Chef Mario LaPosta’s lifelong obsession with pizza started when he was a child watching the pizzaioli in his father’s hometown just north of Naples.

LaPosta began working in local pizzerias when he was fifteen years old. During his time studying hospitality at Central Connecticut State University, he worked in the kitchen at Bricco in West Hartford, one of Connecticut’s most celebrated Italian restaurants. After graduation, he moved to Italy to apprentice in Rome. From there, he moved south to the town of Piedimonte where he earned his chops at a Neapolitan-style pizzeria called Pietra di Luna.

After reading that Mario Batali was planning to open a restaurant in Westchester, New York, LaPosta contacted Batali veteran Andy Nusser. Nusser tapped LaPosta to build the pizza program at Tarry Lodge in Port Chester. Soon after it opened in 2008, Tarry Lodge was named among the best pizzerias in the country by GQ’s Alan Richman. In 2011, LaPosta opened the second location of Tarry Lodge in Westport as Chef de Cuisine.

LaPosta has competed in the World Pizza Championships in Italy finishing 10th place overall in Pizza Napoletana. He came to Boston to take the role of Executive Chef of Babbo Pizzeria e Enoteca, bringing with him fifteen years of pizza-making experience, both in Italy and New England.

In November of 2021, laPosta realized his lifelong dream, opening Da LaPosta, an authentic wood-fired pizzeria and restaurant, in Newton. The menu showcases his twenty-plus years of experience as a pizzaiolo in dishes that feature the best ingredients from regional purveyors and artisans. Naturally leavened, artisanal pizza are at the center of the rustic, seasonal menu, along with street food-inspired starters, handmade pasta, and a wine list boasting the best of Campania and Southern Italy.