East Belfast pizza brand, Flout! has announced it has secured planning approval for a new Slice Shop on Donegall Street, in the heart of Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter. It plans to open this spring.

The premises represents a six-figure investment, signalling founder Peter Thompson’s confidence in the city centre. Established in 2021, what began as a one-man operation in Portview Trade Centre has now evolved into a coveted food experience of international acclaim owing to its uncompromising approach to technique, and its creative recipes that celebrates local produce.

Peter said, “Our momentum has accelerated in recent years through collaborations including a sellout takeover at Kimpton Fitzroy, London and a Christmas popup with Lucia Pizza of SoHo, New York. These events, paired with our consistent growth over the last five years all point to now being the right time to invest in the Cathedral Quarter. It’s been a lot of graft to get here – there is a huge amount of risk involved, but it’s my belief that Northern Ireland slices can be on a par with those from the great slice shops in New York. This is Flout! in the Cathedral Quarter. Our hope is to welcome more customers through the door, and everyone is invited in. We’ll be baking across the week and throughout the day, with slices available until we sell out.”

Flout!

The new Slice Shop will be built around a custom-designed oven – a £40,000 investment and the engine behind Flout!’s signature slices. Its headline offering, the ‘regular cheese’ New York–style slice, will be priced at £4, a 20% price reduction at a time when ingredient and operating costs have risen by more than 35%.The slice itself remains unchanged: the same organic, sourdough base cut from a freshly baked 20-inch pizza that has defined Flout!’s Portview menu for the past four years. Made with home-milled flour, homemade sauce, house-shredded mozzarella, Cravero Parmigiano Reggiano sourced from Mike’s Fancy Cheese on Little Donegall Street, and a five-day fermentation, it represents the core of what Flout! does best.

As well as New York–style slices, Flout! will continue to serve its full range of regional American styles – Detroit (including its first-ever slice, the ‘Spicy Kings’), New Haven, Brooklyn‑Sicilian, Grandma, Chicago Tavern, Pinsa Romana and Focaccia – a line-up the team believes isn’t available anywhere outside North America.

Peter concluded, “Much like our sourdough pizza, this business was born and raised in Belfast. I love this city and it has always been home for us. This new store is custom made to be the slice shop I want it to be. It’s 100% open plan – you’ll see us making pizzas fresh right in front of your eyes…you can choose the exact slice you want. Our focus and attitude will remain the same – use great produce, keep our heads down, work hard, be kind, and try to make pizza we genuinely enjoy. The new store offers things we’ve not had access to before; a proper power supply (enough to run three decks on an oven!), heating and air conditioning. An opportunity to really push on.

“This business was founded on making things that I couldn’t get anywhere else, and that drive has always been the same. We hold ourselves to very high standards and if we like it, others hopefully will too. It’s another way for us to stay rooted in a city we care about and an exciting time to open in the Cathedral Quarter, I would be incredibly proud if people choose to visit Flout! and our slice shop adds a little something to the area. This is a Slice Shop for Belfast.”