I have been a member of Ponte Winery for over a year now and love their wines. So when the Inn opened and had a cool lounge I was intrigued to try it. A few months ago, one of my good girlfriends and I were in Temecula and decided to go have some wine and check it out. The ambiance is outstanding and they often have live music. We decided to get a cheese and fruit plate and get a bottle of their wine because members get a discount. Basically what members pay per bottle at the winery. It wasn't cheap but wasn't too outrageous. Ha! It was worth it to have a bottle of good wine. I definitely will go back and try some other things on the menu, because my first experience here was a good one. I'd recommend it! read more

I don't do this very often, but this is one of those rare moments where I was blown away by exceptional service. As a Wine Club member, I came to Ponte Winery for my monthly visit and to say hello to Laureen at the Tasting Room, who recommended that we visit the Cellar Lounge...what a great recommendation! The entire staff was on point, but Angel made this place an even more awesome experience with his great attitude and attentiveness...exceptional Customer Service. I spoke to his Manager to share my impression of Angel, but I definitely feel he deserves a Commendation from upper management. Having been in the industry for over a decade in a 5-star/5-diamond hotel, I definitely know what great Customer Service is all about and Angel exemplifies this. You guys have an awesome employee in Angel! Definitely will be back soon!!! read more

The atmosphere was nice and the people that worked there were friendly. While the kitchen was busy that night for how busy the hotel must have been that day, to wait 45 minutes for food was kind of a long time. By the time the food got there, I scarfed the food down. I ended up getting the sliders which were pretty average. They weren't bad but weren't great. I think the rest of our group weren't too excited about their meals, especially when it was coming out so late. There was a live cover band who played some pretty good old school 70's rock and roll which was fun. If I ever come here again, I'd just grab a drink with friends here instead. The place was cozy and pleasant. read more

I've been going to Ponte Winery for years but I've never been to the Cellar Lounge and finally checked it out. What a great place, I love the atmosphere and the food was great. We shared the mussels and bruschetta, and it was nice to order cocktails...I live in the wine country so it was great to order a drink instead of wine. The waitress was very attentive . I'll definitely come back! read more

Specialty cocktails are always delicious and everything on the menu has been tasty and great to share. Bartenders are always nice. Great place to come if you want to feel like you're somewhere out of Temecula. read more

I love the ambience at Ponte's Cellar Lounge. I've come here on numerous occasions and have always had a great time. They have a full bar which is nice if I'm not in the mood for wine and it's fun to have live music playing as you visit with friends or want to get up and dance. A classy place to come with girlfriends or a date. I highly recommend coming to the Cellar. read more

The Cellar - A gem in Temecula's wine country. - Wine Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

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Came here after a long drive to wine country starving and in need of immediate sustenance at about 5pm. Other nearby restaurants were mostly closed. Our server was Diana. Super nice and friendly and stopped by our table several times throughout the night to check on us. We each ordered a glass of Ponte wine (tasty) and shared the charcuterie platter (delicious and large enough to serve 4), the bruschetta (very garlicky but so worth it), the shrimp diablo (my fiancé loved it and scarfed it down before I could even get a bite) and the chicken wrap (tasty enough). Overall, it was a fun atmosphere with live music. Will return again when next in town. read more

We loved it!!! The food was yummy!!! And happy about the vegan cuisine. We enjoyed our curry chicken and the jackfruit burrito!!! And loved the buffalo wings served on a sugar cane was the best ting ever!!! read more

Had my mom's 60th Birthday party here! We all had a really lovely time eating and drinking before the live music started! Great atmosphere all around! Everyone around us was very friendly and wishing my mom a happy birthday! Once the live music started the service became a little slower just because it was so busy but it's wasn't an issue for us as everyone started dancing! Wonderful time with good service! read more

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We went out for the evening and found this nice bar lounge and we're glad we did. The crowd was middle of the road mixed with a middle aged crowd and some overflow from a wedding at the winery downstairs. The food was very good for a lounge bar and the drinks were served in a timely manner. Our waitress was very nice and she had a cute little English accent. There was a band playing classic rock and even threw in some popular country and some contemporary stuff as well. We will return for sure because this place is comfortable and has plenty of seating for any size party read more

The Cellar - Wine Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

Very cool cellar. Fun little set up to get her with friends and get on stage and perform.

This place has the potential to be really cool especially since it's the only place in wine country you can get cocktails. Whenever my husband and I optimistically come here we always hope for a nice vibe but honestly get turned off by the live music. The live music they play here makes the place cheesy. It needs more of a lounge type sound to it, electronic chill or even Frank Sinatra would be cool. If you wanna play live music try acoustic guitar or flamenco guitar but no saxophone, singing or country. read more

One of my favorite places to go,,found a hidden gem! Food was great drinks were great service was awesome!

A great little hideaway bar in the heart of wine country! I love to come here after dinner and people watch!

RAW FISH!! Not sushi, my salmon entree came raw like a rare steak. I'm so grossed out. I love sushi, but sushi is much different. I've seen enough tapeworm stories on YouTube and the news when fish is not properly handled. My good friend also worked as a butcher and warned me of the dangers of not properly handling fish. Although the waitress was amazing and truly looked remorseful and embarrassed (not her fault at all), I could not take her offer for another plate, since I can't trust a cook that can't tell if a fish is cooked thoroughly. I'm sorry, I drove from Long Beach to enjoy Valentine's Day weekend with my wife, and now taste an overly greasy, raw in the center piece of salmon in my mouth. Will go back to my room and brush my teeth and mouthwash before heading out on our date. Yuck!! read more

The ambiance was great. When you first walk in you get the feel of a Spanish style mission. It is beautiful and colorful. When going down to the cellar you go down these stairs that are in a cave like. The cellar lounge is dark but has a great vibe to it. The Sangria was amazing, and they had live music. Since the wineries close early (around 5) this place is great to continue the fiesta. read more

The Cellar - Group photo. Shows how dark the cellar is but very spacious. - Wine Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

Great vibe in the basement with live music and the only liquor bar in wine country. We enjoyed great appetizers and the music was awesome. Great place to hang with someone special! read more

The Cellar - Wine Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

We had an event at one of the banquet rooms but were starving so we checked out the Cellar Lounge. Overall, very impressed, great environment, music was awesome and food was exceptional. We would definitely go back read more

Love to come here and enjoy great drinks, food and music all in one place. NY steak is superb! Cocktails are sublime!

We went to Ponte Winery for the first time to check out the cellar lounge. It's beautiful and the ambience Is wonderful but the staff needs some help in customer service. Being in the industry for years I know you can get tired but you should never treat customers badly. The bartender, Carissa was snappy, uninformative and rude when my fiancé asked a simple question having never been there before we were curious! I would love to go back but the staff needs to put a smile on their face. Thumbs down on customer service! read more

Taylor our server was amazing!!! She was so friendly and helpful! My wife and I had the best afternoon meal we could have hoped for. The ambiance is perfect. The food was great, and the wine was super. As usual, what makes a place great are the people. And Taylor and staff were top notch! We will be back!!! Thanks for a great afternoon dining experience! read more

I stop by at the lounge whenever I am in town and always get the lobster mac n cheese. We even had our wedding afterparty here and everyone had a great time. read more

I just came back from the Cellar this past weekend. walk in, very inviting room. its self seating so we made our way to a table near the front so we can watch the musician. the atmosphere was loud which is expected, its a full bar which is nice since we were wine tasting all day so it we were over it. small selection on beers but it did the job. Food: we had the chicken Marsala and salmon fettuccine. The chicken marsala was nicely cooked and very tasteful and topped with mushrooms sitting on top of a bed of rice. The Salmon on the other hand not so great. usually when we get this dish elsewhere the salmon is usually sitting on top of the fettuccine, but not at the cellar - it was fettuccine with sprinkles of salmon bits. we weren't impressed with the dish. drinks: I had the ipa on draft (forgot the name) and a porter in bottle both in a catalina beer glass. She had a madori sour which confused us since the first glass came in like a 6oz glass and when the second one came in a tall catalina beer glass with berries inside which was great since we felt we got more for the money on the second glass. but we felt kinda cheated on the first glass. music it was great, the musician had a great voice over it was a nice night, the food did take awhile but it was okay. read more

Ehh... not impressed. Food was mediocre and the service was less than acceptable. We ordered the crustino for an appetizer. Apparently the cook forgot to toast the bread, came out cold and stale. The toppings were good and we were starving, so we ate most of the top part by the time our server came to check on your us. We did mention it and she took it off the bill. Cheese burger and beef rib tacos for our dinner- again just ehh. No flavor. Our server had 2 tables, dead for a Tuesday night. She stood around by the serving station and was hard to get help from. As someone who worked in restaurants for over 7 years, I was annoyed with the level of service she provided. We stacked our own plates and waited for the bill while she stood and chatted with coworkers for quite a while. Not the service or food I care to spend 60 dollars on. read more

Do not ever, ever go to this place My friend was getting married at the hotel and invited everyone for drinks at the Cellar the evening before the wedding. When we arrived at 7:30pm, they said they already had too many people in the bar. We explained that we were with a party already in the Cellar and we were told that didn't matter. We couldn't go in. We asked how long it would be and were told, "I have no idea. It's full, you can go in if people leave." While we were waiting, a paid lounge club member who was inside came out and said he had guests and they allowed him to bring in a guest despite nobody having exited the bar. We texted a friend who was already inside and they came and got us and tried to sneak us in via the elevator but we were stopped a few feet inside. The groom tried to make the case that we were with the group but the manger, Bryce, completely disregarded and kept insisting they were over capacity. We grabbed a drink at the bar while the debate continued. While we were paying for our drinks, security bum rushed us at the bar and said we had to leave. While the groom was arguing why we should be able to stay, I jumped into the convo and told the security that we should all dial it back and look for a solution rather than debate whether or not there were too many people. I offered that we would be more than willing to wait outside as long as they could try to accommodate our us as quickly as possible and that my main issue at this point was that it didn't seem like this was the solution the establishment was working towards. As I was speaking the security guy tried to talk over me saying "No, no, no, no, no, no" and I said, "Hey, you ultimately have the last word since we have to leave if you say we have to go but don't interrupt me. I'm speaking and you should show at least show some respect to hearing me out." The security guy we were talking to quit listening and turned his head away from me. He responded, "If you won't listen to me I won't listen to you." WTF?!? Is this guy 12 years old? At that point, my wife and I just left. These people don't deserve anyone's business. This is, by far, the most insulting experience I've ever had in a bar/restaurant. At no time did they seem to want to resolve the situation in a satisfactory manner. It was about control. Once they were challenged, they dug their feet in and refused to see any solutions. On a side note, one of the reasons the debate came up about capacity is that the place wasn't packed. Every table was taken but there were open seats at the bar. It was by no means packed. That said, because it is downstairs and the only ways in and out are an elevator and a staircase, I can understand if fire marshals set a lower maximum capacity for the place. However, management should be able to explain what capacity is and how many people are currently in the establishment rather than calling security when open seating at the bar is pointed out to him. EDITED TO RESPOND TO PONTE: Your response is factually (and logically) incorrect on several points. 1. Staff did not estimate a time. I have a text message I sent to the party who was already inside: Cellar Lounge at capacity. No estimate of when other people will be allowed in. I think we'll give it 15 or 20 minutes and then head back to the hotel. I can provide a screen shot. Why would I have written that if I knew what the wait time was? 2. While we were waiting we witnessed the staff allow newly arrived people to enter the cellar to join a party already in the cellar. This is exactly what we wanted to do but were being told was impossible because the room was at capacity. 3. We were stopped by the manager as we exited the elevator. There is no possible way we could have made it to the bar and ordered a drink and been served a drink if your version of events is accurate. The truth is that when he stopped us we told him that we were with a seated party and he then walked us over to the table so he could explain why to the groom. He and the groom started talking and after several minutes we went to the bar and got a drink. We walked directly by your manager. We made no effort to hide where we were going. It was simply a matter of it looking like this conversation was going to take awhile. 4. Your assertion that I had any physical contact with your staff is an outright lie. Period. They did not touch me nor did I touch them in any way. Again, as soon as your security people came up to us at the bar and told us we had to leave, I asked if I could pay for the drinks first and while paying the groom came over and began talking to the security. When your security staff started acting like a 12 year old we just left as it was pointless talking to him. Bottom line is that your rebuttal is a complete misrepresentation of facts. Which explains a lot about why it happened in the first place. read more

This is a Must Visit find in the basement of the Ponte Vineyard Inn... Great Food, full bar and live music (check dates). We make this a part of our stay, and even enjoy the Gas Fire pits in the patio... This is a Romantic location and also good for entertaining new friends. Awesome. read more

Most likely will not be returning. The only reason I'm not giving one star is because the happy hour prices were decent and their flatbread pizzas were actually pretty good, once we got them. One waitress and one bartender during happy hour during the holidays, really?! I would normally figure this was just a bad night for them; however, others in our party have been here before and the service has always been the same. So, unless you don't mind waiting a half hour or so to get your drinks, I'd skip it. read more

A very fun place to hang and people watch. Food and service is great and the atmosphere is really cool!

Great cocktails and great service with many live music days during the week. It has very nice ambiance matches Ponte's level with again very friendly staff. You get 10% off is you are a wine club member. read more

Fun...live music..... large bar ...dancing.....bring your friends and get some food and drank

I've been here a few times while staying at Ponte for a weekend getaway. We keep going back because the food options offered are better than the restaurant upstairs, but I don't think we'll go back again. The food is always good, I would give that 5 stars. We've had the bruschetta (I don't even like raw tomatoes but I'll eat their bruschetta; very tasty), short rib tacos, lobster Mac n cheese, and the burger. Everything came out very quickly, and tasted great! The burger is probably the favorite, and the fries were great, too. The general ambience, however, I would give 1 star. The first time we went we couldn't even get a table, so we had a glass of wine and a cocktail hoping a table would open up, but it never did and we ended up upstairs for dinner. The second visit we made the mistake of going during what ended up to be a Super Bowl-deciding football game. It was so insanely loud you couldn't hear anything. There was a musician but it was pointless to have him playing it was so loud. I felt really bad for the guy actually. The crowd that day was really weird too. I mean, I know it's a bar but everyone was insanely drunk and I felt like I was surrounded by rejects from the Real Housewives... so on another weekend in Temecula we gave it one more shot. There was no important sporting event, and we saw that they again had live music. Alas, it was again insanely loud making any music completely pointless. It's apparently just not my scene. If you're looking for a place to relax, enjoy some good food, and hear live music, you're only going to get the food. read more

Great place! Impressed! Server was incredibly knowledge and pleasant. It is great for watching Monday night football or a nice romantic night out. Look forward to going back. read more

LOVE this place. Swanky little vibe, tons of seating. BEST sangria I have ever had (Barcelona Sangria). Service was good and friendly. The only negative comment I have concerns their cheese platter. It should be called a cheese nibble, because there was almost no cheese, no crackers, not much of anything and I believe it was 35.00. Next time, I will drink my 35.00 and just get some bread with olive oil. But yes, there will be a next time :) read more

I was staying at a nearby winery but decided to come to The Cellar Lounge on a Wednesday night to try out their happy hour (happy hour is from 4 pm - 7 pm). I was very impressed by this lounge. At first, my husband and I had trouble finding it and had to ask a few hotel employees where The Cellar Lounge was. Once we were there, we settled in quickly in a booth and was approached by the server. The menu offers some pretty good dishes. We got the happy hour sliders, chicken ciabatta, and the grape leave. The chicken ciabatta was really good and came with a salad side. We tried the grape leave but didn't finish it; it wasn't really to our liking. We loved the sliders and I would definitely recommend the happy hour sliders. Aside from the food, the atmosphere was great. There was a live acoustic duo performing whom my husband and I really enjoyed. The lighting was dim which made the cellar seem even cozier. The only problem I had with this place was the service. While our server was really nice, I noticed she was the only server for the first half we were there. We arrived when happy hour started and there were only a few other people seated. But the placed filled up fairly quickly and I was surprised to see that there was still only ONE server. I watched her hop from table to table, rush to the back and get drinks, come back to the dining area only to be flagged down by other diners. My husband and I had requested some ketchup at the start of our meal and we finally got it about an hour later when she was clearing off our table. She apologized sincerely and I knew it wasn't her fault. It's just frustrating to see just one employee serve dozens of people. This is when the live music comes in--the music was so good that it distracted us from the fact that we didn't get good service. When we were about to leave, we noticed that there were three more servers that popped up. When things were finally settling down, that's when they decided to send out more servers. It didn't make sense. So, while the food and ambiance was terrific, the service was lacking. read more

I have always had a wonderful time at The Cellar Lounge. We came here after our wedding and our close friends and family all had a great time, that was actually the part of the wedding that I was able to relax and enjoy a drink lol we have always had incredible service and the staff is always attentive. Most recently we were staying at the hotel for our anniversary with my in laws who were also celebrating their anniversary as well and we were treated to a special anniversary dessert. Carly was our bartender this past Friday night and I have to say has been the best out of all of our times there. Even though it can get busy and there can be a wait it is worth it, I never felt ignored its to be expected on a busy night that there might be a wait. I love the atmosphere, it's great for a romantic evening with the live music and dim but cozy lighting. We have stayed at the hotel several times and love having a a nice place to enjoy good drinks and food without having to leave the hotel, added bonus it's the only place in wine country with a full bar. I would recommend giving The Cellar Lounge a chance and try not to pay attention to the bad reviews, most of them were probably from people too drunk from a day at the wineries or have unrealistic expectations read more

The Cellar - Carly's perfectly muddled pear berry surprise "The Carly" - Wine Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

My friends and I stayed at the Ponte Vineyard Inn to celebrate my friend Brittany's 21st. All of us are college students so one could say we are all ballin on budget! We went wine tasting before dinner and an employee suggested the cellar lounge below the hotel because they would have the most decent priced food. When we arrived to the restaurant it definitely had the lounge feel. The lights were dim with cool and dark colors. This place is self seating so you just sit wherever you want. There are tables on the outside and in the middle there a couches and big chairs to sit on. We were all craving burgers so we all ordered the cellar burger. (Which was $15) It was so good I ate my entire burger and the fries were soft with a slight crunchy outside. We didn't order any drinks so I have no input on that. All the staff there were very kind as well. My one thing that bothered me is there wasn't any noise control so once it started to get packed it was really loud. That also could be because there was a NFL game playing on the tv. Overall, it was a great time! I would recommend eating here if you don't want to drive far from the hotel or winery. Plus the hotel and the area surrounding it is beautiful. read more

Unfortunately Eric at the cellar was super unprofessional. After a day of wine tasting my friends and I were looking forward to a fun nightcap of snacks and beverages. Sure a few of us were a bit tipsy...but not out of control. Looking to have a good time and Eric was very intolerant and rude. Didn't take our initial food order and said he was only there for our drinks. Unfortunately for him we were a group of servers and know what it's like to be in the industry. It can be frustrating if people are intoxicated sure....but being understanding is important as well. We just felt things could have been handled more professionally altogether. read more

Been here twice. Love the lounge but the bartenders are just very slow. Seems the busier it gets the slower they move instead of kicking it into high gear. I do enjoy the sax player and fun little dance floor. read more

I adore this place. It is like stepping into a basement club in Manhattan. They have wonderful lounge music, a nice looking staff, they could be a little more friendly, but maybe that's the vibe. LOL. It is a great date night joint. The artwork screams sexy, it is so hot everyone can feel it. Watch out though it can get packed on the weekend. read more

Went there 12/26 because of the good reviews. We experienced horrible service. Waited 45 minutes after being seated to order, took another 15 minutes to receive our drinks and another long wait for our food. Saw several people walk out when they were not waited on. This is a dark lounge very noisy. Food was average. read more