Flour & Barrel Kitchen and Bar

Flour & Barrel is an Italian restaurant, cocktail bar, and brewery on West North Street in downtown Raleigh, all under one roof. Executive Chef Katsuji Tanabe runs it with Chef de Cuisine Matthew Parker, and the kitchen makes its pasta and bread by hand.

The cooking takes classic Italian technique and adds Tanabe’s multicultural streak, so it does not taste like a standard red-sauce place. The guiding idea is an old meaning of hospitality, love of the stranger, which in practice means the whole room is built around the guest.

What to know

• A live-fire oven, the largest in the area, anchors the kitchen.
• Oven-fired shrimp, charred vegetables, and focaccia sandwiches come off that oven.
• Small plates are designed for sharing across the table.
• The cocktail list rotates and includes beer-infused drinks from the brewery.
• One diner found the menu easy to navigate with gluten-free needs.