Now Open: Ronnies, a New Beachside Slice Shop by the Hoodburger Team

Just a few sandy-footed minutes’ walk from Scarborough Beach, Ronnies is the kind of pizza shop where you can grab a hot slice and carry it back to your towel and it'll still be piping hot.

The casual new venue is a joint venture between the Hoodburger team and long-time collaborator Chris Fabbro. Fabbro has worked with Hoodburger’s owner-operators, brothers Matt and Tom Shaw, for the past eight years, and has quietly built a following for his pizza pop-ups along the way. At Ronnies, that side project is taking centrestage.

“I grew up with a lot of local pizza joints,” says Fabbro. “But as Neapolitan-style blew up here, I just wanted to do something different and bring something new to Perth.”

That “something new” is the kind of slice you’d find at an American pizzeria on the US east coast: sturdy enough to hold in one hand, chewy with a crisp base, and cut big enough to fold. “Neapolitan pizza is just too floppy to have by the beach,” Matt explains. “We wanted a pizza you could eat with your hands as you walk down to the water.”

Fabbro has spent the past eight years perfecting the dough – made with a blend of locally milled flour and Italian specialty flours – which ferments for up to 72 hours to develop flavour and gluten strength. The pies are baked in a hulking three-deck Moretti Forni oven, which has independently controlled top and bottom heat, a feature Fabbro says helps achieve that all-important “crisp undercarriage” without overcooking the toppings.

There’s a Chicago-style sweet sausage item; a vodka sauce slice with mellow tomato flavour and silky texture; and a mortadella and caramelised pineapple number. Another pizza features spinach pesto and whipped ricotta – a vibrant green-white combo that’s salty, creamy and fresh all at once.

The American influence continues with the subs. Served on crusty, toasted rolls from Stuzzico, they’re the kind of saucy, cheese-pull-heavy sandwiches you’ll want to eat with both hands. The standout is the meatball sub, made using Fabbro’s family recipe and topped with melted provolone and a generous ladle of marinara.

The space is simple and breezy, built with takeaway in mind. There’s a bench or two out front, but mostly you’ll find people grabbing slices to-go – some still in swimmers, others catching the sunset with a pizza box under one arm.

As Matt puts it: “It’s pizza by the beach. That’s the whole idea.”

Ronnies
9/241 West Coast Highway, Scarborough Beach
No phone

Hours:
Tue 3pm–8.30pm
Wed & Thu 11am–8.30pm
Fri 11am–9pm
Sat 10.30am–9pm
Sun 10.30am–8.30pm

www.orderronnies.com
@ronniesslices