“Nothing brings people together like a table full of great food”

Cory Isham, owner of Nickel City Kitchen in New Brighton, reveals the secret to his success – New York style pizzas pan-style with a sourdough base and a distinctively bright pizza sauce.

They sound mouth-wateringly good and they’re the very worthy winner of our latest Best of 2024 award – Wirral’s Best for Pizza 2024.

Nickel City Kitchen opened on Seabank Road in December 2022

In April, we launched our Best of 2024 competition and we’ve given out 15 awards.

• Best for Hair – LA Hair
• Best for Pies – Pies4u
• Best for Nails - By Taylor Jade
• Best for Roast Dinner - The 21st Amendment Hoylake
• Best for Cocktails – Cow Shed Bar & Grill
• Best for Breakfast – At Gilly Gem’s
• Best for Fish and Chips - SelFish
• Best Beer Garden - The Red Fox
• Best for Fitness – Clubbercise and Chill
• Best for Tattoos – Speakeasy Tattoo Studio
• Best Independent Shop or Business – Snips Movies
• Best for Dessert – The Cookery Nook
• Best for Kids – The Corner House CIO
• Best for Pets – Dogs Go
• Best for Beauty – Ivy Lash Studio

Voting for Wirral’s Best for Afternoon Tea is currently taking place, as it’s National Afternoon Tea Week this week, and we’re also looking for nominations in our latest search - Best for Burgers.

Vote for Wirral’s Best for Afternoon Tea 2024

Nominate your favourite for Wirral’s Best for Burgers 2024

Ten top pizza places made the shortlist for the latest Best of 2024 award and Nickel City Kitchen has taken this year’s coveted crown.

Cory Isham opened Nickel City Kitchen in December 2022 on Seabank Road in New Brighton.

Growing up in Los Angeles and living in Upstate New York for many years, Cory met a girl from Wallasey in 2001.

They got married and moved to Buffalo, New York, for 14 years but decided they wanted their children to spend some of their childhood in Wallasey so moved to the area around 10 years ago.

Nickel City Kitchen owner Cory Isham

Cory, who is 46, said: “My business partner and I wanted to bring something unique to New Brighton and found a great location on Seabank Road to plant our roots.

“New Brighton is really developing a buzzing culture of hospitality in the Victoria Quarter and also up on Seabank Road and we wanted to be a part of it.

“We knew exactly what we wanted to create – a place for the community with a great music vibe - a small menu that hits hard using top quality ingredients, with craft beers, wines and cocktails to kick back and relax with.

“We are an American bistro with a menu specialising in Upstate New York style pizzas, New York City style deli sandwiches and small plates and sharing boards.

“All our bread and pizza doughs are made on site using our own recipes perfected over the past 12 years of practice, both at home and in professional kitchens.

“We have a full bar with up to eight draught beers on at any time and we always have at least a few taps on dedicated to local breweries.

“We stock a great wine list from around the world and also have a great range of cocktails, including our traditional margarita, that is very popular.”

Fluffy Focaccia pizza

Before becoming a full-time chef and restauranteur, Cory was working in the health and social care charity sector for around 20 years.

He had a number of roles supporting people with learning disabilities and/or mental health concerns.

So why Nickel City Kitchen? Why did he want to open a restaurant?

Cory said: “I believe food is central to culture, community and positive health and I really wanted to create something that shares my own culture with the fantastic locals.

“Nothing brings people together like a table full of great food, surrounded by people relaxing and catching up.

“I want to create a space where that happens time and time again.

“Authenticity of the food makes a big difference.

“We are offering some American classic dishes on the menu, but we approach the menu with big respect and consideration of how the dishes would be prepared in the cities and regions of the USA that have perfected them.

“They are all the flavours of my youth and I love to recreate them right here in New Brighton.”

New York deli style sandwiches are a customer favourite

What do customers think of Nickel City Kitchen? Why did they want the restaurant to win our latest Best of 2024 award?

The focaccia base pizzas get the thumbs up from hungry customers.

The meaty Roman focaccia slabs and vegetarian focaccia slabs are vying for top spot on the menu.

Cory said: “Our customers tell us that it’s the top quality of the food, great casual service that makes people feel at home, and excellent music vibe which keeps them coming back.

“We really put a massive focus on fresh, high quality ingredients to make “simple food” that lets the ingredients shine.

“Our pizzas are made in the style of Upstate New York, meaning they are pan-style pizzas with a sourdough base and a distinctively bright pizza sauce.

“They are not too thick, they are not too thin, basically bang on for the vast majority of dough preferences.

“We offer all the classic toppings and also put some creative ones out there like our extremely popular Philly Cheesesteak Pizza, which is a major hit.”

Cory and his team serve sharing boards to hungry guests

What’s the best thing about working at Nickel City Kitchen?

Cory said: “I love having a laugh with our customers and being able to spend my time with a great team of people, who truly care about their work.

“They work hard at making Nickel City a place that leaves people feeling refreshed and buzzing.”

Cory said it was a “pleasant surprise” when he heard that the popular venue had made the shortlist for this year’s Best for Pizza competition in Wirral and he is extremely thankful and grateful to win the award.

Cory said: “To see so many of our customers put our name out there as their favourite, that has really warmed me up!

“New Brighton and Wallasey – you did this!

“Thanks so much my friends!”