(617) 864-8534

40 Hampshire St (Portland Street)
Cambridge, MA 02139 42.3665 -71.0922

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Neighborhood: Area IV

emmaspizza.com

Hours:

Mon-Fri 11:30am-10pm

Sat 4pm-10pm

Price:

$$

Last updated 8.16.11

Category:

Restaurants

Payment Methods:

American Express, Visa, MasterCard

Restaurant Special Features:

Local Favorite, Cheap Eats

Cuisine:

Pizza

Smoking Permitted:

No

Editor's Tips

What People Are Saying About Emma's Pizza

Featured Review

Eric Grossman

Contributor

In Short – Locals fill Emma's 40 brightly-painted wooden chairs to nosh on some of the area's most inventive pies (those on the go visit the front window for slices and salads). Thin-crust pizzas with a choice of traditional or spicy rosemary tomato sauce are refreshingly flavorful, while the topping selection combines both the traditional (pepperoni, mushrooms) and offbeat (sweet potatoes, dried cranberries). Large, fresh salads and pressed sandwiches round out the menu.

Editor's Tips

When to Go:
After 11:55am, the wait for anything but slices and salads can be long. For a sit-down meal, arrive early.
Parking:
Combine dinner with a flick at Kendall Square's Landmark Theatre, and enjoy the cinema's discounted parking in the adjacent garage with validation.
Know Before You Go:
Customers are required to turn off all cell phones.
ambiance
100.0% positive
  1. “It's a small, cozy restaurant and the service is friendly and efficient.”
  2. “Great food, romantic, a perfect night out.”
  3. “This is a great location for popping across to the Kendall Cinema.”
dessert
100.0% positive
  1. “The restaurant is tiny and the service is pretty good, prices are normal for the city and overall it is just damn good pizza :) A great time for dates and friends is the Kendall Theatre for a movie, Emma's and maybe Christina's in Inman Square for ice cre”
  2. “If you're looking for a really great pie, though, go elsewhere.”
  3. “Sometimes I like a nice doughy pie or a super thin crust with sweet sauce, but for overall taste and funky toppings Emma's is the place to go!”
drinks
100.0% positive
  1. “SO if you ever get lost near Kendall Square, check out Emma's Pizza, and drink a lot so you can go to the cool bathroom!”
food quality
100.0% positive
  1. “I'd recommend mushrooms, olives, basil, sun-dried tomotoes (chopped finely) with traditional sauce and cheese.”
  2. “eat there regularly, usually have something new, and have alway loved the pizza.”
  3. “Emma's is pretty tasty, but it's not pizza, it's lavash.”
  4. “this place has the very best gourmet pizza in Cambridge!”
  5. “The staff is friendly, and the food is always fresh.”
  6. “Wonderful thin crusts and inventive combinationsthey have over 20 different combinations on the menu (other places maybe have 10-12 options), but you can also customize a pizza to have any toppings you like.”
  7. “The original owners were Armenian-Americans and they made great lavash, which they called pizza.”
  8. “love the pizza here!”
  9. “They have an incredible menu, with quite original pizza toppings.”
  10. “and the pizza is superb.”
  11. “Emma's = perfect pre-movie meal!”
  12. “The best thin crust pizza in Boston!”
  13. “Emma's - please don't deprive us of your delicious food on a Saturday afternoon any longer!”
  14. “This is pizza for people who like to eat out, not pizza for people who like pizza.”
  15. “They have a crunchy thin crust and an amazing variety of toppings that range from the standards to things you'd never expect on pizzas.”
  16. “In addition to the delicious pizza, they have the most incredible tuna sandwich I have ever had!”
  17. “Great pizza place, although crowded at peak times.”
  18. “The pizzas are the best and they permit you to pick and choose what you want on top.”
  19. “good pizza place is hard to find.”
  20. “Everything about this pizza is PERFECT!”
  21. “The salad's are excellent, staff really nice (I was given two free movie tickets by the owner just for thanking them for such good pizza!)”
  22. “Great food, romantic, a perfect night out.”
  23. “Emmas is good gourmet pizza but be prepared to pay for it.”
  24. “The food was excellent and the service above average even though we probably stayed a little longer than we should've (although it was near closing and no one needed our table).”
  25. “The grilled chicken is heavenly, the smoked hot sausage is just fantastic!”
  26. “My favorite pizza is the buffalo chicken pizza.”
  27. “The salads are also quite good, and large enough for 2 people to share as an appetizer or eat as a main dish.”
  28. “Sometimes I like a nice doughy pie or a super thin crust with sweet sauce, but for overall taste and funky toppings Emma's is the place to go!”
  29. “The pizza's awesome.”
  30. “The pizza was wonderful--so delicious and piping hot when it got to our table.”
  31. “We like the creative pizza options and often share a salad (Famous Fling”
  32. “Best pizza in Cambridge and possibly MA!”
  33. “Fantastic pizza”
  34. “The restaurant is tiny and the service is pretty good, prices are normal for the city and overall it is just damn good pizza :) A great time for dates and friends is the Kendall Theatre for a movie, Emma's and maybe Christina's in Inman Square for ice cre”
  35. “The sauce is perfect for this st.”
  36. “Emma's has the best pizza I've found in the Boston area.”
  37. “Lots of people I know love Emma's and I have to assume it's because they haven't had a lot of good pizza.”
  38. “The pizza is AMAZING as my friend Rosy would say.”
menu variety
100.0% positive
  1. “Wonderful thin crusts and inventive combinationsthey have over 20 different combinations on the menu (other places maybe have 10-12 options), but you can also customize a pizza to have any toppings you like.”
  2. “They have a crunchy thin crust and an amazing variety of toppings that range from the standards to things you'd never expect on pizzas.”
  3. “They have an incredible menu, with quite original pizza toppings.”
  4. “We like the creative pizza options and often share a salad (Famous Fling”
overall
100.0% positive
  1. “good pizza place is hard to find.”
  2. “You are gauranteed good service with the owner working in the place.”
  3. “Sometimes I like a nice doughy pie or a super thin crust with sweet sauce, but for overall taste and funky toppings Emma's is the place to go!”
service
90.0% positive
  1. “This is pizza for people who like to eat out, not pizza for people who like pizza.”
  2. “The salads are also quite good, and large enough for 2 people to share as an appetizer or eat as a main dish.”
  3. “The salad's are excellent, staff really nice (I was given two free movie tickets by the owner just for thanking them for such good pizza!)”
  4. “The staff is friendly, and the food is always fresh.”
  5. “It's a small, cozy restaurant and the service is friendly and efficient.”
  6. “You are gauranteed good service with the owner working in the place.”
  7. “The food was excellent and the service above average even though we probably stayed a little longer than we should've (although it was near closing and no one needed our table).”
  8. “Lots of people I know love Emma's and I have to assume it's because they haven't had a lot of good pizza.”
  9. “Service, while not rude, isn't overly friendly either.”
  10. “The restaurant is tiny and the service is pretty good, prices are normal for the city and overall it is just damn good pizza :) A great time for dates and friends is the Kendall Theatre for a movie, Emma's and maybe Christina's in Inman Square for ice cre”
value
100.0% positive
  1. “The restaurant is tiny and the service is pretty good, prices are normal for the city and overall it is just damn good pizza :) A great time for dates and friends is the Kendall Theatre for a movie, Emma's and maybe Christina's in Inman Square for ice cre”
  2. “Best bet for pre-movie cheap eats!”
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

02/02/07

Best Pizza!

by jhoch4 at Citysearch

It's worth the wait when its busy. We had a drink while waiting for a table. Order a half and half pizza to try different toppings. Great food, romantic, a perfect night out.

  • Pros: Very good pizza, beer, wine and sangria.
  • Cons: I ate too much.
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

11/03/06

best thin crust pizza

by citylover77 at Citysearch

originally from italy, the challenge I face is finding a place that makes pizza the way it is back 'home'. Emma's is the only place in my experience so far in Boston that has found just the right balance for pizza. A classic cheese pizza tastes like it should and their 'fancy' pizza is never a let down.

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

05/22/06

THE BEST!!

by sushigirl75 at Citysearch

Emma's has the best bang for your buck if you want to a nice dinner with friends... the five of us shared the Spring Fling salad (SO tasty!), three different pizzas, and a bottle of wine. The food was excellent and the service above average even though we probably stayed a little longer than we should've (although it was near closing and no one needed our table). The tables are a little cramped, I don't think they take reservations, and parking can be tricky but the worse thing is that they aren't open for lunch on weekends! Emma's - please don't deprive us of your delicious food on a Saturday afternoon any longer!

  • Pros: amazing food, consistent quality, great atmosphere
  • Cons: closed Sat/Sun lunch, little seating, long wait possible
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

05/11/06

This place is amazing!

by ahertzel at Citysearch

I love the pizza here! It is quite different from any other pizza I have had. Emma's pizza is super thin with a cracker-like crust. They have an incredible menu, with quite original pizza toppings. My favorite is the #7 which has pepperoni and hot cherry pepper relish. Their buffalo chicken pizza is made with spicy chicken, gorgonzola and mozzarella cheeses, and is topped off with sliced raw celery. My wife loves the #3 which comes with spinach, sweet potato, caramelized onions, garlic, mozzarella and goat cheese.

In addition to the delicious pizza, they have the most incredible tuna sandwich I have ever had! Did I mention they serve beer and wine?

Emma's has been around for quite some time, but it changed hands a couple of years ago, and the new owner has brought new life to the place. It is very welcoming, and always has great music playing.

  • Pros: great atmosphere, great menu, great music
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

03/22/06

Nice Place

by angigbbs66 at Citysearch

I recently visited Emma's and tried their pizza. It was very good...just the way I like it. A good pizza place is hard to find. There are so many around but none have lived up to what I expect until I ate at Emma's. The pizza's awesome. I highly recommend this place.

  • Pros: Excellent Pizza, Location, Service

The Details on Emma's Pizza

Place Categories:

  • best gourmet pizza
  • efficient service
  • delicious food
  • great pizza place
  • large salads
  • great toppings
  • really nice staff
  • great lavash
  • like super thin crust
  • pretty tasty emma
  • like creative pizza options
  • love lots
  • great music playing
  • cool bathroom
  • great location
  • just fantastic smoked hot sausage
  • best bet
  • great crowd
  • perfect sauce
  • recommend mushrooms
  • enjoyed goat cheese
  • best bang for your buck
  • cozy restaurant
  • really great nice doughy pie
  • wonderful combinations

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