Monday Bulletin: Dough Hands’ second residency and a new Edinburgh restaurant

Catch up on the latest industry news stories of the week from the CODE Bulletin

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Dough Hands

Exclusive: London pizza joint Dough Hands is opening a second residency, taking a permanent space at the Old’s Nun’s Head in SE15. Founder Hannah Drye has been selling pizza since 2020 and they are very new-age London: wonderfully light, crisp, quite New York in form but with some more modern toppings. They should be more famous than they are. The second site follows Drye’s existing spot at the Spurstowe Arms by London Fields and the menus will largely align: 12-inch pizzas topped with the likes of ‘nduja, hot honey and stracciatella; soy-roasted mushrooms, taleggio and tarragon; and pepperoni, jalapenos and parmesan, the “OG”. There’ll be Drye’s house-made hot sauce, too, and a few South London specials. ‘Dough Hands is all about fun,’ she told CODE. ‘We’ve got an incredible team who loves making pizza and I want that to shine through in everything we do. Our menu, our messaging — it’s all about good vibes and creativity.’ Dough Hands will be on at the Old Nun’s Head every day bar Sundays (roasts take priority then). Launching February 13.

Moss

A new Edinburgh restaurant owned by the chef Henry Dobson is to use more than 90 products from his family farm. Moss will launch in Stockbridge on January 29 as a 26-cover, Scandi-inspired concept with a focus on Scottish produce. On the a la carte menu, food from Dobson’s farm in Angus, as well as fresh and preserved ingredients from a network of suppliers, including Phantassie Farm in East Lothian and Butchery at Bowhouse near Fife. Dobson said dishes will include beef dripping and bone marrow focaccia, duck smoked with dining room wood shavings, ceviche cooked with acid made from wild sorrel, and ‘the fluffiest chiffon cake made outside Japan’. Dobson, who lists Noma, The Ledbury, and Heron on his CV, said: ‘Moss is the culmination of two years of solid R&D… From our six month trip to Japan, to Akiko and I digging clay out of ditches for the tableware, to sieving ash for the paint, to bucking, milling and joining the table tops all the way to foraging our vast library of preserved ingredients from my family farm.’

Small Plates

• A new Indian gastropub has launched in Archway. The Great Indian, from takeaway owner Aman Dhir, is in the old Prince Alfred off Hornsey Road, bringing pints of Guinness, Beavertown and Cobra beer and dishes such as tandoori tiger prawns, lamb shank pie, and filled pao/pav rolls. The kitchen is being overseen by Indian MasterChef judge Surjan Singh.
   
• New in Marylebone is the West African restaurant Shakara, which has taken over the space once occupied by Ooty. Leading the kitchen is former MasterChef: The Professionals semi-finalist Victor Okunowo, while Ayo Adeyemi, best known for his time at Akoko, is consulting. Dishes are inspired by Nigeria, Ghana, and The Gambia and include peppered goat croquettes and stuffed chicken wings.
   
• Another Tamila is launching, this time in King’s Cross, not far from the Tamil Prince. The focus is again on South Indian-inspired cooking, with curries, rotis, bhajis and okra fries on executive chef Prince Durairaj’s menu. Sundays will see sharing feasts and thalis put on, there’ll be a hatch for takeaways, and a cocktail list including Indian takes on margaritas and negronis.
   
• The Connaught Patisserie, by Nicolas Rouzaud, is selling more of its wildly popular galette des rois pastries until the end of the month. This year’s galette has a design of seasonal wildflowers on top, while the inside is filled with a classic almond frangipane made with Marcona almonds, and a Connaughty Hound token. Fairly spectacular for £50.
  

• Cornwall husband and wife duo Paul and Emma Ainsworth have bought the St Enodoc hotel in Rock, Cornwall. Paul said: ‘Emma and I have long admired the hotel and are absolutely delighted to become its new owners and custodians. We have no immediate plans to change the style of the hotel – our priority is ensuring a seamless employment transition, to get to know our new business, and to create a warm welcome for guests.’