We just had a fabulous meal for my father-in-law's birthday. We called last minute and were able to get a table for 14 without delay. Jamie was our server and she was on top of everything! Service was quick and efficient. She was very helpful with wine pairing and suggestions. She was very professional and friendly . The food was incredible. I had butternut squash risotto with scallops and it was perfect! The wines were very tasty. Our favorite was the petite syrah. This will definitely be our first stop next time we are in town. read more

This place has gotten mixed reviews in the past. We even had personal mixed feelings about the food...but they've gotten a new chef recently! And the manager Josef is so personable and such a gentleman. We've eaten here twice in the past month because we wanted to ensure the food would be delicious for our daughter's wedding celebration brunch in December here. Both times have been very pleasant experiences in food and service. The manager Josef appears to really enjoy meeting and welcoming his guests. We had brunch during one of our visits - it was fantastic and at a very reasonable price of $30 which included a glass of champagne and dessert. My husband had the steak and eggs which were cooked to his request of medium rare perfectly. I had the frittata which also was delicious and a good portion. The menu changes for the brunch every so often, so that gives you variety. The views from this restaurant are hard to beat! Beautiful vineyards, hills, mountains, and sunsets! The building is sorta of a modern greenhouse look. There are heaters and fans inside to keep it at a comfortable tempurature. There are a few different levels in the restaurant, but all have fantastic views! Please give this place a second chance. You won't regret it! read more

I Don't mind paying a good amount of money for a small portion of food but in this case I wasn't really satisfied and neither was anyone else who came with me. I got a Hanger Steak, and it was a very small portion and Totally was not worth 38 bucks. My mom got the Tuna Melt which was dry, the only one who was happy about their food was the person who ordered tacos. The Calamari was pretty bad too, huge pieces were fried and then it was basically a 50/50 mix between fried Squid and Veggies ? I only gave it 2 stars because it has a beautiful outdoor area and a beautiful view which was a shame because the food was 2 thumbs down. read more

I cannot say enough great things about the service and a special shout out to Jozef the manager and Jaime our server for an unbelievably smooth 70th birthday dinner for 26 people! The service was impeccable!! Jaime was so so great!! Loved her! Thank you so Much for all the extra care you gave to my moms party. My family was so happy and my mom was speechless. Food was on time and the dishes were perfect size for the guests. Thank you so so much Josef! You took my stress away Angela Guzzetta read more

Good for dinner, nice scenery in the vineyard as the grape vines showing their leaves. Sunset was awesome and very tranquil. We have a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon that was enjoyed by several of us. Service was really good. read more

Meritage At Callaway - New American Near Me - Temecula, California

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So disappointing. New menu so none of the food pictures on Yelp are available. $20 Sandwich was so dry in was inedible. Bread was stale. Service was poor. I chose this place because of Yelp - usually very happy with where I go. So bummed. read more

If you are looking for a romantic restaurant, this is the place to be! What a beautiful evening overlooking the vineyards, enjoying the sunset with great food and wine! Everyone was very attentive, and specially Jamie -our server- did everything she could to make our dining experience more special. Looking forward to go back again soon! read more

I gave this place a 3 just because they are very attentive to their guest. Let him know it was my Mom's birthday and did their best to accommodate and gave us one of their best tables. Service was great. Sangria has too much glove and overpowering. Food was okay. One dish that stands out is the lamb. They have one of the best views in Temecula. We come back to this restaurant 2 times a year when we come out to Temecula. Hope things get better. read more

Love Meritage! Fantastic food and the most gorgeous sunset views a perfect place for date night or family dinner. read more

Meritage At Callaway - The best fish & chips ever with fresh halibut - New American Near Me - Temecula, California

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Great food, service, & views! Wife & I had an excellent dinner, we enjoyed the ambiance & amazing sunset views. Our server Jamie offered recommendations & helped us pick out a great wine for dinner. The food & wine were seasoned & prepared perfectly, the cheese board was a perfect starter. Chef Josh stopped by our table to make sure we were taken care of. A great experience, will definitely be back soon. read more

Our first time here and it was terrible. The fish and chicken were dry and had no seasoning. The only thing that tasted good was the cheese plate and the ceviche. read more

Food is 100% overpriced. I ordered the Grilled Cheese which was priced at $18. If I were to give it an accurate price point, I would pay $3. My brother ordered $30 dollar pasta that tasted like canned chef boyardee. My mom had the Ceviche, which was served with stale chips. And on top of that, the hand sanitizer dispenser sprayed all over my clothes. Look I read more

Horrible service and mediocre ambiance overshadows anything otherwise decent about this restaurant. I took a group of 10 people out for a nice dinner at 7pm (we had reservations) and when we arrived a table hadn't even been set up yet (even though the place was almost empty). The windows are covered in water spots and kinda of dirty and the decor is a big let down for a place called "Meritage" located in wine country. We ordered wine and they kept just dropping off the bottles on the table (they didn't even offer to pour it for us!). Our waiter never mentioned they had any specials that night (we found out later, bummer!). When dessert came, they forgot to bring out the desserts for two of the people in our party (we had to ask them to bring it out). The crew was laughing in the kitchen (perhaps they'll find this review funny?). They also didn't have ANY ice cream. I think at a minimum a restaurant should have vanilla ice cream in case guests don't like the dessert selection. Some of the food was good, but my wife's meatball dish was dry and lacking flavor. Management needs to hire staff who are attentive and care about visitors, or close the place and stick to selling wine. read more

My family and I stopped in for lunch during a lovely day of wine tasting. The view is very pretty but that is about all the positive I have to share. We were all very unimpressed with this restaurant. The service was POOR and VERY slow. We did not get much attention at all from our server Rich. Having been a server for many years, I feel I'm pretty understanding and like to give the benefit of the doubt but I left feeing very disappointed. (And without any thank you, care,or apology from our server) The food was OK-a bit bland and seemed overpriced for the quality/taste. We will definitely not be back here. read more

I didn't expect to come to a winery in California from Florida and eat at their restaurant to have mediocre food and terrible service. As expensive as this place is, my party shouldn't have had so many issues with warm salad, over cooked meat, and a LONG wait in between courses. Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone for anything other than the wine. read more

Goods about the restaurant... Nice live music. Absolutely the greatest food I've had at a winery in Temecula. We had the flat bread appetizer, and steak and scallop entrees. The desert we had was so so to us. Not quite the flavor I was looking for in a cannoli, but desert is to each their own. I'll choose something chocolate next time. Pleasant service and beautiful sunset view. Bads... I have to mark 3 stars out of 5 cause of the stupid wine prices. A bottle of Meritage for purchase in the winery is $34 as a member but a bottle of the same at the restaurant is $50. Also, you are not allowed to bring in and drink the wine you just purchased from the winery. WTF is with that? It's their wine! BTW, just to give you a comparison... At the the winery you can taste 6 wines for $15 (12 wines if you have a two for one coupon). At the restaurant, a tasting of ONE wine is, on average, $7/wine. read more

I'm not sure why this restaurant is rated so highly by others. I have high expectations for cuisine in California and this was very disappointing. The restaurant was empty except for 2 other tables. After our experience, I think it makes sense. I ordered the Steamed Clam tapas - the broth was good, but the clams were tiny. In order to have bread to dip in the broth, we needed to order it. Bread was slightly toasted which made me question how fresh it was. In addition, I ordered the salad with goat cheese - it was not good. I really love goat cheese, but this was just plopped on top of the salad - not visually appealing and did not taste good either. Waiter did offer a free dessert, but we declined. How can you mess up a salad with goat cheese? My husband ordered the hangar steak which they were out of. They let him substitute with the steak from the specials list. My husband was satisfied with his meal - I cannot say the same. We'll try somewhere different next time we are in Temecula. read more

I used to frequent Ally's that was once housed in this small building behind Callaway when out here several times a month for business. It sits on a hill overlooking vineyards below and mountains in the distance affording a beautiful relaxing view. Great lunch spot, or for a sunset dinner. After being shuttered for several months they finally replaced Ally's, which I loved, and the reviews are mixed. The pros; The mussels.....wow, one of the best mussel dishes I have ever had. About a dozen or so came swimming in a fennel, cream tomato sauce that went perfectly with the very meaty mollusks. Damn this dish is grrreat! 5 stars if based on this dish alone. Prices; very reasonable. The mussels were a steal @ 11.95. The pasta dish described below, $20. The other pros......hmmm? Oh yeah, the view, mentioned that already huh? Ok then. The cons; Service was not good. Trying to choose the most gentle words possible as our waitress seemed to be trying, she had a very sweet personality, made us feel welcome, etc etc etc. She apparently was new and inexperienced as she couldn't offer any insight into the menu choices and failed at the smallest requests. "The Wild Shrimp Penne with Eggplant, Capers, Garlic & Smoked Tomato Ragout". I actually copied and pasted this description from their menu. The shrimp were large and cooked right, there were plenty of capers, but the eggplant pieces were this big........What? You cant see the pieces? Neither could we. Oh wait, here's one! I think... not so sure. Nope, a caper. I dunno, usually when eggplant is listed as a predominate ingredient there is normally some sizable chunks. It's not like it's exotic and expensive. We did mention our dismay to the waitress and her comment was "thanks, it is a new dish and the chef will welcome your suggestion". All righty then, umm.....you are welcome. The poor pasta was just kind of plain and bland once we picked out the shrimp and hunted out the meager eggplant pieces. Service was so slow we aborted some other items we were considering as we were now running late to a Greek Fest in Temecula. It is such a relaxing spot compared to most of the other places in the winery region that I hate to give up on it after one visit. I will definitely give it another shot, as I believe it hasn't been open for very long, and maybe they are still settling in. But hey, the trip was not a waste; the Greek Fest was a blast! OPA!! read more

I should have believed the reviews before taking a group of 17 older adults here today for lunch. Though the view was spectacular, it was tainted by the lack of service and the food. The service was poor from the start. My guests weren't seated very long when the waitress came around asking for their drink order and what they wanted to eat. Wouldn't you think to take the drink orders first, fill those, let people ponder the menu, then take their order? When I suggested they take peoples drink order first, the server had a very strange way of doing it that took her forever. She would ask 3-4 people for their drink order, fill it at the bar next to the table, deliver the drinks, then move on to another 3-4 people. Because my guests were hungry, I mistakenly agreed to pay $2.50 for a basket of bread - they brought five baskets of warm but very hard bread, without butter or the herb oil that came with it. After my guests already had eaten the bread, that's when the bread plates came out. I'm like...are you kidding??!! Then the food finally came...I liked my wild shrimp salad with strawberries and greens (I think the only redeeming entree). Others that were tried were the veal and beef meatballs with cold, hard pasta (bleh), the special - veal meatloaf that was supposed to come with mushroom sauce but didn't (??), the forest ham sandwich and brie sounded good in theory, but was very difficult to eat because it was served on the rock hard bread. The temperature in the place was good. They did have these two big fans blowing right on the table, which did not have a low setting only super high, we asked for those to be turned off, which was better. The folks who ordered the wine, enjoyed that part of the meal. My suggestion - go straight to the tasting room and skip the restaurant. Not worth the frustration or the money. read more

This is one of our favorite restaurants when we come took Temecula. Everyone is so nice and they have great specials. My husband just devoured the Branzino and I really loved the Brussels sprouts with goat cheese what's not to like great service great food always a come back spot.......oh and let's not forget the Callaway wine and Ian our server thank you thank you. read more

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We were very disappointed this time...food definitely wasn't that good...compared to other times we were there and we brought a large group with us to whom we were raving about this restaurant! Almost felt ashamed about our choice...will probably not be returning anytime soon. Asked for bread...which is included free at many restaurants, but not here, wouldn't have been so bad but bread was more like a large crouton than a tasty bread... It was soooo hard, could barely break it...really bad! The prices were way too much for quality of food...got some flans for dessert that were tasteless...maybe a new chef? To top it off they charged for a couple of entrees that weren't even ordered! Ahhh, but the sunset was pretty...perhaps that's what we paid for?! read more

Delicious! I initially ordered the Crab Frittata which was nothing I have ever had before (I was feeling experimental) sadly, it was not to my liking (I didn't realize Frittata meant omelette) Jamie happily exchanged it for a steak which they brought out quickly . The plate was delicious! The fries were excellent and the steak was soft while the veggies, delectable! read more

Meritage At Callaway - The plate was delicious! The fries were excellent, the steak was soft while the veggies, delectable! - New American Near Me - Temecula, California

Wow worst experience ever. Food quality very poor. Ordered ribeye - not edible New York steak tough ate only half. Restaurant is beautiful but too bad the servers were budding dishes just a few feet from where we were eating. Noisy and distracting and completely unnecessary. Too bad. This is a beautiful location. Good doesn't live up. read more

I'll start with the good: service and live guitarist/singer. Since the place was mostly empty, our waiter did a good job filling our waters and pouring our wine frequently. The bad: food was terrible. I ordered the lamb shank (a $40 entree), it was the worst I've ever had. Usually with a good lamb shank the meat is supposed to just fall of the bone but not in this case. I had to saw and hack at the meat off the bone and then the meat itself was tough, bland, tasteless, and just overall bad. The accompanying rice stuff whatever that was, just didn't do much to help the dish. Dropped close to $200 for two of us and expected better for that price. Won't be dining here again. read more

My wife and I have been here a few times and have always enjoyed the food, views, service and live music on Friday's but the new chef has elevated the food to a new level. We ordered the pork chop, roast duck, bone marrow with a bottle of chardonnay to wash it all down. Absolutely amazing. Everything was perfectly cooked. The tender kurobuta chop was so tender and the slightly sweet grape glaze really accentuated the pork flavor. The accompanying Brussel sprouts with celery root purée was perfect. This restaurant isn't cheap but the quality ingredients, perfectly cooked food, great service and views make it all worth it. Our favorite spot in Temecula. And props to the guitarist duo who play on Fridays. read more

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The food...it really is pretty good. I wish the service would catch up with the food. I went back to this place on a suggestion of another waitress. Same things happened with this visit. Took forever to be seated Once seated, our waiter decided to take a nap or something as he was nowhere to be found after telling us he would get us some water. The waiter was NOT knowledgable of what he was serving. Such as, hey, we run out of bread by dinner time so don't even think about ordering a sandwhich. It really is like pulling teeth to try and eat here. A shame, because the food is pretty good. read more

This restaurant is grosse and should be shut down! My husband and I came here for lunch before attempting to wine taste. It took them about 10 minutes to even get a server to acknowledge us and when we got our food, it was AWFUL and made me sick to my stomach, literally. I ordered their chicken and after I had a bite, I discovered the chicken was only 20% cooked! It was so disgusting so I asked that they take it away. The server was not apologetic and seemed as though this happens all the time in their kitchen. I was so in shock that I just wanted to get out of there. The server of course ran off and we were left with disgust. I then asked for another staff as we felt that we were ignored and of course got the same response. I did not want to make a big deal out of it but that night, I was sick and could not stop throwing up. This place should be reported. Im just glad I'm still alive after I felt that night. read more

Waiter should've informed us that they charge for bread. Instead they said " we always charge for bread." Like I'm suppose to know! We had to wait awhile for food and our kids were starving! During our meal they kept complaining of flies! Not too happy with the service. read more

Surprisingly industrial look and feel to this place, more like a bar than a restaurant. Yet the chef had to be persuaded to substitute mashed potato for risotto, though it was fine for them to run out of salmon and change it to a seabass. When it came, it was missing a side which was never added. The saving grace was a pretty view and a sweet waitress. Maybe we were spoiled by Ponte but the 4-5 star reviews are puzzling. read more

Dan at the front was so kind and welcoming to myself and our entire party. We were celebrating a birthday and they took such a great care of all of us. The atmosphere and food was excellent. They even gave us dessert to celebrate our birthday, wonderful food and service! We can't wait to come back to celebrate again! read more

Filet entree was dry and sides were mostly potatoes. Very little flavor overall. Shrimp chorizo pasta dish a little better but way overpriced for the portion. If we return it would be for appetizers only, skipping the entree. read more

The worst fancy food we've had. We had the calamari. It was the best of what we ordered. But come on, no one fuks up calamari. We also had Rick shrimp fritters. Yuck! Burnt. Bland. Prosciutto. Ehhh. Chicken cutlet salad. Burnt veggies picked and cold. Uck! Pork belly spring rolls. It's a stomach filler. Nothing for the mouth. Don't waste your time. Go to the restaurant at Ponte. read more

We came here in the past with the old chef.. food was not good. They got a new chef and food is amazing!!! I highly recommend the ahi tacos they are so good!!! Give this place a shot it's so good now!!! read more

I thought that I may have a few gripes about this place, but I don't really. The food is so good. Here is what we had. To start we had a cheese plate with triple cream brie, garlic truffle gorgonzola and a goats cheese. OMG! I stood up right there and sang the cheese anthem (ask me about it sometime). SO Good and the bread that came with it, it could not have been better bread, just a bit crispy and REALLY chewy. ALL HANDS ON DECK THE FOOD IS ATTACKING OUR TONGUE BATTLESHIP! Meritage launched an all out assault on our palettes Pear, Goat Cheese and Arugala Salad HIT! Tempura Calimari with Carrot and Ginger Aioli HIT! Potato and Chorizo Croquettes HIT! The Duck Confit Tacos HIT! Mussels HIT! YOU SUNK OUR BATTLESHIP! Well done Meritage, well done. It was a hard fought battle but you completely blew us away. And the view of the vineyards while the sun was setting was just icing on the cake. Love it here. read more

Well, we'd been here once before right after it opened and the food was really good. So yesterday we went up to get our monthly wine club shipment and decided to head to the restaurant for an early dinner. There were plenty of open tables and no wait since it was only about 4 in the afternoon. We got seated right away and had a fabulous view of the vineyards which were just starting to sprout. Our waiter came over and got our drink order, brought us some waters and our wine and then dissappeared off the face of the earth. The wine was great, which we already knew since we'd just had in the tasting room, but that's all I can say. We sat there for half an hour with no one else acknowledging our existence and our waiter never returning. The table next to us seemed to have an issue also as they had to finally ask for their food to go because they had to be somewhere and still hadn't received it. We finally flagged him down and he came over as if nothing was wrong and asked what we needed. We told him no had been to our table for half an hour and we just wanted our check. His response was to ask if we were sure he couldn't get us more wine. Not an apology or an offer to actually take our order, just to bring more wine. I can get wine in the tasting room and not have to pay for your incompetence, thanks. So, I have had the food before and I remember it being good, but can't speak for it this time because we never got any. This place needs to remember that they are in the middle of wine country where almost every winery has a restaurant. There are many other choices, and I would suggest you choose elsewhere. read more

Not surprisingly, the wild yeast Syrah we shared was amazing! The server had immediate answers for my gluten questions and there were lots of options, so we tried four of them: ahi tartare tower (I had my own crackers to use instead of the won tons), steak fries (which were enormous), beet and arugula salad, and duck confit tacos. The duck confit was superb, but the tacos themselves were a smidge dry. Two of the dishes had avocado in them which was perfectly ripe; being this close to Fallbrook is a real benefit. As helpful as our server, Ian, was, he might have been a little more adamant about the size of the "tapas" portions. Four of them made for a really big meal for the two of us, so we had no room for the very promising cheese plate. #drakeandmctrowellneedfuel read more

Meritage At Callaway - Duck confit tacos - New American Near Me - Temecula, California

We went to celebrate several summer birthdays. We were here last year for the same reason. There were 6 of us. Seems to me the wine has gotten better over the years. My Cabernet was good, 2 glasses. My wife liked her Zin, which I tasted and liked. The service and food was excellent. Our waitress was friendly and knowledgeable. I ordered the steak special, strip with red wine reduction. This was very, very good. My wife's hanger steak was great. We decided it was a draw. Everyone enjoyed their food. They brought brought out 3 cream brulee which had amaretto flavor, it was great. So I'm going with 2 thumbs up. read more

My wife and I had dinner at Meritage at the recommendation of a local chef. I'm giving the restaurant a 2-star rating. The pros: 1. Great views! 2. Good wine! The cons: 1. Average service - slow with no follow up to see how we were doing. I twice asked for more water and finally received it after my third request. 2. We felt the meals were over priced. While the presentation was good, the food was average and nothing special. The salad was bland and the meat had no flavor. Because this restaurant was recommended by a chef we were expecting more. read more

I visit Temecula several times a year and Meritage is one of my favorite restaurants. I have never been disappointed with the food, whether a daily special or an item from the regular menu. Usually Meritage is a first stop for lunch before a day of wine tasting. Recently several friends and I stopped for a late Sunday dinner and the staff at Meritage was extremely accommodating. Jamie our waitress was exceptional, patiently answering our questions about the menu and suggested wine pairings. She was clearly knowledgable about both the menu and Callaway's wines and her recommendations (to diners with varying tastes) were spot on. Jamie and the rest of the staff were attentive and made sure we had everything we needed. What started as an impromptu dinner ended up being an extremely enjoyable evening from the food to the wine to the service. Some other reviewers have complained about the "slow" service. If you're wine tasting in Temecula, there are many more food options along the wine trails than there used to be, but not all wineries offer food service and the service offered can vary widely from quick bites like cheese plates or hummus to pizzas and salads to casual restaurant service to sit-down fine dining. Meritage prepares their food with care and with the idea that you can relax and enjoy your meal, a glass of wine, and the views. Their service is not "slow", it's meant to allow you to enjoy that experience. If you're looking for a "quick bite", let the staff know in advance or consider other dining options. I highly recommend Meritage and will continue to visit when I am in the area. read more

Amazing service ! Everyone went above and beyond to make our afternoon amazing. They are also dog friendly and were enthusiastic to accommodate for our fur friend ! I will definitely recommend to anyone and will be returning soon !! read more