Where to Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, a branch of the famous New Haven chain now open in the Chestnut Hill mall.

What for Coal-fired, thin-crust pies for pizza connoisseurs, nostalgic Yale alums, and area tots and the parents who love them.

The scene The approach whets the appetite: Peer through a window to see Pepe’s staffers making pies. But don’t get too excited, because the line is lengthy, doubling and tripling back on itself, with packs of men in black peacoats clustered hungrily in surrounding corners. Kids in hoodies, big guys with beards, older folks with canes, and women in hot-pink down vests stand patiently, shifting from foot to foot and deploying cellphones to figure out what to order. Parents arrive with children and their faces fall. Strangers look at each other, shrug, and laugh, as if to say: “The things we do in the name of pizza.’’ In a white room with green wainscoting, moms with babies on their sweatered bosoms eat pies from double-tiered platters. A guard leans on the glass of the empty hibachi place across the way. No one is defecting.

What you’re eating Pies come in three sizes, made from the original 1925 recipe and fired in an oven that’s a duplicate of the New Haven original. The tomato-and-cheese pie and the white clam pizza (pictured) are classics. There are salads, too.

Care for a drink? They’ve got Foxon Park soda, just like the original Pepe’s, as well as beer and wine.

Overheard Talk about the line, ordering strategy, food, and restaurants, plus some more talk about the line. “We are going to have to wait,’’ someone reports back to his tribe. “It’s going to be like an hour and a half.’’ “Should we do takeout?’’ “It’s an hour and a half for takeout!’’ A man is talking about “the restaurant on the connah.’’ He waves his hand back and forth. “It’s so-so. Is there anything down there on the South Shore?’’ A woman smiles: “The subs there are delicious!’’ And everyone looks longingly at the couple sharing a clam pie on the indoor patio in front of them. Inevitably, perhaps, unrest sets it. “The line — she cheated,’’ someone observes, pointing at the offender. “There’s not enough chairs,’’ grouses someone else. “They need a citizen committee to tell them what to do,’’ a woman opines. Two men enter. “Told you,’’ one says, and they turn right around and leave.

The Shops at Chestnut Hill, 199 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill, 617-964-7373, www.pepespizzeria.com.

Devra First can be reached at dfirst@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @devrafirst.