Chef Hem’s cult-favourite Sliceria lands in Campbell

Posted on 22 April, 2026

Chef Hem – Canberra’s world-ranked pizza maestro – is bringing his cult Sliceria to East Traders Hall this Thursday, and Campbell is about to get a whole lot tastier.

If you’ve been following the rise of Thapa Magar Hemnath (Chef Hem to those in the know), you’ll understand why the news of a second Sliceria shopfront has Canberrans reaching for their wallets. Since opening his first grab-and-go pizzeria on Marcus Clarke Street last year, the queues haven’t let up – and now the inner north is getting its turn.

Sliceria Campbell opens on Thursday 24 April inside East Traders Hall, the expansive new food and lifestyle precinct at ANZAC Park East. It joins Capital Brewing Co.’s Lager House and Lava Coffee in a venue that’s quickly becoming one of the most exciting dining destinations in Canberra.

The Campbell Sliceria is Chef Hem’s fourth venture – after Pizza Artigiana, the original Sliceria in City West, and his Hem and Co van by the lake – and it didn’t come about by accident. But for Hem, it wasn’t about chasing a location. In fact, he says this one came to him.

“Everyone from here came down, tried Sliceria… and they wanted me to be here.”

Still, he admits opening a new venue never gets easier.

“This week, I won’t sleep. My heart is beating every time… I feel like I don’t know if I missed anything.”

By day, Sliceria is all about Roman-style pizza al taglio: rectangular slices, cut to order, designed for grabbing on the go. It’s the style that built his following – light, airy dough, long fermentation, and flavours that rotate daily. Things switch to big, foldable 22-inch New York-style pizza by the slice and whole 14-inch pies come dinnertime.

Alongside both, there’s a weekday lunch menu of schiacciata – Tuscan-style sandwiches stuffed with fillings like mortadella with stracciatella and pistachio cream, porchetta with provolone, or a simple Nutella number for those with a sweet tooth.

On any given day, expect eight to nine varieties on rotation, with flavours shifting with the seasons and Hem’s restless creativity.

“There are so many ideas running in my head.”

Ask Hem where to start and he won’t hesitate. The Truffle Heaven. Mushroom lovers, consider yourselves warned – it’s rich, earthy, and the kind of slice that turns a casual lunch into a minor obsession. For something meatier, the Meet Me in Rome layers barbecue sauce, salami, spicy salami and hot honey across that signature crispy Roman base.

The New York pie menu runs deep, too. A classic pepperoni. A nduja with Calabrian chilli, stracciatella and hot honey. The Tie-Dye, which swirls San Marzano, vodka sauce and pesto across a base of fior di latte and pecorino. Whole pies range from $25.90 to $32.90, while Roman slices sit between $11.90 and $16.90 – proper value for pizza made by someone ranked among the world’s top 100 pizzaioli.

For those unfamiliar with Hem’s story, it’s worth the retelling. He arrived in Australia from Nepal on a student visa in 2018, worked as a cleaner in the early mornings, studied during the day, and spent his evenings volunteering in pizza kitchens to hone his craft. In 2023, he became one of only two Australians to crack The Best Chef Awards Top 100 pizza-makers – a recognition judged by 200 professionals across six continents.

Now running four venues and with a young family, Hem admits the pace is relentless. He tells me he hasn’t slept properly all week in the lead-up to Thursday’s opening, his heart racing every morning with the weight of wanting to get every detail right. But that intensity is precisely the fuel. Every new venue, every dough he mixes, every slice he sends across the counter – it’s personal.

“I want to give 100 per cent every time,” he says. “I do mistakes every day, but I want to learn. Every day I want to challenge myself and keep making it better.”

Sliceria Campbell opens on Thursday 23 April, with a special opening offer of any Roman or New York style pizza for just $10 between 11:30 am and 10 pm.

Moving forward, hours will align roughly with Capital Brewing’s schedule, with plans to settle into a lunch and dinner split soon after opening. Keep an eye on Sliceria’s Instagram for updates.