Pizza decisions getting you in a spin? A new Sharrow Vale restaurant is serving up slice after slice, with everything from familiar doughy favourites to apple crumble and custard on the menu.
David Stache and Kier Hodson first met around 10 years ago, when David owned healthy fast-food restaurant Nourish and hired Kier as a kitchen assistant.
Kier quickly worked his way up to head chef. When Nourish eventually closed, their careers went in different directions. David returned to performance nutrition, working with elite athletes including Tyson Fury, Nicola Adams and Kid Galahad, while continuing to consult in hospitality, whereas Kier stayed in kitchens, going on to work at and lead a number of pizza restaurants.
The idea for Slice Club came to David around two years ago, but its roots go back further. Years earlier, he used to order the same half-and-half pizza from Da Vinci’s on South Road: half BBQ pollo, half veggie without mushrooms, with pepperoni across the whole thing. It took weeks to persuade them to make it because the two halves used different bases.
The experience stuck with him. When committing to a whole pizza, he reasoned, most people order what they already know they like – a special might sound tempting, but if it doesn’t hit the spot, that’s your entire meal gone.
Slice Club takes a different approach. Instead of choosing one pizza from a menu, diners are offered different pizzas as they circulate around the room. You only have to commit to a slice – or even just a bite. If you like it, have more; if not, the next pizza is already on its way.
The format gives the kitchen more freedom, too. Alongside familiar classics and Slice Club signatures are changing wildcards that venture beyond the usual toppings. Current creations include double bacon cheeseburger, apple crumble and custard, teriyaki mushroom, kimchi carbonara, buffalo smoke and hotdog, with additions always being developed.
After researching the rodízio-style pizza model, David approached Kier just over a year ago and asked him to come in as a consultant. Kier’s answer was effectively no – but he would do it as a partner.
It took a while to find a home. Two deals fell through, first on Cambridge Street in Sheffield and then at a site in Nottingham, before David and Kier took over the former Mediterranean restaurant at 271 Sharrow Vale Road.
There’s no traditional ordering system: a light on each table controls the flow. Leave it on and the pizza keeps coming; switch it off and the slices pause.
The aim isn’t to turn dinner into an eating challenge, but to make going out for pizza more social, take away some of the decision-making and give people an excuse to try something they might not order as a whole pizza.
Slice Club opened on Sharrow Vale Road on 30 October, with bottomless pizza priced at £17.50 per person. Follow @sliceclubuk on socials for the latest updates.
