To my mind, pizza falls into one of a handful of camps: you’ve got your brick-oven, fresh-mozzarella-draped rustic round; your almost-deep-dish, grease-dappled, House of Pizza pie (which, after a long night of drinking, tastes surprisingly brilliant); and your local corner-store-pizza-sub-Greek-salad-joint pizza, which, after one bite, makes you proud to have found a slice of something better than Pizza Hut.

Boston’s hungry, late-night studiers and revelers alike have countless options in all three pizza categories. But given the crowds on an average Tuesday night, Cleveland Circle’s Pino’s Pizza (which falls into the third camp) appears to be a top choice for both Boston College kids and their Brookline, Brighton, and Allston neighbors. Large slices of cheese, pepperoni, and Sicilian come with sodas and salads as house specials ranging from $5 to just over $7; and the large (16-inch) thin- and crispy-crust cheese pizza is a mere $11.75. Or take your choice of a massive calzone ($11) stuffed with any three pizza toppings, or one of several pasta dinners served with a large salad, a warm log of bread, and a slab of butter. Whichever you choose, make sure to ask for some of Pino’s tomato sauce on the side — that’s the best part of all.

Pino’s Pizza, 1920A Beacon Street, Brighton | Open Mon - Sat, 10 am - 1 am; Sun, 10 am – midnight | 617.566.6468.

ADVERTISEMENT