LAFAYETTE, CALIFORNIA – I’ve driven by Pizza Antica in Lafayette hundreds, perhaps thousands, of times.
Over the years, I’ve tried pretty much every other restaurant in Lafayette. But for some reason, I’d never stopped into this neighborhood staple.
But when I did finally visit with a group of friends, we went big. Specifically, we ordered every pizza on the menu.
The pies here are delicious–and many are quite different from others you’ll find locally.
The Margherita is the natural starting point. Pizza Antica tops its version with tomato sauce, fior di latte mozzarella, fresh basil and extra-virgin olive oil.
It is the restaurant’s most straightforward pizza, but that simplicity places extra emphasis on the contrast between the tomato sauce, creamy cheese and solid crust. The fresh basil and olive oil complete a combination that has survived for generations for good reason.
Pizza Antica’s heirloom potato pizza is easily one of the most unusual options on the menu — and one of the restaurant’s enduring signatures.
Thinly sliced potatoes cover the white pizza alongside caramelized onions, chives and white truffle oil. The result is richer and earthier than a traditional tomato-based pie, with the sweet onions balancing the savory potatoes and fragrant truffle oil.
There’s no tomato sauce here! But the depth of the truffle flavor makes this one stand out.
Another substantial white pizza brings together sausage, portobello mushrooms, mozzarella and roasted onions.
This is the choice for diners who want something heartier. The sausage and mushrooms provide loads of umami flavor, which the onions intensify.
Pizza Antica regularly changes portions of its menu to follow the seasons, and its current summer offerings make excellent use of warm-weather produce.
The summer corn pizza combines sweet kernels with Fresno chile, fresh mozzarella and basil. Corn may not be a traditional pizza topping, but its natural sweetness works surprisingly well against a crisp, salty crust.
The Bianca Stracciatella heads in an entirely different direction, with garlic, basil and Castelvetrano olives.
The summer squash pizza is arguably the most adventurous pie currently available.
Pizza Antica pairs the squash with red onion, brown butter, lemon and sage. Brown butter is very “in” right now (sorry, beef tallow, your time has passed) so this is a nice seasonal one to sample.
If you haven’t been, the brick-lined interior of Pizza Antica feels more spacious than the exterior suggests, and feels more upscale than I expected.
I have no idea why it took me so long to try this place. But now that I have, I expect to be back often.
Pizza Antica is located at 3600 Mt. Diablo Boulevard in Lafayette. The restaurant is open daily for lunch and dinner, with later closing hours on Fridays and Saturdays. Its seasonal pizzas, prices and hours may change.
