_{This story is from The Heights, an independent, nonprofit newspaper run by Boston College students with which the Newton Beacon has a partnership.}

Recently, Newton Centre Town Pizza received an unexpected spotlight from renowned pizza reviewer Dave Portnoy.

“It’s almost like this thing can’t decide, ‘Do I want to be a bar pie or not?’” Portnoy said in his YouTube review. “And I think it decided not, but maybe it should be.”

Portnoy posted the review on his popular One Bite Pizza Reviews YouTube channel, giving it an average rating of 6.6/10.

During his less-than-two-minute review, Portnoy seemed conflicted about the pizza’s style and taste, emphasizing that he thought the pizza would be better as a bar pie. A bar pie is different from a normal pie in many aspects. First, the size of a bar pie is 10 to 12 inches and is meant for one or two people. Secondly, a bar pie has a crunchy and thin crust.

“If they made this a personal pie, a bar pie, I would be like ‘this is pretty good,’ but as a whole pie, I don’t know if it is cutting the mustard for me,” Portnoy said.

The New York Times reports that Portnoy practically has a monopoly on the pizza industry, awarding him the title of “America’s most influential person in pizza.” With a following of 1.49 million subscribers and grossing over one billion views, Portnoy has the power to increase the fame of a pizzeria, but also drop a restaurant’s status significantly with a bad review.

Since 2013, Portnoy has made it his mission to find the best pizza restaurant. He posts daily reviews on his website, YouTube channel, and app. He has filmed roughly 2,500 videos and has posted 1,138 official rankings of restaurants all over the United States on his website.

“One pizza place a day until he tries them all,” reads Portnoy’s YouTube bio. His famous line, “One bite, everybody knows the rules,” is also included in the bio.

For Town Pizza, it is hard to compete in Newton Centre because many other pizza places receive high praise from residents, such as Bill’s, Jinny’s, Sweet Tomatoes and Frank Pepe.

The restaurant declined to comment on Portnoy’s pizza review, but the 6.6 rating from the pizza critic is a respectable one, meaning the pizza meets average pizza standards.

Boston College student Claire Maruzewski LSEHD ’29 shared that she was surprised that Portnoy selected the pizzeria for one of his reviews.

“The atmosphere was very cold and standoffish,” Maruzewski said. “There was no one in there besides me, and it was pretty silent. It lacks the flair I would expect of a place Dave Portnoy would review.”

Another BC student, Gaby Campino MCAS ’29, also tried the pizza and was disappointed with the taste, giving it an overall rating of 4.5/10, notably lower than Portnoy’s rating.

“The pizza tasted reheated and old, but I do like the crunch of the crust,” Campino said. “To be honest, I am surprised that Portnoy reviewed Town Pizza.”

Marusezwki emphasized that Town Pizza could work to improve its brand.

“There is lots of room for improvement in terms of charm and quality,” Marusezwki said. “For example, improved lighting and outdoor design would attract more business in the long term.”