PULSE is a Shoreditch restaurant given over entirely to beans and pulses, putting black beans, cannellini and chickpeas at the centre of a contemporary, flavour-led menu. Behind it is a team that includes a former MasterChef contestants, alongside a line-up of chefs and bean specialists from around the world, all set on showing just how much range a store-cupboard staple has.
The restaurant occupies a former butcher’s shop, and the industrial dining room keeps its original tiled walls. Booth seating lines the room around a central bar, street-facing windows look out onto the comings and goings of Hoxton, and a custom-made chandelier of glass, resin and silicone beans hangs above the tables - a playful nod to what’s on the plate.
The menu travels well beyond beans on toast, though it does a version of that too: herby Tuscan sausage and tomato cannellini beans on toasted sourdough, sharpened with salsa verde. Elsewhere, soft-loaded tortillas come piled with spiced chilli black beans, charred corn, fresh avocado and pickled onion, while a crispy chickpea and cauliflower steak is served with roasted chickpeas and coriander oil. Even the pasta gets the bean treatment: Marry Me cannellini agnolotti come dressed in Parmesan cream with crispy and pan-fried sage, finished with a toasted hazelnut crumb.
Desserts get the same treatment, with beans bringing texture to classic patisserie and sweets. The house special is a fudgy Dark Chocolate and White Bean Fondant, served with salted caramel.
With a menu pitched at a broad range of diners and tastes, PULSE suits anyone curious to see what a kitchen can do when the bean is the star rather than the side.