Review of 'Pizza Punks'

In Leeds recently to see a film we wandered around the city centre looking for something to eat when we stumbled across “Pizza Punks” whose name was intriguing and the relaxed, clean interior appealed along with the reasonable menu offering some interesting pizzas. There are several tables outside on the pavement in the pedestrianized Bond and Albion streets but we chose to sit on the inside to avoid the rather busy foot and food delivery bikes of an early Saturday evening.

The interior is quite funky with polished wood floors and industrial furnishings of metal and white marble. The ground floor dining area is dominated by the pizza oven cooking area with seating stretching into another far room with separate unisex toilets in the basement. The tables are a good distance apart allowing for comfortable dining but it can get noisy when busy with the harsh furnishings.

The menu is a simple double sided piece of paper dominated on one side with the various pizza offerings with “Sides”, “Create Your Own”, “Pizza/Classics”, and “Desserts”. There are a number of deals listed as well, so if you are interested it would be good to check these before visiting (including bottomless drinks with a pizza at certain hours). On the opposite contains a good selection of drinks including cocktails, wines, beers and ciders. Nicely there is also a small section of “Softs and Sodas” that includes their own concoctions.

We had a table near the front window, having requested it, and started with two of their own soft drinks: Strawberry Lemonade (£6) and Cherry Pop (£6). The Cherry Pop was quite nice, if a bit heavy on the ice for the price. The flavour was nicely sharp, but still had a good cherry flavour.

I ordered a pizza from a small “Punk Specials” slip of paper that arrived with our menu, “The Hell Yeah!” (£13; “Our own BBQ sauce punked up with the 'Sauce Shop' ghost pepper ketchup/shredded mozzarella/sweetdrop peppers/caramelized tequila pineapple/chipotle pulled pork/chocolate flame/'Sauce Shop'; chipotle lime aioli”) having first confirmed that it is not completely “blow your head off” having said I could deal with a vindaloo. Yes, it was quite hot with the BBQ sauce and pineapple providing a touch of sweetness. The pork was delivered in good hunks on the pizza with the whole thing drizzled with the sauces which were absolutely delicious. The pizza itself is quite large and certainly left me feeling full. The crust is a delicious sour dough making it slightly chewy and very delicious indeed.

My companion went for the “Mexican” pizza (£12; “red sauce/mozzarella/chipotle pulled pork/peppers/jalapeños/roast corn salsa/sour cream/guacamole”) which was a bit much for her. There were a bit to many jalapeños for her but she very much enjoyed the rest of the pizza finding it a bit rich. Generous portions of pulled pork, guacamole and sour cream piled on top.

The drinks are a bit pricey but the food is reasonably priced. The service is friendly if not overly attentive and food was delivered very quickly after ordering with the pizzas cooked to order in a matter of minutes.

Tasty and interestingly flavoured pizza on a delicious sour dough crust.

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2023-07-21

Cuisine: American/British

Address: 37 Bond St, Leeds LS1 5BQ ENGLAND

Location: Leeds (England)

Map:

Telephone: +44 (0) 113 511 2777

URL: https://pizzapunks.co.uk/pizza-punks-leeds/