Been coming here for many years and it has not changed a bit (a good thing!) "old school" decor and atmosphere and you can always expect the same great tasting pizza!
The pizza has a thin buttery crust style pizza and the sauce on the sweet side. Â Normally we get "take out" but sometimes we eat in as it is very kid friendly, my kids enjoy playing songs on the jukebox, service is always quick, no frills (wax paper for plates) love it here!
I came here the for the first time and was pleasantly surprised. These types of pizza places are a dying breed lately. You can't beat the price for the quality of pizza. I think it's not quite as good as Santarpio's in Peabody, but the overall experience is nicer. The staff is also very good too. One of the few places on the North Shore that doesn't have oil Greek Pizza.
Review Source:Meh. I would like the pizza more if the sauce wasn't so sweet. Take Regina's and double the sweetness factor and this is what you got. Lots of sauce and a thin layer of cheese. The crust was nice and buttery. It's not bad pizza but I wasn't blown away. Maybe I need to sample more of the menu - there were some great looking pies coming through the restaurant.
I called in an order for two cheese pizzas when I was 15 mins away. 45 mins later I had my order. And it was raining so everyone was waiting inside and this place is beyond cramped. Parking is terrible. Pizza comes in only a small size but they do keep it affordable. No big egos here. The staff was very friendly even with the large crowd.
This is a *locals* place. Part 1970s dive bar and part pizzeria. It's a throwback (cash only!) Maybe they should separate the two better. If you lived within walking distance it would be a lively and fun local joint. But based on my experience I wouldn't go out of your way for it.
Delicious crispy, sweet pizza with a hint of more delicious! I can't say enough good things about this place. I'm new to town, (Only lived in Rowley for a few months now), and i gotta say, if there's a way to end a friday night, this is it. I went here last week, and had a wonderful time. The place isn't dog friendly, sure, but what the hell, it's a pizza place in ipswich, not a restaurant in boston. I didn't expect to be able to seat my pups, realistically. (Though it would have been nifty to see it all the way up here)
Anyway, the pizza! Don't expect to get chicken fingers here, no fries, no shakes. This place is 100% old fashioned grade A pizza. The pizzas come in a personal size, (From what i can see around, 13 inches,) and man, are they delicious. Soda is like a dollar a pop, but i went out on a limb and grabbed myself a white russian. Delicious! Best white russian i've had in this town so far. (Including the sports bar, sorry frank!)
This place was a little loud, but it had a homey charm to it, felt like eating in your grandpa's dusty old log cabin. (without the dust.)
The floors have a tiling made to distract the eye from dirt, but i'd venture the place is pretty clean. The chefs come in and out of the kitchen regularly, so i ventured a chat with one, and he seemed quite pleasant and happy to be working there. All in all, i give this place the highest rating i can. Be sure to stop here if you're ever in ipswich, i know i will certainly be!
I can't believe I've never written a review for this place! Let me start by saying if I lived closer to this place I would be there at least 2x a week! Seriously!
On your first visit you think, oh boy, the food and service is going to be horrible. I won't lie, it looks like a big dive! However, always clean, service is great, and the pizza to die for! The pizza isn't complicated, thin crust dough, sauce, cheese, and usually a meat or they have veggie pizza, etc. Nothing fancy about it, but have to say some of the best pizza I ever had! It hit me last night why I liked it so much, because it really reminded me of the pizza my mother used to make. Again her pizza was very simple and delicous! I'm a pizza lover and this has to be one of the best on the North Shore. Oh did I mention the prices are incredibly cheap too. Most pizzas are $7 or less. Granted I could eat a whole one myself, so get a few for the table and eat up!
We grab pizza from Riverview at least twice a month. The individual pies are the perfect size and the crust is simple and thin. It's cash only and the ONLY thing they serve is pizza. Don't expect much more than just really delicious / cheap pizza....it's a cozy local joint.....and we love it!!
Review Source:What can be said about the Riverview that hasn't been said by in comments already? Well.....nothing, really.
I seriously do not think that any combination of their many options could create a pizza that would be anything less than "outstanding." The Riverview boasts a unique approach to pizza that is both traditional and familiar...and eventually turns into an addiction in most cases. And for the price, you really feel and taste that you got more than your moneys worth. It's quality all-around.
The Riverview is in a class of its own as a unique institution that deserves to remain on the map forever. Delicious, charismatic, family-owned and one-of-a-kind, the Riverview is worthy of all its praise and (continued) success.
Awesome pizza. They serve pizza. Pizza; it's what they service. Serve Pizza, they do.
And because that's all they serve, it's possible that they'll do it very well. You know, because of lots of practice.
And they do indeed do it well. Thin crispy/chewy crust, delicious ingredients. . .a homey boothy atmosphere, everyone an their cousin from Ipswich is in there -
I work nearby, can't believe I never tried it before. Probably because they're only open for dinner, and I try to be gone by then.
I might be adjusting my schedule to take advantage of and aprés -work pizza pie now an again, now that I know about this Ipswich townie gem.
Pizza and Beer. . . it's what's for dinner.
I agree with the review below.
This is probably the closest it comes to being the best in New England. I think Pinos or Prestos in Brookline might have better flavor (depends on what you prefer) but this riverview restaurant has the best crust. Thin and Chewy. Great cheese. I'm deprived of NY Pizza but happy i can live at least another year in new england with a go to pizza joint.
I loved Riverview! I have only been twice, but if I lived closer I think I would be here quite often.
Personal pizzas are the perfect size - not too small, not too large, but definiitely won't leave you hungry. My keilbasa pizza and Sam Adams cost about $10. What a great deal!
Service was quick. Only cons: the wait can be long (but worth it!), no free refills on soda, and it's cash only!
Can't wait to go back!
Townie 'za joint, and it is oh-so-good.
My husband's favorite (well...his whole family's favorite) since childhood. You'll find people here on dates, with a group of friends, or families. Riverview appeals to everyone.
Pizza is thin-crusted and done to perfection. Every kind of topping you can imagine. Great sauce. Awesome prices (around $7 for an individual, which will satisfy a grown man). Full bar with lots of beer on tap - including Magic Hat #9.
Only downside is that they only take cash.
I've been all around the world, including Italy, but I would rank Riverview as one of the best pizzas I have ever had. Â They really only serve one thing: pizza. Â And they do it well!!
Every pizza is hand made thin crust. Â They do not use some preformed dough, either. Â It is from a ball of dough, just as you would do at home. Â The sauce is unique and to die for, yet not very acidic (which is the problem I have with many pizza places. Â It actually has bits of tomato in it, as well. Â The toppings are many and quit generous. Â They are very good with customizing your pizza, as well. Â
Is you are looking for a good pizza, this is the place. Â When home on leave from the military, this is one of he first places I always came. Â It is the best in the area!!
I dreamed of this pizza last night. Â Many endless discussions about why this pizza is so good. Â Is it the crust or the sauce? Â I could just eat the crust and be happy but I could drink the sauce and be content as well.
This is just some old school pizza genius. Â Nothing fancy. Â No gourmet crap. Â Just get a damn cheese pizza and relish it. Â It has been years since I moved away but back in the day they didn't even have plates. Â Who the hell needs em'? Â God how I miss this pizza. Â And the price! Â You get an entire pie here for what you sometimes can pay for a slice in the big city.
As for the service... Â Who cares? Â You're in MA - everyone is an asshole.
The Riverview is a North Shore thing. Don't even come up here and stink up the joint if your from towns like Quincy, Plymouth or Braintree. We don't want your kind. But if you know the joys that come from hanging out at Crane's or mowing down Bill and Bob's hammered at 2am, than enter with a clear conscience.
You will be greeted by...well, no one. Get your lazy ass to the bar and find an empty seat. And if there is a wait, take the numbered washer and wait your damn turn you lousy tourist. I prefer to hang at the bar, if there is an open seat in the 8 stools they have. It doesn't speed up your service or anything, I just like to be as close to booze as possible because I'm a no good alcoholic. Enjoy a stiff cocktail or a beer, neither of which will be outlandishly priced.
The pizza, dear sweet Jesus, the pizza. Put it this way. Do you have a cute pet or a child? I would punch them in the face if it meant I got to have Riverview pizza in return. It's that serious. Order a pie for yourself and get your filthy clam-digging hands off of mine.
If you decide to bring your cute kid, whom I just punched in the face in the previous paragraph, they have a juke box which hasn't been updated since 1992 and 2 video games from that time frame as well. Sideshow entertainment for your kid, whose nursing a black eye, will cost you about 2 American dollars so they can hear Alvin and the Chipmunks sing "Achy Breaky Heart" and play Neo-Geo.
So go forth, except on Mondays when they are closed, and enjoy. Unless of course you are from the filthy South Shore.
I really love all of the people who say "I've been coming here since I was a baby"...I agree, same here! Whenever I go home to visit my parents, I try to fit in a Riverview visit. The pizza is the stuff dreams are made of. My only regret is that I feel like a fat ass after I eat the whole thing...
Sweet sauce, perfect amount of cheese, awesome toppings, and cheap, to boot! Definitely worth fighting over parking for...
it's gets a four only because of the bad service.
but i'm a forgiving person and I'm sure our waitress was having a bad day.
we'll see next time.
this pizza is something close to the grimaldi's pizza from  brooklyn. Â
since i've gotten used to eating new england premade pizzas at pizzerias(when i first got a pie in new england i got so angry cuz every pizzeria in NJ or NY makes their pizza on their own. Â Not some boxed thing that they throw into a oven.)
anyways. Â the highlights of this place.
every pizza except for the Everything pizza ($10) is under 8 dollars.
each pizza is big enough for two to share.
and they serve alcohol.
don't expect some fancy interior design tho. Â it's a plain old pub pizzeria.
but their pizza beats all the pizzas in the northshore.
now, my quest is to to find a real NY pizza place around here.
oh yeah. Â forgot to mention. Â they don't get many asians in the place so don't get freaked out by their staring if you are yellow.
i've never had another man stare at me like that. Â actually, never had a woman stare at me like that either.
i got to experience what hot girls go through everyday.
I dream about this pizza. No joke. Something about the sauce I think. I don't even know but it's seriously heaven.
My mom brought me here because she grew up in Essex and went as a kid and now whenever I'm home from Philly we make the hour drive from Exeter, NH to Ipswich just to indulge.
Pizzas are fairly small. I usually order an entire one just for myself. Meatball is my fav but the combinations are amazing as well!
Holy sweet jesus, The View strikes again!
Last week I my brother was home, so Riverview was mandatory. Â Got take out, took it back to our parents house, and I devastated that pie. Â It never saw me coming. Â I got the kielbasa and meatball, extra sauce. Â One thing I had noticed before, the meatballs were a little smaller than they used to be. Â Not this time, they were large and plentiful. Â The pizza was loaded with that tasty sauce.
I could go for one or three right now. Â For reals. Â If you're reading this and haven't been there yet, what the eff is stopping you?
Fantastic pizza. Â Great combination of thin, crispy crust, good sauce (not too sweet like some), and a flavorful mix of cheeses. Â Friendly service when we picked up our food, and although we had to walk a couple of blocks, it was no trouble to park on the street temporarily. Â Not sure I'd eat there, because I'm not into crowds, but I'd definitely take out from here again. Â The only thing to keep in mind is that this place does not open until 4pm, so plan accordingly.
Review Source:I've been eating this pizza my entire life, and it can't be beat if you like thin, crispy crust, not too much cheese, and a tasty tomato sauce backdrop to whatever toppings you can think of. This place only sells pizza - served on wax paper no less! - Â and it they are master-pizzas!
Riverview is small, often crowded with little parking, and a little dark on the inside (my grandparents can only handle take out now), but the jukeboxes are fabulous and the bar is great, so if you want to take a date to a North Shore stable restaurant, this is it.
Finally went there on a Friday night around 6-ish and the first thing you notice is the smell of baking pizza dough wafting down the street. The second thing you notice is that the place looks like a VFW Moose Lodge or someone's house. Might be a little easy to miss for some.
It was mobbed with both to-go people waiting around and those waiting for tables. So we had a couple beers while waiting at the tiny bar which was standing room only. Nice beer selection by the way - I had a Sierra while expecting only Bud, Miller, etc...
So the place has its charm. It felt a little like being at Uncle Earl's lake house up in Maine...the type of place you can't figure out which post -WWII decade you're in, but that's cool. A lot of wood paneling and a jukebox - not sure if it works.
So we finally get seated and have some pies ordered up. One pepperoni and one plain done up old-way. We finally get them served after a longer-than-you'd-like wait and unfortunately, they were served far from piping-hot. But we were starved so we dug in and they were indeed tasty, not too greasy, and the thin crust was awesome in the way that simple homemade goodness can only provide. The old way pizza was fun and I like the way the tomato sauce (on top of the cheese) took on a little carmelization which added a nice flavor.
If you are hungry then maybe 2 pizzas per person works best as they are on the small side (we're talking both diameter and thickness). You can also change up your orders with some 50/50 topping selections. They put a lot of effort into pricing out their menu with split-topping choices as it nearly takes over their menu. I guess split-toppings are serious business for them Ipswichers! :)
Next time I will check it out on a weeknight and forgo the endless Little League banquet that seems to be going on during the weekends. But it is definitely a place you want to visit...and go with an empty stomach and a craving for beer. Out of all the beer and pizza places I've been this is the best. Their pizza is made for a beer pairing like no other...and I think it is all because of that damn good crust.
Your expectations don't what hit 'em. Â It's an old school feel that you can't make up with Pizza you've never quite had before.
"Pizza and a beer" was likely born here for many North Shore residents. Â I've been going since I could chew solids.
The waitresses are all retired school teachers but the wait never retires. Â Get there expecting a few minutes before you sit. Â Or order by phone for pick up.
In one word: Â classic.
If this place were a person, it would be an S&M master. I swear. You walk in and you can smell the pizza everywhere around you. Makes sense, aside from soda and alcohol, pizza is the only thing they serve here. If you're lucky you're seated right away, and that's when the torture, the teasing, the taunting, all begins. You wait patiently to place your order. The poor harried waitress swings by hurriedly and briskly takes your order. Your drinks will come rather swiftly but your pizzas... oh those beloved pizzas, they shall take a while. It wouldn't be so difficult to wait if it wasn't for that glorious smell that seems to surround you. You start to eye your fellow patrons with envy as tables around you receive their pizzas. At some point you consider snatching a pie from the table next to you but you somehow manage to contain yourself. You go up and put some money int he jukebox to try to pass the time and then it happens. You see the waitress coming out of the kitchen with your pizzas and you practically skip gleefully back to your table. But once again they tease you because the pizza is piping hot from their ovens and you have to wait once again. Or do you? Because at this point the smell and the proximity of your pie are driving you mad with desire. The hell with it, you're gonna bite right in and to hell with third degree burns. After all, what's pleasure without a little pain, right? At least that's the way it goes in this joint. Go here, you won't be able to resist. Â
P.S. Not open on Mondays! All other days they open at 4pm
I've been eating pizza here since I was eight years old. This place is a local institution, and great in so many ways. First, all they serve is pizza- no salads, subs, etc., so be ready to eat pizza, period.
The parking lot is tiny, and the place is often crowded, but thankfully, street parking is allowed.
The decor reminds me of my parents' basement the way we decorated it when we were ten years old- pine paneled walls with a few Budweiser mirrors and such that were probably acquired with skee-ball tickets at a fair. Â It's a loud, family-friendly, working-class kind of place. Â Most of the pizza slingers are grizzled but nice older ladies.
Onto the pizza. Riverview is one of only two places I have ever gotten New England style pizza (the other being my elementary school). The difference: cheddar is substituted for the mozzarella. It works- nothing has quite the flavor of browned cheddar, and it makes their pizza stand out from other places. The sauce is tangy, and the crust is thin and crispy and slightly oily on the outside, as it should be. It's pretty rare to find a pizza place in which none of the elements (crust, sauce, and cheese) disappoints, which must be why I sometimes find myself driving 30 minutes out of my way for a pie, with other options (like The Upper Crust) within walking distance.
Generally, the wait for pizza is long, with a truly bittersweet ending. The famished eater is finally presented with a delicious, aromatic pizza, usually served at a tepid 400 degrees F. When it finally comes, try to resist the temptation to dig right into it or risk third degree burns to your mouth. Do sadistic mothers like to teach their children the virtues of patience by coming here?
Pizzas are small (1 per person is about right for a modest eater). I've enjoyed the meatball and salami, but plain old cheese is the best. I love spicy food, so I know that sounds boring and lame, but it really is good- try it.
I've been to this place. Twice. And while I love the casual, small-town atmosphere, the pizza really needs some improvement. Really. While I don't mind the sauce nor the amount of the cheese, the crust feels like cardboard; the texture is just reprehensible. I'd be willing to give it another shot, especially since I enjoy the casual decor so much. But as of those last two visits, no dice. I do hope to be writing a better review in the future!
Review Source:I'm surprised to be the first to write a review for this place! I ate here for the first time last night and I will definitely be back. Their pizza is killer. Each pie is $5-7 depending on the toppings you choose. You have your choice of bar or booth. The waitresses are friendly, and the cocktails come fast. This is exactly what I look for in a pizza place--good food, good drinks, cheap prices. They open at 4 most days, so it's definitely a dinner joint.
The pizza is somewhat small. The crust is chewy on the inside, crispy on the outside. The sauce is really tasty--a basic marinara with a liberal amount of herbs spread on top. I got the mushroom pizza, and they were generous with the toppings. Yum! Just make sure you bring cash--no credit or debit cards accepted.