Flour & Barrel

I stumbled upon this place when I was in the throes of self sabotage (no regrets), looking for comforting carbs / sweets. To that end, I tried the bread and date cake and both were absolutely phenomenal. The bread is made in-house and pulls apart so well. It's delectably spongy and the oil, butter, and olives were the perfect accompaniments. The date cake was warm and well balanced with the - I believe it was bourbon caramel? - sauce and whipped cream. It's the ultimate comfort dessert, and very unique for this area. The last time I enjoyed date cake was when I lived in China and this brought back all the nostalgia.The ambience of the place was amazing and the staff were super friendly. The drink menu looks tantalizing and I look forward to trying it out next time. Definitely a new favorite treat spot!

My first impression was this space has a very cool vibe - however the menu felt small. The vibe however was on point - the reality of the menu is that although it's limited EVERYTHING was incredible. The menu is meant for sharing plates - and even with a party of 6, every plate had enough for everyone to try. The pastas are all exceptional - do not pass up the flaming cheese appetizer, and don't leave without trying the bread appetizer - the butter was amazing and the bread was delicious. Although this place feels a little bit off the beaten path of downtown, the service, food, and vibe will make it a staple for a fun night out.

It's a top chef and date night masterpiece! The food and cocktails are quite tasty. I also love the vibe and music here. This is absolutely where you want to bring a group for dinner and drinks as the aesthetic is phenomenal and the menu more than delivers. The chicken leg, baked provolone, and the conchiglie were all WINNERS, and prices were great. I was pleasantly surprised! Be back real soon as the chitarra is calling my name. Cheers!

The focaccia bread was absolutely delicious. The decor and aesthetic of the restaurant and lovely and great for a date night or night out with friends. It's a small plates style restaurant, so great for sharing but also to enjoy food on your own. The bread blew me away. The chicken was not my favorite and I was really looking forward to it. My friend had a pasta dish and said it was just okay. The meatball was delicious though and full of flavor. I'm looking forward to going back and trying more on their menu. It is a bit on the pricey end for small plates but it's in line with the cost of dining in downtown Raleigh.

Flour & Barrel is a newly opened Italian restaurant in downtown Raleigh. We walked in without a reservation on Saturday and got seated at the bar since all the tables were reserved. We ordered a bunch of stuff from the menu and shared it. This is what we got:1) Big Ass Meatball: It was lita big ass meatball. It was juicy and tender. Would recommend it. 2) Bone of the Beast: I love Bone Marrow so this was really good for me. They give you two bones that are topped with caper, parsley, anchovy and crostini. Really flavorful. I liked it. 3) Radiatore : I found it to be a bit bland. I won't get it again. 4) Conchiglie : This pasta was a lot more flavorful as compared to the other. Would definitely recommend it. We also got a couple of cocktails that were pretty decent. Their Sugar Daddy cocktail is supposed to be smoked but they don't have the cocktail smoker yet so that was a disappointment. I wish the bartender would have told me when I ordered it. I like a smoked cocktail and it was the reason I ordered it. Overall, it's a nice spot and it is priced pretty well.

This might be the best new restaurant we have ever tried. Cocktails, service (Tori rocks), atmosphere, everything is amazing. But the star here (rightfully so) is the FOOD. And nothing is expensive. This is a restaurant designed to please, to excite and to outperform. The menu itself even has a sense of humor. Just reading it is fun. Cocktails are original and enjoyable. Food spectacular. Chef Katsuji Tanabe even delivered our food to the table, flaming our provolone and sharing a few secret ingredients when we inquired. How the big ass meatball could possibly live up to expectations was beyond me, but it did. The clams oreganata, and the crab pasta...all amazing! Food was so fantastic and reasonably priced that I even ordered the chicken marsala leg to go and can't wait to have it for lunch soon.For dessert we shared an refreshingly original version of a tiramisu (purple chai) and a busser dessert drink. If I had to nitpick something it would be that they don't have coffee or espresso. (they do have an espresso martini but it's made from powdered espresso).

Great evening at Flour and Barrel. Do not miss the Big Ass Meatball from their menu. We also enjoyed the Tomato Appetizer, the Bone of the Beast and the Radiatore. I would skip the Octopus and I think the Butternut Squash was a bit lackluster. Service was good, drinks were good (and presented nicely) and it's a cool vibe. The real candles everywhere did have me on edge, but added to the ambiance. I would go again!

Cute new restaurant! Would be great for a date night. The bread for the table is not complimentary, but totally worth ordering. It comes with this miso butter which melts in your mouth. Their cocktail menu is extensive. We ordered some small plates to share: Octopus, baked provolone, and the big ass meatball. All 3 were delicious!! Skipped on entrees and ordered the date cake for dessert. Everything was super yummy. I would return!

Checked out F&B on a Wednesday and loved our experience there! It was "ladies night" so got to have a free drink. All of the dishes from the pastas and the apps plus the bread plate was amazing! Our server was sweet and answered all our questions and gave recommendations! The vibe is cute, romantic and fun and music selection was great with their throwbacks!

What a great new restaurant opened by Chef Katsuji! I love the concept here of Italian small plates to share. The vibes inside were so fun, from the beautiful, large painting over where the chefs were cooking, to the hip-hop music playing, to the hilarious naming of the menu items. The service was phenomenal - our server was very attentive, had great recommendations, and the food service was prompt. We started off with their focaccia bread for the table. It was light and fluffy on the inside, while crispy on the outside. The miso butter complimented the bread perfectly with its slight sweetness and whipped, light texture. Our first small plate was the adult caesar salad. I loved the crunch and bitterness the radicchio brought, which was balanced out nicely by the creamy richness of the caesar dressing and chunks of avocado. We then moved onto the big ass meatball, which we had to get because of the name, and who doesn't love big ass meatballs? It was nice and moist inside, with a crunchy exterior. I was definitely missing truffle flavor on it and the actual meatball could have used a tad more salt. We finished with the conchiglie pasta with pistachio pesto & crab. The pasta was perfectly al dente and the pistachio pesto added an amazing nutty flavor. The only thing I was missing on the pasta was the crab. Overall this was a phenomenal meal of small plates to share, and we will definitely be back to try the other options on the menu, which all looked equally delicious!