The Beverly Hills Cafe

One of our favorite casual restaurants, The Beverly Hills Cafe has 7 locations in the South Florida Area. We've been to several of them, and we find them to be very consistent in terms of all having the same menu, the same courteous service, and we never have a bad experience. Mostly we go to the one in Plantation. This one is located in a shopping center, others are stand-alone buildings.

The Atmosphere

When you first walk in, you are greeted by a hostess. If you're there for dinner on a weekend, you can expect to wait at least 10 minutes, sometimes as much as a half hour. That's just the way it is in South Florida; you get used to it. There's a small bench inside, where 5 or 6 people can sit, but mostly people wait on the benches outside. The entire walkway is covered, so you're protected even if it's raining. There's a microphone system so you'll hear your name being called.

Inside, there's a large room with tables for two, tables for four, and large booths that hold 6. There's also a small patio where you can eat outdoors, in a covered, screened area. There are ceiling fans on the patio to help keep it cool. The restaurant, itself, is always overly-air conditioned. That's another thing you have to get used to in South Florida - bringing a sweater with you everywhere you go - even if it's 98 degrees outside. The tables are spaced nicely so you don't feel cramped and the restaurant is not overly noisy.

Once you are seated, the server will very quickly take your drink order, provide silverware wrapped in cloth napkins, and bring you hot, delicious rolls. The rolls at this place are incredibly good - I don't know how they make them, but this is the only restaurant I know where people consistently take home the leftover rolls. They're THAT good. In fact, the server will ask you if you want to take them home, and gladly provide a box and a bag for you to do so.

The Menu

The real draw of this restaurant is the varied menu, with many healthy items. Also, many not-so-healthy items. There's plenty to choose from, whether you're being diet-conscious, or just out for a good time.

Munchies

There are 12 choices of appetizers, ranging in price from $4.99 for toasted ravioli, or miniature spinach bites to $9.99 for their combo plate which consists of Mozzarella cheese sticks, chicken fingers, and potato skins. The nachos are $6.99, and though it's sold as an appetizer, trust me when I tell you it's more than enough for a full meal. I was there for lunch yesterday and ordered the nachos for my meal; half was left over.

Small Items

There are two daily soup choices, and their soups are absolutely delicious. They are usually very thick and creamy. At $3.99 for a cup of soup, that's a bit expensive for my taste, but many of the entrees come with soup or salad.

Speaking of the side salad - it's gigantic. It comes in a rather large bowl with lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, and cabbage. They have 15 different dressing choices including two fat free choices (Italian and Raspberry Vinaigrette).

They have four choices of loaded potatoes. Steamed veggies and Mozzarella, mexi-meat with tomatoes and Cheddar, Cheddar and bacon bits, and broccoli and Cheddar. The potatoes are huge. If you choose any two of the soup, side salad, and potato, I guarantee you won't go hungry.

Eggs

They serve omelets and other egg dishes all day long. My favorite is the "make your own omelet" where you choose any 3 ingredients from a list of 10 items. I always have mushrooms, onions, and broccoli. The omelets come with crispy fried potatoes; I always exchange them for a baked potato. They're always more than happy to honor requests for "customizations".

On The Healthy Side

Here are seven options for the health-conscious. Most of these items contain lots of veggies, and your choice of meat. My favorite is called "Healthy Bowl". It's a bowl of yellow rice, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, bean sprouts, and scallions. It's $6.99 or you can pay 2 or 3 dollars more to have them add chicken, shrimp, steak or salmon.

They also have a "Slimmer Plate" which includes a side salad, a baked potato or vegetable, and your choice of grilled hamburger, garden burger, turkey burger, chicken breast, or salmon.

Burgers And Sandwiches

There are 11 varieties of hamburgers, 10 types of chicken sandwiches, and 17 types of sandwiches. I do believe that if you're looking to eat a burger or a sandwich, you'll find something here to make you happy. The burgers and chicken sandwiches all come with coleslaw, lettuce, tomatoes, and French fries. The sandwiches all come with either chips or fries. The "Royal George" is oven roasted turkey, Canadian bacon, 1000 Island dressing, tomatoes and melted Swiss cheese. The Grilled Veggie Melt is mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli and tomatoes with melted Cheddar and Mozzerella cheeses on Syrian bread.

Hot Entrees

About 30 different items, including daily specials are offered. Some come with a choice of salad or soup. Others can have the salad or soup added for $1.99.

They cover fish, steaks, chicken, pasta, stir-frys, and Mexican selections. The "Beverly Hills Stir-Fry" consists of mushrooms, pea pods, zucchini, broccoli, bean sprouts, spinach, carrots, and cabbage stir-fried in an Oriental sauce, served over yellow rice and sprinkled with almonds. It's $8.99, or you can pay an extra 3 or 4 dollars to add grilled chicken, fried chicken, salmon, mahi-mahi, or shrimp. I have a large appetite, and half this meal always comes home with me.

Another favorite of mine is the "Cafe Skirt Steak". A 12 oz. skirt steak marinated in a garlic wine sauce, smothered with mushrooms, caramelized onions, and Mozzerella cheese. Served with potato and vegetables.

I frequently order the fajitas. They come out of the kitchen sizzling; you can hear & smell them from across the room. You can have steak, chicken, or a combination. It's served with onions, peppers, jalapenos, guacamole, sour cream, Cheddar cheese, salsa and 4 warm flour tortillas ($11.99 - $13.99 depending on your meat choice).

And Now - For The BEST Part!

That's right - I haven't told you yet the REAL reason people LOVE this restaurant... believe it or not, it's the salad entrees that are the real draw here.

There are 32 different salad entrees available, and many come with your choice of meats. Besides the "normal" salads (Chef, Greek, Caesar, Chopped, Chinese, and Cobb), there are some very interesting choices. For instance, the "Crab Acapulco" is crabmeat and cheese, with salad greens served in a tortilla shell. The "Tropical Salad" is a bowl of greens topped with Mandarin oranges, coconut, dried fruits, and croutons. You can opt to add chicken, crab, tuna, shrimp, mahi-mahi, or salmon. There's also the "Fruit Salad Fantasy" which includes grapes, bananas, strawberries, various melons, raisins and nuts, served with homemade pumpkin bread and cottage cheese.

Any salad you choose will come in a HUGE bowl, with your choice of 15 dressings. It will be more than enough for a meal, I promise. My husband orders these salads for dinner all the time, and rarely finishes them. They range in price from $6.99 to $11.99; for some you have to add a couple dollars depending on your choice of meat.

Sunday Brunch

Served from 11-2:30 on Sundays, brunch is a real treat here. Various egg dishes are offered, as are salads, and French toast. A real treat for $8.99 is the "Champignon Maison" (Canadian bacon, sliced tomatoes, and mushrooms in Sherry and Hollandaise sauce served on a toasted English muffin with two poached eggs.)

Desserts

My husband and I are not dessert eaters. So I can't tell you how they taste but I can tell you that they look good! They offer "Tollhouse Pie" (pie with fudge filling topped with chocolate chips, vanilla ice cream, and whipped cream), various sundaes, Key Lime pie, cheesecake, and cobbler. The prices range from $1.99 to $4.99.


Final Words

My husband and I frequent this restaurant, and never have a bad experience. My husband usually goes for the salads, whereas I go for the hot meals. The casual atmosphere, friendly service, reasonable prices, refillable soft drinks, and awesome food make the experience perfect.

All items are available for take out, and they offer catering platters as well.

Here's their website, if you want to check them out:
http://www.ezpress.com/thebeverlyhillscafe.htm


Thanks for reading!


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