Flour + Water Hospitality Group

About

Flour + Water Hospitality Group is a culture-driven San Francisco-based hospitality company dedicated to creating stand-out culinary experiences that reflect the leadership’s shared commitment to quality, community impact and transparency. Led by Co-Chefs Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Pollnow, along with Kara Bratcher, Vanya Shekell, David Steele, and Dan Nestojko, the core group collectively operates Flour + Water, Flour + Water Pasta Shop, Penny Roma, Flour + Water Pizzeria, Flour + Water Pizza Shop, and partners in Trick Dog. Since the opening of the original Flour + Water in 2009, the group’s passion for cultivating community through genuine hospitality and memorable experiences has established the company as an industry leader. Co-chefs McNaughton and Pollnow’s creativity and expertise is on display across the group’s concepts with offerings reflective of regional Italian traditions and Northern California inspirations with their hand-crafted pasta at the center. Throughout the years, their approach has had an indelible impact on the Bay Area’s culinary landscape, the restaurant spaces often functioning as incubators, expanding Flour + Water’s influence beyond 20th Street.

In all we do, we strive to create a meaningful impact on our community – not just in how we treat our team but also in how we work with our purveyors, neighbors and the hospitality industry. We do this through forward-thinking employment practices, championing small suppliers, creating opportunities for those in our neighborhood, and by promoting and lobbying for meaningful changes in our industry.

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Restaurants

Co-chefs Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Pollnow’s creativity and expertise is on display across all of Flour + Water Hospitality Group’s restaurants with their hand-crafted pasta front and center in all of them. Throughout the years, their approach has had an indelible impact on the Bay Area’s culinary landscape, with their restaurants often functioning as incubators, expanding Flour + Water’s influence beyond 20th Street.

Currently FWHG operates Flour + Water, Penny Roma, Flour + Water Pasta Shop, Flour + Water Pizzeria, Flour + Water Pizza Shop, and partners in Trick Dog.

Flour + Water opened its doors in 2009 with a vision of serving creative, thoughtful dishes through an approachable style of hospitality. The publication of our pasta cookbook soon followed, along with countless local and national accolades.

Today, Flour + Water continues to present a menu inspired by regions across Italy and shaped by Northern California’s seasonal bounty, led by co-chefs Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Pollnow. With a menu that changes daily, the heart of the program is fresh, handmade pasta crafted at Flour + Water Pasta Shop, alongside Neapolitan-style pizzas and seasonal antipasti.

Whether you are stopping in for an impromptu weeknight dinner or gathering to celebrate with loved ones, we look forward to welcoming you and sharing our table with you.

Penny Roma brings the simplicity and conviviality of traditional Italian dining to San Francisco’s Mission District. Centered around handmade pasta inspired by beloved classics from across Italy, the menu is complemented by rotating selections of fish crudi, vegetable-driven antipasti and contorni, and wood-fired secondi, always guided by seasonal ingredients from our favorite local farms and purveyors.

With its inviting dining room and indoor-outdoor courtyard, Penny Roma offers a distinctly Californian take on the neighborhood trattoria. Dim lighting, an open kitchen, and whole-album playlists set the stage for the kind of dinner party we love to host every night, one where everyone feels welcome to gather, linger, and share a great meal.

Flour + Water Pasta Shop is a lunch destination, bottle shop, and pasta production space serving the teams at both Flour + Water and Penny Roma. Sandwiches and a limited selection of hot pasta dishes can be enjoyed in our courtyard shared with Penny Roma.

In the evenings, the space transforms into an extension of the Penny Roma dining room, featuring a communal table and pasta bar where walk-in guests can watch our team craft pasta by hand while they dine. The shop also offers over 12 shapes of fresh pasta, house-made sauces, and a curated selection of beverages to take home and enjoy.

Flour + Water Pizzeria is our first venture beyond the Mission District, bringing our obsession with dough to North Beach, a neighborhood long known for its Italian roots. With playful nods to classic pizza culture—like a vintage TMNT arcade game and slices served on paper plates—the space is built to inspire epic pizza parties for years to come.

Our flagship location also functions as the heart of our dough program, producing for all Pizza Shop locations and serving as the commissary kitchen for our frozen pizza line.

Born from the flagship Flour + Water Pizzeria in North Beach, Flour + Water Pizza Shop is a quick-service restaurant that showcases a West Coast-style pizza crafted with organic grains, cold-fermented dough, and high-quality, seasonal toppings.

In addition to the signature 13-inch pie and Sicilian-style ‘Big Slice’, the menu at each location features fan favorites from the Pizzeria, including hand-rolled mozzarella sticks, chicken wings, ricotta meatballs, and jersey milk soft serve.

Open daily for quick-service, pick-up, and delivery, Flour + Water Pizza Shop combines convenience with the same thoughtful ingredients and commitment to sustainability that define all Flour + Water Hospitality Group restaurants.

View all Flour + Water Pizza Shop locations

From The Bon Vivants team – a kick ass, well made, no bullshit, neighborhood cocktail bar with great music, delicious drinks and food ’til the end.

Consulting

Flour + Water Hospitality Group brings a depth of expertise and a range of resources to consulting. We provide expertise in many aspects of development and operations to ensure our clients reach their goals and vision. The Consulting Team, led by our Co-Founder and Executive Chairman David Steele, has over 20 years combined experience in the Bay Area restaurant industry and has successfully helped clients grow their business from inception to fruition. We have helped clients from concept development, restaurant design, financial modeling, menu development, culture building as well as building a brand, training staff in both the front of house and back of house systems, all of the way through to opening day.

Please email us to discuss your project.

Private Dining

In addition to restaurants, FWHG offers several distinct settings for private events and special occasions, including the Dough Room and Test Kitchen, which are both above Flour+Water, and The Upstairs, the large airy industrial space above Penny Roma and Trick Dog.

To book an event with us:

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The Dough Room at
Flour + Water

Guided through the Flour + Water dining room, guests are led to a private oasis behind the restaurant, the Dough Room. During the day our team uses this space as a prep kitchen, forming pizza dough and preparing other dishes that are served on our menu. At night the space is transformed into an intimate private dining room with a behind-the-scenes vibe.

The Test Kitchen at Flour + Water

Part of our 2022 remodel, the Test Kitchen is the home to our cookbook library where members of our culinary team are encouraged to learn and create new recipes. At night, the space turns into an intimate private dining space that resembles an elegant home kitchen.

The Upstairs
at Penny Roma

Our first free-standing event space, The Upstairs is an industrial chic space for culinary adventures, knowledge exchange, private dining experiences as well as cocktail-style events for up to 45 guests. With large windows overlooking 20th street, the space is transformative in nature, with the availability for the space to take on many different forms and seating arrangements. The menu is created by Penny Roma and utilizes seasonal ingredients with Northern California and Italian inspirations.

Careers

Flour + Water Hospitality Group takes great pride in having a strong company culture and unique, diverse workforce. We highly encourage BIPOC and LGBTQ+ to apply. Our highest priority is to foster a safe, positive, healthy and inclusive working environment, and provide the resources and support to help each employee succeed and feel valued.

We offer competitive compensation packages, including medical and dental benefits, 401k, and dining discounts. Every non-management employee in our restaurants shares in our tip pools.

Want to join our team? We are continually seeking team-oriented, enthusiastic, positive individuals who want to join our family and contribute to evolving our company culture in a meaningful way. Experience is less important than passion and alignment with our company values.

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Community + Culture

Our Culture

As a modern hospitality group, we are passionate about crafting delicious, innovative, and sustainable experiences + products that contribute to the well-being of our employees, guests and the planet. We aim to create an exceptional work environment where employees feel valued, engaged, and empowered. Our culture is our foundation, and we are dedicated to providing an inclusive + collaborative environment that encourages growth, creativity, and personal fulfillment.

Inclusivity + Individuality

Inclusivity is not just a buzzword, but a fundamental value that defines us. We recognize that each individual brings unique skills, perspectives, and experiences that contribute to our success, and we believe in a setting that supports personal freedom, autonomy, and self-expression. By cultivating a culture of individualism, we empower our employees to be their best selves, pursue their passions, take risks, and challenge the status quo.

Community

We foster a culture of community by supporting local farmers and producers, contributing to charitable causes, and championing those partners at our restaurants, as well as through events and our social platforms. We believe that by supporting local communities, we can create a more sustainable and equitable food system that benefits everyone. Learn more about some of our collaborators below.

We Support:

Sustainability + Regenerative Agriculture

We embrace a future-focused mindset that considers sustainability and social responsibility. As a founding member of Zero Foodprint, a nonprofit mobilizing the food world around agricultural climate solutions, we believe regenerative agriculture is essential for reversing the climate crisis. We aspire to be a vocal supporter and a conduit of information, emphasizing the importance of practices that return carbon to the soil. All of our restaurants, as well as our Flour + Water Foods division, contribute to Zero Foodprint’s mission.

Beyond our work with ZFP, we continuously identify ways to eliminate waste and source directly from purveyors who share our commitment to the health of the soil. Our definition of sustainability has evolved as we’ve broadened our knowledge and risen to the challenge of what it means to be a leader in this space. Our in-house butchery program was conceptualized according to that ethos, while also presenting an opportunity for education among our staff. Cooking is a political act and food has an enormous impact on our environment, climate and labor. We align our approach so that our restaurants are not just places for memorable meals, but vehicles for positive, lasting change.