I read a bunch of the 1-star reviews. I read some of the…read more4-star reviews. I have to go with 5-star tho. OVERVIEW of 5 : Seated without reservation (*make one! We got lucky*) Server was amazing Food expediter was super nice Food was delicious Elegant, fine dining experience Music was my mountain playlist (and not too loud) View of mountains for me. View of architecture for my wife. PARKING: Parking can be difficult in the small lot, but there's parking along the street too. INSIDE: It was perfect weather. 68ºF at 6pm after a warm day. They have "indoor/patio" style seating which may be difficult for some to access by multiple steps. We were seated at the top, a table away from the music, along the window side. They have heat lamps - but temps were perfect (lots of people and hot food warmed everyone up). I wanted to walk around the restaurant. The tiered architecture is interesting. FOOD: High End Vegan! Yes - I'm guilty of wanting to give them 5 stars just looking at their vegan menu. (And omnivore selection) Yes - I appreciate the care that it takes to prepare a plate. BUT This food was just delicious by itself. Even in a cardboard box, this food would've been amazing. VEGAN "cheese" appetizer (great for 2-3 people) Nut cheese was warm and tangy. This is NOT just cashews and nooch in a blender. It is spiced with something that brings a little heat. *you will want to lick the bowl. PRO TIP: The welcome bread with ... oh shit.... WELCOME BREAD / Garlic Olive Oil This crusty bread served with microplaned garlic + olive oil is fantastic. Garlic Fiend? You're gonna love this. Not a fan of garlic? What's wrong with you?! I mean... just serve from the oil side. Save some bread for your vegan cheese.... VEGAN CHEESE (cont.) Order the gluten free bread (a little more like Uti's toasted dinner roll) with your vegan cheese app. Omnivores at your table will be surprised how well this vegan cheese and wine pair with each other. TROUT I think my wife got the trout. She loved it. Light and delicate. VEGAN KIMCHI TOFU I've had kimchi. I've had tofu. We all have. This was prepared on a bed of roasty veg that was a great match to the salty kimchi. I don't know if there was a marinade preparation (sesame paste?) with the tofu, or it was made locally, or both, but this firm tofu was excellent. Sweet. Nutty. Salty. Fresh tasting and filling. The vegan menu here isn't just an "alternate version" of an omnivore dish. It is its own thing. DESSERT MISTAKE = not getting it. We thought there would be dessert in town, but we got out late. Town had closed. MUSIC Tonight's music was a pair of musicians playing CS&N, Neil Young, Bob Seger... acoustic session: Guitar, Violin, Mandolin. Quiet & sentimental performance was a perfect accompaniment to a long hike day. THERE ARE 1-STAR REVIEWS of this place. They have their reasons. I've only been here once. But I experienced NONE of the things they've mentioned. Moreover, we experienced even better than what other 5-star reviews suggested. This is an elegant spot, framed by a perfect day in Idyllwild. If I come back to the town, I will want to try other restaurants, but I'll definitely come back here. Not *just* because of their vegan options, but definitely *for* their vegan options.

This was my first time eating here I had a fettuccine dish…read morewith chicken It was good the pasta was a little to Al dente for me Music was nice students from the local arts school played very well

Lines long but fast. Ice Cream Cookies and Cream 7/10…read more Churros 3/10 tasty but Texture isn't there.

One of the best ice cream shop in Idyllwild. This is one busy location with long lines. Staff were…read moregreat and try to accommodate everyone with their orders. They are known for their homemade ice cream, soft serve, and shakes. They have variety of flavor selections and each ice cream order comes with free cookie. We ordered a scoop of Lavender and Cookie-n-Cream. The ice cream tastes delicious; it's creamy and soft. Ambiance: nice. Seats are in front and back.

Cute little bakery located in idyllwild! The food/bakery items are on the pricier side.. however we…read moredid enjoy the live music and the garden like patio. It was a nice stop after a morning of hiking in the area. Overall the food itself was a little too expensive for what it was.. my mom and her friend had the soup of the day which was basically just chili and cheese (nothing really special) while my husband had a simple BLT (also nothing really special) and I had the blueberry pie (which was cute but really just a pie). We spent over 50 dollars on those items which is honestly WAY overpiced in my opinion but then again we still enjoyed our time. Cute place in general :)

We ordered the soup and sandwich combo. Sandwich was basic but tasty the soup was cheddar and…read morebroccoli pretty good. Service was good, lots going on for a small place. Pretty small place but did have outdoor seating. We did also order hot coffee that was good as well.

Amelia's Donuts is one of those rare spots that overdelivers on every level. The donuts are hands…read moredown some of the best I've ever had, perfectly balanced, fresh, and clearly made with a lot of care. But what really surprised me was the burger. It's honestly one of the best around. Juicy, flavorful, and done right with no shortcuts. What makes this place even more special is Amelia herself. Her story, her hustle, and the passion she puts into everything you see and taste is inspiring. You can feel that this isn't just a business, it's something she truly built and believes in. Places like this are what make the food scene so great. If you haven't been yet, you're missing out.

Super cute bakery shop. There's tons of different donuts and pastries. Theres tables outside where…read moreyou can sit and bar seating inside as well. Service was quick. I tried their fruit tart and it was delicious. Sadly, it was so stacked that the bottom crumbled and fell apart. I also got to try their black berry cheese cake and it was so good. It was a bit heavy so it was good to eat in small servings and balanced with something savory.

Definitely recommend this coffee joint while visiting Idyllwild…read more The lavender coffee was flavorful and strong with default 4 shots of espresso. The strawberry poppy loaf wasn't too sweet with the strawberry shining through. The jalapeno scone was surprisingly good for a savory scone. Some parts were pretty spicy too. Staff were all friendly and smiling. Not a bad spot to grab a cup of coffee

This spot is super cute. Lots of outdoor seatings and indoor seatings. They have a ton of different…read morecoffees, tea, and pastries. The workers were friendly and service was quick. I tried their matcha and it was a bit light but good. Their coffee was pretty good too. I love that all of their shops around are mostly dog friendly. Was a good pick me up to start our day here.

We had the pleasure of dining here for lunch today. My husband, toddler and I very much enjoyed the…read morelive music. It was two older gentleman, one playing a saxophone and the other the piano. They both had amazing voices and it added to our overall experience. In a world with music playing over a speaker from a playlist on repeat. It was very refreshing! They even took song requests. And don't get me started on the food!! We stopped by for a quick snack and compliments to the chef. I ordered calamari to start and it came with a tangy tartar sauce which was AMAZING (I don't usually eat tartar sauce). My husband was surprised he had to share the tarter sauces this time hahaha! And the Diavolo pizza was flavorful! Our waiter Kevin was very attentive and nice. We will definitely be stopping by again (on a weekend) next time we are in town.

It was way too cold to have dinner out. It was grandpup's birthday so Doc called in our order for…read moreItalian. She chose a spicy Diabolo pizza, I added clam linguine, a salad with roasted beets and veal parmigiano with veggies vs pasta. Doc and hubs braved the elements to pick up our dinner while I stayed with grandpup in our two story cabin. We couldn't light the fireplace as we didn't buy firewood in town. Some places have provided but not this one. The food was tasty and looked appetizing. We had an ice cream birthday cake from the market in town.

Was here for work and we all went here for lunch. Sad I was working, because I couldn't get any…read morebeer! I had the Angry Mule Burger. Double smash patties, pepper jack lettuce, tomato, guacamole, jalapeno jam, cornmeal dusted bun. Sweet potato fries. Service was really quick and friendly and we sat on the outside patio. So nice and dog friendly. Place was clean and so were the bathrooms. Want to come back soon with Wifey.

My husband and I have been bringing our dogs to Idyllwild every year for the past six years, and…read moreIdyllwild Brewpub has always been one of our favorite stops. We've dined here many times with our dogs and have always considered it a very dog-friendly establishment--until today. Today (Table 305 I think, approximately 4:20-4:50 p.m.), we were seated with our dogs next to a family with children. At one point, one of the children ran directly across our smaller dog's path, startling him. He barked. He did not growl, lunge, nip, or bite--he simply barked. Immediately afterward, an employee (short, glasses, rides a scooter) approached our table and told us, "That can't happen again." Confused, since there were multiple dogs around the patio barking throughout our meal, we asked what the specific issue was. His only response was, "It can't happen again." I explained that our dog has never bitten, nipped, or growled at anyone, but yes--he does bark occasionally, because he's a dog. A few minutes later, another dog walked past our table. Our dog barked at the passing dog, and the same employee immediately returned and told us, "Your dog has to go." I asked, "He did nothing but bark. What exactly is the problem?" He simply repeated that our dog had to leave. I then said that he seemed to be particularly sensitive to our dog. Surprisingly, he agreed. At that point, my husband, understandably frustrated, said, "Just bring us boxes and our check. We'll leave." The employee responded, "I'm not telling you guys you have to go, but the dog does." My husband asked, "Where exactly are our dogs supposed to go?" The employee replied, "Do you have a car?" My husband responded, "What? Do you expect our dogs to drive themselves back?" I stepped in at that point because our food hadn't even fully arrived yet. I asked the employee if he could please check on the rest of our order so we could leave. A different employee brought the remaining food out a minute later. We weren't even halfway through our meal. We still had two brand-new drinks sitting on the table that we never got to finish. I told my husband to take the dogs outside while I boxed up the food and paid the bill. As I was packing everything up, two separate couples seated behind us--one with a dog and one without--tapped me on the shoulder. One said, "For what it's worth, we heard your dog barking, and it sounded no different than the other dogs out here." The other added, "And did you hear his comment about putting your dog in the car?" If either of you happen to read this review: thank you. It meant a lot to know we weren't the only ones who felt the situation was handled poorly. To the management of Idyllwild Brewpub: I completely understand that, as a dog-friendly establishment, there have to be standards of behavior for dogs. If a dog is aggressive, threatening, biting, lunging, or creating an unsafe environment, absolutely address it. But that was not what happened here. Our dog barked--twice. Once because he was startled by a child running directly in front of him, and once at another passing dog. Both are normal dog behaviors that were no different from what we observed from other dogs on the patio. Being told to remove our dog while we were in the middle of our meal, then being asked if we could leave him in the car, felt unreasonable and frankly inconsistent with the dog-friendly environment we've enjoyed here for years. We've always loved coming to Idyllwild Brewpub, which is why this experience was so disappointing. I sincerely hope management reviews how situations like this are handled in the future, because one employee's approach turned what has always been one of our favorite places in Idyllwild into a very unpleasant experience.

My review is solely on the arcade and I'm going to have to disagree with the previous reviews on…read morethe arcade. My family and I really enjoyed our time here. Although there aren't many machines we had fun with the ones they had. Hardly any machines were out of service and yes the tickets had to be counted but we made it easy by folding our tickets in 5. Of course we did not expect a Dave and busters experience but with what they had we managed to have a great time. Also the owner seemed so friendly she even gave my nephew free tickets. As for the empanadas we were not lucky enough to try them but we would have loved too. I'm always happy to support small businesses especially when they involve having a good time with our family.

Don't like it, I hated it . I'm Argentinean, this was an insult to our empanada. If you want to…read moresell empanadas this quality and size, just charge $1, and nobody is gonna judge you. But I pay $6 each for that?? No,no,no