Eats

Well Oiled: The indie pizza joint that’s got people running to the suburbs for a slice

Here's a slice for thought on National Pizza Day.

Sophie Smith Sophie Smith - 9th February 2023

If you haven't grabbed yourself a slice yet - this is your sign.

Located inside the beautifully renovated Meanwood Tavern, Well Oiled is truly bringing the speciality slices of Detroit to the suburbs of Leeds.

The menu has been wildly popular ever since opening in Meanwood in October, and the demand for slices isn't slowing down anytime soon.

Offering a carefully-selected menu of delicious Detroit-style pizzas, the popular pizza joint has everything you'd possibly want from a lunchtime snack or dinner time treat.

pizza on a tray.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
slice of pizza held up.

Detroit pizza is served as a rectangular shape, rather than your usual circular Neapolitan style - and rather than this just being an inventive way to change up the aesthetics, this actually allows the pizza to develop a deliciously crisp cheese crust around the edges.

The focaccia base itself remains light and airy thanks to an extensive proving period of 48 hours - and from there each individual pizza is built up with flavour-packed toppings and oven cooked to perfection.

These guys believe that pineapple belongs on pizza - but turn the age-old dividing fruit debate on its head by offering a moreish pickled version that's covered in a spicy and sweet pickling brine, developed in house, and served on a bed of Well Oiled cheese mix, rich tomato sauce and topped with smoked pancetta, Aleppo chilli flakes and fresh thyme.

Alternatively, plant-based foodies don't have to miss out on this one either - the chefs here replace the pancetta with a vegan fennel sausage handcrafted from plants by a local independent.

It's fair to say regardless of which version you choose, it quickly shuts up any pineapple naysayers with a single bite - the punchy flavours each have their own shining moment, and is just one example of how this pizza joint is putting a new spin on classic dishes- and is loved for it.

And it most certainly doesn't stop there.

There truly is a slice for everyone - choose from XXXL slices or sharer-style plates with everything from salami to chimichurri, roasted red peppers to burratas on the pizza menu to get stuck in to.

The Turbo Peppers is another firm favourite: grab yourself an XXXL slice with Well Oiled sauce and the house-made cheese mix topped with roasted red peppers and Roscoff onions before being drenched in turbo chimichurri and chipotle-spiced maple and pecorino for a sweet, savoury, slightly spiced slice that'll have you licking your lips to get to every last morsel.

The Well Oiled Full Spec is perhaps the perfect sharer. The four-slice special cooked inside the 10"x14" pans, and tuck into Detroit style goodness with Trealy Farm fennel salami, whipped ricotta, pickled mash, finished with hot honey drizzle and oregano.

Images: The Hoot Leeds

The garlic bread here also deserves it's own talking point.

The tear-and-share style follows the same two-day-long fermenting process that creates that fluffy dough, before being treated with copious amounts of garlic butter (vegan-friendly) and sea salt, flat leaf parsley.

Grab as a standalone or the Burratini special, which comes with a Puglian burratini in the middle of the donut-style bread, perfect for dipping.

Images: The Hoot Leeds

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The popularity for the sellout pizzas speaks volumes for itself, but there's never been a better time to head down to Meanwood Tavern and give these slices a taste-test with the return of the Slice Safari - which gives you access to any of the pizzas as a XXXL slice for a fiver.

To find out more about Well Oiled, you can visit their website or head down to Meanwood Tavern, grab a pint and check out what the fuss is all about, slice in hand.

Feature Image- The Hoot Leeds

Eats

A pub in Leeds has been crowned the third best in Britain by The Good Food Guide

Clementine Hall Clementine Hall

A Leeds pub has been crowned one of the very best in the country by The Good Food Guide.

The trusted guide has just released its 100 Best Pubs in Britain list, and we're very chuffed with the results indeed.

Taking the coveted number three spot is our very own The Highland Laddie, a 100-year-old city centre institution that reopened in April 2025 in the hands of new owners Sam Pullan and Nicole Deighton.

These guys also run the Empire Cafe, so you just know it's going to be good.

Last year they soared straight to the top of the list and were crowned the best pub in the whole of Britain by the guide.

Images: The Hoot Leeds

This time, the Queen's Arms over in Eccles came number one followed by The Cow in Notting Hill.

We still think bagging third place is quite the achievement, and if you've visited The Highland Laddie yourself you'll know just how much of a special place it is.

Don't just take our word for it, The Good Food Guide labelled the Laddie as 'a true pub with a genuine community vibe'.

They also said: "Reenergised by the team behind the Empire Cafe in 2025, this is everything that a proper English pub should be – 'oh, and they have a mustard menu!'

"Inside, the Laddie ticks all the boxes, preserving the essentials of a traditional old-school boozer and maintaining a genuine sense of community while letting the good times roll. As for the food, it’s ‘both high-end and accessible’, pulling in ideas from all over, whether you fancy a freshly shucked Lindisfarne oyster, a keema toastie or an elevated ham roll with bread cooked over the coals.

"Dig deeper and you might find a lobster madeleine with Yorkshire chorizo butter, a treacle onion tart or pork schnitzel with two fried eggs. Club steaks are served by the inch, there’s no creative let-up when it comes to sides, and the nostalgia is ramped up with the likes of strawberry and Champagne trifle with ‘sprinkles’.

"But never forget that this is a self-proclaimed ‘drinkers’ pub’ dispensing everything from ‘properly served’ British brews and ’the best Guinness in Leeds’ to a staggering line-up of whisky optics."

You can read the full list here.

Read more: Inside Leeds’ newest cocktail bar inspired by 1970s Hollywood and Japanese listening bars

Featured image - The Hoot Leeds

Eats

Popular egg sandwich shop Egg & Co is opening in Leeds city centre

Clementine Hall Clementine Hall

This much loved breakfast spot do one thing and one thing very well...egg sandwiches.

And it may be a familiar name to some of you lot, as Egg & Co recently opened up on bustling Deansgate in Manchester as well as inside Cambridge Street Collective in Sheffield.

This will be their first site in Leeds, though, and we're very 'eggsited' about it...sorry.

If you've got been introduced to the wonders of Egg & Co yet, then allow us to fill you in on what to expect.

Images: The Manc Group

From here, you’ll be able to grab their unbeatable breakfast sandwiches, where soft scrambled egg is piled into warm brioche buns.

There are a dozen or so breakfast butties on the menu here (yes, they do all feature egg), with other fillings ranging from beef patties to turkey bacon to caramelised onion.

And there’s more – sides here include truffle hash browns, curly fries, and chicken bites.

Of course it wouldn't be a breakfast spot without some caffeinated beverages as well, so we predict as with their Manchester site you'll be able to grab your morning coffee and matcha as well as freshly squeezed orange juice fresh enough to cure any hangover.

We don't know of the exact location yet, but we do know it'll be in Leeds city centre.

Images: The Manc Group

Teasing the news on their Instagram, Egg & Co said: "LEEDS, WE’RE ON OUR WAY. You heard it right. Eggandco is heading to Leeds!

"Same eggs. Same fresh sandwiches. Same Eggandco experience. Just a new city to call home."

Of course, in true Leeds fashion, supporters flocked to the comments to show their excitement and demanding an extra clue on the exact location.

Egg & Co are keeping this under wraps for now, but we'll keep you updated as and when we know more.

Read more:

Featured image - The Manc Group

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