We just went here tonight for dinner after passing it several times and seeing a super busy parking lot. The service was so so, but they were super busy. We got seated right away (family of 4) we were able to pick out what we wanted and have conversation before I finally asked if we had a server. Immediately after we got service. The food was super tasty. I think we will give these guys another chance for better service read more

Absolutely an AWFUL experience! Waited 25 min to be seated when 3/4 of the tables were empty. The hostess was rude. She didn't even crack a smile once. After being seated it took another 10 min for the waiter to come and take our order. We ordered 2 cappuccinos which were so watered down that they were disgusting. I had to go find sugar myself as the waiter never brought us any. At this point I was over it but still ordered a small pizza for my kids and a creme brulee. The creme brulee was horrible. The carmelized sugar on top was burnt. As we waited forever for our small pizza I saw our waiter walk back where they make pizzas and start helping the girl make pizzas. You can see everything as the area where they make the pizzas is open. He walked straight there I didn't see him wash hands. When our waiter brought out our pizza he asked if we wanted it to go. If we wanted it to go we wouldn't have waited 25 min to be seated and another 10 min to order. I didn't complain while I was there, I probably should have. My own fault for giving them a chance after encountering the unpleasant hostess from the beginning. Learned my lesson will never return there again and will be sure to tell all my friends and neighbors about my experience. read more

Nice little neighborhood restaurant that's grown in reputation and clientele. We've been there numerous times over the years and find it has gotten better each time with the menu expanding and getting more sophisticated. Service is sometimes slow, but the food always satisfying. read more

Recently moved into Murrieta, and SO wanted Rustico's to be our regular restaurant. We got there on a Sunday, and even though the place was less than half full, were told it would be 10-15 minutes. Finally after more than 15, we were escorted to a table. The hostess said sorry for the wait, and I said looks like your short staffed. Her reply was "we are always short staffed on Sunday". Our server was courteous, but not engaging at all. I ordered a Caesar salad, which came out room temp rather than cold. I also ordered clams and muscles. The muscles were good but a couple clams were mushy. The wine list was priced well, but limited. I guess the only saving thing was the spumoni was very good. There was really nothing to bring us back, so we probably won't. Saw no manager at all so assume he/she wasn't there. read more

I went to Rustico for dinner and really enjoyed it. I sat at the bar and ordered off of the tapas menu. I loved the fact that I could order tapas and try a few different things. The food was wonderful and so was the wine selection. The service was really what made this visit even better. The bartender, Anthony was so funny and he made our experience at Rustico 5 star! Great place and I look forward to going back. read more

We decided to stop by for dinner after the kids' baseball practice and I have to say it was an abominable experience. We had been there before and thought it wasn't that bad for an Italian parlor, but for some reason their standard reached an all time low. The waiter seemed to be on heavy drugs mixing up orders and not paying any attention to our table and the food was way below par. We ordered the calamari, the antipasto salad, kids spaghetti, kids pizza, beef ravioli and linguine with clams. The calamari was somewhat insipid accompanied by a store bought tomato sauce and some kind of chipotle concoction, the antipasto was a laughable combination of mal-arranged vegetables, blend cheese and mixed olives, another disappointing course. The beef ravioli that was ordered came as a cheese ravioli with a canned tomato sauce poured all over it. Once the waiter corrected the order and brought the beef ravioli they tasted like they came out of a chef boyardee can, a wretch of a dish.. my lingune with clams was served with an alfredo sauce accompanied by rotten clams, they literally smelled like death.. I would strongly recommend the health department pay a visit here. Horrible food, comical serve staff, high prices for the experience.. If you care about your health and quality of food don't set foot in this place. read more

Food is overpriced,service can be bad and the food can be straight up gross! I have been here many different times over the years and I am always disappointed . The only reson I have gone back in the past was because I put months between visits and for some reson expected Rustico to fix the quality of the food. Well this time the chicken vodka was served at boiling temperate and I burnt the crap out of my mouth. Everybody else had finished up their meals and mine was to hot to eat still..... 15mins later! The waiter could have cared less.. I don't understand how people can say this place is good. I think it's because of how close they are to home. I don't recommend this place! read more

Service was a little slow but the food was fresh and the bread was to die for!! Overall a great experience.

Rustico is the best italian restaurant I have found in the area, and I am really picky about good italian food. This restaurant is a great place for a date, work lunch, you name it. As soon as you enter, it is nicely air-conditioned and darkened by the window coverings. The decor is tasteful, appropriate, and not kitschy. Next, the service. Probably 80% of the time I have had good service which is fine. They have smaller portions of their dinner entrees, at a reduced cost. This is what I usually order. My only, albeit small complaint is that the portions are a little small for the price. However, that's made up for the DELIGHTFUL free bread they bake in house. That stuff alone is worth the trip. I also love supporting a small business, if it is worth my patronage anyway. (This place hits the mark) A few weeks ago I took my mother and husband to this place and both loved it as well. I hope you guys stay in business for a long time. Even when I get transferred from my work site someday, I will continue coming back here. read more

I love this place. Great food and terrific service. I try something new each time and never disappointed. Great place for lunch or dinner. read more

This place is amazing! Start off with the Hand Tossed Cheese Pizza...awesome! Great Sauce and handmade crust. Owners are from Italy so everything is authentic. The Potstickers are awesome and the cream sauce they come with just has to be on the list of things you would like to have on all of your food! I recomend the Marco Polo Salad...yummy! It's a Chopped Salad with Tomato, Scallions, Pancetta, Sun Dried tomatoes, mozerrella, Basil and spinach with homemade Italian Dressing...delicious!!! Then one of the specialties is the Chicken Carciofi...in a word "SinFul"! It is a generous portion of chicken breasts with artichokes, wite wine sauce and scalloped potatoes and served with fresh veggies! Enough to share and great to take home for leftovers. They have an awesome wine list and Filippa and Franchesco are always there to make your visit great and tresat you just like family! Oh...I almost forgot...the bread that is served with olive oil and balsamic is fresh, homemade and like nothing you have ever had before...For dessert everything is great but I love the Cre'me Brule'...fresh ingredients and the best I have ever had! The Sicilian Canoli is authentic and awesome too...hard to choose! It is a little out of the way for us because we live on the farthest end of Temecula but I am telling you it is well worth the drive!!! I am dreaming of it as I type!!! Enjoy! read more

Excellent!!! I needed to find a restaurant for my mom's birthday half way between Riverside, Corona and San Diego for our family to meet. I found Rustico on Yelp and made a reservation for the 11 of us. From the outside it doesn't look glamorous. But inside we were greeted by a friendly hostess and waited on by a wonderful waiter. The Italian food was delicious and as good as any large Italian chain restaurant. The prices were not cheap ranging around $13-$15 per pasta plate but comparable with other restaurants. My dad is kind of picky about food and Olive Garden is one of his favorites. He gave this restaurant a thumbs up! At the end all the waiters sang a very loud, enthusiastic "happy birthday". I highly recommend Rustico. They have a kid's menu too so it's great for all members of the family. read more

Excellent food and the owners are really great people. We will always frequent this restaurant.

Met up with a friend here for some chat time and it was relatively empty. We decided to order a bunch of appetizers from their tapas menu rather than an entrée. Had the calamari, the seared scallops, and various bread and cheese dishes. Price per appetizers between three and seven dollars, but beware because the lower-priced dishes are little skimpy. For example, we only got 2 small scallops but the calamari dish was pretty generous. The bruschetta was horribly spicy with way too much garlic and when we mentioned it to the server she just shrugged and took it away but didn't offer to replace it or take it off the bill. For dessert we ordered the cannoli and the New York cheesecake both of which were scrumptious. As The night got a little busier we didn't really see our server and we weren't offered coffee until after we paid the bill. It's a decent place to go for with a friend and they have plenty of seating. read more

I used to love this place. Horrible service!!I was never got asked once for a refill or if I needed anything. I had to get up with my 2 year old daughter to ask for stuff. Maybe it's because I don't look the part of a huge tipper? I will not be back that is for damn sure. I wish I would have drove the extra 10 minutes to Pacino's! read more

Good rice ball, Small place , and award winning bread and oil combination. I would go back for this.

Delicious food every time! I love the atmosphere, the menu, the wine list and the staff. It's in kind of a strange place for a restaurant but worth the drive. This place gets really busy after 6 pm so if you want to avoid a wait arrive early! If you bring your own bottle of wine the corkage fee is reasonable. read more

Love this place.food is great ,blows away all the italian chain places in the area,but have had sketchy service on occasion

I want to love this place. I really do. I've been there several times. They have amazing bread with a delicious scallion dipping sauce. Their calamari is the best in town. But aside from those two things, their food is not that great. The last time I went, their linguine with clam sauce smelled and tasted just like ammonia. My kids could smell it from across the table. The waitress picked up the plate, stuck her nose less than an inch from the food and inhaled several times. "Smells like clams," she said. I think I know what clams are supposed to smell like... Not going back. read more

Great local Italian restaurant serving delicious Italian food. Friendly staff is a plus.

Great food! We live down the street and it is great to have such a fantastic restaurant near by. The pizza is very fresh and wonderful and the pasta dishes are very good, rich and enough for 2 meals . We order take out a lot. the bar is very cozy and friendly for just a single person wanting a meal. read more

This is a favorite restaurant among my group of friends. It's tucked away in French Valley away from the busyness of the Promenade or Old Town Temecula. The food is really good - I've had several different dishes here and they were all great. The bread & olive oil/vinegar dipping sauce is awesome. I love decorations and atmosphere - classy and relaxed at the same time. They can also accomodate large parties, which is nice, and the service is always great. read more

We went to Rusticos for Valentines Day. We have been there before for Valentine's Day, and it always had slow service, and a long wait for your food. Last night was horrible. We waited over 10 minutes for someone to take our drink order, and then another 10 minutes for us to get it. We got our appetizer rather quickly, but our meal wasn't ready for over an hour. Sadly to say, we decided to leave, because when we did get it, it was COLD. Not even lukewarm. We will think again before going here again. read more

Happy hour 3 - Close, real cheap appetizers and drinks. Food is as good as it gets. Strongly recommend.

I have been to this restaurant on multiple occasions but today will be my last. I had lunch there today and my youngest daughters "kid's pizza" was served with a long black hair baked into it. I have to say that although they apologized and remade her pizza it was quite disgusting. I looked over to the gentleman making the pizza and he was wearing a backward facing baseball cap, no hairnet and had long black hair. The worse part of it all was that they didn't even offer to take the $6.00 pizza off the bill and the second pizza was poorly made barely any cheese and lots of crust. Completely disappointed! read more

I like this place. Decent food and I can always get a seat. It isn't the best food on the planet but it's good, and like I said, it's easy to get a seat. Must more pleasant and comparable food to similar places closer to the mall. So on a Friday or Saturday you want to eat and not wait hours, go here. The environment is friendly too. read more

We picked up food from this restaurant and some of the food is very good and some is not. You just have to know what to order. The Chicken Caesar salad could use some work... I didn't even know it was possible to mess up a Caesar salad but they managed to add some sort of flavor that just doesn't go with it. Also the Rigatoni Rustico needs some serious work, it does not taste good at all. The pizza is delicious though! You can't go wrong there! The bread and Calamari was also delicious!! read more

Love this place! The staff is friendly, happy hour is great and the Ahi Salad is my favorite to have during happy hour!

Such a beautiful little restaurant! Food was amazing and the service by Nick was fantastic! We will definitely be back!

My family and I had a surprise birthday dinner for my fiancé and everything came out better than planned! First off let me start off with how amazing service was, Server constantly checked on us and made sure everything was good. Food and drinks were amazing as always. Filippa and Francesco (owners) worked with me on such short notice and came out better than expected. My fiancé loved it and couldn't have asked for a better dining experience! I highly recommend Rustico! We will definitely be going back. read more

I read about Rustico in a recent good review the Press-Enterprise, so we invited my brother and sister-in-law from Orange County to join us in trying it last Saturday. I did make reservations but we ended up going at around 3:30 instead. Ambiance was very nice. We were greeted and seated by a personable and efficient young man who also was our waiter, James A. We received perfect service from beginning to end, he was always there when needed and even when the restaurant started getting busy we were never rushed. My brother had Linguini Frutti de Mare (mixed seafood with linguini in a garlic sauce), which he raved about; SIL had Ravioli Forze, which she raved about; Husband had spaghetti and meatballs, which he raved about: I had Lasagna - BEST I EVER HAD! I also had a glass of Wiens Orange Champagne that was really delicious, and brother had a Refuge Wit ale, which he liked very much. We had creme brulee with coffee for dessert and it was very good. The crust could have been just a tad more "burnt" but that's not even a real criticism, just a note, as we practically licked the dishes clean. My only issue is the TVs ... that takes away from the ambiance and most wives will probably agree with me that it's a real distraction for MEN - HAHA! Other diners said prices were high but we didn't think they were high at all, considering the quality of the food. Even the coffee was excellent, strong the way we like it. We're looking forward to going to Rustico again soon, and often thereafter. The drive from our home in Sun City was about half an hour, but well worth driving that far! read more

We have eaten at Rusticos several times and taken pizza to go many times as well. Tonight we brought home another one of their pizzas and we were very dissatied to say the least. We ordered a large with 5 toppings and cost me $32. The first thing my wife said was "don't they put sauce on their pizza?" Well, just like everything else on the pizza the sauce had no flavor. At $2.50 per topping you would expect something to give a pizza some taste. We could have gone to Pizza Hut, paid $10 for a large with all and any toppings and it would have been more satisfying. Will be thinking twice before going back to this restaurant. read more

If you haven't been here yet...you are missing out. The food is excellent. The service excellent. The owners are super nice and make you feel at home everytime. Great place for 2 people or the whole family. The spumoni is out of this world! read more

Wow, great food in a neighborhood restaurant. I always get the special and I am never disappointed. The vodka chicken is very tasty. Scallops are always perfectly seasoned. There is a small bar. The servers are all attentive. read more

We went for our third visit last night. The food is very delicious, even if you go for the complimentary bread alone you will be satisfied! Our waiter was very accommodating. Since I'm a vegetarian I ordered the cheese raviolis with a mushroom sauce, VERY GOOD! My husband ordered a pasta with meat sauce which he enjoyed, which says a lot because he's very picky. The cannoli dessert was very delicious as well. You can go up and ask the cooks questions and they are very friendly and knowledgable. read more

This is my favorite restaurant. I have lived all over the world and had lots of good food and this is the best. I have tasted everything on the menu and have not found something I do not like. The food is simply amazing. Chef Francesco Cusimano and his wife Filippa have done an amazing job. I have never had a bad experience. It is quiet and dark, perfect for a date or quiet dinner. The service is great. Before even ordering your meals, a plate of herb bread is set down and is to be dipped in a mixture of olive oil and vinegar. I could eat it all day! I would have to say my favorite appetizer is the Bruschetta, fresh tomatoes and toasted bread with a sweet balsamic sauce and fresh basil, oh wow. My favorite entree would definitely have to be the Chicken Vodka. It is pasta with tomato vodka sauce and beautifully cooked chicken. I have tried to recreate this dish at home with no success. You should always ask about the Chef's specials, which never disappoint either. It can be a tad pricey, but is very worth it. I think the price is what you would expect of a nice Italian restaurant. I always take friends and family here and nobody has disliked it. read more

First they have TERRIBLE service, all 3 waitresses we had were incredibly rude. The food is expensive and not even good. Pizza is better at little Caesars for 5$ than theirs is. Happy hour is a joke, beer is 1$ cheaper than the already high regular price. Ordered calamari and it was basically squid with hardly any breading, and the breading tasted terrible and old. How this place has so many good reviews I have no idea, must be from friends of the owner. A friend of the owner is how my husband and I were introduced to this place and it is by far one of the worst Italian restaurants we have eaten at! Spend your money somewhere else. read more

Great Italian restaurant! The bread with the olive oil and basalmic dipping was great. The house salad added for $2.50 was fantastic. I truly have not had a better house salad anywhere, bar none. Moving on to the main course, I had the veal parmigiana, out of this world! Forgetabout the cannoli, homemade, fresh and the shell was awesome, not to mention the filling, (drooling). 5 star chef and food. I will be back! read more

I would give this place three stars, if not for one horrid experience. Rustico would be FAR better if she used her father's recipes for just about everything. As it is, it is pretty much middle of the road; not bad, certainly not good enough to drive to. When they first opened, though, my wife got some meatballs that had some super nasty stuff in it, like a huge ball of fat or something. The manager (owner?) came over and just said "that's the way they are." We have gone a few times since, at the insistence of friends, but have never been impressed. read more

Horrible place. My family and I decided to try this place out since we had dining dough to this restaurant. First we were told it would be 5 mins for a table. We waited for 15mins (plenty of tables open). Secondly, when we were finally seated no one even acted like we were there. We waited for over 15mins and had to get someones attention so that they could go get our waiter. No one who worked there seemed to even care...not even the manager! Horrible service. Even with having a 'dining dough' coupon for $25 off of our meal, we still ended up leaving bc the service wasn't worth saving a couple bucks. We never tried the food though so I can't comment on that. read more