BTS 🍕
Pizza has come on enormously over the course of the past decade. While seemingly everyone has a pizza oven these days, since around 2020, the slice to go has become very popular as an alternative to whole pies.
It used to be a luxury that only Pizza by the Slice in the Grainger Market afforded, but there’s now a few people offering slices to go, of some varying quality. I’ve been hammering then since coming back from NYC last year, so here’s my take on the state of pizzas by the slice in Newcastle (and a little further), 2023.
Methodology
What I’m looking for: simple emulation of the best NYC pizza spots. A large slice from an 18″-ish pie, rewarmed is fine, but it’s gotta be hot, recently baked. A harmonic blend of cheese, tomato and dough. Dough that strikes a balance of chewy and crispy. Plentiful, quality toppings. Solid value. Quick service to go. Paper plates fine, preferred even. Where available, I tried a plain cheese, and a pepperoni to get a vibe for the staples, as well as quality of topping sourcing. It’s a convenience food for the masses, there’s nowhere to hide here.
Why you should care: To qualify myself for this, I’ve eaten a lot of pizza. Based on how many photos of slices of mine which I could find, from the places listed alone I’d say I’ve eaten nigh on a hundred slices while looking at this. I foresee more places popping up over the next couple of years, and some of them will wow with Instagrammable-ness, but still be shite. You can get a great effort from an Ooni or Roccbox oven nowadays, so you’ve gotta be more than decent to get my cash.
Further reading: Full pies and loads more in my original Best Pizzas in Newcastle post which is fairly recently updated. Additional research from Slice Wars last year. Every post tagged ‘pizza’ on this site.
What’s missing: Any pizza that isn’t readily available by the slice. There’s some great pies out there, but if it’s not available by the slice, that’s something else.
Any absolute (really) hidden gems I’ve missed out? Let me know. Notable missing slice: Midnight Pizza Cru. They only periodically do NY and Detroit-style from their Sunderland pop-up, but I haven’t been able to get there when they’ve been on. I will update.
These are the thirteen places you can get pizza by the slice in Newcastle and beyond — in no particular order. Updated February 2023.
🍕 I Scream for Pizza
🍕 Square
🍕 Brooklyn Pizza Slice
🍕 Fire & Dough
🍕 Dick’s
🍕 Firestone Artisan
🍕 Gingerino’s
🍕 Pizza by the Slice
🍕 Pizzeria Italia
🍕 Twenty Twenty
🍕 Ritrovo
🍕 Dough Daze
🍕 Slice Sunderland
I Scream for Pizza
Possibly the most well-known in Newcastle, Scream started off as a temple to Neapolitan style, before opening a second site peddling NY-inspired slices and pies. Both generally superb, tbf.
On a good day the slices are fantastic. See the pepperoni in that second pic below. Occasionally it can get flabby, and a little doughy but you’re usually gonna get something hot and fresh out. Controversially, I tend to prefer the slices cooled and re-heated for that full NY effect. Sometimes a fresh out (as is the case if you get a whole pie) veers towards Neapolitan. Not necessarily a bad thing mind…
Main thing being that nine times out of ten the dough has a good bit of charring on the base, a great core tomato sauce, and usually quality toppings. It wouldn’t pass for true NYC-style, but it never aims to be, instead taking the easy road of ‘Brooklyn-inspired’. Still, a great slice, in a great location, that’ll do a lot to push up the overall quality of NCL’s slices.
💷 Cheese slice: £3.80 // Pepperoni: £4.30
🍕 Specials of note: Lamb Fender (lamb kofta, baharat, tzatziki), Frankie’s (vodka, bacon, sausage)
🕥 Dine-in, Takeaway, Delivery, Open 7 days a week
📍 31 Quayside, NE1 3DE
Pizza by the Slice
As far as Newcastle is concerned, the OG. Except it’s not any more, ‘cos the owners of that restaurant have been, and gone and came back and gone.
It’s been up and down over the years, and while the cost has risen, the same can’t be said for quality. Somewhere along the line, margins were increased, and even taking nostalgia out of the equation, they’re not quite as great as they used to be. There’s a scant amount of tomato sometimes, and the cheese is pretty flavourless. But it’s pizza, you can’t help but enjoy it.
That said, it’s — always — freshly baked, which makes a difference here. The crust verges more towards cracker-like, but it’s seemingly timed to perfection. If you’re even passing through or by the Grainger Market – pretty hard to resist that waft of oregano. Cash only.
💷 Cheese slice: £2.50 // Pepperoni: £3
🍕 Specials of note: sausage and onion, or pepperoni, sausage, ham and olive (both above)
🕥 Dine-in (standing only), Takeaway, Mon-Sat 9:30-4:30 or as Grainger Market opening hours
📍 Grainger Market, NE1 5QW
Gingerino’s
Consistency blights this list, but not at Gingerinos. You get the same slice every single time.
Huge, affordable slices. The bake on these is reliable, and the dough chewy and crispy. It’s sometimes getting on for a little thick and in need of a crust dip, but the cheese/tomato ratio is usually spot on. I never used to be such a big fan when they first opened, but I’ve really grown to love a Gingerino’s cheese slice. A little thin on toppings, but if that keeps the cost down then so be it. One of the best, for sure.
Watch out for the new Ouseburn gaff, opening imminently.
💷 Cheese slice: £3 // Pepperoni: £3
🍕 Specials of note: brie & salami calzone, pollo all’aglio
🕥 Dine-in, Takeaway, Delivery, Open Mon-Sat 11:30-9:00
📍 Uptin House, Stepney Rd, NE2 1TZ
Fire & Dough
Bit of a cheat really, as it’s only available as part of HWKRMKT — so only open on a weekend. But it’s good enough to warrant inclusion here.
Super-high hydration dough, this is light and really more towards the Neapolitan style than NY, but it’s delightfully available by the slice. Pro-tip again here would be to look for/specifically ask for a reheat slice – the fresh out is not necessarily better here. But when the slice is good, it’s right up there with the best.
If you’re a fan of these, I’d argue the Neapolitan style they offer on the van is better, but this is still a great slice — and even better with a Jakehead on the side.
💷 Cheese slice: £4.50 // Pepperoni: £4.50 (paying a premium for the By the River spot here)
🍕 Specials of note: Lots! Check socials for updates
🕥 Dine-in, Takeaway, Open Fri-Sun (check!)
📍Current vendor in HWKRMKT, By the River Brew Co., NE8 2FD, or find the mobile wagon
Firestone
One of the new kids on the block, it’s not bad y’know. It’s got that cheap cheese and tomato sauce flavour profile which isn’t necessarily a slight on Firestone’s slices – almost reminds me of that chewy but soft Ray’s NYC slice.
It ticks the box of being not too sweet or too bitter, but the bake can be wildly inconsistent – sometimes barely baked and other times past the point of breadstick crunchy. Not a unique problem, even some of the better slices you can see here sometimes have very pale crusts, but an annoying one, especially when its underbaked and floury in the mouth.
That said, improving each time I go, so keep an eye on Firestone, and give it a whirl if you’re heading to the match.
💷 Cheese slice: £3.80 // Pepperoni: £4.30
🍕 Specials of note: buffalo chicken, meat feast
🕥 Dine-in, Takeaway, Delivery, Open 7 days a week 11am-11pm
📍 Unit 3, Haymarket Metro, NE1 7PF
Dough Daze
Remember when I said the overall standard of pie is going up? It has taken a while, but this was my first pizza disappointment in a long time. When others have some genuine USPs of value, quality, authenticity, or even just individuality, Dough Daze is seemingly just ‘having a go’.
Really poorly baked dough, gutless sauce and cheese, toppings that I’d rather not. Really needs to be much, much better and I’ll not labour it – but underbaked, almost 1cm of awfully PVA-esque cheese, and don’t get me started on the halal not-pepperoni. Sadly, a few have these have made it to the bin. So many better choices but if you haven’t to pique your curiosity, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Go to Firestone! It’s literally around the corner.
💷 Cheese slice: £3.75 // Pepperoni: £3.95
🍕 Specials of note: nana (grandma) slice
🕥 Dine-in, Takeaway, Delivery, Closed Sunday
📍 27 Ridley Place, NE1 8JN
Square
Does a square count as a slice? Course it does. The Detroit-style may be relatively new to Newcastle but it’s made waves on social over there last few years for its ‘grammable spiky crust.
Square remains one of the very few places doing them so wins by default, but I’ve grown quite fond of these slices. It’s a completely different style to NY style, so expect a focaccia like base, heavy on cheese and toppings and texture and none of the subtlety of a NYC slice. But a diverse range of slices is a good thing, so it is a must try if you’ve never been before. Just know it’s the black sheep of the bunch.
💷 Cheese slice: £4 // Pepperoni: £4.50
🍕 Specials of note: Clancy Wiggum (burger, onion jam, baconnaise, bbq sauce, frazzles)
🕥 Dine-in, Takeaway, Delivery, Open 7 days a week
📍 1 Market St, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6JE
Twenty Twenty
Twenty Twenty is a bar first and foremost, but what better drinking snack exists than ma-hoosive slices of pizza?
I went in sceptical but actually really enjoyed these slices. Seriously big slices from a twenty-inch pie, some funky toppings – the habanero sauce on this was very addictive, or see Monster Munch, onion hajis, nachos and other eyebrow-raisers.
Absolutely best when fresh, I’ve had a couple of not-so-recently-baked slices which have been kinda dry, but a decent go at a bar-style slice, even if it’s not traditional or perhaps even trying to be NY-style. Cushty lunchtime meal deal nets you a slice + popcorn + a drink for a mere fiver. When they say there’s no such thing as bad pizza, this is exactly what springs to mind. You’re never gonna marry it, but it’s an enjoyable slice at the time.
💷 All slices are £5
🍕 Specials of note: Porky Banana (banana habanero sauce, salami, above), Ring Sting’s Revenge (lots of spicy things)
🕥 Dine-in, Takeaway 12-12pm (2am Fri-Sat)
📍 5 Bigg Market, NE1 1UN
A little bit outside of NE1…
Pizzeria Italia
Reliable for their 12″ pies at their Longbenton home, these slices are only available on lunch time, but they’re up there with the best, and among the cheapest and closest to that dollar slice dream.
Some depth of flavour and pleasing chew to the dough which is genuinely lacking in a lot of the other slices, toppings are of a decent quality, and the cheese melt is super satisfying. I’m not sure what’s going on with their 12″ pies which look — interesting — these days, but the slices of the classics are incredible value, and fulfil the brief every time. Have a peep at that and say you don’t wanna eat it.
💷 Cheese slice: £2.50 // Pepperoni: £2.50
🍕 Specials of note: maxi ventricella (ventricina, garlic, oregano)
🕥 Dine-in, Takeaway, Delivery, Closed Monday
📍 391 Benton Park Rd, Benton, NE7 7EZ
Dick’s Whitley Bay
The newest kid on the block on this list, Dick’s opened on Park View in Whitley Bay mid-2022. And look at it, absolutely classic NY slice.
The cheese is, as close to NY-style as there is on this list. it’s a really thin slice with a base that perfectly sits between crispy and chewy and just about holds ‘the fold’. Little short on both cheese and tomato, and though texturally it’s sound, very anaemic looking on the crust.
Three pieces of pepperoni is not an unusual trend for this list, but on that slice is just mean. 22″ pies, and some interesting specials – if I were betting on one of these slices becoming my fave over the course of the next 12 months, it’s gotta be Dick’s. Keep it simple!
💷 Cheese slice: £3.80 // Pepperoni: £4.30
🍕 Specials of note: pulled pork & pineapple salsa
🕥 Dine-in, Takeaway, Delivery Wed-Sat 11am-2pm only
📍 Park View, Whitley Bay
Ritrovo
It’s another square, but RItrovo kinda does its own thing rather than aiming for Detroit style. It’s a focaccia-esque base, with a lot of toppings on like Square, but there’s none of that cheese crust and it’s a bit of a breast of it’s own.
Not trad, but I liked the super thick-cut pepperoni and like all of the slices there is a lot of cheese. It’s hefty, and for me it’s a rare case of one slice being enough. Cheerful service, beachy location, and a nice enough bake on it! Different to, but at least as good as Square, bite for bite.
Less successful — the Oi Oi! which is béchamel based, with saveloy, sage and onion. It’s an incredibly heavy slice (topped here with US mustard) which is interesting for a bit, then just becomes unpalatable. Appreciate the nod to ‘Shields but It’s one-dimensional. Keep it cheese, tomato and meat, and you’ll enjoy it.
💷 Cheese slice: £3.50 // Pepperoni: £4
🍕 Specials of note: Oi Oi! (béchamel, saveloy , sage, onion)
🕥 Dine-in, Takeaway, Delivery, Open Thu-Sun 12-9 (check seasonal opening)
📍 South Foreshore, South Shields, NE33 2LA
Brooklyn Pizza Slice
Pizza is worth travelling far – and if you can get as far as Durham, you’ll find a really good slice at Brooklyn Pizza Slice. Formerly of the marketplace, it’s just a sole dude pushing out slices which have a great bake on them, with a herbalicious sauce, fine amount of cheesiness, and toppings which keep things lively.
Not just good for Durham, but manages to fight with the best on this list, in a way which evokes NYC Pizza Suprema. Good price as well, so don’t pass on it if you’re in Durham (and it is actually open!)
💷 Cheese slice: £2.50 // Pepperoni: £2.70
🍕 Specials of note: Spinach & ricotta, salami & hot honey
🕥 Dine-in, Takeaway, Tues-Sat 12pm onwards (sporadic, check social media)
📍 Unit 3, 3 North Rd, Durham DH1 4SH
Slice (Seaham/Sunderland)
Slice was a gaff in Seaham that a couple of years ago started peddling pies at Sunderland’s Vaux Brewery taproom, so naturally we made the trip there for pints & slices.
Some good looking slices, that dappled cheese melt is oh so NYC. What lets it down is a vibe of poor quality ingredients – plastic cheese and acidic tomato just never really meld in the way you want them to, and toppings that end up subtracting from the purity of the slice rather than adding.
I still wouldn’t kick it out of bed, but it’s a slice that looks better than it eats.
💷 Cheese slice: £2 // Pepperoni: £2.50
🍕 Specials of note: Hot, Hot (jalapeños, peppers), Kievin Keegan (garlic butter chicken)
🕥 Dine-in, Takeaway, Fri-Sat (check social media for opening hours)
📍 Vaux Taproom, Unit 2 Monk St, Sunderland SR6 0DB
Conclusions: There’s gonna be more pizza places opening over the next few years as standards continue to increase, casual and affordable dining grows even further in popularity, and pizza remains an inexpensive staple for lunch and beyond. It’s great to now have this many options for pizza slices in town and added competition is healthy.
BUT All of these slices with the odd exception are often inconsistent, particularly in the baking. Even with the big and ballsiest names on here, there’s far too often an underbaked and pallid crust, or a general stinginess in toppings which is a bit disappointing. I’d love to see a real slice queen come along to offer something closer to the dollar slice, and even hold a candle to the best of Brooklyn or Manhattan slices. Until then though, I’ll keep plowing through those cheese slices, with absolute aplomb.
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