Great food in Temecula???

[Barbara Marshall]

We will be in Temecula for one day/night in mid-March (visiting from the Midwest) and appreciate excellent, high quality cuisine. Quality is more important to us than quantity. Any suggestions? How is Thornton Winery's Champagne Cafe? What about breakfast and lunch? Other ideas? Thanks for your help.

[torta basilica]

I think the best is the restaurant at the Temecula Creek Inn - we had a nice dinner there, but it's been several years...

[phee]

I checked with a couple of the Temecula locals here at work. They recommended Baily's or the Fish House Veracruz.

[doc]

The Bank in downtown Temecula has very good Mexican Food for a good value. Fish House VeraCruz has interesting and usually good meals, although on the top end of my budget. There is a hamburger stand on the old Downtown mainstreet that is very good, don't remember the name.

[Jim Strain]

Great? Temecula? Well, I dunno if I'd go quite *that* far, but the cafe at the winery is pretty good, and is definitely the most ambitious of anyplace I've heard of there. Temecula is basically a small town that has blossomed into a teeming bedroom community filled with exhausted commuters most all of whom have a lonnngg drive to and from work in the LA or San Diego metro areas. There are lots of places to get prepared food there, but just as in the San Diego suburb where I live, most of them are franchise operations of one kind or another.

The original Fish House Vera Cruz was in San Marcos and some years ago I enjoyed many tasty lunches and dinners there. I wouldn't call it "great" but it was way more than just adequate. If you can add a good Mexican joint to that list, you've got three meals covered. As I recall, someone here recently mentioned that there were good eats to be had at the nearby Pechanga Indian Casino, but I've not been there. Good luck.
. . jim strain in san diego (La Mesa, actually)

[u16 girl]

We went to the Fish House Vera Cruz in San Marcos years ago for my mom's birthday.The service was SLOW!! The food was medioce at best.

[Jim Strain]

You raise a good point. I've always figured that every restaurant meal is a discrete event -- a snapshot in time. Even the best places can have off days, or the kitchen staff can change, or the owners may suddenly go into a cost cutting mode and lower the quality while raising the price. I'm always pleased when someplace I recommend works out, but I'm never too surprised if it falls flat. Disappointed, sure, but not surprised. Running a restaurant successfully may be one of the toughest business ventures there is.
. . jim strain in san diego.

[u16 girl]

Absolutely.I've seen many a good restaraunt up their prices and the food suddenly isn't as good.It's not like they're Chez Pierre(and some of the places I've eaten at couldn't be ala Chez Pierre if they tried)

One place I've been to(the 101 Cafe in Oceanside) was more into *making* money(charging me for breaking a bowl-which was an accident.But I digress.)

[kaldera]

Over the last five years a lot has change in Temecula. Upscale: www.frankies-restaurant.com; www.alliestapas.com; www.penfoldscattlecompany.com; www.wineresort.com. Casual: www.publichouse.tv; barleyandhopheads.com; www.wilsoncreekwinery.com; www.madmadelinesgrill.com; www.gourmetitaliarestaurants.com

[sbritchky]

I haven't been to the Fish House Vera Cruz in Temecula, but the one in Carlsbad has always had very good and fresh, simply cooked fish. In my experience, it's the best of the Socal mid-priced (though not cheap), family-friendly fish joints. I'm not sure why someone's bad meal "years ago" at the one in San Marcos was worth bringing up.

For breakfast in Temecula, I've gone only to the Original Pancake House and can't imagine what could be better there (or almost anywhere else, for that matter).

[Steve Green]

I agree -- it's unfortunate that u16girl had that one bad meal years ago. In their defense, I've been to all three FHVC locations many times over the years (probably 4 times just in the past six months), and have never had a bad meal or what I would call bad service. Their prices have gone up over the last year or so, but I still think it's some of the best and freshest grilled fish around for the money.

[justmeincal]

Fish House Vera Cruz has very good simply prepared fresh fish. Baily's is decent also. Our favorite place in Temecula is Frankie's Steak and Seafood. Francesca's serve good Italian food.

[araknd]

Personally, I don't think the Champagne Cafe food is that "high quality"; OK for tourists at best. Carol's at the Baily winery across Rancho California Rd. is a better choice for lunch. Baily's in Old Town (www.oldtowndining.com) is a very nice dinner establishment, if you go before the crowd gathers downstairs.