Napa Flats, Tulsa OK

Napa Flats Wood-Fired Kitchen has 4 locations in Texas and Tulsa OK. Family-owned, delicious scratch-made food, and homemade gelato. You can’t go wrong.

Every August, my parents come to Oklahoma for a visit. I love having them in town, but it’s by far my busiest time of the year. 14-hour days are the norm, and by the time I get home each night it’s all I can do to eat dinner before I fall asleep. However, I make time one day each weekend to go run errands in OKC and/or Tulsa.

I tend to spend more time in OKC because it’s a shorter drive than Tulsa, and I know the area better. However, Tulsa is a great city, and I really need to go there more often. I researched lunch options for us in the general area of where we would be for most of the afternoon, and came across Napa Flats Wood-Fired Kitchen. I had never heard of it before, but it got great reviews.

Napa Flats has its roots in College Station TX, where the restaurant began. Tulsa was the second location to open, and Napa Flats now also has locations in Austin and San Antonio. I often talk about the lack of restaurants in Stillwater; Napa Flats would be a hit in town.

The Tulsa Riverwalk District has 10 areas along both sides of the Arkansas River, with restaurants, shops and local businesses. Napa Flats is in King’s Landing, a local family-owned shopping center.

The Napa Flats concept is simple: a neighborhood restaurant, serving scratch-made food. Napa Flats uses homemade, hand-tossed dough for its pizzas; hand-makes all pastas; and hand-cuts their steaks.

Napa Flats in Tulsa is open until 10pm Tuesday – Thursday, 10;30pm on Friday and Saturday, and 9:30pm on Sunday. The Tulsa location is the only one not open on Mondays. Napa Flats has a wide variety of menus, including gluten free, a kid’s menu, family style menus and a catering menu.

One of the first things we noticed as we entered the front doors is a gelato stand. I really like that the stand is outside the main restaurant doors, so you can stop by just for gelato. They also have a window for service from the outside patio.

Another set of doors leads into the restaurant, with a host stand immediately as you enter, a separate bar area on the right, large open kitchen just beyond the bar, and the main dining room in the rest of the space. The large windows on two sides of the restaurant bring in tons of natural light and provide great views of the river. The large and spacious patio takes up the entire length of the building on the right side. It was way too hot to sit outside that day, but I’m sure in beautiful weather it’s a very popular area.

The Napa Flats menu varies based on location. The Tulsa menu includes starters, soups & salads, sandwiches & flats, pizza, pastas, the grill, wood-fired steaks, and sides. I do like that Napa Flats only serves table bread upon request. While I will dive right into a basket of bread, I usually don’t really need it…I eat it because it’s there. Napa Flats also offers Sunday brunch drink specials and a brunch menu.

We began with the wood-fired avocado. I had seen it on the menu when I did my research that morning, and knew we had to get it

I’ve never had grilled avocado. I love the unique presentation, like deconstructed guacamole. Man, this dish is excellent. I really like the light smoky flavor of the avocado, and how well it goes with the corn salsa underneath.  Next time I would ask for the sauce on the side rather than inside the avocado, but that is personal preference. My mom likes avocado, but it has to be cold; because this was room temperature, that left more for me and my dad.

Napa Flats offers lunch specials on weekends, a unique twist you don’t find at most restaurants. My mom got the Coronado tacos

Yes, that’s avocado on top. It’s room temperature, so I happily took it from her. The tacos have a serious kick that neither of us expected, and it adds great flavor to the mild white fish. My only suggestion would be to serve the tortillas warm.

I didn’t taste the queso immediately, but when I did I couldn’t stop eating it. Easily some of the best queso I’ve ever tasted. It has ground corn, which adds such a unique texture and flavor to the queso. I eventually took the queso for myself and finished it with some of the chips.

My dad got the zucchini primavera

I tried a bite, and it is delicious, with very generous portions of the vegetables.

I don’t do well with large menus, so of course I had trouble making a decision. Once I narrowed it down to 2 choices, I asked the server for help. Before I could even finish both 2 options he said the burger, because it has more flavor. So I went with the Bakersfield Cheddar Burger

My goodness, this burger has so much flavor. The mixture of brisket and chuck, and the seasonings, are a great combination for a very juicy and flavorful burger.  I really liked the thin-cut fries, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

We rarely ever get dessert at a restaurant, but my mom and I both love gelato. Napa Flats makes their own gelato, and uses authentic Italian equipment to make it. And no matter how full you are, there’s always room for gelato. The Napa Flats dessert menu is small, with 5 dessert options plus 10 gelato flavors. You can get 1, 2 or 3 scoops of gelato, or a trio that includes three small scoops. My dad passed on dessert; my mom did key lime pie, and I did salted caramel

I love the presentation with the little cracker on top. The salted caramel is delicious. By itself it would be perfect, but after a full meal it was a little heavy for my taste. The key lime pie is very light and refreshing, and tastes just like the traditional dessert. The small serving was just enough for a perfect finish to our meals.

When we received our bill, we also got an electronic pad to complete a short survey and sign up for their Napa Club. I’ve only seen that once or twice before, but I think it’s a wonderful idea. The survey only takes about a minute, and it is a great way to capture an immediate review. Plus I got a discount on my next visit! Can’t be that.

I will definitely go back to Napa Flats. The food is delicious, our server was very friendly and knowledgeable, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere.

For reviews of more restaurants in Tulsa, click on the photos below!

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Andolini Pizzeria

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