Homeslice, the small pizza chain popular with the likes of Ed Sheeran, Romeo Beckham and Clara Amfo, is relaunching its Shoreditch site as an entirely plant-based restaurant.
The Old Street site is set to open as Homeslice by Symplicity from June 13 with a new, fully vegan menu.
The new pizzas will include one covered with Italian sausage, spinach, sun-dried tomato and pangratatto; another with meatballs and marinara sauce and a third topped with bolognese sauce, red onion and rosemary. In all instances, the “meat” or “dairy” products are in fact plant-based facsimiles created by Symplicity; at the existing Homeslice outposts in Neal’s Yard, Marylebone and the City, the group already serve pies made with the likes of ‘nduja, tenderstem broccoli, chilli and garlic oil, and another with mushroom, ricotta, pumpkin seeds, chilli and a soy truffle glaze. Sales of both have risen 25 per cent in the past three years across the group.
The change comes as Homeslice founders Mark and Alan Wogan further their existing partnership with the chef Neil Rankin; the three are partners in Symplicity, which Rankin began in 2019.
Of the Shoreditch change, Rankin told the Standard: “Our products at Symplicity go with pizzas like wine goes with cheese.
“We’re all about delivering on flavour using simple and delicious local ingredients. Our way of thinking in production is more in line with the Italian ‘produce-first’ ethos than most of the meat-based crap that goes on to pizzas everywhere. I promise there’s not a claggy vegan cheese or flavourless protein in sight. I think this collaboration is going to burst a few misrepresented myths about what vegan food can be — and I’m excited to see what both the haters and supporters genuinely think.”
Symplicity’s beginnings are interesting ones: when it started in 2019, the project was seen as something of a U-Turn for Rankin, who — having made his name with the likes of Smokehouse, Pitt Cue and temper, and recipe book Low And Slow: How To Cook Meat — was broadly seen as the meat-lovers meat lover. Rankin has previously told the Standard he began the project after becoming frustrated with the lack of transparency around vegan substitutes. Rather than rely on highly-processed plant proteins or vegetable powers, Symplicity products are largely based on fermented and pickled vegetables, and have found success with chefs including Tom Kerridge, Gordon Ramsay and Stevie Parle.
Mark Wogan said of the launch: “We’ve seen a huge amount of interest in our plant-based pizzas at Homeslice so I know that we have the market we need for our new venture in Shoreditch.
“Having access to Symplicity’s full product range really inspired us to create a menu of pizzas that will excite any palate. The plant-based ‘nduja has a real depth of flavour – it’s as good if not better than traditional nduja and it tastes great on our pizzas.”
