival.
The open kitchen and communal energy makes this feel celebratory without formal stuffiness. Great for anniversaries or special meals that don't require quiet.
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