PULSE, a new restaurant dedicated entirely to beans and pulses, is preparing to open on Hoxton Street in Shoreditch. Billed by its team as London’s first bean-forward restaurant, it will mark its arrival with a two-night soft launch on 18 and 19 November. Bookings for complimentary dinners are now open via OpenTable.
The restaurant uses a variety of legumes, paired with a range of flavours, in what it describes as a contemporary, flavour-led menu intended to show the versatility of beans. According to the release, the aim is to prove that simple legumes can become memorable dishes with considered technique and inspired combinations of flavour. The restaurant is designed to appeal to a broad range of diners and tastes.
What is on the menu
PULSE says it arrives with a team that includes a former MasterChef star, chefs and global bean specialists. Menu highlights include soft-loaded spiced chilli black bean tortillas with charred corn, fresh avocado and pickled onion, and herby Tuscan sausage and tomato cannellini beans on toasted sourdough with salsa verde.
The menu also includes a crispy chickpea and cauliflower steak with roasted chickpeas and coriander oil. Another highlight is Marry Me cannellini agnolotti with parmesan cream and crispy sage, finished with a toasted hazelnut crumb and pan-fried sage.
Beans also appear at the end of the meal, where they add texture to classic patisserie and sweets. The house special is a dark chocolate and white bean fondant, described as rich and fudgy, served with salted caramel.
PULSE joins other recent openings built around one central ingredient, such as a Hove pizzeria that makes every base from British regenerative wheat.
A former butchers in Hoxton
The restaurant occupies the site of a former butchers and has 50 covers. The industrial interior keeps the original tiled walls and adds intimate booth seating and a central bar. Street-facing windows connect the restaurant to the surrounding neighbourhood in Hoxton. A custom made chandelier containing glass, resin and silicone beans will hang suspended over diners.
How the soft launch works
Across the two evenings of the soft launch, 200 complimentary dinners are available, with sittings at 6:30pm or 8:30pm. These are for dinner service only and must be booked through OpenTable.
At lunchtime, the PULSE takeaway hatch will hand out up to 400 free lunches each day from 12pm on 18 and 19 November, until stocks last. No booking is needed for the hatch.
Details and image via PULSE.