San Francisco and Berkeley are the Bay Area’s pizza strongholds. But lately, Oakland has been catching up.
Look no further than Flour + Water Pizza Shop, which debuted in Uptown Oakland early this year. Cal-Italian titan Flour + Water Hospitality Group chose the Town for its first-ever expansion outside of San Francisco — solidifying Oakland’s growing momentum as a pizza city. On a recent visit, I enjoyed the pizza shop more than I have in the past.
The pizza dough was dialed in, sporting the lightness and crispiness of a New York pizza combined with the chew and the fermented tang of Californian Neapolitan pizza. The dough is fermented for 96 hours, offsite, at Flour + Water’s central pizza hub in North Beach. The classic pepperoni pizza featured properly furled cups, spicy-sweet Lil Mama’s peppers and an acidic tomato sauce. The evenly browned crust had slight dappling along the perimeter, a few char bubbles, and an airy, satisfying crunch. A few drops of Calabrian chile oil bring additional heat, though it’s more floral than hot. You can stop by for a slice or make it a full dinner with bright, marinated Brussels sprouts; fantastic cheesesticks and a Lambrusco slushy.
Although Oakland is home to many of the Bay Area’s best restaurants, only in the last five years did the Town become such a pizza destination, with most shops offering region-specific pizza and a few forging their own identities. Not long ago, you had to leave Oakland to find a decent New York-style slice, but now it’s available at multiple shops, including Mama’s Boy and Pizza Ponte, the latter the crunchier of the two. You can find worthwhile pan pies at Hesher’s Pizza, Cellarmaker House of Pizza and Square Pie Guys. June’s Pizza, known for its wood-fired sourdough pies embellished with heaps of shaved cheese, has ascended into one of the pizza greats, both for its consistency and exceptional bread-baking.
Most of the newer Oakland shops, except June’s, are geared towards takeout. (This is especially true of Flour + Water Pizza Shop, which aims to get the bulk of its business from carry-out and delivery orders.) But June’s, which has landed on multiple national best-of lists, treats pizza as the main event, with a 14-person staff executing a hyperfocused menu of only two pies each night.
Like the city itself, Oakland pizza is ever-changing, offering a wide spectrum of styles, and innovative, in the way that it makes influences from various pizza cultures its own.