Melbourne-born Sunnyside Sliced is bringing its acclaimed pizza to Newstead
A beloved Melbourne-born pizza joint is expanding to Brisbane. Later this year, Sunnyside Sliced will introduce its signature pizzas to Gasworks Plaza – expect a menu of 18-inch rounds and Sicilian pan pizzas (available whole or by the slice) along with a limited line of subs. Here’s what we know …
Ali Cengiz says pizza is a part of his DNA. It’s in his blood. But, at one point in his life, he was firm that pizza would never be his vocation.
After practically being raised in and around his dad’s pizza joint, Ali was adamant that there was a different path ahead of him – one that didn’t involve dough and sauce.
“I said ‘I’m going to uni and I’m never coming back to pizza’,” Ali recalls, thinking back on 35-degree days spent working in the kitchen while all of his friends would be hitting the beach.
And for a while, Ali was right. He went to uni and then afterwards he built a successful career in finance, which saw him travelling around the world. Eventually, pizza became a pleasurable experience once again. When he visited New York, he spent his free time scoping out the best by-the-slice shops the city had to offer – darting across Queens and Brooklyn in search of the perfect slice.
Eventually, in search of a more wholesome career path, Ali decided to swap the frenetic pace of finance for hospitality. He snagged a shopfront on Como Parade in Mentone and set about laying the groundwork for his next chapter. It was at this point that Ali found himself returning to his roots.
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“I called my branding guy and told him I wanted to do pizza,” Ali says. “I had a lightbulb moment – I loved the pizza in New York and it’s what I knew how to do. It was something I had to think long and hard about, but now I’m here and I’m loving it.”
The ‘here’ Ali is referring to is Sunnyside Sliced, the pizza joint he’s now been operating since 2021. Fuelled by his own passions and exacting palate, Ali has built (by hand, literally, including the venue’s brick facade) Sunnyside into a destination for die-hard pizza lovers and locals alike.
“I took all my learnings, put them in and did it with love,” says Ali. “My yardstick was, would you eat this pizza yourself? I wasn’t led by food costs. I said, ‘How good a pizza can I make?’ And that was the leader for me. So I made really good pizza, apparently.”
Now regarded as one of the best slice shops in a competitive Melbourne scene, Ali’s dedication to crafting the best pizza possible has helped Sunnyside cultivate a loyal customer base down south. Later this year, Brisbane will be incorporated into that following, with a soon-to-open Brisbane expansion taking shape in the thick of the action at Gasworks Plaza in Newstead.
Located next door to Yo-Chi, Sunnyside will be a smaller iteration of its Melbourne sibling, geared more towards takeaway custom. Working alongside acclaimed designer Dion Hall (HER, BKK, Johnny’s Green Room), Ali is looking to create a venue with a pulse, yet still evokes the spirit of community slice shops – the humble pizza slingers that cater to on-the-move munching and family dinners.
Though small, visiting Sunnyside at Gasworks will be a multi-sensory experience. You’ll smell the pizza in the oven from the carpark escalator and hear the sound system as you round the corner, before being greeted by a custom-designed menu board displaying all of the options available to you.
“Sense is so important for me,” says Ali. “The ears, the nose, the eyes, touch and, obviously, taste – but that one hits you last in a pizza shop.”
The offering will be a more condensed version of Sunnyside’s Mentone menu, with Ali honing in on a tight range of long-fermented, hand-stretched and stone-baked pizzas. There will be five round options and five Sicilian-inspired pan pizzas (“Deep dish for the modern citizen,” says Ali) – each available by the slice, 18-inch round or a whole pan.
Half of the menu is vegetarian friendly, with crowd-favourite flavours including the Sunnyside Cheese, Pepperoni Classic, Hella Honey, and a pan pizza topped with house-made Vodka sauce. There’ll also be a couple of desserts and a single salad, plus a selection of Subs stuffed to bursting point with primo ingredients.
“I want Sunnyside to be easy for people,” says Ali of the menu length. “We’re not taking shortcuts. What we’re trying to do is produce the same product as good as possible over and over and over again.”
Construction on Sunnyside Sliced at Gasworks Plaza is set to commence soon, with Ali targeting a springtime opening date. Stay tuned for more details.