Max and Leo's Pizza Newton

" wow that was good , yummy sauce too " We got some pizza to share with friends tonight . The cheese and margarita yum . The sauce is amazing . The ingredients you can taste the freshness . Yum ! It's a small place with a big bite , highly recommend. This establishment is super clean , as well . Parking is street metered . You can call ahead for take out , we did . Wait time , is pretty on point . The staff is friendly. The vibe is welcoming, and jolly .

We just got a pizza from here to go, and the pizza is very burned. We have to leave for somewhere so could not return and let the staff know. This is very surprising, I’ve never had pizza from any place that is this burnt. The box smelled burnt before we opened it and the pepperonis tasted burnt. Half of this pizza is inedible.

I've never ever eaten Pizza like theirs. Is not very thick, not thin either, absolutely perfect and extraordinary in taste. I would recommend veggie and margarita pizzas here. It's just hand made with love, tastes like. I never knew before that pizzas can be made this much delicious. Five out of five !!!

Fantastic flavor, perfectly cooked crust, absolutely delicious overall. The only thing preventing me from giving 5 stars is the grease, it is very greasy.

Found this great gem searching through a large of amount of pizzerias in the area on Google maps. Had a less than desirable pizza experience in Mass before. Glad to see it didn't happen again. We get there and find out the husband is from Budd Lake NJ. How could it not be great? We all loved the margarita and paradigm pizza. Lemon and pepper wings were delicious and piping hot. Pizza had great flavor with perfect crisp. Friends had the Buffalo chicken pizza and they raved about it. If you have a large family and are expecting to sit down, please be patient. Place gets quite busy and seating is very limited.

Small, but cozy location. Didn't try the pizza, but the smells wafting from the back were delicious. The eggplant parm sandwich was phenomenal, head and shoulders above what I'm used to, and the BLT was great. Multiple takeaway orders distracted the lone server somewhat, but this didn't meaningfully detract from the experience. Would certainly recommend this shop for anyone looking for a quick bite in the area.

Cool east coast pizza place. Crust, sauce, cheese, and toppings were all excellent and cooked perfectly. Friendly staff. Very small and cozy inside- 5 seats at a bar-height counter on one side, 5 seats at the bar on the other, and two little tables in the corner- rest of the place is the open kitchen and coal oven.

Simply outstanding. From service, to atmosphere, to the food. Very friendly staff that is concerned about your experience. The pizza and wings are delicious. Highly recommend.

so. good. a cute little place with a few seats inside and the pizza was one of the best pizzas i've ever had. delish

A little stop off whilst traveling coal fired pizzeria. Tasty and good beer! Easy to get to off the highway and safe clean neighborhood. Easy parking.

When I'm in the Newton area for work, I love to frequent this little pizza place. It's literally the tiniest restaurant I've ever eaten in but the food is excellent. They have an assortment of specialty pizza with fancy names and the staff is always so nice. If it's a busy night you may have to wait to be seated but carry out is also an option. If you get to eat in don't worry about how small the space is. Somehow they make it work and everyone feels like family.

I went to this spot because it was recommended by someone at the reception desk of my hotel which was right across the street. Kinda felt like a cool little dive bar when I walked in. The hostess/server/bartender Brianna 'Bri' welcomed me in with a great smile. It is a small with limited seating, but I didn't mind. I ordered a beer (Belgian White) and built a sausage, pepperoni, mushroom, artichoke and jalapeño pizza (see pic). It was super delicious. I'm here for a few more days, so I will probably try one of the house special pizzas before I leave town.

Pizza is great of course, but Cesar salad was really unbelievably good. Service was also great.

This was such great pizza, I'm excited to try out all their other pies and see if the takeout holds up just as well as eating it fresh out of the oven. The crust/dough reminds me a little of Juliana's or Lombardi's, same crispy/chewy perfection. The wood-fired coal oven adds a beautiful well-done roasted undertone. We got the margherita. Whenever I try out a new pizza place, I always go with one of their simplest pies on the theory that if you can master the combination of cheese, tomato sauce, and basil, chances are everything else that you churn out has to be good too. It was so, so good. The pie didn't even need the meatballs as a topping (my mom's choice, she's a fervent believer that if something doesn't have meat on it, it's not a real meal). We also tried the Caesar salad but let's be real, the undisputed star of the show is the pizza. Our waitress was exceptional and so considerate: dividing our salad into two plates so we could share it more easily, joking that (after we knocked over a glass of water onto the floor) they didn't need to clean the floors given how many times people had spilled water, and saying "Thank you, [name]" after handing us our check to sign. Just a ton of small, meaningful gestures that we so appreciated after a long, exhausting day. The inside is quite tiny, only a few tabletops and seats at the bar. Not ideal for a larger group. Because everyone is so crammed in together, any sort of loud talking is amplified 100x. When we went, there was a group basically shrieking in each other's faces. It didn't make for the most pleasant experience, having to shout just to be heard over their racket and hearing every single word of their conversation, but the pizza was worth the slightly busted eardrums afterwards. Parking: a public parking lot two streets over.

Stopped in for lunch after getting our computer fixed next store. What a find! Awesome pizza, awesome service. Gotto come back, everything on the menu looked great. Only problem is that the dining room/ bar is small. Gotto time it right.

Ordered two pizzas and wings to go over the phone. The timing was accurate, and the food was promptly prepared and handed to me. Got Margarita pizza and Jero's Pineapple pizza, as well as honey hot habanero wings. Pizzas were good. We all enjoyed. However, the wings came burnt. We couldn't believe what we got. Not edible at all. They were burnt rocks. Living not that far from there (17 min), but didn't want to drive back. Decided to throw them out, but I wanted to contact the restaurant to let them know. Based on their website instruction, I emailed the restaurant, stating the burnt & inedible wings and asked their feedback. Then I received the automatic email acknowledging that they received my email. However, two weeks went by and no response. I usually try to contact privately if I had a problem with my order (once I got spoiled food from one place, contacted them and was told that it was a pure mistake and they apologized, which was enough), but as they did not want to acknowledge anything, decided to leave my review here. If you order wings to go, please double check your items before leaving the restaurant.

Best pizza in the area, but what makes this location extra special are the bartenders. They know us (and my son!) and are so friendly and kind. Side note: all pizzas are great, but the wings are solid too!!

This pizza hit the spot. We had just made a stop in town after a day of traveling and landing at Logan. Of course it was prime traffic time but we decided to make a pit stop since we were hangry. So glad we did. Brick oven pizza assembled in front of you fresh ingredients, great vibe. Highly recommend!!!

It's a tiny space where we had an authenticate Italian wood fired pizza and an epic salad with arugula and grilled chicken. The servers were super friendly and had helpful ideas about what to do downtown since we'd never visited Boston before. Note this location is in Newton about 20 minutes from the harbor and Boston Commons. Lots of options for beer on tap but I didn't try any alcoholic beverages. Later we learned from another local that Max and Leo's is a local favorite. I would totally go back just for the salad!

First time here and absolutely delicious! I live in Newton and somehow never heard of the place. Will definitely be back!

The seating area is about 5x5. We had 2 choices: leave or eat in our carso we left. They lost a good sum of money from us. They should advertise for takeout only, or at least CLEARLY state they have VERY limited seating capacity.

I do really like this place. The pizza is good. It's chewy and the toppings are fresh. If you don't like a little char, you should avoid this place. I like coal and wood fired pizza myself. PROS: everything tastes fresh. The toppings are good quality. They have alot of options as well. It is cooked very quickly in the oven, so it's ready fast, unless they're super busy. They also are really good about giving plates and napkins for take out. It's nice inside, although small. The oven is visible and you can see the crew hard at work. Take out is easy and they're really responsive and quick. Parking behind is available and some meter spots out front. CONS: I paid $40 for 2 pizzas. They're smaller than typical pizzas also. I recognize they're artisan, but I think you're penalized for making your own. I think I paid $3 for each topping. If you order one of their special pizzas with 4 or 5 toppings, it is cheaper than ordering your own custom. Again, smaller pizzas, so in theory, less area to apply toppings. OVERALL: Really good pizza. Everything is fresh. The place is small, but has parking behind so you can do easy take out.

Delicious and legitimately good for Boston - I'm a New Haven/NYC crust snob but this is good. Much better eating in than to go - it doesn't travel well. But very good and inflated but par for the course pricing but worth it for pizza night

Have been looking throughout this pandemic to support local pizza places and had mainly kept my search to Watertown. Decided to expand to Newton (this is actually closer than several of the Watertown places to my house too) and this is officially my new favorite local pizza spot! Excellent toppings, pizza comes out quick, and an incredible crunchy Neapolitan styled crust. Definitely recommend. I will say I've only eaten takeout from here, so can't really determine what it's like to sit down and eat here. Food: This is where it shines. I've had the Jero's Pineapple, which is one of my favorite styles of pizza and I'm just glad I don't have to build one out as it's often more expensive to pick toppings a la carte. The L'umina has been my recent go-to and probably my favorite. The combination of the pears, honey and prosciutto is soo good! If there's one thing I could recommend they get (if they even read this) is the fig/prosciutto combination for pizzas. Just wanted to add that their crust is some of the best I've had and is one of the things that keeps me coming back. Drinks: Haven't tried them, but they appear to have a bar with beers if you eat in. Service: Everytime I've come in to pick up the order I've been met by a friendly worker. They also learned my name/face pretty quickly, although I probably shouldn't have ordered 3x that first week lol Decor: The place is tiny. Like very tiny. I probably wouldn't feel super comfortable eating inside there during Covid (hopefully they can get some outdoor seating when it gets warmer). Definitely coming back, probably not 3x a week, but at least 1-2x a month.

This place is a very small, tiny place, just a few seats, but the pizza is amazing! Big delicious, very tasty crust, you cam build your own, or you can pick up one from the menu! I had one time the meat one, that have to much stuff on! I couldn't finished! I think is a must, in this Area!

My new favorite pizza spot in town! I got the dante, which has tomato sauce, meatball, mozzarella, roasted red peppers, and basil. This pizza is cooked for 2 minutes in 900 degrees in a coal fired oven. It has the perfect amount of crunch maintaining its soft, moist, and doughy inside. As you can tell, the cheese pull is absolutely phenomenal. It's not greasy or too salty either!! Im not usually a crust eater but man I licked the plate clean off of this one. My mom said it was one of the best pizzas shes ever had! The lemon rosemary wings were phenomenal as well. Loved that it was also cooked in the oven so the exterior was super crisp with juicy meat. It also wasnt greasy. I loved the rosemary and lemon flavor and the caramelized onions on top. I cannot recommend this place enough!!

Hands down the best pizza I have ever eaten! Cooked perfectly from crust to core.

The pizza had a bad topping on it and tasted gross. I got all the way home with it and called to ask if they could refund me as it was inedible and they said they could only refund me if I brought it back which in total is a 45 min drive. Terrible customer service. Ive been here plenty of times and the pizza is good but not worth $25

So delicious and such friendly service. My son and I spent much of this summer exploring new pizza spots. Nothing comes close to Max & Leo's - we love their traditional and more inventive options always cooked to perfection.

It was ok. It had potential. I think the cook may have been rushed or new and improperly trained or careless. The pepperonis were clumped together, not distributed well. The crust was charred (and bitter) but not cooked completely. So the oven was too hot and the cook time was too short. The ingredients were tasty. But the experience was disappointing. I will not be back. Bummed that such a highly reviewed pizza spot was not so good.

I found this place by accident. It happen to be across the street from my hotel. I'm a pizza snob. I can be. I'm from new haven ct. home of the top three apizza places in the country. If you don't know, look it up. I had the Dante. Meatball and roasted red peppers. It's thin like new haven and cooked well done (those who don't know any better call it burnt) this pie was very tasty, very good, and quality throughout. I will be back.

The pizza is one of the best around and the wings are fantastic. The bartender/waitress is always pleasant and friendly. Love this place.

First time going there. We did take out. Order was ready in ten minutes. The pizza was amazing and the salad was fresh. Will be our go to pizza place.

Pizza at Max and Leo's is so good that I shiver and mouth become watery by just looking at the menu. This location has a small dine in space but it's fun and cozy for a party of two. The host/waitress is always super friendly and attentive. My favorites are margarita, Dante and Julianne. I love the thin crust and the char flavor in each bite. Usually I am picky on the crust but at Max and Leo's no crust was wasted. One of the best!

Just popped into the place, not big place small with limited tables. Pizza was deligious

The pizza was excellent and so was the arugula salad. No lie, it was the best pizza I had in Boston. It's a small little place but it's clean and the food is delicious! Highly recommend.

Such awesome pizza! It is coal-fired and the crust has a nice char and smokiness. Note that the center is quite soft when it's right out of the oven (ideal if you like to fold up your slice) BUT we discovered that it got crispier next day after reheating in the oven for a few minutes (we personally liked it even more this way). Lots of toppings and sauces available. And you can get all of those on some build-your-own coal-fired nachos too! Their nachos are one of the best in town for sure. Seriously, caramelized onions on nachos = love.

Passing through Newton and stopped by this little hole in the wall and we were so glad we did! The pizza is made fresh in an old fashion pizza oven. We ordered the Mikey and it was a delicious pepperoni pizza, the cheese was melted perfectly and the pepperonis were perfectly crispy, as soon as my boyfriend took a bite the first thing he said to me was "wow it has so much flavor." The bottom of the pizza was perfectly crisp and has that light charcoal taste on the bottom from the oven. If I lived in the area I would be coming weekly, no question about it. Definitely stopping by next time I'm in Mass. Check it out !!

Excellent service from anyone named max or Maxwell The food beyond belief luscious looking variety both European and American cuisine beverages outstanding and paired with meal

Always busy with friendly hardworking staff. Excellent thin pizza. Nice beer selection. Not inexpensive but very good.

My husband has never tried this place, so we came here and picked up two pies for lunch, a margherita and a paradigm. They were medium crust pizzas cooked in a coal fired oven. He felt it was oily, and I felt it was too charred for my liking. Also, the three toppings on paradigm seemed to just be thrown on without any attention to making sure each slice would have equal amounts of all three proteins on them. It was a Saturday lunch shift and was by no means busy. So, the chefs could have taken an extra few seconds to make sure the sausage, pepperoni, and hamburger were placed evenly on the pie. The sloppiness reminds me of the pies at Frank Pepe's which I dislike. On the menu, it says they only make it well done, so I didn't bother asking for lightly cooked. Another thing that I don't like is that on the underside of the pizza, there is a lot of burnt dark specs which I believe are left over from previously baked pizzas. They could do a better job of swiping the oven and removing those bits before proceeding to make more pizzas. I'm sure it's not an easy or fun job, but for that price point, you do expect more attention to details like that. When there is too much char on the pizza, it doesn't taste good and leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. Charred foods, which might be tasty for some folks, is actually very carcinogenic to your body. Sadly, for these reasons, I won't return.

Awesome pizza place!! I know a lot of people really like the fancy pizzas, like fancier recipes. I'm more of a classic pepperoni girl, but these fun combos are still good! The crust on half of one of our pizzas was a little singed, but the pizzas were ready quick. We got takeout because we live close-- I would get again if I was having a small group of friends over for company. The pizzas with greens and balsamic glaze don't do well heated up the next day so if you get those make sure you eat them first!

Max and Leo's has been one of our go-to pizza spots for the last several years. Small location with only a handful of seats, but worth it. And takeout is a great option too. Either way, always delicious!

Would give 3 1/2 stars if I could. Super tiny place. Pizza didn't like up to the hype for me. Good service. Wouldn't go out of my way for this spot.

Max and Leo has a very simple and specialized menu - pizza and wings- however, not your average pizza and wings! In addition to the classic tomato sauce/mozzarella base, they offer a white olive oil based crust, which is special and tastes amazing! My favorite is the L'Oscar pizza - olive oil base with mozzarella sausage and mushroom. It's super flavorful but yet not as greasy as the typical red sauce based pizzas. They also have a pesto based sauce which is the next thing on my list to try! Omg, and their wings are to die for! I've tried both the Honey hot habanero and the Chipotle lime ones, both of which were slightly charred on the outside and juicy and tender inside. I have to warn you though the Honey habanero flavor is really really hotttt - I had to drink a lot of water and my tongue was burning for half an hour. Only complaint is that the restaurant is very small and has no tables - only abut 10 bar seats. It gets packed so easily during dinner time and you may have to order a pie to go instead of enjoying it there fresh out of the oven...

DELICIOUS pizzas! Great for takeout but bar is cute, too.

Great call roasted pizza very quickly maybe 510 minutes. The reason for the three stars is that the bartender would not stop talking nonsense and way too loud you couldn't enjoy your relaxing meal. Better off ordering takeout.

The pizza was amazing, the charred honey habanero wings were hot, the beer was cold, and the staff were super friendly! We are from out of town however, we sat at the bar and felt like regulars! Awesome experience!

This was our first visit to Max and Leo's and the pizza did not disappoint. Our waitress was very pleasant and pointed us to the favorites on the menu. Service was quick and the food exceeded our expectations.

Best pizza in the Boston. Tasty, crust and amazing . Recomended . Friendly staff. Love

I wish there was a zero star option that I could give to this place. Very rude staff!! Unfortunately We were not able to stand how rude the person over the counter was to even look at the menu and place the order! No one was checking us in when we entered the place and as we thought we should place the order through a Screen which was placed right next to the entrance, the lady over the counter started yelling at us to stop touching her computer. We realized we made a mistake, but she kept yelling at us. We didn't get to taste the food, but we believe respect is the first thing they should have for the customer even before the food.

Very good coal fired pizza. Extremely busy and little seating available . Best for take out. Get the Blue Ribbon pizza or the stuffed pepper. $$$

Awesome food and staff. The place is tiny, only about 12 seats, but they are banging out woodfired goodness. Wanted to try the chipotle wings, but they didn't have them tonight. So I was going to do the fire roasted stuffed pepper, and they were out of that. So I wound up getting a Paradigm pizza, and it was amazing. Quality toppings, great flavor, and fantastic crust - all baked to a perfect crisp. It was amazing how busy they were, it's a testament to the quality food they're putting out.

Have lived in many pizza oriented cities. This is the best pizza we've found. In Chicago we've had great(ISH) chicago and normie pizza. In New Haven, London, LA, Denver, St. Louis, Paris, Rome, etc, etc.. we've had great variations on thin, thick, coal, et al. Still, M&L has provided the most delicious, and consistently so, pizza that we've ever had. And omg the wings......

Best pizza I've had in a very long while. I ordered the L'Umina, a white olive oil pie with sliced pears, caramelized onions, basil, ricotta cheese and Prosciutto, finished with a drizzle of honey. Prosciutto was VERY fresh and, from what I could tell, of high quality. Other ingredients were as well. It was a delicious and unique combination. Crust was a bit tough, but overall, the pizza was delicious! . I would highly recommend Max and Leo's. Simply a cut above other places from which I've ordered lately.

Hate to say it, pizza sucked. My good friend - this is his favorite place, insists this place, maybe a bad day for the crew. Would try again but price ridiculous for smaller, bad pizza. Coal fire setup as they have, should be a no brainer to produce solid results.

One of the best pizza we've had!! The entire family enjoyed the pizza, and with 2 very picky kids (even with pizza) it's a huge accomplishment! We had a regular cheese pizza and the Veggie pizza, and both were great! Our son has Celiac and they have a Gluten-Free option, which he REALLY liked! At the end of the meal he even stated that this might be his new favorite GF Pizza! We also ordered Cesar salad, which was fresh and very tasty. A bit pricey but worth it! Service was professional, friendly and very quick. Highly recommended!

Place is small, but great service! They have some beer and wines too. Pizza was amazing. We got the L'Umina and they didn't skimp on the prosciutto. Cooked perfectly.