This Boston pizzeria has been named the best in Massachusetts — again

In a state with no shortage of pizzerias, how do you pick the best?

Is it the ambience? The price? The crisp of the crust? The stringiness of the cheese? The flavor of the sauce and the toppings? Or is it some kind of alchemy of all of the above?

The food website recently went in search of the answers, naming the best pizzerias in these 50 states. The website based its findings on customer reviews on Yelp.

In the Bay State, top honors went to Galleria Umberto, a fixture on Hanover Street in Boston’s North End since 1974.

The family-run pizzeria has “an unassuming exterior and interior, but the food speaks for itself,” LoveFood wrote in its review.

“Favorites include the meat and cheese-stuffed arancini, the greasy Sicilian squares, the pizzettes (small pieces), the panzerotti (savory turnovers), and the calzone,” the website continued. “Be prepared to line up – and to need napkins. It’s also cash-only.” This isn’t the first time that the North End pizzeria has been similarly honored.

Last year, the lifestyle website The Infatuation, also gushed over it, writing that “this is the spot to stop at if you’re walking around town, have a couple of bucks in your pocket, and want some delicious pizza and incredible arancini.”

“The Sicilian slices are just the right amount of thick with perfectly charred cheese, and the arancini could put on a TED Talk covering texture contrast with its crunch-to-gooey ratio,” The Infatuation’s Tanya Edwards wrote. “It’s cash only, and you should be prepared to eat off paper plates. Also, you’ll really want to have your order ready when you get to the counter—we’re not saying you’ll get a dirty look, but you’ll probably get a dirty look.”

Galleria Umberto also notched top honors in a 2020 list compiled by the editors at The Daily Meal, MasssLive previously reported.