Tasty, filling and easy to eat on the go, pizza is the perfect treat to enjoy at any time of day. If you’re looking to grab a slice in Leeds, here are some local pizzerias you really ‘knead’ to try.
Pizza Freak
Located in Burley, Pizza Freak serves authentic NYC and Detroit-style pizzas, which are made with long-proved, malted dough for a thick and chewy crust. Topping choices include the ‘Wolf Pack’, which features the restaurant’s secret recipe beef meatballs, ragu, mozzarella and Pecorino Romano. There’s also the tempting ‘Duchess of Bay Ridge’ – a white pizza with three cheeses and ham hock cooked in Kirkstall Brewery’s Virtuous IPA. You can dine in at Pizza Freak’s restaurant on Kirkstall Road, or order a takeaway from Deliveroo, Uber Eats or Just Eat.
Prices start at £9.95 per pizza
Pollini’s Pizza Slice
This popular pizza restaurant was born in Halifax, where its takeaway is still thriving and offers ‘Yorkshire’s biggest pizza’ – a whopping 24″. In Leeds, Pollini’s can be found in Kirkgate Market, where ingredients sourced from neighbouring stalls are used to craft its scrummy pizzas. These are sold by the slice or pie and come with all of the classic toppings. There’s the Hawaiana with ham and pineapple or the Cheese Feast featuring 100% mozzarella, smoked cheese, red cheddar and parmesan.
Prices start at £3 per slice or £11.99 per pizza
Pizza Loco
If you favour Neapolitan-style pizza, Oakwood is the place to head. Pizza Loco on Roundhay Road is run by Ollie Reynolds, who champions organic, UK-grown ingredients such as wildfarmed flour, Yorkshire tomatoes and British charcuterie. In fact, Pizza Loco has just won the Yorkshire Evening Post’s Oliver Award for sustainability. A favourite here is the tantalising ‘Hot Honey’ pizza, which features spicy Spianata Calabrese salami, smoked scamorza cheese, thyme, fior di latte and crushed Vesuvio tomatoes with a light honey drizzle. Loco is also known for its famous Panuozzi, or pizza dough sandwiches.
Prices start at £10.90 per pizza
Culto
Residing in a converted red brick terrace in Meanwood, Culto offers a sociable dining experience for those who want to enjoy a proper sit down meal. The restaurant’s head chef, Nunzio La Rosa, was born in Palermo and has been making pizza for more than two decades. At his modern Italian, you’ll find a selection of reasonably-priced calzone and pizzas, like the ‘Diavola Piccante’, made with mildly spiced Italian salami, fresh chillies, ‘Nduja, D.O.P. San Marzano tomato, red onions and 100% Mozzarella. Alternatively, you can try a ‘Fiorentina’ with spinach, garlic, San Marzano tomato, mozzarella and a fresh egg.
Prices start at £8 per pizza
Poco
Also part of the Culto family, Poco serves Sicilian street food from its city centre kiosk and shops in Burley and Headingley. Poco’s pizzas are baked in rectangular trays and sold ‘al taglio’, or by the slice. This means you can mix and match to try all of the different toppings, which include both meaty and vegetarian options. The restaurant also makes arancini using a traditional Palermian recipe and sells delicious ‘Pollo Arrosto’ (Sicilian rotisserie chicken).
Prices start at £3.50 per slice
Grumpy’s
Situated in Farsley’s Sunny Bank Mills, Grumpy’s is an award-winning Italian that welcomes families. This casual restaurant boasts a lively atmosphere and has a light and airy industrial-style interior with an outdoor terrace to use in the Summer. Grumpy’s pizzas are wood fired and have a thin, crisp base. Toppings include the ‘Clementine’ with courgette ribbons, parmesan, sweet red peppers, olives, basil pesto and feta, or the ‘Perry’ with mozzarella, prosciutto, capers, rocket and shaved pecorino. Most pizzas can be made gluten or dairy free at your request and these can be accompanied by craft beer or cocktails.
Prices start at £9.50 per pizza
Ecco Pizzeria
The talented team at Ecco Pizzeria use a dough that has been left to ferment for 48 hours before cooking their Neapolitan-style pizzas in a wood-fired oven. Alongside their fantastic signature toppings, Ecco offers creative specials that are inspired by different global cuisines. The ‘Athens’ celebrates Greek salad with baby spinach, black olives, cherry tomatoes, caramelised onions and feta, while the ‘Istanbul’ is full of flavour with Mediterranean-spiced minced lamb, feta and pomegranate seeds served on a tahini base.
Prices start at £9.50 per pizza
Dough Boys
There’s something for everyone at this pizzeria in the Belgrave Music Hall. Dough Boys’ hand-stretched pizzas can be made using gluten-free rice flour and their toppings can be customised with oils and sauces at no extra cost. Among the pizzas to sample here are the ‘Queen Brie’ with brie, caramelised onions, red grapes and seasoning, and the vegan ‘What’s The Quack?’, topped with mock duck, vegan mozzarella, pickled cucumber, hoisin sauce, spring onion and toasted sesame. These are sold by the slice so you can fill your plate with a bit of whatever you fancy. Call in before 5pm (or 7pm on a Friday or Saturday) to get a half-price slice.
Prices start at £3.60 per slice
Pizza Milano
Selling deep pan and thin crust pizza at an unbeatable price, Pizza Milano is one of the three most popular pizza takeaways in Leeds. Their restaurant in Woodhouse is open until 2am on Sundays and 3:30am every other day, making it the place to pick up a cheeky snack on the way home from a big night out. Among Milano’s pizzas are the Quattro Formaggi, topped with four different cheeses, and the Chicken Tandoori Special with tomato sauce, Italian herbs, onions, tandoori chicken and mozzarella cheese. You can opt to collect your pizza or it can be delivered to your door by Just Eat or UberEats.
Prices from £4.70 per pizza
Images- @pizzafreakuk, @pizzaloco, @cultoitalian
