Originally Posted by The Sad Man
Sabatino's Trattoria (atmosphere is plain and small dinning area, but food is amazing, great value and Lulu is hilarious)
Maurizio's (used to be my favorite until they took their pepperadelle scallop dish off the menu. Still a great restaurant though)
Giaccomo's (don't need to say much about this place. Great calimari. I think their specials are their forte. I'm not a huge fan of their traditional entrees)
Fiore/Cantina Italiana (two different restaurants, same management and similar menus. Get the Bombolati with goat cheese and sausage. It's possibly my favorite entre in the entire North End)
Best Pizza without a doubt is Ernesto's on Salem St. Don't even bother with Regina. If you're their for lunch, I highly recommend Galeria Umberto's. The value is unbeatable and they have some very authentic Italian cuisine that's hard to find elsewhere, e.g. arancini.
I disagree on the pizza. I still think Regina's is the best.
Also, while still busy Giaccomo's has a south end location as well. Probably less likely to have the insane line that the North End one has. If I were jonesing for Giacomo's and it was a weekend I wouldn't even think about the North End location