First things first. Eat here! Great food. Great service. Wine flights during your meal. Bacon wrapped meatloaf is amazing. Try the sparkling moscato as well read more

Stopped off for a bite to eat on our way back from SD to LA. The food and atmosphere was enjoyable. Rudd, our server was great. The staff in general were all very friendly. Will definitely come back. read more

We had a wonderful lunch. My wife had a delicious salmon with a lime glaze and peaches. I had Agnioloti (spelling?), a cheese ravioli with artichoke and a sausage sauce. It was amazing. We both had starters. My wife's salad was outstanding. I had Ahi Carpaccio. My one comment about the whole meal was that the ahi should have been more the star of the dish instead of hidden under so much salad material. It was too much vegetation for a ahi starter. Our server, Rudd did a great job and was very helpful. read more

Me and the wife came here for lunch. For starters we got calamari and tomato bisque soup. Main Course was Filet Mignon and Cioppino(angel hair pasta). First, customer service was great and we both got seated right away after we did wine tasting. The only concern I have for customer service is that I ordered a Cioppino angel hair pasta that was in a soup form. Since its more of a soup I needed a spoon to actually taste the soup but I was never provided a spoon, so I ask one of the staff to provide me with a spoon (I was only provided with a fork), and the staff said he would be back for the spoon, I waited for 20 minutes for the guy to come back or my server to provide me with a spoon but never got it. At this point my soup got a little cold and my fork could not get all the flavors I needed to taste for the Cioppino, then finally my server came and ask me if I needed anything and I said "yes i do" and he even said "oh your meal did not come with a spoon, I apologize I will bring one for you", in less than a minute he got it for me. With that said, I would have to give customer service 3.5/5 due to a staff lacking to provide me the spoon as promise but never followed through. Second, food was decent. Cioppino was good but never got to taste it warm because I never got my spoon, Filet Mignon was too salty but the vegetables was cooked right. So I would give the food 3.5 because it was pricey but never got the taste we expected. I would Maybe come back, for dinner not again for lunch. read more

We were staying at the Ponte Vineyard Inn for our 21st Wedding Anniversary and we decided to eat at The Restaurant at Ponte. It was a wonderful evening with live music, fantastic food and a Fabulous Dessert ... We truly enjoyed the evening. Now that we are Wine Club members and travel & stay to pickup our wine, we enjoy The Restaurant at Ponte each visit. read more

Horrible! Was told 20min wait time close to an hour later still waiting... Staff did not even attempt to acknowledge or apologize to my fiancé and I for the longer wait time than was initially told. Especially since we were the only ones there waiting to be seated. If you plan to eat here I highly recommend making a reservation. 1 star for the beautiful scenery, never got to try the food. Tired of waiting.... read more

Generally have had a great experience eating here. Today was not one of those days. I understand being busy and wait times, however, be honest to waiting customer on their actual wait time. I called 15 minutes prior to arrival asking what the wait time was and was told there was no wait. Once we got here we were told it would be 35 minutes. 20 minutes past that 35 minute wait time, we asked how much longer we had. We were told there was one party ahead of us and we should be seated as soon as tables open up. Several tables opened up and several parties were sat, yet we remained waiting. When asking again we were told all the table except a certain few were for reservations and those were the tables that were set. I clarified the area that was for wait list customer like us. Once clarified, I asked why wwe were told there was only one party ahead of us when they seated three parties in the designated "wait list" area. Poor management only responded with "let me see how long the other parties have been sitting. Most people stay time at a table is too hours. We have one table that has currently been seated for 1 hour and 16 minutes, and as soon as they are done, your party will be next." ????? Ummm that still.does not explain why two parties were sat before us or why an apology wasn't offered. read more

Excellent wine and food. I had the ahi special and it was delicious. My husband had the short rib sandwich and he loved his too. The service was excellent!!! read more

I've been a long time member of Ponte Winery and have enjoyed eating at the restaurant. But today' was the exception. My husband is disabled and the waitress told us that if we wanted our complimentary glass of wine we would have to go to the tasting room and bring back the glass of wine ourselves. But I could order a glass of wine and pay for it. Which is what I did. My husband order the special of the day and Zi ordered the charcuterie plate figuring we could have leftovers for our happy hour before dinner. This has to be the worst charcuterie plate ever. Usually you expect os,e prosciutto and maybe a few other types of meats, special cheeses usually a piece of Brie and of course some fruit. This tray consisted of 3 cheese which I thought were dry, salami and 2 different types of sliced sausage meat. No fruit. Also the French bread felt stale. My mistake for not sending it back when it was delivered seeing that the only type of meat was salami and sausage. This was such a disappointment and it was supposed to be my birthday celebration, read more

My favorite place to go for many reasons, this is the best place to take my friends for a girls day, a birthday, any celebration at all, also on Sunday's for the beautiful champagne brunch and to just get away from football. The food is amazing, the wine is awesome and the service is the best, everyone is so friendly and cheerful and so much fun! also a great place to shop for fun stuff. read more

I've been there a few times. Mostly with "The Girls" for lunch with wine and once with my husband for lunch. On the hot days, the patio dining is very nice. They have misters and a lot of shady areas. The surrounding grapevines are the perfect attmosphere. The service has always been superb. The bread and dipping sauce is unique and very tasty. The menu has a nice variety to choose from. I recommend the salad with cranberries and candied nuts with a sweet vinegarette dressing, I simply love it. The last time I was there with my husband. The entre' he ordered was not to his taste and he was offered a different entre'. I tasted it and found it very good, so he decided to keep it. We ordered a dessert to share and the management gave it to us complimentary, much to our surprise. They really wanted to make sure we had a good meal and a good experience. I will be going back there any opportunity that I get. read more

I have been to The Smokehouse at Ponte Winery about 4 or 5 times for lunch and had my first visit for dinner recently. They serve lunch daily and dinner on the weekends. The restaurant is outside with beautiful mountain views and the vineyards all around. It's a casual patio style setting. If you go before 5pm you can do some wine tasting while you are there as well. I ordered the Chicken Pesto Parmesan and it was wonderful! My husband very much enjoyed the Buthchers Steak. They had live music when we were there and the service was great. I look forward to going back soon. read more

The Smokehouse restaurant is awesome! I love the Sunday brunch! I love the crab claws they are so good! The champagne is so good to! This restaurant is perfect for any day! The atmosphere is beautiful and the staff is amazing! read more

We went to The Smokehouse restaurant at Ponte Winery on a blazing hot desert afternoon. When we sat down I was a little worried we were going be a little too warm but the misters and the wine cooled us right down. An ordinary restaurant just serves bread and butter but The Smokehouse delivered seasoned, soft, wonderful bread with a special green sauce that I couldn't even begin to make myself. I shared a pizza and a salad with my friend and the freshness of the food was quite delightful. We have traveled to Italy and found that the ingredients were definitely comparable and just as tasty as the Italians do. We will always be heading back to The Smokehouse for lunch on our winery afternoons! read more

Between my boyfriend, my job, my kids, his kids and the laundry piled on my bed, I needed a breakaway day. My friend lives near Temecula and she suggested meeting at Ponte Winery's restaurant for lunch. I had my car keys in my hand before we even hung up. We walked into the tasting room and were blown away with the gift tables. Retail eye candy everywhere. Yes! We got so distracted shopping that we almost missed our lunch reservation. We headed outside and saw the most beautiful scene. Roses, gardens and rows and rows of lush vineyards. We were greeted by a cheerfull young lady who confirmed our reservation and escorted us to our table. Our server for the day was a handsome gentleman with a huge smile. More eye candy. We told him we had come to relax, and forget about our domestic and career duties. We needed a day in the wine country. We needed to be spoiled. The next six words..."You came to the right place"...were music to our ears. Everything looked so good on the menu we couldn't decide what to order. He suggested we share a few things and take our time. We started with the calamari and a glass of light crispy 2009 Pinot Grigio. The batter was light and the fish was tender. It was served with three totally different sauces that were amazing. The first sip of wine went down and I took at deep breath. Ahhh. Then we shared a pizza margarita with a glass of the 2008 Chardonnay. The pizza crust was thin and crispy, just like they serve in Italy. Not a crumb was left behind. For our entree we split the sea scallops. We both love shellfish so it was the obvious choice. The Chardonnay cream was silky smooth and the scallops were perfectly seared and literally melted in our mouths. To end we chose the Formaggio Ponte with three cheeses and fresh seasonal fruit. The waiter brought us two glasses of wine that was the perfect ending for our meal. A sparkling Moscato that tingled in our mouths and tasted of green apples. It was the perfect pairing with the cheese and fruit tray. Overall, the service was 5 star, the presentation of the food was impressive, and the flavors of the food were savory and memorable. We thanked our waiter who had been so attentive and headed straight to the gift shop to load up on Mother's day gifts. The next time I need retail and girlfriend therapy I will definitely go back to the Smokehouse for more and more of everything! read more

Great ambiance eating outdoors with better than average service. A jazz quartet played a great selection for a warm summers eve. Suprisingly, no flying pests to report. Unfortunate downside...food. Rib-eye was subpar in quality and presentation...asparagus spears weren't too far behind. Wedding reception on grounds kicked off ~8pm and their musical preference drowned out the great summer jazz. Wine options from Dinner menu were lacking. read more

The food here is outstanding and I love the outdoor patio. They are rather pricey for what you get but the quality of the food is excellent so I've decided to overlook the price. And the scenery is just beautiful!!!! read more

Found the wait staff to be very friendly and presentable. I had the caprese salad and it was delicious, the mozzarella practically melted on the tomato. I also had the scallops and they were nicely cooked, and the dish as a whole was full of flavor. My date had the filet mignon, and while it was tasty, it came out medium well, despite her having ordered it medium rare. All in all, really nice experience though. read more

I tried this place out once for mainly ambiance and to celebrate my friends birthday, but this place was outstanding. The outside area is very beautiful, which is where we sat. We ordered and got the filet mignon and it was amazing. One of the best filet mignons I have had. Service was wonderful as well. All around a wonderful place to celebrate any special occasion. read more

We actually stayed next door but came over here for dinner after tasting/touring 1 day. AMAZING meal. Just incredible. Nice atmosphere to sit outside in the evening for a nice dinner as well. Friendly staff and good service. read more

Beautiful location, great wine and food, and top notch service. We've been there twice for Sunday brunch and have been completely satisfied both times. I highly recommend! read more

Great food. Very accommodating. Friendly and courteous staff. Great wine. We will definitely be back.

Best Restaurant for "lunch" in Temecula Wine Country. Amazing Flourless cake & organic greens. After go to the Grapeseed Spa at South Coast Resort & Spa. Fun Stuff!! Pleasure was all mine! Lol read more

The service at this restaurant was outstanding. My glass was never empty and the waiter answered all questions. It's all outside seating, which I overlooked (my fault); thank goodness we went in the late evening and the sun was going down, or else it would have been in our faces. We got a stacked seared ahi appetizer that was more everything else and not so much ahi. My wife's salad had something too salty in it, but my oxtail ragu was on point. The cherry cake dessert was delicious but we were so full we hardly touched it. It's thought review because overall it was good, but for the prices and area, I was expecting more. read more

Love the atmosphere, the food and the beautiful wines that Ponte produces. This winery is always a stop for us and the delicious food never disappoints! Highly recommend! read more

Disappointed. Just sent back the short rib gnocchi. About 1/3 of the meat was pure fat, and the gnocchi was swimming in pools of grease. Not good. read more

The atmosphere was very nice - all outdoor seating right on the edge of the vineyard. My wife was ecstatic about how beautiful the setting was, and it was great for my toddler and infant because we could take turns getting up and walking around to keep them happy. I'd say 4 out of 5 for atmosphere. The service was good - about average and what you'd expect from this type of place in this price range. No complaints about that at all. I'd give them a 3 out of 5 for service. The wine was nice - we shared a bottle of their Pinot Grigio. It was crisp and fresh and not too sweet. I'd buy their wine again. 4 out of 5 for the wine. The appetizer bread was delicious - some sort of olive oil and cucumber dip served with it was also great. The salads were good too according to my wife and sister. 4 out of 5 for appetizers and salads. No one was impressed with the entrees - we had 3 different ones between the 4 of us. The steak was cooked as ordered (medium rare) for me, but was served cold and I've had much better. The sides were good - although they certainly would have tasted better warm. The chicken and fish were both dry and served with sides including overcooked and/or dried up old rice. 2 out of 5 for the food. Some sides were good, all main dishes were unimpressive. Dessert was some free ice cream for my toddler (who had fried chicken strips for dinner - they were good) and we all split their peach cobbler. It came with some ice cream too - might have been frozen yogurt because it didn't taste like ice cream to me. The cobbler itself was tasty, but it was like they put granola in it or something - it was very chewy. My wife's cobbler's are way better. So 2 out of 5 for the desserts. Overall its a pretty place with nice people working there - its obvious they don't eat their own food or they would change the recipes. The wine was good. I would go back - but when I go back I will order only appetizers and salads and wine - no entrees or desserts. read more

Had Calamari, Salad and Sangria and was quite pleased. Sangria was great and the outdoor dining area was the perfect way to start the afternoon. I'm looking forward to visiting again. read more

Went to lunch there on a Sunday afternoon. The service was great and the portion of food was good. Had the best turkey avocado sandwich ever and the cheese platter was delicious. I had gone to a dinner here several years ago too and it was good then too. Highly recommend to take a date there and do some wine tasting too... read more

This winery is beautiful, very tasty wines and the food was incredible. We ordered the burger, caesar salad, chicken blt and the cheese and bread platter. All generous portions and the cheese and bread platter could feed three people and it was the small portion! Laura gave us perfect service. I'll be back for sure. read more

Let me start by saying I pretty much NEVER review anything, but this restaurant is expensive enough that I thought I should speak up. We came here very excited on our very first night in Temecula based on all the reviews. Don't get me wrong the setting is gorgeous and the atmosphere is wonderful! I would give them a five! The food on the other hand was VERY disappointing and the service was mediocre. We started with the bread (yummy) and then the calamari (totally bland, but the dipping sauce had flavor). Then my husband ordered the salmon special which was soupy, over cooked and contained a weird mishmash of veggies. I ordered the ahi salad, on the recommendation of the server. While there was a good helping of the tuna (there'd better be for the price of that dish) the fruit combination of jicama and kiwi was weird. The kiwi totally overpowered the tuna and if you ate them in the same bite you couldn't taste the fish. Also for a "ceviche" the pieces were cut way too big. Overall we were just really disappointed because we both left our $75 meal half eaten. UPDATE - we had filled out the comment card and before we got back to our room the assistant manager called us. She apologized and informed us the calamari and tuna dish had been removed. While we wont be going back again, it meant alot that they responded so quickly and proactively made things right. read more

We are long time, LOCAL, wine club members and love our lazy days at Ponte. Maybe that's why we are so willing to give The Smokehouse a second, third, fourth try at changing our minds about the service. No dice. After waiting an hour and half (because they erroneously had us listed as non-wine club members!) we waiting an additional 10 minutes after they finally called us so that three people could put their heads together to figure out where to seat us (ahem, maybe one of the 10+ open tables?)! My husband was furious, he called Outback, did a "call-ahead", and demanded we leave (Of course we had been sitting for an additional 10 minutes with no waiter). Our dinner at Outback was perfect: warm bread; great, attentive service; and we had chicken, ribs, a 9 oz steak, king crab legs and all the trimmings for about the same as an entree and salad at The Smokehouse. FAIL! Hire me Ponte, I'll whip your restaurant into some serious shape....well I DID apply, but I'm not a cute 21 year old girl. I am a grown, highly educated woman, I guess thats not what your looking for...??? read more

On Sunday December 17 my mother in law and I visited The Restaurant at Ponte and have Been here several times together for lunch and always had a fantastic experience. Today was not the case we were told at 12:55 that the wait would be about 50 minutes and normal for a weekend. However Mrs. Lynn the manager after about 20 minuets we noticed that she was starting to seat large parties within 20-30 minutes of them making a reservation. This went on the entire time we waited for one hour and ten minutes while four other reservations of 2 were sitting and waiting. My mother in law and I confronted the staff and they stated we can see you are sitting large parties over small reservations and immediately no denial and we got a table 2 minutes later. Very disappointed in this service today. read more

Was taking my wife to Sunday Brunch for Valentine's Day. Had a nice view of an unfinished building instead of the winery. Waiter was very nice. Bread was not served initially with muffins as they hadn't finished baking it yet. NO fruit offered - maybe that wasn;t ready also when we arrived. Ordered NY steak - very bland. Could not have ordered Risotto because the waiter said that it wasn't up to their standards. Attempted to order dessert but because of a pastry chef calling out - out of 5 desserts, they only had 1. This is my first and last visit to this restaurant. A friend of mine is having his wedding there in a few months...I hope the pastry chef doesn't call out! Should have went to South Coast! read more

I've been to the restaurant at Ponte twice and it has been exquisite both times!! The outdoor environment is just lovely, and I enjoyed the watermelon gazpacho on Saturday - so flavorful, refreshing, and perfect for a summer day! Thank you! read more

Beautiful hotel with great scenery and a room that looked right out to the hot air balloons rising out of the moisture filled vineyards, but the food....We were so excited for the culinary experience. We love good food of all kinds. Firstly, the herb bread was dry. The steak for the price was a few slices covered in an overdone sauce with mushrooms that would have been better off in a strange Asian dish. The mashed potatoes were congealed and weird. That was just my meal. The Polenta dish that my mother had was just downright cold. Desert, which was complimentary was a piece of white plastic, I don't know what, that I took it into the bathroom in a napkin to throw it away, I didn't want to make them feel bad. Overall was very disappointing. We had so many great things through the valley, but that meal really deflated our balloon, and the price was high for what we had. I would stay at the hotel, but never eat at the restuarant again! read more

While we had poor service at the cellar, it was much better at the restaurant. We took our daughters here and had good food and good service. The live music was nice. read more

My wife and I went their to celebrate our anniversary (a few days late), based on a friend's recommendation. We had an 8:00 reservation, but we arrived early (7:30) and were seated almost immediately. We had some appetizers, and I ordered the Ribeye steak while my wife had scallops. We also tried the Wine Flight, where you get samples of 3 different wines. We're not normally wine-drinkers (ironic when you go eat at a windery, I know), but we tried some sweet wines and were impressed. Our server, Laura, was attentive and fun. The atmosphere was good, including a live guitar player. It was somewhat noisy, but not so much that we couldn't carry on a conversation. I would definitely recommend The Restaurant at the Ponte Winery! It made our anniversary special. read more

I really want to like this restaurant. I like the winery; the grounds are beautiful, the tasting room awesome, the wines good and the inn charming. We are members of the wine club and come out to the area once a month to do a tasting, have lunch and pick up our wine. The last few times we've been out we have eaten in Old Town Temecula, but this time I planned to have lunch with a friend who lives in the area. Since I had to be at the winery to pick up my wine, we decided to have lunch there. The patio is beautiful and though it was almost 90 degrees out were were comfortable in the shade, with the fans and misters going. Our waiter was attentive so I have no complaints about the service. Because we are wine club members, my friend and I got a tasty "amuse bouche" along with the bread and dip they give everyone. All tasted good. Then we ordered lunch :( Here is what I ordered (this is straight from the menu): Capon Melt wine + herb roasted chicken, fontina cheese, caramelized apples, cherry relish, watercress, lemon pugliese 17 $17 for a sandwich. But it is capon so it sounds fancy. But it is really just a castrated rooster. Sandwiches come with a salad or the "daily potato". In this case the daily potato was french fries. A lot of french fries. French fries that took up 3/4 of the long skinny plate my food came on. The remaining 1/4 of the plate was the "Capon Melt". A tiny sandwich with a pathetic amount of cheese, small amount of chicken (capon), barely grilled and not hot. The "caramelized apples" were actually dried apples which were an interesting addition but just slapped on to the sandwich. The watercress was not on the sandwich and sat in a wilted pile between the fries and the sandwich. The menu did not indicate the type of bread and I will tell you it was very thin sourdough type of bread which added nothing to the dish - especially as it was barely toasted and cold. On the plus side, the cherry relish was yummy. My friend ordered the special sandwich of the day which was a pulled brisket topped with apple cole slaw. She got the salad (vs. the daily potato) which ended up being a tasteless pasta salad. She wasn't impressed with her sandwich either though, just from appearances, it was much heartier than my entree. My bottom line: $17 for a chicken sandwich is too expensive. Obviously I am paying for the setting - like when you pay a premium for food near the beach. I can't equivocally state that I'll never come back to this restaurant - I would give it a chance for dinner. But my expectations would be very low with the hope that I'd be pleasantly surprised. read more

We were looking for a top rated restaurant to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Since it was voted one of the best restaurants in Temecula we made reservations. The ambiance was casual, especially due to the fact that the servers were in khaki shorts, polo shirts, and tennis shoes. They had a live guitar player where we sat outside. We ordered a salad to share followed by the chicken and lobster stuffed mushrooms as our main dishes. The food was delicious, but it took 45 minutes between our salad and main course. It is a great restaurant, I was just expecting it to be fancier and feel more special than an average hotel restaurant. read more