Beginning life as a street food pop-up, Wood Fire Dine moved to its permanent home in 2017, a compact and inviting Grade II listed building halfway in Rothwell, halfway between Leeds and Wakefield. Since then, owner Mark (who taught himself how to make pizza through YouTube videos) has won Pizza Chef of the Year at the 2019 PAPA awards and was also a finalist in 2021. This is a far cry from his previous career working on golf’s European Tour. Mark’s distilled these expertise into a pizza academy that operates out of Wood Fire Dine, which is priced at £99.
His menu is focussed and true to pizza’s roots. To start you can choose from garlic dough balls, marinara garlic bread or Caesar salad. Pizza options lead with the trusted margherita and pepperoni and are supported by the likes of the farmhouse (topped with Yorkshire ham), the Parma (goats cheese, rocket, Parma ham and a balsamic glaze) and the veg patch (mushrooms, peppers and rocket) . Sauces are made with the famed San Marazano tomatoes and gluten-free bases are available on request. Dessert is either a brownie or Italian ice cream. Vesper’s bar, located within Wood Fire Dine, is perfect for either pre or post-pizza eating. Its menu continues the Italian theme (Aperol spritz or limoncello spritz, reds from Abruzzo and whites from Venice) and even features a ‘Marktini’.
Alongside this is a selection of draught beers and all the usual spirits. On closed days, the whole restaurant and bar space can be booked for private dining. This seats 35-40 guests.