Flour Shop, the intimate 66-seat restaurant with a central show kitchen in the middle of the dining room, is off to a red-hot start.
It doesn’t matter that they don’t have a website and don’t take reservations, Flour Shop is slammed. With delicious food and a unique atmosphere, positive word of mouth on Flour Shop is traveling fast. I anticipate the restaurant will stay packed.
Flour Shop opened about three weeks ago, the brainchild of owner/chef Trey Wilson, who also owns Customshop in Elizabeth. It’s located near Midwood Smokehouse in the far corner of Park Road Shopping Center’s Backlot.
Flour Shop hours are 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. Tuesday – Sunday. My wife and I went there at 6:25 p.m. on Friday night and had to wait about 20 minutes for a table.
OK, here are 7 things you need to know about Flour Shop.
1) Top selling dishes include their Coal-Roasted Acorn Squash ($11), Grilled UGF mushrooms ($12), and two pasta dishes — the Ricotta Cappelletti ($22) and Garganelli ($24).
Coal-roasted acorn squash ($11) – Ciabatta, fresh ricotta, pistachio & pumpkin seed pistou
Grilled UGF mushrooms ($12) – Caesar style
Ricotta Cappelletti ($22) – lemon, pecorino romano, kale, kefir and almonds
2) During peak times, you’ll wait two hours for a table.
It’s kind of a pain that you can’t make reservations and the restaurant is walk-in only. But I get it — they’ve got to turn those tables efficiently to maximize profits with such a small space. If you’re a hot restaurant, you’ve got that option.
Good news is that you can add your name to the list and grab a drink at Midwood or Dot Dot Dot. Flour Shop will text you when your table is ready.
Flour Shop’s space isn’t huge, but you can grab a drink and stand on the left and right side of the restaurant. The bartender seamlessly transferred our tab to the table, which was nice.
Edens, the developer of Park Road Shopping, is going to have to figure something out with parking in the Backlot. It’s getting brutal. I got one of the last spots near Amelie’s and it was only 6:20 p.m. Side note: With Flour Shop and Dot Dot Dot’s space constraints, Midwood Smokehouse’s bar is going to be jammed with patrons waiting for tables.
(3) The menu at Flour Shop is small and they currently don’t offer dessert
I love focused menus. Flour Shop offers 4 small plates, 4 pasta entrees and 4 additional entrees.
My wife and I split two small plates. I ordered the Ricotta and she ordered the Hanger Steak. The portions felt just right – not too much, but filling.
Interestingly, Flour Shop currently does not yet have a dessert menu – they’ll likely add dessert at some point. My wife and I walked to Amelie’s afterwards and grabbed a few cinnamon twists.
Salmon Belly Crudo ($12) – candied orange, citrus aioli, dill. Photo via food tastemaker Chrissie Beth, who I saw at the bar eating with her husband.
Coffee & Sorghum-Brined Hanger Steak ($26) – celery root puree, pomegranate, grilled salsa verde
While the majority of the items remain consistent, the meat and fish entrees at Flour Shop do rotate depending on what Trey can get into the restaurant.
4) Flour Shop’s bread is legit.
I don’t really have much else to say.
It just tastes really good. You know it’s fresh. And it’s free, of course; they’ll bring it out to you.
5) If available, choose a seat at the bar and creepily watch owner/chef Trey Wilson make pasta.
Flour Shop’s kitchen is literally in the center of the restaurant surrounded by a 22-seat, tiled bar.
In addition to the bar, there are tables that can seat up to another 44 guests. It’s not a big restaurant. Once the weather turns nicer, Flourshop will utilize a small patio to the left of the restaurant.
Flour Shop is more of a date spot than a big group spot.
View owner/chef Trey Wilson making pasta from a seat at the bar.
6) Even though you’re likely going to order red wine or a draft Juicy Jay, Flour Shop has specialty wine cocktails.
Cappelletti Orange Spritz ($10) – Cappelletti aperitivo, prosecco, blood orange, charged rose water, orange peel
(7) Flour Shop’s food is really freaking good.
I go to new restaurants all the time and Flour Shop is the one that I can’t wait to go back to. I’ll be a frequent guest at Flour Shop.
Go try it out. Let me know if you love it as much as I do – or if you think I’ve got awful taste, 🙂
Roasted salmon ($28) – Artichoke & saffron brodo, crispy pork belly
