Monte's Restaurant
141 Eastern Avenue, Lynn, MA 01902
(781) 599-0478
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There is a sign on the wall at Monte's Restaurant in Lynn that says, "If they don't have pizza in heaven...then I'm not going!" Well, whether there is pizza in heaven or not remains to be seen, but what I do know is that the old industrial city of Lynn has its own heavenly pizza place that should be on the radar for pizza lovers throughout the Boston area.
At first glance, Monte's doesn't look like much, as it looks a bit tired from the outside and is adjacent to a sinister-looking railroad bridge that crosses over Eastern Avenue a few blocks away from Lynn Beach. But the interior is completely different from the outside, as it is a warm, old-fashioned, friendly place with plenty of seating in the comfortable dining room and a few more tables in the bar area. The menu at Monte's has a number of items, including pastas, fried seafood, steaks, burgers, and chicken. But what Monte's is really known for (and has been since just after World War II) is their spectacular bar pizza--relatively small personal pizzas that have a dry, slightly browned, cracker-like crust that is one of the best this writer has had anywhere. The sauce is spicy and hearty, and the cheese, which extends all the way to the edge of the crust (typical of a bar pizza), is golden brown and delicious.
Although Monte's Restaurant might have have one of the best pizzas in the Boston area, it has almost zero name recognition outside of Lynn and neighboring Swampscott. Perhaps it is because of its location (Lynn, like other old mill cities such as Lawrence and Brockton, sometimes gets an undeservedly bad rap). Or maybe it is because the building it is housed in has seen better days. But the bottom line is, Monte's is a nice place in a decent neighborhood, and it should definitely be on people's short lists of great pizza places in the Boston area. If you're looking for a little slice of heaven north of Boston (or maybe 2 or 3 slices), Monte's is worth a visit.
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