Flour — Restaurant in Hoboken

TLDR: Disappointed. Food is delicious, but poor service will keep us from returning.

We had long awaited getting a reservation at this much-heralded spot in Hoboken, and were excited when the Resy notification came in. Throughout the meal, however, that excitement dimmed.

Food: Five stars. Make no mistake, the food here is excellent. A variety of pasta dishes for any palate. We shared both the Cavatelli (lamb ragu with Moroccan spices a mild sheep’s cheese) and the Mafaldine (Meyer lemon, black pepper, pecorino…basically cacio e pepe with a citrus twist). Both were cooked al dente and seasoned perfectly. Two very different pastas, but both delicious in their own way.

Ambiance: Three stars. This is a very pretty, romantic space; lots of exposed brick and very nicely decorated for the holiday season. The noise level, however, is much too high for the space and attempted vibe.

Service: One star. Terrible. This is what separates this restaurant from being in the top tier of dining experiences in the area. The service personnel are casual to the point of being flippant and dismissive; they consistently demonstrate an “IDGAF” attitude. While we had read about the quirky (some would say obnoxiously pretentious) policy of not serving tap water, but rather offering high priced bottled water only), we were not prepared for the server sneering, “we don’t serve tap water HERE, you have to buy a bottle. You want sparkling or flat, your call.” When presented with menus, no descriptions of food were offered. The server offered us an “orientation to the menu,” which consisted of telling us that we must order everything at once and dishes would be delivered as they were ready. This meant that while we were enjoying the delicious Caesar salad, our hot pasta dishes arrived…before we were ready for them. So, it was either let them get cold or push the salad aside. We opted for setting the salad aside for a moment, which prompted another server to grab for the salad, asking, “you done with that?” Plates are delivered by someone other than your primary server without a word. No one checked back on us to see if we either needed anything else or were enjoying our dishes. While we very finishing our wine (BYOB), the server brought our check, again without asking if we wanted anything else or saying a word. I didn’t attend to it immediately, as we were in conversation, and the server promptly returned, opening the check holder to see if I had put my credit card in it. We took the hint, paid, and left…without another word from the staff. The sad part is that these service issues could be easily remedied with conscientious hiring, proper training, and enforcement of simple standards of customer service and courtesy. This is a failure on management’s part.

Value: Two stars. While the food is excellent, and the portions a decent size (not small, as some here have complained), there are several factors bringing down the value of a dining experience here: Horrible Service Zero bread service, even at an additional cost. Seriously…in a pasta restaurant? Silly “no tap water” policy BYOB policy is a saving grace. I’d encourage people to bring their own bottled water, as well.

Bottom line: We will not return. For similar quality food offerings, but MUCH better service, at an equivalent price point, I would take my business to Corto in Jersey City, or even Otto Strada in Hoboken (a bit less...

The vibes are nice - candlelit tables, fancy plates, and wine glasses ready for you to DYOB (drink your own beverage)

For food, we ordered:

Whipped Ricotta Toast (2.5/5) I love me some good ricotta but here the whipped texture of it, combined with the truffle did not work for me at all. The addition of honey and the use of good toasted bread helped elevate the dish as a whole, but the honey drizzled on top was not enough for me to call this a balanced dish. In hindsight, I would skip this.

Mexican Street Corn Agnolotti (4/5) The pasta was perfectly al dente. The sauce had magnificent hints of sweet corn and queso fresco. This was quite enjoyable but I would have preferred a better filling for the agnolotti given that the sauce was already creamy and flavorful, and the pasta was so well cooked. Either a different pasta shape or a different stuffing is my recommendation on this one. Nonetheless, this was quite enjoyable and reminiscent of the street style sweet corn cooked in butter and lemon you get in other parts of the world.

Lamb Ragu Cavatelli (5/5) This was scrumptious. Almost wish we had more of this. The lamb ragu reminded me of Indian lamb curry I have had back home - probably because of the Moroccan spices used and the similarities there. The cavatelli, again, perfectly al dente. The random strings of spicy peppers in there also brought great depth. If you like the flavor of lamb, a well-bodied ragu, and good cook on the pasta, this one is for you!

Spicy Rigatoni (5/5) This was an impulse order. The fact that the other two pastas were interesting and cooked really well, we had to give the house favorite a shot. The pasta again, al dente! 3 for 3 with the cook on the pasta dishes! The addition of the buttery breadcrumbs added a fantastic textural element and flavor to the dish. The calabrian chili used made itself known in the sauce and breadcrumbs, and how beautifully it all sang together! Another great hit.

Entremet Cake (2/5) After a great meal, we had to end on a sweeter note, and the choices for the night in the menu were Entremet Chocolate and Pavlova. However when we ordered dessert at the end, our server only told us about the Carrot Cake (not on the menu) and the Entremet Cake. The cake was...questionable. It was described to have some sort of chocolate strawberry buttercream, sprinkled with poprocks, and a fudge core. However in reality, the chocolate strawberry exterior cylinder was very viscous and hard, not something you'd expect from fresh buttercream. The fudge center was not fudge-y or lava-y. It was rather like dried up cake. The bottom and top of this of the "cake" had a disk of I don't know what. That was mildly chewy, and tough. Overall, the dish was disappointing, the poprocks didn't do anything for it besides make this confusing dish even more confusing, and contributing to some sort of bubblegum flavor. Another should've skipped item for me.

Overall, several big hits (pasta dishes) and some big misses (dessert and ricotta toast).

Given that Flour is BYOB (they get some brownie points for this), I can see myself return and stick to what I liked or what I am sold on given the menu at the time. Not sure if this is a place I want to experiment much with the menu considering...

This review was required after the half a dozen visits in the past 18 months. I have come with a large party and a small intimate party. The pros are clearly the BYOB which allows me to spend a higher per item price on the menu while enjoying my own favorite wine. That being said the decor, the vibe (lighting, ambiance, service) more than compensate as this truly is the neighborhood restaurant on the upper west or upper east sides across the river. The food is inventive and approachable not pretentious. The dishes are constructed both for the tongue and for the eyes. I would recommend this over a trek into the city if what you're looking for is great food in a great environment. I like the printed plates that are the default place settings prior to the meal because they invoke a pleasant mood, but I also love the actual stoneware and flatware at the restaurant which feel both elegant and homey at the same time.

The starters are well executed and tasty. I do wish there was a complementary amuse bouche to really cement the family vibe but I don't know the logistics and timings and expense that that would entail. The beet carpaccio leaves one thinking they had a great dish and not missing a protein. The whipped ricotta is fantastic and I'm always left wondering how much effort went into getting the flavor and airy creaminess into the ricotta. In the past I thought the ratio of bread to ricotta was off with too much ricotta but it is perfect now.

The steak tartare was excellent and though I initially thought the pringles were a gimmick (and the presentation is a bit gimicky since its still in the can) the actual contrast of the flavor is great. I would not have been bothered by a crusty bread or handmade chips but the pringles can was definitely more memorable.

I thought the pastas are, as a whole, quite good. Not overcooked, oversauced or overseasoned. I think some of the detractors want all of those things though on the negatives I did feel that the malfadine this last time had been dummed down a bit and could use some more punch for the adult palate, unless it is the effective kids menu offering. On the positives the spicy rigatoni was excellent and I craved more sauce even after the dish was gone. The squid ink bolognese was excellent though the aroma was a bit fishier than I expected. The mexican street corn pasta is one of my favorites and made me wish for summer. The ochi is a great dish concept but I wish it was a single bite not two. There is no complaint on the flavors and the story weaved together by the very different dishes and flavors seems well constructed despite the variety of inspirations and backgrounds as it just seems American, a melting pot which speaks to its...