The 10 best pizza places in Boston
Pizza in Boston covers more ground than the North End brick-oven pie the city is known for. This list of 10 pizzerias stays inside the city limits and runs from Sicilian squares on Hanover Street to South Shore bar pies in South Boston, wood-fired rounds in Charlestown and thick slices in a downtown food hall. The list is for residents settling a neighborhood argument and for visitors with one or two meals to spend on pizza.
Independent, locally run shops with long track records and steady coverage in the local press got priority over national chains. A slice runs $7 to $8 at the downtown counter here, a small bar pie starts at $12, and most whole pizzas fall between $16 and $29.
How we chose
The list is alphabetical, not ranked. Each pizzeria is inside the City of Boston, was confirmed open in November 2026, and has a reputation backed by more than one independent source, such as Boston magazine, Time Out Boston or The Boston Globe. Years in business, named and dated awards and a clear house style all counted. Star ratings on review sites did not decide any entry.
Hours and prices below come from each business and change without notice. Call ahead if you are making a special trip.
Antico Forno
Antico Forno is a family-owned Italian restaurant on Salem Street in the North End that has cooked in a wood-burning brick oven since 1996, according to the restaurant. The menu lists 18 pizzas, which the kitchen describes as Neapolitan. A Margherita with fresh mozzarella and basil is $20.50, and the Pistaccio e Salsiccia with pistachio, sausage and pecorino romano is $22.50. Pasta, seafood and Italian entrees fill out the rest of the menu, so a table can split a pie and still order dinner. Gluten-free dough is available on request.
Hours: Monday to Thursday and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Address: 93 Salem Street, Boston, MA 02113
Why they made the list
- The restaurant dates the opening to 1996, which makes 2026 the 30th year on Salem Street.
- Pizza prices on the current menu run from $20 for the Napoletana to $28 for the shrimp-topped Il Gamberi.
- A four-cheese calzone is on the pizza menu at $22.50 and takes added toppings.
- Vegan cheese can be added to any pizza for $2.50.
See the full directory listing
Bardo’s Bar Pizza
South Shore bar pizza, the thin pie baked in a pan and sized for one person, has a South Boston address at Bardo’s Bar Pizza on Old Colony Avenue. The menu calls the style by name and tops each pie with tomato sauce and a blend of mozzarella and sharp cheddar. A plain cheese pizza is $12 and pepperoni is $14. Signature pies cost $16.50 to $17, including the Sweet Dreams with pepperoni, ricotta and house-made hot habanero honey. Bardo’s is a project of the Lombardo family, who run event venues in East Boston and Randolph. Ordering and reservations go through Castle Island Brewing, which shares the address.
Hours: Monday and Tuesday, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Thursday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Address: 10 Old Colony Avenue, Boston, MA 02127
Why they made the list
- The menu names the style as South Shore bar pizza and the crust as the Keeper.
- Build-your-own pies include linguica and dill pickle versions at $13.50 to $14.50.
- A cauliflower gluten-free crust costs $3 extra.
- The company also runs a pizza trailer at Castle Island Brewing in Norwood.
See the full directory listing
Brewer’s Fork
Charlestown’s entry is Brewer’s Fork, a wood-fired pizza restaurant on Moulton Street that opened in 2015, according to Boston magazine. The pies do not follow a single regional style. The current online menu runs from a $16 plain cheese and an $18 Marge to a $21 Spicy Clam and a $22 pie called The Forager, and Boston magazine has pointed to toppings such as foraged mushrooms. Local craft beer is the other half of the name, and the same magazine praised the draft selection. A brunch pizza is on the menu for $21, and gluten-sensitive diners should ask before ordering, since the menu online does not list a gluten-free crust.
Hours: Check current hours before you go.
Address: 7 Moulton Street, Charlestown, MA 02129
Why they made the list
- Boston magazine and Time Out Boston both included the restaurant in their citywide pizza guides.
- Fifteen named pizzas are on the online ordering menu, priced from $16 to $22.
- The kitchen sells raw pizza dough for $4 and a do-it-yourself pizza kit for $18.
Ducali Pizzeria
Ducali Pizzeria has been on Causeway Street, near North Station, since July 2009, when Boston magazine reviewed the newly opened 58-seat room. That review singled out the Rugola, topped with arugula and Parmesan, and the Tre Porcellini with sausage, salami and pancetta. Both are still on the menu. Pizzas on the current ordering page start at $14 for a cheese or Margherita D.O.C. and reach $20 for the Tre Porcellini, with larger sizes costing more. Time Out Boston notes that the kitchen does not sell slices. Order a personal pizza for one or a large to share; the 2009 review also described rectangular pies meant for the table.
Hours: Check current hours before you go.
Address: 289 Causeway Street, Boston, MA 02114
Why they made the list
- The pizzeria has operated at the same Causeway Street address for 17 years.
- Thirteen pizzas are on the ordering menu, including a potato pie called the Patate at $18.
- The directory files Ducali as a soccer bar as well as a pizzeria.
See the full directory listing
Ernesto’s Pizza
One slice at Ernesto’s Pizza is a quarter of an 18-inch pie, which is why a single order passes for lunch. The counter-service shop at 69 Salem Street in the North End keeps about two dozen varieties in rotation, according to Boston magazine, and the shop’s own menu describes a chicken Parmesan slice, an eggplant Parmesan slice and a Hawaiian white pizza with pineapple and ham. Whole pies come in the 18-inch size only. Slices are baked continuously, by the shop’s account, so the case turns over through the day. Time Out Boston places the shop near Haymarket, at the Salem Street entrance to the neighborhood, which makes a slice an easy first stop.
Hours: Check current hours before you go.
Address: 69 Salem Street, North End, Boston
Why they made the list
- Boston magazine named the shop in both a 2017 North End pizza roundup and a 2022 citywide guide.
- The house special with pepperoni, green peppers, mushrooms, onions and olives is always available, Boston magazine reported.
- Ernesto’s has a second location at 641 Assembly Row in Somerville.
- Time Out Boston lists beer, wine and salads alongside the slices.
Galleria Umberto
Lunch is the only meal at Galleria Umberto, and the line on Hanover Street forms before the doors open. Umberto Deuterio started the business in 1974, and his sons Paul and Ralph took over, according to North End Waterfront reporting cited by Wikipedia. The short, cafeteria-style menu centers on thick Sicilian squares, with arancini and panzarotti beside them. Payment is cash only. The James Beard Foundation named Galleria Umberto an America’s Classic in 2018. The kitchen closes when the day’s food is gone, which can happen before the usual mid-afternoon close, so arrive early. Time Out Boston gives Haymarket as the nearest MBTA station.
Hours: Check current hours before you go.
Address: 289 Hanover Street, Boston, MA 02113
Why they made the list
- The James Beard Foundation America’s Classics award in 2018 is a national honor given to long-running regional restaurants.
- The business has passed from its founder to a second generation of the same family.
- Time Out Boston’s pizza guide says regulars begin lining up around 10:30 a.m.
Picco
Sourdough is the base at Picco, a South End restaurant on Tremont Street that has been open for more than two decades, by the restaurant’s count. The dough is cold-fermented and the pies come out of the oven with a charred edge, a trait Time Out Boston also notes. Cheese and pepperoni pizzas anchor the menu, joined by signature pies and seasonal specials, and gluten-free pizzas are made on request. Picco also makes ice cream and dairy-free sorbet in-house with milk from local farms, and the brownie sundae is the one the restaurant recommends. Prices are on the menu posted online.
Hours: Sunday to Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Wednesday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Address: 513 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02116
Why they made the list
- The ice cream contains no eggs, high fructose corn syrup or artificial colors, according to the restaurant.
- Time Out Boston included the South End restaurant in a citywide pizza guide.
- A second Picco operates at 179 Main Street in Marlborough.
Regina Pizzeria
Regina Pizzeria turned 100 in 2026, and on October 20 The Boston Globe reported that the city had named the corner outside the Thacher Street original Regina Pizzeria Square. The company dates the North End shop to 1926 and credits three generations of the Polcari family for the pizza. The pies are thin-crust and baked in a brick oven, and Boston magazine describes an old-school room hung with framed celebrity photos. Time Out Boston warns of a wait at the door. Regina now has 14 locations, most of them counters in malls and markets, including one at 90 Causeway Street. Boston magazine treats the Thacher Street shop as separate from the mall outposts.
Hours: Check current hours before you go.
Address: 11 1/2 Thacher Street, North End, Boston (original). A second city counter is at 90 Causeway Street, Boston, MA 02114.
Why they made the list
- A blue street sign reading Regina Pizzeria Square went up in the North End in October 2026 to mark the centennial.
- The crust recipe is a century old and uses natural yeast, by the company’s account.
- Single slices at the original leave in triangle-shaped boxes, Boston magazine noted in 2022.
- Other Boston counters include Faneuil Hall and South Station.
See the full directory listing
Santarpio’s Pizza
Across the harbor in East Boston, at 111 Chelsea Street, Santarpio’s Pizza builds each pie with the toppings first, then cheese, then sauce, and bakes the crust to a hard char, as Boston magazine describes the method. An Italian cheese pizza is $16 and combination pies run $20 to $26. The other half of the short menu is barbecue from the grill: a lamb skewer or steak tips at $17.50 and homemade sausage at $10. Time Out Boston calls the pizzeria about a century old and says the business began as a bakery. Boston magazine’s 2022 guide listed the original as cash only, so bring bills.
Hours: Daily, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Address: 111 Chelsea Street, East Boston, MA 02128
Why they made the list
- Boston magazine and Time Out Boston both put Santarpio’s in their citywide pizza guides.
- Single-topping pizzas such as garlic, onion or mushroom cost $18 to $18.50.
- The kitchen is open seven days a week with the same hours each day.
- A garden salad with homemade vinaigrette is the only salad on the menu, at $6.75.
Tenderoni’s
Chef Tiffani Faison modeled Tenderoni’s on the pizza parlors of the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the counter inside the High Street Place food hall sells the result by the slice. A slice of Cheese Please, made with red sauce, mozzarella, fontina, Parmesan and crispy cheese, is $7. Every other slice is $8, including the namesake Tenderoni with cupped pepperoni. Whole pizzas are $25 for cheese and $29 for the rest, among them a white-base steak and cheese pie. The food hall counter is closed on Sunday. A full-service Tenderoni’s at 1363 Boylston Street in the Fenway opens daily at 5 p.m.
Hours: High Street Place: Monday to Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Thursday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; closed Sunday.
Address: 100 High Street, Boston, MA 02110
Why they made the list
- Ten pizzas are on the High Street Place menu, including the Issa Meatball with ricotta and basil.
- Extras include pickled hot peppers for $2.50 and hot honey, ranch or pesto for $1 each.
- The Fenway restaurant adds scratch-made pastas and large salads, according to Boston magazine.
See the full directory listing
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