Sunnyside Sliced pizza shop opens in Docklands near Marvel Stadium
Sunnyside Sliced has long been drawing crowds to Mentone with its super-large New York-style pizzas. Now it has gone to an “underserved” location. There are also four new pizza spots to try.
Unless you spend a lot of time in Melbourne’s south-east, you may not have gotten a piece of the action yet at one of Melbourne’s most popular pizzerias. Sunnyside Sliced It’s been serving up super-sized New York-style pizzas in Mentone since 2021, and after a long wait, a second, more central Melbourne location is here.
Docklands might seem like an odd place to get a suburban slice shop into more mouths. However, for Ali Cengiz, owner of Sunnyside Sliced, “[It] “I felt it was the right next step… Busy, fast moving and underserved when it comes to quality food.”
Taking advantage of the people living in the area’s high-rise buildings, Cengiz opened what he called “a neighborhood slicing shop on the edge of the city.” It is located beneath Home Docklands, a new housing development with more than 600 flats on La Trobe Street.
But he also wants to capture the pre- and post-football crowds at nearby Marvel Stadium. recently expanded food offer. “I’ve been going to watch Carlton for years [play]”We want Sunnyside to be a part of this ritual,” says Cengiz.
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Easy-to-eat, thin-crust, New York-inspired pizza is his specialty. The long-fermented dough is used to make 45-centimeter (18-inch) pies, available whole or in slices. While all pizzas are baked on demand, slices are partially baked before service and then finished to order.
Bestsellers, including the classic three-cheese (with mozzarella, provolone, and aged caciocavallo) and pepperoni, have all made their way from Mentone, along with a new halal option for complete pies. “We took the time to supply high-quality halal sausage, which was noticeably missing in the market,” says Cengiz.
Another fan favorite is Hella Honey, a blend of chorizo, jalapeno, provolone, and Bippi hot honey.
Unlike in NYC, you can also find thicker crust, deep pan pizzas that are more in line with the Sicilian style. One is baked upside down, the three-cheese mixture coating the bottom of the pan, giving it a serious crust. It comes with a small assortment of sub sandwiches on homemade bread.
What about drinking? The place doesn’t serve booze, but it does have an iced Arnold Palmer—two parts iced tea, one part lemonade—which is a signature.
A “slicing now” neon sign, clad in stainless steel and designed for short-term visits, beckons you into the venue. There is standing space for about 30 people to sit on benches or at a communal table made of reclaimed Douglas fir pine.
The addition of Docklands follows the establishment of Sunnyside in Brisbane earlier this year.
Open daily for lunch and dinner
685 La Trobe Street, Docklands, sunnysidesliced.com.au
Four more new pizza places – and what they’re best at
For Roman style pizza: Porco Ciccio, Thornbury
This new-age “forno” – a bakery channeling those of Rome – makes pizzas and paninis uncannily similar to those in Italy’s capital. Traditional toppings and fillings let the ingredients speak for themselves, from the confit tomato and burrata pizza al taglio (by the slice) to the breakfast baciata, which features two thin layers of dough forming a sandwich of Hagen’s porchetta, smoked scamorza, and caramelized onions. Pizza van pops up at Collingwood brewery on Friday nights in May Molly Rose (279-285 Wellington Street).
822 High Street, Thornbury, instagram.com/porco.ciccio
For Detroit-style pizza: Mile 9, West Melbourne and CBD pop-up
With a permanent location out west and a pop-up at the city road bar Baby DriverIt’s now easier to get to one of Melbourne’s few pizza restaurants dedicated to the Detroit style. This means thick square slices with crispy caramelized edges. One is topped with sausage and rapini, or spicy broccoli rabe; another is all about warm honey and blue cheese; both are part of Baby Driver’s all-you-can-eat pizza sessions on the weekends.
Warehouse 4/1 Lennon Street, West Melbourne; 2 Driver Lane, Melbourne; mile9pizza.com
For Neapolitan-leaning pizzeria: Upper Central, South Melbourne
From Franck Summut, who worked front desk at France-Soir for nearly 20 years, this new daytime diner on the south side offers a wide variety of menus, from café classics to the baguette bar. However, according to Summut, pizza made from dough that has been fermented for a long time is closest to the Neapolitan style. They are shaped like pizzetti as well as regular rounds: boat-shaped, smaller-than-usual pizzas, decent sized for lunch. There’s always one vegetarian and one meat option, and both cost $14.50.
34 East Road, South Melbourne, uppermiddle.com.au
For Tokyo-style pizza: Garfield, Carlton
On the old site of Lygon Street King and Godless This casual counter-service restaurant on site draws on a rich Italian heritage with its pizzas prepared using the “Tokyo stretch” method, giving a Japanese edge to Neapolitan-style tours. Careful pinching and stretching of the dough ensures it is as airy as possible and is ready to be cooked over the wood fire with deliciously whimsical toppings. The cacio e pepe pizza is finished with crispy potato chips, while the Tokyo Bianco is crowned with raw tuna (yes, crudo style) with bonito-studded béchamel underneath.
293-297 Lygon Street, Carlton, garfieldpizzeria.com
