Galleria Umberto

WOW!. The North End has awesome restaurants. You can't go wrong eating anywhere in the area. Today, for my self care, I was directed here to Umbertos Galleria. Again. WOW!

First and foremost, bring cash. Lots and lots of cash! Especially if you're me.

The line forms quickly. I got there early for pickup, thank goodness, and my order was taken swiftly. Then, I couldn't help myself. I kept ordering. The pizza was great. The way pizza should be. The spinach and cheese calzon is very cheesy and spinachy-- in a word delectable. The rice balls and Pizetta, well, all I can say in a word is stupendous. I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch, and I know you will, too.

Must try classic in north end! There is typically a wait but it is well worth it. I believe they only take cash also and everything is affordable.

The arancini is extremely crispy and filled with meat sauce, peas, and melty mozzarella. The panzerotti is a crispy fried potato mixture stuffed with parsley and mozzarella - very tasty but also a bit more bland. The pizza here is also wonderfully crispy and thick but it would have been too filling in combination with these two. The interior has many tables for self seating and is quite lively.

There is absolutely no better value for your money than Galleria Umberto! This is the absolute Italian classic in the middle of Boston. I have been coming here since I arrived in 1987 and the pizzas back then were less than $1 per slice and now they are just slightly around $2 each and they are amazing.
You need to come early an you need to understand that they open from 10AM to maybe around 2:00PMish and that depends on whether they have any food left around that time. They sell everything, every day, every week, every month, every year, so once 2PM comes around, you better pray at the many saints, churches and cathedrals that are around the Italian North End, because the likelihood that you will get what you want is already gone and you may not even get anything at all.
So why would you spend your time on a place that runs out of food every day, because it is the most authentic pizza, the most authentic joint and by that I mean the classical Italian decoration, with the painted island of Sicily, that has been there since I arrived, with the same servers/owners that never age, never look old and are a fixture of the place and just makes you feel that this is your home. Where can you have four slices and a soda for about $10.00 in Downtown Boston?
The pizza is always a Sicilian Square that is crunchy, juicy sauce, cheese that smelts and is slightly burnt to give that charcoal taste that we all love. Never undercooked, never over, just right, every day, week, year. They are so consistent that whatever they do stays the same over the years, they do not change the menu, it is the same 6-7 options, pizza, panzarotti, panini, calzone, arancini and that's it, but you do not need more and if you go once, you will come back plentiful and if they are running out of food, try anything, because everything is good!

Cheers!

Been wanting to come for so long now. Heard and read so many good things about their pizza. Came day after new years, so we got lucked out with no wait (compared to normally is a long line). This is cash only. Reasonably priced. Staff were friendly especially for first timers, they didn't rush you. Inside is very spacious (for both end) with good amount of table seatings.
Small menu so we wanted to try everything. They only have cheese pizza. But sells quick so they're always making fresh batches throughout the day. We got cheese pizza, Arancini, pizzette and panzarotti. Everything was good but I wouldn't say it'll be worth waiting in a long line for.

3.5 stars would be more accurate.

WOW! Absolutely blown away by this pizza. Heard great things going in but I was truly so impressed. First of all, $2 slices are insane. And for a good sized slice!

The pizza is Sicilian, so square and thick. The tomato sauce was exquisite. By far the best part. The pizza had so much flavor even though it was just cheese and sauce. They must season the sauce really well. They only offer the one flavor but that's all you need.

I also got one of the panzerotti. This is a mozzarella stick surrounded by mashed potatoes and fried. Very good and reminded me of a McDonald's hash brown with the flavor of the crust a bit. It was around $2.5.

Would DEFINITELY return and HIGHLY recommend.

Pros: fresh pizza, made quite often give the volume of customers. Affordable at 2.25/slice

Cons: pizza is not great. Sauce a little bitter, not a lot of cheese on pizza.Slices are on the small side. I really don't understand what the hype is all about.
also-cash only, long lines on weekends, bathroom had no t.p and was unclean.

We came here on a recommendation that this was the best pizza around. However, I really don't know what all the hype is about, it was underwhelming. Sure the cheese had good flavor, but that was it. The dough was meh and the sauce equally meh. Actually if you're going to get one of these pizza squares, try and get an edge cut, otherwise the topping will slide right off. However, by all means give it a try for yourself, for the locals seem to love it!!

The decor had an old school Italian flare, as these are true Italians running the place. Maybe this style of pizza just has to grow on you.

FYI, Cash only, like a lot of places around here.

Very casual dining experience, they serve quickly even though the line is long, and although the place looks small from the entrance there's actually a lot of seating inside!!

We got two slices of pizza ($2.25 each), Arancini ($4.50), and panzarotti ($2.50)

The pizza was very standard, but the nice crispy and crunchy crust was good, wish there had been maybe more cheese or sauce

The panzerotti was decent, the shell was nice and crispy, inside was potato and cheese. There wasn't much flavor to it besides it being warm mashed potato so prob wouldn't get again but was fun to try!

The Arancini though was super super good! The outside crunchy shell was so satisfying and the inside was so gooey and soft and chewy. The peas and ground meat filling made it feel like such a hearty warm comforting meal :)

Would go again and again for the Arancini

When I arrived ; only slices left...
Sells only cheese slices , no toppings
Pizza reminded me of high school cafeteria pizza; but gets tastier as you bite into it...
And the guy in front of me took the two corners...
Next time; I'm taking ...
Hidden secret is to ask for the corners as crust burnt on two sides is far better than middle slices...
They close daily when pizza sold out? Today was 2:30...
2.50 a slice a good deal in the North end
2 slices for lunch = 5.00
Very reasonable and been there forever ...
Wish they add other slice options... but don't change what isn't broken here ... when door gate is down; pizza sold out...then Ernesto's for higher price slices or Regina for a real deal pie...

I cannot believe how great of a deal this is.

I waited in line for about 25 minutes, but it was well worth it. At $2.25 for a slice, there really is no better deal. The pizza was fresh and hot - I think they make trays of the stuff and then just bring the tray out to the front, cut it up in front of everyone, and dish it out to the line right away. We really got our slices right from the oven, and it made the pizza taste even better.

The menu is limited, but it's incredibly high quality Sicilian pizza (cut in squares). The dough was nice and fluffy, and the sauce had a lot of depth. You could taste a bunch of herbs and spices, and the cheese was layered perfectly on top in the right ratio. It didn't feel too greasy - just a perfect bite.

Another thing to note is that there is no official closing time for this restaurant. They close when they run out of pizzas for the day. I went around 1:45pm, but I heard they usually close around 2:30-3:00, so they will not be open for dinner. I also heard that they are not open on Sundays and they close for about a month in the summer (July I think) for a holiday.

There are some tables and chairs inside the restaurant, but we preferred to take it out and eat it sitting in the grass in the nearby Rose Kennedy Greenway.

If you want fancy slices with lots of toppings, this isn't the place, but if you want a really reliable and tasty slice, this is the only place to go in the North End. I will 100% be back.