Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana — Restaurant in Newton

UPDATE Since I wrote the review below I have been back to this location perhaps a dozen times. Sadly, I have to downgrade my rating. I always get a regular cheese pizza with mozzarella, not fresh mozzarella and not the fresh tomato pizza. I like the fact that they normally use Romano cheese but I also like to have them add mozzarella. The sauce and the cheese are still very good. My problem is the crust. Most of the time it is now thick and bready instead of thin, crispy and chewy the way it was when they first opened. I prefer thin and crispy to thick and bready. Some spots are thinner than others, but much of the pizza dough is more like bread than pizza crust. Not good. Old review: I'm very picky about my pizza. Santarpio's in East Boston is my favorite, but it isn't convenient for me. I also love the classic Greek pan pizzas from Town Spa, Cape Cod Café, Christo's and Lynwood. I went to Frank Pepe's original location in New Haven about 10 years ago and I was not overwhelmed, so I wasn't expecting a great experience in Chestnut Hill. Boy, was I wrong!

Frank Pepe's at the Chestnut Hill Mall is making some of the best pizza in the area right now. The crust is equal to or better than any other that I have tried recently. It is thin, crispy and chewy. I have had 3 pizzas thus far and the crust was lightly charred in all cases and delicious. Normally I leave a lot of crust on my plate because I am more interested in the toppings, but this crust is too good to leave behind. It is as close to perfect as any that I have ever had.

I should point out that Santarpio's has a great crust also, but it is different. It isn't as chewy and they use corn meal on the bottom, a great way to get a crisp crust. Pepe's doesn't use corn meal. They produce a very different style of crust that is outstanding!

So far, each of my Pepe pizzas has been covered with toppings all the way to the edges, unlike some pizza joints that leave big spaces with just a little sauce or cheese.

So, how about those toppings?

Let's tackle the sauce first.

I have only tried the Original pizza style which uses a crushed Italian tomato sauce. Although the sauce is very good, it is very mild. It is not sweet (I don't like sweet sauce unless the sweetness is just from the tomatoes) and not spicy (I can always add pepper flakes) but it doesn't have as much flavor as the sauce at Santarpio's, for example. I asked for extra sauce on one pie and it gave me more flavor, but I think that this is a style issue. It is very good sauce, but not the best that I have ever had. An interesting side note is that Pepe's offers freshly made sauce during July and August, using local tomatoes. I will be trying that soon.

Cheese - the first pizza that I tried was a plain with mozzarella cheese. There was plenty of cheese and I thought it was very good. Since then I tried a grated cheese version that the waitress said was made with Pecorino Romano. My first thought was that I should try combining the mozzarella and the Romano for some extra cheese flavor. I have learned that Pepe's actually wants you to try different combinations and they offer several additional options including asiago, gorgonzola and goat cheeses.

Considering how great the crust is, and that the summer fresh tomato option is here, and that there are so many cheese combinations to try, I have a lot more fun research to do over the next few months.

I did try a pizza with bacon and sausage because I wanted to see how the pizza flavors stood up to that (and because I love bacon and I love sausage) and it was also great. The sausage was mild, sliced into quarter inch thick disks and the bacon was cut into eighth inch thick strips about 2 inches long. The sausage was good (although I like it a little more chewy, coarse ground with some gristle) but the bacon was fantastic! The bacon had a great smoky flavor with crisp edges from the oven but perfectly cooked in the middle, not too crisp. It was thick enough to have a nice,...

Recently, I was admitted at Brigham for a medical procedure and had an unbelievable craving for a solid Italian pizza. Everyone knows how terrible hospital food is, so the pizza certainly hit the spot.

I jumped onto Uber Eats and found Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana. I’ve seen the establishment on the app before and just knew I had to give it a try! Being from Chicago, I love trying all kinds of pizzas from all over the country.

We ordered from the “Chestnut Hill” location, which wasn’t too far from Brigham. Delivery was quick and fresh. Pizza temperature could’ve been a bit hotter, but that’s not the restaurant’s fault. Uber/DoorDash should be giving insulated pizza bags for those making pizza deliveries.

Their menu is solid with something for every taste! They have your typical options, as well as an expansive Specialty, Fan Favorites, and Create-Your-Own pizza menu. If you can’t find a new favorite here, you’re not very hungry!

In addition to the pizzas, they also have a small selection of fresh and crisp salads. We plan to add that the next time we order! They also have a solid selection of craft sodas to complement your pie.

We decided to order the 16” Doppio Pepperoni Pizza. The pizza is crafted with crushed Italian tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, grated pecorino and Romano, olive oil, & extra pepperoni.

The sauce was incredible. Not too sweet and not too acidic. It doesn’t overpower the pizza. The crust and dough is slightly crisp with a nice chew to it. My only advice is be careful of the size you order!

Most places a 12” Pie isn’t that large. That said, we typically get a 16” or larger. Here, a medium 16” pie is roughly 12-slices. The portions here are very generous and justify the price. I would order a 12” next time and add a fresh salad. We don’t mind warmups, so I have some great pizza for lunch tomorrow!

A few improvements I would love to see: I do wish they offered a better dessert menu selection and would offer at least a small selection of appetizers to choose from. I would’ve loved a small order of wings to go with my pizza!

I also noticed they don’t cut the pizza very uniformly, a little more effort could be put in for the price. Presentation is important!

I look forward to ordering from here many times in the future! If they could make a few small improvements, they’d earn that 5th Star! Prices are pretty reasonable, maybe a touch higher than other spots. However, the portion more than makes up for it! We paid roughly $26 for the 16” Pizza. We both have enough left for a second meal tomorrow!

One of my favorite pizzas I have had in Boston! And I am very picky about pizza, given I am from Chicago. Keep up the great work and the...

So if you're the kind of person who can fall in love with a simple pie...

If you can understand the brilliance of blending fresh tomatoes, flavorful cheese, and perfectly baked dough to achieve complexity of flavors that can knock your socks off...

If you want pizza in its purest form, with a crust that crunches when you bite into but gives you enough chew to make you slow down and appreciate how great the universe can be...

Then welcome to your mecca.

Full disclosure. I have gotten one of the pizzas with toppings here before and was disappointed. The white clam was too moist and soggy in the middle. This was upsetting and other reviews here indicate it's a common problem. Under normal circumstances, I'd take this down to a four star review over amateur hour shenanigans.

But given the sheer utter perfection of their plain pie, I can't in good conscious give this place anything less than a 5 star rating. No kidding. Their recipe and the way they cook it in their DEEEEEP charcoal oven is the stuff of legends. It's why pizza grabbed America as the food of choice in the 1930's and never let go. Take it from a New Yorker, where pizza reigns supreme. This place is the real deal.

Get a large pie. Half of it plain with cheese / half of it with just their classic tomato sauce (that's how Italians eat it, Americans threw on the cheese when the dish came overseas). Don't bother with any of the toppings. I can't speak for their New Haven location, but here those things only dilute the greatness of what the chefs do best. Have some peligrino or red wine and enjoy. The complexity of the flavors in the base ingredients. The varying textures as you make your way through the pie. It goes to show what happens when you stand back and just let pizza be pizza.

Hats off Frank Pepe's of Chesnut Hill. Bravo. Take a bow. Fix the soggy bottom of your White Clam pizza. Or don't. I don't care. Your plain pie is a gift from the heavens and I'll be back...