Penny Roma.

Penny Roma

Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Pollnow run Flour + Water on Harrison Street, which the San Francisco Chronicle's critics ranked No. 37 in the Bay Area in 2026. This is the traditional Italian end of the same operation, a few blocks over on 20th Street. The pastas come out at a textbook al dente and the menu does not rotate the way the flagship's does.

Why go

Julia Chen, reviewing for The Infatuation, put it plainly: come here for a bowl of meat sauce. That means tagliatelle alla bolognese, agnolotti dal plin stuffed with pork and beef in a sugo d'arrosto, and tortelloni di zucca in brown butter.1

The small plates are worth as much of the order as the pasta. The crudo is amberjack some nights and hamachi others. It sits in good olive oil with jalapeno and radish through it. Prosciutto San Daniele comes over slices of Shinko pear. Get the focaccia down early, because it is what you clean the plates with.

The room has high ceilings and skylights. A fountain runs in the entryway.

Order this / avoid

• Order: the tortelloni di zucca, which is the pick of the pastas.
• Order: the agnolotti dal plin, and the focaccia to go with it.
• Order: the crispy brussels sprouts, for the caramelized onion under them and the parmesan crisps.
• Avoid: the tonnarelli cacio e pepe. Chen has had it creamy and had it bland.

What locals & experts say

• The Infatuation SF (Julia Chen, December 2024), 8.5: simple pastas that will make you feel like you've packed all your belongings, hopped on a plane, and touched down in the Italian countryside.1 The Infatuation is owned by JPMorgan Chase.
• MacKenzie Chung Fegan and Cesar Hernandez, San Francisco Chronicle, on the group in March 2025: With all the expansion, is the original Flour + Water still a worthy destination? Very much so.2

Good to know

• Getting in: Resy, and a table here is easier than at the flagship.
• The other doors: Flour + Water at 2401 Harrison Street, plus the Flour + Water Pasta Shop and a Flour + Water Pizzeria. The flagship's bookings open 28 days ahead at midnight and it holds seats back for walk-ins.
• Where: 3000 20th Street, in the Mission.

Verdict

could-visit — Two pastas between two of you, with a crudo before them, is the shape of a meal here.