The Resy Guide to Pasta (and Noodles) in San Francisco Bay Area

We can’t talk about pasta without starting with the pasta palace itself: Flour + Water. The restaurant has a pasta tasting menu, for god’s sake. But if you’re going to get one specifically, the scarpinocc might be the move. The pasta is filled with creamy taleggio cheese and finished with aged balsamic, puddled in the little dimples of the pasta.

Whether you’re at the bar or at a table, matter what you order at Rich Table, you definitely need to order at least one pasta dish. They’re ever-changing with the seasons and always inventive. One menu mainstay is the sea urchin cacio e pepe — it’s thick and creamy and will leave you licking the plate.

Michael Tusk is San Francisco’s chief ordained pasta priest. So many chefs have passed through his kitchen learning the art of pasta that it’s difficult to overstate his influence. And his raviolo di ricotta, of course, is i-con-ic. The golden glowing yolk that explodes with a knife cut. The nutty brown butter. Tableside shaved truffles if they’re in season. It’s so so good. Call 415.775.8508 for reservations.

Though the pasta dish changes often at this buzzy restaurant/bottle shop, the fan favorite version is the miso butter pasta. Thick noodles are made in house and doused in a miso butter sauce made with miso from local purveyor Shared Cultures. The set changes often. Sometimes its honey nutsquash miso, sometimes its something else, but often topped with a heavy hand of lacto-fermented chile powder.

All the pasta at this Fillmore Street staple is made in house by Matthew Accarrino and his team, and arrives on the table as beautiful composed plates, whether it’s the summery sweet pea and ricotta-stuffed caramelle or the hearty bologonese.

Mattina’s all-day menu extends to night time on the weekends, and it features the same quality and caliber of pasta prowess that you’d get at the nearby fancier SPQR, but in a more casual setting. The beautiful bucatini with bright lemon ricotta, creamy favas, and arugula pesto is a stunner — and all that green fresh brightness makes it look and feel healthy.

If you want something a little bit more low key and a little bit more pop into unplanned on a random night, Flour + Water’s little sister down the block, Penny Roma, is a good move. Specifically, their toothsome tonnarelli cacio e pepe is a good move. It’s co-exec chef Ryan Pollnow’s favorite pasta in the world and it shows: This version rivals some of the finest versions you’ll find in Rome.

One of Pearl’s signatures is a white bolognese sauce, featuring a mixture of ground pork and veal fortified with white wine, cream, and herbs. It’s served over a housemade handkerchief pasta and finished with a flourish of shaved Grana Padano and embellished with fresh-cracked black pepper. So comforting. So delicious.

We’re extending the definition of “pasta” to udon. And Sylvan Brackett’s hand-rolled udon are made daily. They’re soft and silky, yet simultaneously chewy — making and cutting them is an art form. Get them in a dashi broth with simple, thinly cut scallions if it’s a cold foggy night, or as a clever “carbonara” with a raw egg yolk, butter, ginger, and fresh-shaved katsuobushi.

Why stop at udon? We’re including ramen in this guide, because Ramen Shop in Oakland remains one of the few spots that makes its ramen noodles in house. Sit at the counter and slup on the fresh bouncy chewy noodles — they’re the best they’ve ever been. The veggie meyer lemon shoyu (add corn and add chashu and/or wok-charred shrimp) is such a pro move they kitchen will be impressed with your order when they see the ticket. Go, go, go.