Best pizza in North End?

My family and I are originally from Chicago and love pizza. We have lived in Ga for nearly 25 years though and only get the good stuff when we go up north. We are staying at the Raddison in the theater district so if anyone knows of a great pizza place near there we would like to know. We planned to visit the North End where I hear it is very Italian. Actually anywhere between the Radison and the North End I%26#39;m sure would not be a problem to travel to for great pizza. I can almost taste it now.

Best pizza in North End?

Oh geez, I cant resist this one. $10 says you%26#39;ve opened a real can of worms. Pizza is very personal, and Boston has GREAT pizza, be it NY style, Italian style, Chicago style, and the nouveau stuff. I must say that the best pizza I%26#39;ve had was not in the North End (nor in Italy -- ew -- for that matter). The best I%26#39;ve seen for ';junk'; pizza is near the colleges. Kenmore Square (near B.U. -- other end of Back Bay from you by ';T'; -- or a longish walk) has several places. You can glimpse Fenway Park while you%26#39;re there.

But I think the best pizzas that cross the bridge between old-fashioned crispy-doughy-cheesy pizza, and some of the new original toppings are at, of all places, Charles St. at the foot of Beacon Hill (very near you, across the Common walking).... there a a few tiny ';gourmet'; and not-so-gourmet take-out and eat-in places along this stretch. (And, if you keep walking thru charles St. from the Theatre District, you%26#39;ll nearly be at the Science Museum, another place to see.)

Best pizza in North End?

pizzaria regina

Regina or Ernesto%26#39;s (Salem St.)

Hello Liveforlove,

Since the 1930%26#39;s when my mother was a kid she went to the Pizzeria Regina at 11 1/2 Thatcher St in the North End. All of us as kids grew up going there knowing one of the waitresses there because she knew my mother all through the years! Now that she%26#39;s gone, it%26#39;s not the same---BUT sort of! It%26#39;s probably the best place in the North End to go for pizza. Have it there though, don%26#39;t get it to go or anything like that. The beauty and the secret of there pizza is the old oven they have in the place. It%26#39;s been there for years and that%26#39;s what makes it so delicious. You haven%26#39;t been to Boston until you%26#39;ve been to the Regina at least once. I%26#39;ve copied below a really good description of the pizza and the Regina from a review, it%26#39;s priceless....

Another favorite of mine and my friends who are Italian is the Sicilian style Pizza? It%26#39;s at Boschetto%26#39;s Bakery at 158 Salem St., in the North End one street over from Hanover. This oven in here is a 130 year old brick oven; they have very good ';bakery'; pizza here. It%26#39;s the squares instead of the round type. It%26#39;s up to you what type you prefer.

If you wanted to go to East Boston instead of the North End take the Blue line to the Airport Station and go to Santarpio%26#39;s Pizza at 113 Church St., in East Boston. 617 567-9871. One size pizza (12 inches) and if you like charred lamb chunks or pork sausages? This is the place! It%26#39;s another gem. Some people think it%26#39;s dirty there and noisy but you go there with blinders on that%26#39;s all, who cares? The food is great! The pizza is unbelievable right out of their oven eaten right in one of there booths in the place.

So take your pick; YES you opened a can of worms with this question! I%26#39;m sure they%26#39;ll be other opinions and comments about the pizza in Boston!

Enjoy!

NoMo01

Here%26#39;s from one of the reviews, it%26#39;s really funny and so true regarding the Regina!

Regina%26#39;s is just awesome on many levels. The food, the atmosphere, the waitstaff, the location - it%26#39;s the best. The first fun thing about Regina%26#39;s is the actual getting there. I%26#39;ve been there more times than I can count I still get lost. It%26#39;s a corner restaurant buried in the twisting turning maze that are the brownstone lined streets of downtown Boston. Your best bet is to map is out on Yahoo Maps or MapQuest before you try to go and just hope that the most recent Big Dig construction hasn%26#39;t popped up in your path! haha. Once you get there (particularly on Thursday, Friday or Saturday night) be prepared to wait for a seat. Waiting, however, does not take place in a roomy sitting area. This is Boston where most cool places are crammed into old school brownstone buildings. You will be doing your waiting in a line full of locals that forms outside the door and goes down the block. Doing this particular activity during a true Boston Winter will leave you with a taste of what real Bostonians do. No tourist pampering here! When you get into Regina%26#39;s you will be led to your seat by one of the most colorful waitresses Boston has to offer. These ladies rock. They are funny, sarcasitic, helpful, but most of all - they are in a hurry because this place is packed with a line out the door! No, they will not rush you out of the place, or rush your order, but you will get a kick of watching everyone bustle around. Finally the food. The specialty here is obviously the Pizza! Cooked to perfection in their own brick oven (with its own history) you can%26#39;t find better pizza. Most important tip I can give you: DO NOT EAT REGINA%26#39;S PIZZA ANYWHERE BUT AT THE 11 1/2 THATCHER STREET LOCATION. Recently they put a Regina%26#39;s in the Qunicy Market/Fanuiel Hall area. FORGET IT. It%26#39;s a total tourist trap and you will really not get the experience I am talking about.

Pomodoro Formaggio Fresh chopped tomatoes along with the four cheeses - Mozzarella, Ricotta, Pecorino Romano, and Parmesan. Sprinkled with fresh basil and Regina鈥檚 garlic and oil sauce. If you love Garlic be sure to order an extra side of their special Garlic and Oil sauce.

Speaking of pizza joints - does anyone recall Circle Pizza on Hanover Street? The place was a hole in the wall - and I was always a little suspect of the %26#39;regulars%26#39;, if you know what I mean... but they had a plain cheese pie to die for!

Personally, I love Venice Ristorante, on Cambridge Street across from the Holiday Inn/Gov%26#39;t Center. They just don%26#39;t have the beer part like Regina%26#39;s does.....pity.

Not in the North End but near to where your hotel is located, (a walk across Boston Common to Charles Street next to Beacon Hill), is The Upper Crust which has received very good reviews:

The Upper Crust - 20 Charles St, Boston, Massachusetts

I love Regina%26#39;s pizza, and I am a big fan of Venice, also (it%26#39;s near my office, and we order from them often.)

In the Theater District itself, there is a tiny hole in the wall place, which is totally charm-free, but has great NY-style pizza. In fact, it%26#39;s called New York Pizza, and it%26#39;s on Tremont St., across the street from the Emerson Majestic theater.

One of my other local pizza favorites is in the Fenway. It%26#39;s on the upper end of Boylston St., near the Boston Conservatory of Music. The place is called Uncle Stevie%26#39;s. Again, it%26#39;s totally charm-free and caters to students, but the pizza is awesome (and huge, and cheap, too).

If you are from Chicago originally, and you like deep-dish Chicago pizza, I think that the Pizzeria Uno chain does an excellent job with it, and it%26#39;s quite delicious. I don%26#39;t know if they have one in GA where you are now, but there are a few around Downtown Boston (Boylston St., Kenmore Sq., Huntington Ave.) I don%26#39;t know if it%26#39;s the same Uno as the one in downtown Chicago? Anyhow, it%26#39;s good.

Anyone remember the old European restaurant, on Hanover St.? I never ate there for the regular food, but the pizza was out of this world.

Yes, The European Restaurant pizza was excellent. Although Pizzarina Regina is the best, variety and choice in food and ambiance are good for the palate and the soul for pizza and all other types of cuisine.

Hi BeantownMan;

Do we remember the European!!!

It was the best and YES it had the best best Pizza and the very BEST Veal Cutlet or Meatball sandwiches anywhere! We were just talking about that place the other day. My uncle is from the North End originally and the Maitre%26#39;d that was in there

FOR YEARS WAS ';Chuck'; he knew my uncle very well and he%26#39;d always get my mother and my aunt mixed up whenever he saw them; but it never mattered to any of us because he always got us right in when we came down from New Hampshire and right to a really good table! It was the greatest place! Just priceless. It%26#39;s a shame they closed it. The people in the building were a stitch a few years ago when they wanted to put a Bertucci%26#39;s in the place where the old European was? They all got together and petitioned against it; they didn%26#39;t want any ';chains'; to be put there at ALL. They ended up winning too! We were so glad when we heard that! One thing the North End recently got is a Dunkin Donuts which was a real surprise where it%26#39;s a chain, but the old timers really wanted and needed it. So that%26#39;s about it I think for ';chains'; with them.

Well thank you for bringing me down ';memory lane';

We certainly had a lot of great memories going to that place!

Now that was a real Boston landmark for all of us!

NOMO01