Food and drink in Leeds: Horsforth’s hidden Mexican gem serving bold flavours and award-winning charm

A fiesta of flavours awaits if you have yet to try this gem of an eatery in Horsforth – and you won’t be disappointed. The intimate 16-cover restaurant is so popular booking is essential, especially for its evening dining. It’s hard to believe that just over two years ago this little Leeds legend didn’t even exist.

What’s on offer here puts other ‘Mexican’ diners in the shade – and it’s all thanks to founder and chef Julio. As he and his five-strong staff team celebrate their recent success in the Yorkshire Evening Post’s Oliver Awards 2026, being the only nominee to be a finalist in four categories.

“I’m also proud to be able to represent my country of origin, Mexico and its culinary traditional delights, achieving to position it within the best in Leeds,” said Julio, when we caught up with him to find out what makes Hooleos so special.

From Mexico with love

It was love that initially enticed Julio Tumalan from his home country to the UK and necessity – finding himself married with a young daughter and needing to pay the bills – that brought him to Leeds and a job in hospitality.

Fast-forward 20 years and he’d had enough of the long hours, late nights and lack of weekends. He acquired an existing toyshop in Horsforth, giving him chance to be part of the local community he’d become so fond of, and the 9-5 life he craved. But when Covid hit the debts mounted, and when lockdown ended people’s shopping habits had changed.

“I was in debt to the landlord, energy bills were piling up,” said Julio. With four years still on the lease walking away was not an option.

He knew too he wanted to stay in Horsforth; by now he was heavily involved with Horsforth Town Team, which brings together local businesses and organisations for mutual support.

“So, I brought in a few chairs, tables and a coffee machine, just a little café doing panini and cakes, things like that.

“Then I started doing things like burritos and nachos and then nobody was buying the sandwiches or cakes as much – so I thought ‘Let’s go full Mexican with all the traditional dishes from there’, and it has grown to what it is now.”

Its Town Street location puts it at the heart of Horsforth, and Julio sees it as part of the community. Honey Pottery nearby made the unique plates for the restaurant, from drawings done by Julio’s daughter Loraine who also designed the colourful shop front. And whether it’s providing a venue for a drop-in community police session, or organising and sponsoring the Christmas lights switch-on both Julio and Hooleos are very much part of local life.

A fiesta of flavours

Two years on, that simple café is a thriving, colourfully decorated Mexican Fonda (a family-run restaurant) serving tacos, quesadillas, burritos, nachos and more, with a changing seasonal menu and dishes that you’ll never find in a Mexican-branded chain diner or other restaurants.

There are winter warmers like the hearty stew Pozole, or light summer flavours to savour, like perfectly cooked pumpkin flowers or a seafood ceviche, and rich feasting platters like Mexican cactus mole –cooked pad of nopales (prickly pear cactus) with chilli chocolate sauce served at special occasions in Mexico.

There are tacos, queso fundidos, enchiladas, flautas, tostadas, burritos and quesadilla with a mouthwatering choice of fillings. Meat-lovers’ mouths will be watering at the Alambre mixto, with chilli con carne, chorizo, chicken, red onions and grilled peppers cooked with melted cheese and served with rice, salsa casera and corn tortillas to make your own tacos. There’s a vibrant vegetarian option of Alambre too – including zucchini and poblano pepper in the mix.

Add to this colourful cocktails, salads, sharing dishes and delicious desserts like Pastel de elote, a sweet corn cake, and your tastebuds are in for a treat.

Wheat flour is rarely used in Mexico. Most tortillas, nachos and wraps are made 100% with corn, burritos are the exception, so the restaurant is especially good for people looking for gluten-free foods.

“When I came to this country I was so disappointed when I tasted Mexican food. It was nothing like we have in my country,” said Julio, who was born in Acapulco, but lived all over Mexico thanks to his father’s job taken the family from place to place.

He says it was this experience which has given his food and his menu such a wide variety, with influences from across his home country.

“It gave me the opportunity to sample different cuisines, different dishes and regional variations.”

A perfectionist in the kitchen, Julio wanted to ensure his food was exactly as he remembered it while growing up and he takes both a precise and passionate approach to getting it just right.

He added: “It’s the reason why it works – I’m extremely picky about the ingredients I choose and the dishes I prepare.”

The Oliver Awards

And it’s definitely working. A finalist in last year’s Oliver’s for best newcomer of the year, in the recent 2026 awards it was named a finalist in four categories – Best Deli/Café; Best Sustainable Restaurant; Best Community Impact and Best Customer Service – and it was this trophy that Julio and the team walked away with on the night.

Julio said he was “thrilled” with the honour, not just for himself, but for the five staff members his little start-up café now employs.

“I am very proud for them. They are ambassadors of what the Mexican warm service is all about, caring for every single customer that walks through our doors,” he said.

“But I am also thankful to the amazing community that is Horsforth and Leeds and all our loyal customers and friends, that without their vote of support, this award wouldn’t have been possible to achieve. The other finalists on our category are also exceptional restaurants in Leeds making a difference in the city and understandably extremely hard to choose a winner.

Going local –find your Acapulco!

That friendly, professional service means happy customers, and Julio says the atmosphere. It opens for lunches every day until about 3pm, and reopens for evening service Tuesday, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. At the weekends Hooleos has a colourful party atmosphere – with music, karaoke, and diners chatting away to each other.

Make your next meal out more than just a meal, but a whole new experience. Discover for yourself why customers love it so much, by voting it to the top in the Olivers and ensuring it got a Travellers’ Choice Award on Trip Advisor.

You’ll find it at 20 Town Street, Horsforth, Leeds LS18 4RJ, and you can book via the Facebook page, Instagram or just call up 0113-258-8777