Cupertino‘s newest pizza joint can quite literally make pies faster than customers can order them.

Southern California based-Blast 825 Pizza made its first dip into the Bay Area market in March, with a spectrum of artisanal ingredients and arguably the hottest oven around. Topping in at over 825 degrees Fahrenheit—it’s in the name, get it—the large cylindrical oven bakes a full pizza roughly 30 seconds after it’s ordered, well before most diners have pocketed their change and filled up a drink.

This expediency lends itself to the store’s assembly line organization, where customers pick from a variety of fresh toppings to make their ideal pie. And these toppings aren’t the normal pizza fare. Blast 825 offers exotic varieties for every designation of ingredients. One could camouflage any cheese— say, goat cheese—with the likes of zucchini or linguica, artichokes or black forest ham.

My combination (all pizzas are $8.50) of spicy pepperoni, linguica, sun dried tomatoes and a sprinkling of feta was flavorful and oddly palette cleansing. And while they advertise hot and spicy options for both meat and vegetables, Blast 825’s “hottest” pizza made little more than a dent in my spice radar. To combat those gastronomic biases, I tried one of their cooler signature dishes, the 825° California. With white sauce, roasted chicken and artichokes, spinach and squash, the 825° was like a chicken alfredo in pizza form. The yogurt textured sauce—although a bit goopy—enhanced the colorful artichoke and squash pairing into the most uniquely enjoyable pizza.

Open just a few months, there were no mix-ups or hiccups in the experience. Service was friendly, attentive and smooth. To some extent that has to do with the streamlined setup of the establishment, which allows the cooking aspect of the business to be consistent. This also means that even on a weekday lunch, the wait for sizzling pizza is never more than the length of the line.

The decor and ambiance are nothing noteworthy, falling into that designation of many new chain artisanal eating spots; a homogenous blend of corporate and casual.

But that isn’t to disparage the pizzas. The ovens cook the dough to a fine, delicate crisp. In fact, given the range of options and emphasis on customization, it’s hard for the blame of a disagreeable pizza to fall on anyone but the customer. And for less than 10 dollars, Blast 825 Pizza is a worthy adversary to cookie-cutter pizza conglomerates.

Blast 825 Pizza
10033 Saich Way, Cupertino.
408.585.5999