An Early Look at the Café Beatrice Menu by Will Gilson

Will Gilson at Puritan & Co. The chef is debuting Café Beatrice this spring. / Galdones Photography

The newest casual, family-friendly café heading for the Boston area is—not at all surprisingly—the latest business venture for a brand-new parent in the neighborhood. Chef Will Gilson, chef-owner of Cambridge’s Puritan & Co., Allston resident, and first-time dad to daughter Beatrice, debuts Café Beatrice in May, as a six-month pop-up in Lower Allston.

“I wanted to help create a place where residents could gather to enjoy a great cup of coffee and some tasty breakfast sandwiches, or log on and work on our patio while trying one of our healthy grain bowls with our house-made sodas for lunch,” Gilson said in a press release.

Slated for a half-year stint at 182 Western Ave., Café Beatrice is taking over a currently empty, standalone restaurant space, which boasts on-site parking and outdoor seating. Last year, farmer and former Bagelsaurus baker Dan Roberts’s Rabottini’s Pizza popped up there to our great delight; the place was formerly Stone Hearth Pizza.

The restaurant pop-up is part of the Harvard-led Zone 3 initiative, an effort to revitalize the Barry’s Corner district with creative uses like the Podcast Garage, and Aeronaut’s seasonal beer garden and music series. It’s an attractive opportunity for Gilson, who also manages the delivery-only Puritan Trading Co., and is involved with culinary endeavors at the Herb Lyceum, his family’s farm in Groton. (A juice shop in Kendall Square Gilson opened in 2015 closed its doors for good in February.)

“Creating a temporary pop-up is great way to test out some of the ideas and concepts that have been in my head for some time to see if they are embraced by the public,” the chef said.

Among Gilson’s ideas? Morning-friendly fare like bagels with smoked fish, fancy toasts topped with the likes of feta-pimento cheese and mushrooms, liège-style waffles, and grab-and-go Greek yogurt options; as well as salads, grain bowls, and hot sandwiches that make use of the former pizzeria’s stone hearth. Café Beatrice will also bring a full espresso program (in partnership with local roasting companies), CBD drinks, and house-made sodas to the neighborhood. Check out the opening menu below.

Café Beatrice will begin its six-month residency in Allston on May 1, and offer breakfast, lunch, early dinner, and online ordering and delivery from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. daily. Gilson is also bringing a taste of this casual, portable menu to this spring’s Boston Calling music festival at the nearby Harvard Athletic Complex. Stay in the loop on Instagram at @cafe_beatrice.

182 Western Ave., Lower Allston, Facebook.

Avocado toast with cured salmon, blood orange, and radish, from the forthcoming Café Beatrice in Allston. / Photo provided

Café Beatrice Opening Menu

• greek yogurt with “rainforest crunch” granola, $5
• breakfast sandwiches, $6
• griddled banana bread, $4
• toast with Nutella, ricotta, jam or honey, $5
• liege waffles with fresh fruit, $6
• Of course we have avocado toast, $6
• ploughman’s lunch toast, $8
• feta pimento cheese and mushroom toast, $8
• miso roasted spiced vegetable toast, $8
• bagel and cream cheese with choice of, $4
  • pastami smoked salmon +$6
  • smoked bluefish pate +$5
  • avocado BLT +$5

Bowls and salads

• grain bowl, $9
• veggie bowl, $9
• cold noodle bowl, $9
• curried cauliflower and seared broccoli, $9
• baby kale caesar, $9
• chopped seasonal veg salad, $10
• Thai cabbage salad, $9
  Add: +$6
• hearth-roasted free-range chicken
• organic salmon
• grass-fed beef
• grilled oyster mushrooms
• soft boiled farm egg (+$3)

Hearth-Fired Sandwiches

• clothbound cheddar grilled cheese, $8
• croque madame with mortadella and truffle honey, $10
• tomato and avocado BLT, $10
• prosciutto, pepper, fig and burrata, $12
• grass-fed beef meatballs with tomato chutney, $12
• braised pork, sharp provolone, and broccoli rabe, $12
• Italian grinder, $10

Coffee and drinks

• espresso, $3
• cold brew, $3.5
• nitro cold brew, $4
• CBD cold brew, $8
• matcha latte, $5
• turmeric latte, $5
• bottled sodas, $3