Cayenne Cafe is a great restaurant that sits at the corner of Beverly Blvd. and Formosa Ave. It’s a friendly run establishment with an authentic menu, daily specials and nightly entertainment. This spot is one of B. Scott’s favorite restaurants, if not the #1 location on his list. The owners are friends of his and supporters of the website, so we want to make sure everybody knows where to go for a good meal. Check out the experience after the jump…

The restaurant is drenched in burgundy and gold, with gold lettering sitting on top of a long burgundy awning. Sit street side on a sunny day directly under the awning or take it inside where you are fully enclosed or on the open air side. The open air side is the bigger room with tables in the middle of the floor or tables with couches on one side lining one wall. Burgundy drapes hang next to a few of the tables creating a see through barrier between the inside and the outside.

The blue, burgundy, yellow and green tiles on one side of the wall form a mosaic design behind a granite lion’s head spouting a small stream of water. The walls are adorned with colorful plates, bright lamps and many hookahs sitting on pedestals and on top of shelves. The atmosphere is very homey and comfortable, and with the bright colors, it makes for an experience that feels festive no matter what day it is.

Everything on the menu sounds great, which is obviously good and bad. Luckily we only had the breakfast and lunch menus to tempt us. Breakfast is served until 4:00 pm everyday. You can choose from a wide array of Western style pancakes, omelettes, scrambles or granolas. Or you can opt for something more interesting like the Tangiers eggs with merguez sausage, the baguette tartine with olive tapenade or the breakfast pizza with turkey bacon and mozzarella. Lunch offers a variety of salads, soups, sandwiches, wraps, pizzas and burgers—most with a Mediterranean flair.

It was early in the day, so we chose a light lunch. We each ordered something that seemed filling—the Chicken Tarragon sandwich and the Cobb Med Salad. I lie not when I say the sandwich was the best sandwich I’ve ever had in life. Served piled high on ciabatta bread, the chicken literally overflowed out of the bread. It was a bit warm—as if they’d literally just made it—and there were little pieces of walnuts along with the tarragon and aioli. Splendiferous is not the word! (There’s also a Chicken Tarragon salad that is not a must-try for me.) The Cobb salad was good as well. With feta cheese, turkey, bacon, chicken, cucumber, avocado and tomato, it’s a healthy-ish lunch that will keep you full for the day.

Besides the great food and cute surroundings, one of the most fun things about Cayenne is the weekend entertainment. Have you ever had dined with a belly dancer inches away? On Fridays and Saturdays, from 8:30 pm to 9:45 pm, you can watch multiple shows during your meal—for free. The dinner menu offers many of the same soups and salads, but add on a selection of skewers and pastas, you have a lot to choose from. If night entertainment doesn’t suit you, go for breakfast instead where you can get 10% off your bill from 9:00 am to 11:30 am Tuesday through Friday.

Check out Cayenne sometime soon if you’re really into this kind of cuisine. It’s a great place for brunch or a late night dinner date. Everything about the place is relaxed and fun from the food to the management and wait staff. And for those who are a bit hesitant to dip their foot into the Mediterranean pool, use this as your first opportunity to give it a try!