Pizza Loco Leeds: Highly-rated Oakwood restaurant announces closure after 'absolute whirlwind' four years

Pizza Loco, based on Oakwood’s high street on Roundhay Road, will close from the end of the month, its owner has said.

The brand was founded in 2014 by pizza chef Ollie Reynolds and its Oakwood restaurant first opened in 2019.

It comes just five months after Pizza Loco took over kitchen residency inside Meanwood Tavern alongside running the Oakwood site. The Meanwood Tavern residency will continue.

"It’s been excruciating to come to terms with closing here as I owe so much to all my Oakwood customers and staff old/new," owner Ollie said in a post announcing the closure.

“But I have [to] face facts that to keep the Oakwood site running, I’d need to work there full time.”

He said he was working on two “large and exciting new projects and a new food concept” set to be launched this year.

"This is the only way to have a fighting chance of making them successful,” he said.

The pizzeria boasts one of the highest Google ratings in the city for its cuisine with 4.8 stars from 176 Google reviews.

Pizza Loco scooped the Sustainability Award at the Yorkshire Evening Post’s Oliver Awards 2023.

"4 and a half years in this amazing little neighbourhood,” the post said.

"It’s been an absolute whirlwind! From barely open pizzeria, to lockdown takeaway factory, to [Rabbit Hole Coffee] collabs, to crazy busy, to cozzie livs, to 9 months as solo chef.”

Ollie said he would be bringing back “old menu favourites” as well as staff specials and “bits that never made the menu”, before the restaurant closes its doors for the final time.