Pizza Express at Leeds Skelton Lake makes a refreshing change to the usual boring and basic fast-food options you'd find at a motorway services, as they offer something different - an actual sit-down meal which caters for those with special dietary requirements, such as mine as a coeliac.
Prices are higher than a typical Pizza Express, again this is annoying especially as Nando's doesn't charge more which is also a part of the MSA, but it was only £1 extra on a pizza, which I didn't find to be that bad at all. Pizza Express Club Rewards can also be redeemed here meaning you can get more bang for your buck, as a Gold member I was able to redeem extras including a portion of dough balls, a 1L bottle of water and a Sprite, all at no additional cost.
Back in 2022, I did try to make a reservation here for Christmas Day, as they appeared to be open and accepting reservations online, only for it to be cancelled, I ended up receiving a voice message when they attempted to call me to inform me they would be closed, it appeared that they forgot to put the phone down and were mocking me for wanting to visit on Christmas Day - given the fact they were open, I don't see why that is a problem? As this is at a motorway location, what if I wanted a quick lunch on the way to visit family on a longer journey?
On my physical visit to the restaurant in 2024, the staff here seemed friendly and service was fast, although they were super quiet on my visit, despite visiting at mealtime.
I ordered a gluten-free American Hottest, which is one of the newer additions to their menu. On the Pizza Express website, it was described as "The heat is on! 'Nduja sausage, pepperoni, tomato, mozzarella, chillies, Gran Milano cheese, chilli oil and parsley"
The flavours came together really well, the pizza looked and tasted great, and the combination of the toppings was also good, I particularly liked the Nduja with the chillies and pepperoni.
The dough balls were up to the usual Pizza Express standard, however, instead of using the black napkin (Usually used to mark gluten-free), they used a white grease-proof Pizza Express branded paper - I LOVE THIS! I wish every Pizza Express did this instead as I'm so used to picking off bits of a napkin from the dough balls, as they'd always stick to it.
I was unable to get a hot drink due to the machine being out of order, although the staff member did grant permission to take in a drink from elsewhere in the MSA, not the ideal situation as I wanted to use my Pizza Express Gold rewards to get a free cup of tea but they couldn't have done more in that situation - if it's out of order it's out of order!
4* - A pretty good Pizza Express, if you're travelling along the M1 and hoping to grab more than just fast-food, this is a great option. read more