The original Pizza Antica in San Jose’s Santana Row has been churning out impeccable, freshly-baked Neapolitan- style pizzas since it opened in 2003.

But it took a global pandemic for the company to try its hand at the frozen pizza game. It has now gone all in with a commissary kitchen in San Francisco that churns them out.

Roberts Market in Woodside was once the only market that stocked the Pizza Antica frozen pizzas. Nowadays, its reach has been extended to the freezer cases at Bay Area Draeger’s, Mollie Stone’s, Zanotto’s, Nugget, Diablo Foods, Bi-Rite, Lundardi’s, Andronico’s, Piazza’s, Target, Cal-Mart, Marvel Foods, Berkeley Bowl, Piedmont Grocery, Oliver’s, Bianchini’s, and Woodlands.

A couple weeks ago when in Woodside, I stopped in at Roberts specifically to grab a couple of the Pizza Antica frozen pizzas. Having sat down to the ones at Pizza Antica many times, I was curious as to how the frozen ones stacked up.

I was hoping to snag one of the more unique ones like the “Sweet Summer Corn” or the “Asparagus and Preserved Lemon.” But I only spotted the classics that day, so I picked up a “Margherita” and a “Cheese.” Measuring about 12 inches across, each was $16.99.

Glance at the ingredients list, and you’ll be happy to see only recognizable ones: wheat flour, mozzarella cheese, tomato paste, basil, water, yeast, and oregano. An entire cheese pizza has 740 calories; the Margherita slightly more at 780 calories.

The pizzas are already fully cooked and dappled with the requisite leopard spots. Just preheat the oven to 450°F, and slide the pizza into the oven atop a baking sheet or a pizza stone (my choice). In 6 to 8 minutes, it will be ready to eat.

The crust is uniformly thin and crisp with a developed flavor like that of great artisan bread. The tomato taste is very concentrated with a good balance of sweetness to tanginess.

What’s uncanny is just how much the pizza tastes like it just emerged from a sizzling, wood-fired oven, probably thanks to the fact it is initially cooked in an 800°F-degree stone hearth oven.

As someone who likes to make my own pizza from scratch or to dine-in at a favorite pizzeria, I don’t keep frozen pizza in my freezer on the regular. But I just might have to make an exception for this one.

Another Local Frozen Pizza Worth Checking Out: Del Popolo