09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Regina, Si Cara, and seven more places to find Boston's best pizza
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Galleria Umberto
Galleria Umberto.
Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
There are modern, TikTok trend-induced lines, lengthy yet ephemeral — and then there are lines for the ages. The latter camp includes the daily lunchtime lines at Galleria Umberto, the North End pizzeria that has been run by the Deuterio family for decades and won a James Beard 'America's Classics' award. Everyone wants a taste of the famed, fantastic square pizza, made in sheet pans and sold until it runs out for the day. The only choice is to return, and wait again. (Just not in July, when the shop is often closed for vacation.)
Address:
289 Hanover Street, North End
Phone:
Find online:
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Parziale's Bakery
Parziale's Bakery
suzanne kreiter/globe staff
Four American dollars will fetch you one of the best slices in the city: the margherita at Parziale, a tiny North End joint often overshadowed by its showier neighbor, Bova's. You may have to fight through the line for that other, more vaunted establishment, but it is worth it: the sauce sings with bright tomato flavor, and the mozzarella cover is generous (it's the good stuff, too). On your way out, snag a perfectly crumbly walnut sandie.
Address:
80 Prince Street, North End
Phone:
Find online:
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Picco
Picco on Tremont Street in the South End.
Lane Turner/Globe Staff
Early to the local craft pizza scene and still going strong, Picco specializes in two of the world's perfect foods, which are even better together: pizza and ice cream. (The name is an abbreviation of Pizza & Ice Cream Co.) If you haven't tried these bubbly, chewy, char-crusted beauties, wait no more — it is time for you to order a Picco pie. The cheese pizza, and the sausage, fennel, and ricotta one, are always excellent, but don't miss the white Alsatian, with bacon, gruyere, and shallots — like a tarte flambée, but make it pizza.
Address:
513 Tremont Street, South End
Phone:
Find online:
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Pinocchio's Pizza & Subs
Pinocchio's Pizza & Subs.
Lane Turner/Globe Staff
Weave your way through the crush of college students and snag a slice at this iconic counter-service spot off of Harvard Square. Pinocchio's offers subs and thin-crust pizza, but the Sicilian squares are the clear standouts: crispy on the bottom, pillowy on top, and buttery all the way through. The walls are decked with fading photos of famous clients (Mark Zuckerberg's order: a steak-and-cheese sub and a slice of Sicilian cheese), and during the semester, it's open until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Address:
74 Winthrop Street, Cambridge
Phone:
Find online:
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Quattro
Quattro.
Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
This North End spot from restaurateur Frank DePasquale (Bricco, Mare, and more) serves lobster ravioli, chicken parm, and other classics. But its real specialty is the spot-on authentic Neapolitan-style pizza. The edges are blistered and charred black in spots, the toppings applied with some restraint. The margherita, made with mozzarella di bufala, is pure goodness — but you can also add mushrooms, mortadella with pistachio, and more.
Address:
264 Hanover Street, North End
Phone:
Find online:
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Regina Pizzeria
Regina Pizzeria.
Lane Turner/Globe Staff
If you were going to try just one Boston pizza place, Regina Pizzeria would be the right choice. But it has to be the North End branch, producing brick-oven pizza since 1926. These are utterly classic old-school Italian-American pies: crisp, thin crust; a little char at the edges; the right amount of blistering and chew; a union of bright sauce and flavorful cheese. It's fun to wedge into one of the wood booths and soak up the atmosphere, but you can also circumvent the wait by ordering ahead and picking your food up to go. Don't be surprised if someone in the line snaking around the brick building offers to buy it off you as you leave.
Address:
11½ Thacher Street, North End
Phone:
Find online:
Related
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Santarpio's Pizza
Santarpio's.
Adam DeTour for The Boston Globe. Food styling by Sheila Jarnes.
Boston doesn't really have its own style of pizza, but this joint, with more than a century in business, creates a unique pie combining the best of New Haven, New York, and New Jersey's styles. The result is a tangy, saucy masterpiece with an extra crunch from the cornmeal on the crust. The atmosphere is pure Boston with its well-worn booths, gruff servers straight out of central casting, and boisterous locals. There is another location in Peabody.
Address:
111 Chelsea Street, East Boston
Phone:
Find online:
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Si Cara
Si Cara.
Lane Turner/Globe Staff
This Central Square natural wine bar from chef Michael Lombardi (Salty Pig, SRV) specializes in canotto-style pies — a puffy-edged, less rule-bound cousin to Neapolitan pizza. The crust is gloriously tangy sourdough; the toppings are less rule-bound, too. In addition to margherita and pepperoni pies, you'll find combinations such as confit potato with pea tendril, 'nduja, and almond — or fried artichoke with miso cream and preserved lemon. At lunch, there's also pan pizza by the slice.
Address:
425 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Phone:
Find online:
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