Da LaPosta

When it comes to crafting the ultimate pizza, Mario LaPosta is a man on a mission.
Mario LaPosta - Chef/Owner, Da LaPosta: "For me, it's how do we make the perfect pizza?"

Dough, sauce, and cheese is always on his mind.

Mario LaPosta - Chef/Owner, Da LaPosta: "It's this never ending quest to make my pizza as good as possible. And I don't think I'll ever stop doing that."

And his unrelenting drive for pizza perfection is on delicious display at Da LaPosta.

Brand new to Washington Street in Newton, Da LaPosta is Chef Mario’s childhood dream come true.

Mario LaPosta - Chef/Owner, Da LaPosta: "My mom always made great pizza growing up, so from a young age I became obsessed with it. And I always said, 'One day I'm going to be a pizza maker. One day, I'm going to have a pizza restaurant.'"

And now he does. With a busy dining room, warm and welcoming bar, and a blazing hot wood fired pizza oven on full display at the center of it all.

Mario LaPosta - Chef/Owner, Da LaPosta: "I'm not gonna lie, I like it. It's fun cooking in front of guests. They get to see all the action happening. They get to see their pizzas being made. They get to really see all the love and passion hard work that goes into what we're doing here."

Every single aspect of Mario's pizza is carefully considered. The recipe has its roots in Italy, where he first learned the art. But through his two decades in the business, he's developed a style all his own.

Mario LaPosta - Chef/Owner, Da LaPosta: "I describe my pizza as pizza artigianale, which is Neapolitan inspired, however, over the years I've evolved my pizza. I've gone to a sourdough, so it's an all naturally leavened pizza. We have our own organic flour, it's a flour that I designed. Our mozzarella is hand stretched in house every day. We use Organic California tomatoes from Bianco Di Napoli. So I always say whether you like my pizza or not, you're not gonna find anything like it because it's totally different."

The pizzas coming out of Da Laposta's oven range from classic to creative. But they all share some important qualities.

Mario LaPosta - Chef/Owner, Da LaPosta: "One of the biggest characteristics I think that's super important for me when I'm making a pizza is it's light, and digestible, and very airy. So when you eat our pizza you don't get full. The second thing is the flavor to our dough. You get that flavor of the sourdough. The other thing we try to achieve is a very thin dough, paper thin. And then when we put it in the oven, getting it as crisp as possible in 60 to 90 seconds, but also being very soft and moist at the same time. So it's kind of this perfect combination of the soft moist dough, but also something that's very crispy as well."

And the purest way to experience a pizza here is to order the Margherita.

Mario LaPosta - Chef/Owner, Da LaPosta: "The Margherita is the standard. So if you want to know if someone's pizza is really good, you order the Margherita. It's just simplicity at its best."

For something a little more complicated, check out the Cacio e Pepe Pizza.

Mario LaPosta - Chef/Owner, Da LaPosta: "The Cacio e Pepe is traditionally this rich, creamy pasta with a lot of toasted black pepper. I wanted to put it on a pizza. I was inspired by this restaurant I ate at in Rome. And ours has about five different types of cheese, cracked black pepper, and then a little trick I learned from this restaurant in Rome was a little bit of ice on top of the pizza, and then we get fresh black truffles from Italy, shave them on top and it's really delicious."

Yes, you heard that right, just before this pizza goes into the oven, Mario tops it with ice.

Mario LaPosta - Chef/Owner, Da LaPosta: "So it melts on top of the cheese and just gives you this very creamy texture. So it almost emulates the creamy pasta, but it's on top of pizza."

Other great pizzas here include the Toscana with broccoli rabe and fennel salami, the New Haven Clam, with plenty of pancetta, pecorino, and garlic, and the playfully named and positively delicious Buffalo e Bufala.

Mario LaPosta - Chef/Owner, Da LaPosta: "The Buffalo e Bufala. So a little play on words there. So we use our fried chicken with buffalo mozzarella, which is mozzarella made from water buffalo from Campania. And we do gorgonzola cheese. And then a homemade buffalo sauce on top. I love Buffalo Chicken, so I think the pizza really delivers as far as what people want when they eat buffalo chicken. It's just really good."

While pizza at Da LaPosta is a must order, there’s a full menu of Italian eats to enjoy as well. With starters like Housemade Ricotta drizzled with Sardinian orange honey, Clams Casino made with long and meaty razor clams, Meatballs that are an ode to Mario’s Mom, and a sausage recipe courtesy of his Dad.

Mario LaPosta - Chef/Owner, Da LaPosta: "I grew up making sausage with my dad. So sausage is a passion of mine. This sausage is really simple. It's just has three things in it salt, cheese, and parsley. Nothing else. So the pork is really fresh, right from the farm, and the sausage is very simple and delicious."

As for entrees, there’s a traditional slow simmered Bolognese, and an oversized twist on Chicken Parm.

Mario LaPosta - Chef/Owner, Da LaPosta: "I love chicken parmesan. I order it all the time when I go out to restaurants. But I just wanted to do a little bit something different, have people be like wow, when they're biting into this. So we take a half a chicken de-bone it, pounded out lightly so it has the skin still on it. And then we bred it in homemade focaccia bread crumbs, some pecorino cheese. Pan fry it, and then put mozzarella di bufala on top. It's about a pound and a half a chicken on a plate and it just has that wow factor. And with the whole chicken it's just so juicy and delicious. I think it kind of brings it to the next level."

Rounding out your meal are some truly outstanding desserts, like a creamy Ricotta Crostata, luscious Lemon Semifreddo, homemade Italian Cookies, and a very special Tiramisu.

Mario LaPosta - Chef/Owner, Da LaPosta: "My Mom's Tiramisu. So again, a dish that was inspired by her. Her tiramisu was always just very simple and delicious and amazing growing up. So it's her recipe. We make the mascarpone cream exactly like she did. And then we're also making homemade lady fingers in house. Which she didn't used to do but that's all right."

And with so many great tastes from Mario’s home, he’s hoping you’ll feel at home here too.

Mario LaPosta - Chef/Owner, Da LaPosta: "When you walk in here, it does give off that homey feel. So I just want this to be a place people can really come in and just feel like they're coming dining with family and it just feels like home for them."