Pauli's is a mostly takeout place with a handful of tables, with a menu consisting of subs, salads, pasta dishes, wings, and more. They also serve breakfast until 5pm (man, do I wish I knew about this place when I worked in the North End)!
On my recent visit for dinner, I saw that Pauli's offers three sizes of lobster roll. Since I was by myself, and the even the small seemed impressive at seven ounces of lobster meat, I went with the smallest. It was not small by any means!
I counted at least four claws in my lobster roll, and it was lightly dressed with just a hint of mayo to add moisture without overpowering the lobster. The warm toasted roll was overflowing with meat. Priced normally around $15, this was definitely a steal!
If you're active on twitter or the Boston social media scene, you may be aware of the recent controversy around the number restaurants in the North End offering a giant lobster roll on their menu. Since Pauli's is mostly a takeout place, I don't see them competing with full service sit-down restaurants in the neighborhood. The food is excellent, but the experience is so different there seems very little potential for overlap. If you're looking for a great, quick meal on the go check out Pauli's. For a fine dining experience with wine, raw, bar, etc. head to the full service restaurant next door.
