Do not waste your time and money, there are so many better options in wine country and downtown. This was one of the worst dining experiences we have ever had. Went on a Sunday, it was busy but not crazy. I am not even sure they had a server assigned to us because ours went on his break as soon as we were seated. This server came back from his break but never checked on us a single time. The manager (we are assuming) was our "server" for the rest of the time, but would just take our order, drop off the plates and then we'd have to track him down if we needed anything else. Not a single employee ever checked in with us during our time there. No water refills, no drink orders taken after the initial sit-down. It seemed like the servers were attending to the tables around us and they were receiving their food in a timely manner, so we just kept hoping maybe it would change. We weren't in a hurry so we didn't want to complain. Then we waited at least 45 minutes for a dessert that never came, and by then we just asked for the check from the manager and he responded "oh did you order a dessert or something?" (Yes, we did, through him). It was a terrible experience and waste of money, which is unfortunate because we have come before in years past and had good experiences. read more

Will definitely be back Good food, good service and great atmosphere. Just add karaoke and it will be absolutely perfect read more

Wonderful drinks, food and service! I can't recommend this place enough. Donovan is an excellent bartender and made our experience so enjoyable. read more

Donovan was awesome on our visit to The Cellar. The drinks he poured were on point and so was his service. I recommend this place to anyone looking for live music, good food and great drinks read more

Food wonderful but too loud and musician the night of 8/31 was terrible (choice of songs for his voice was bad and the ADHD of switching between so many songs in seconds was terrible) read more

Food was more like 3 stars, but the service and ambience brought this up to a 4 star review. Hannah, our server, was very prompt, courteous, and helpful. If it wasn't for her, I would rate this place a 3. In any event, I tried the wine flight and our group shared a bowl of fries, cheese plate, and lobster mac and cheese. The wine flight was local to Ponte Winery and came with three 3oz pours. My favorite was the Merlot, but the other two (can't remember the names - red blends though) were either too sweet or tangy. I did raise this concern to Hannah and she brought me another 3oz pour of the Merlot. Wow - thanks! The cheese plate came with some prosciutto, chorizo, manchego, and bleu cheese along with a jam spread. Plus some other goodies that I can't recall. In any event, everything on the plate was good, but I was disappointed with the portions. For $$, I was expecting more than one slice of manchego. You get the point. The fries were standard fare and the lobster mac n cheese lacked punch. Yes, it was cheesy, but a bit too watery for my liking. Ambience was fun, lively, and busy. It's a fun little spot. I saw a stage, so looks like they have live entertainment on some days. read more

The Cellar - Cheese plate - Wine Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

See all

Listened to music for 30 minutes and never got our drinks. A waste of time and Uber expense. read more

Great time at Cellar last night! Came to celebrate a friend's birthday. Staff was so accommodating to our party. Service was quick, food was great! Loved the ambiance of the lounge. Bartender made the best espresso martinis! Manager was very attentive, she checked on our party. Server made sure we were having a great time! We will definitely be back! read more

My friend and I drove in from Los Angeles to celebrate her birthday and we really wanted to go somewhere that was comparable to what were used to an LA. While still getting a taste of Temecula. This fit the bill. Outstanding service, food, ambiance and live music. We ordered mussels which were incredible. Some of the best we've ever had. Lightly breaded cauliflower served with Sriracha aoli and crumbled blue cheese on the side. Incredible combo I would've never thought of. Salad with poached pear and blue cheese. And let's not forget the rosemary honey vodka cocktails, light and fresh. There was live music, a guitarist and he was incredible and it wasn't loud, it was the right volume. The atmosphere is Modern Cozy, LOVE! The seats are super comfortable, the lighting is perfect. Great atmosphere & acoustics. You can hear each other talk without shouting. And the best was Daniel, our attentive, professional, patient and very sweet waiter. We will be back. read more

The Cellar - Wine Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

Wow! Wow! Am I so happy that the Cellar has reopened. The new vibe is amazing, even on a Thursday night. With a bright new facelift and amazing service it definitely will be a "go to" on any old night. Sat at the bar with Josh as my handler. It was epic to watch the bar staff dance behind the scenes and turn drinks out so quickly and with perfectionism. I ordered the Salmon, pan seared and laid eloquently in a mustard cream sauce atop sauteed spinach and fingerling potatoes. To say it was amazing is an understatement. I would have licked the plate clean if it wasn't so frowned upon in public! I feel as if given the chance I would have ordered seconds and gone into a food induced coma right there at the bar. Folks came and went, the chatter was plenty and the environment was super chill. I enjoyed every minute of it and look forward to the next visit. read more

The Cellar - Pan seared Salmon - Wine Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

The place is cute but nothing impressive. The food was terrible, I ordered bruschetta and it tasted like old tomatoes, not fresh and the bread was too hard and was not an easy bite. We also ordered steak, with fries. The fries were good and fresh but the steak was flavorless and cold. It came out pretty quick, which makes me wonder. The drink i ordered was good, i forgot the name but the one with the tajin rim and tequila, very tasty. The server was really nice and attentive but just the quality was disappointing, especially for the price! I would not recommend this place to anyone, there is nothing that justifies the prices here. read more

Good option other than wine. Live music and good cocktails . Prob can have more beer options but nice place to Lounge after wine tasting

James was amazing at the bar and made the best drinks. In Temecula for wine but needed a break for a cocktail and did not leave disappointed. Will definitely return. read more

Just a great hidden gem! We walked in and immediately felt at home. Self seating at the bar and big couches so that's works for me. Really hard working staff who do their best to get drinks and food out. We had the meatballs and mussels, both are some of the best we've ever had. Spicy and served with a toasted piece of heaven!! Wine list is from the winery and well out together. An added plus last night was the music, couple of guys that knew how to play. Great add on. Sexy, dark, romantic and delicious! Good night!! read more

The Cellar - Great pour and better vibe! Lovely! - Wine Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

Ponte Vineyard is an unscale inn, however, I was very disappointed with this restaurant. With its it's limited menu, you would hope for some very tasty items served in a timely manner. Unfortunately the food (bother the Salmon and short rib) were overly salty and the it took an excessive oubt of time to arrive at the table. The servers were attentive, the drink and wine menu was great but it was not enough to overcome the other hurdles. read more

This lounge is a "cellar" in the sense that it is under the hotel. It is fairly dark with rich, warm colors, an interesting collection of large paintings, and comfortable open seating, like a string of living room setups, flanked by large but cozy booths. It is certainly a nice spot to share cocktails and sangria, all of which were very good. Food: We had a large family group, and ordered much of their menu. All the kids were happy with their burgers, sliders, and fries, and the adults had no complaints on their orders. No comments on remarkable food, but all was okay. My wife and I shared a charcuterie plate that I enjoyed very much. read more

The Cellar - Nice booths. Kid friendly during lunch hours, and tons of desirable pokemon go stuff to keep them busy. - Wine Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

See all

Came visited this place some time between lunch and dinner. We were looking for a place to eat between 3 and 4 and this was one of the very few places that was open at the time. To be honest the food is good but not spectacular but I can see why. The place is a lounge, so bar with low chairs and bar food. The quality was good and it was filling but I can't say that spending this much at a bar for lunch is worth it. read more

Best drinks ever!!! Even more amazing though, was Donovan!!! He made us amazing drinks and was fun to talk to!! Alexis was also great and knowledgeable about the area and food! They both took really good care of us. We didn't get a chance to try the food at the Cellar but the ambiance and drinks were the best! We will be coming back for sure for Donovan's favorite drinks! read more

Only giving it three stars because it's a cool set up inside (and good life music). Food was mediocre, the drinks were terrible, and I would not come back here for food. Find a different winery in the area to eat at. read more

The wine is good. Atmosphere is less than exciting. The service is slow. The salmon was salty

My husband and I are staying at the resort here for our anniversary. We went in and the portion sizes for meals compared to prices were ridiculous. Left hungry. With live music we couldn't hear anyone conversation sitting next to each other. Waited for a long time to order, Alyssa was nice once we met her, but the manager was not helpful at all. We waited so long that my husband and I started playing cards. Manager came up to us after we've been waiting to pay for 20 minutes and therefore playing cards and said that we weren't allowed to play cards here. So weird. Entertainment was good, just loud. Overall not worth it read more

Donovan is the s***! Best bartender in SoCal! Highly recommend! Great drinks, great food, great times!

If I could give this place 0 stars I would. Our order of meatballs got taken to the wrong table. The waitress came by 35 minutes later to tell us it was being comped because it got sent to the wrong table. The charcuterie board was really good, but the ruined order and the ridiculously long wait ruined the experience. After an hour my order finally came through. I then asked for a coke to go with my order and that took me asking a second time to get it. The food is good, but I don't think the wait is worth it! read more

Went to The Cellar Lounge on Saturday, 04/23/2022 for dinner. They seated our party six right away. Since the menu they gave us do not have the bar menu, my friends decided to go to the bar to see what they have available. The bartender were bothered that paying customers were asking them what type of whiskey they have available. Instead of doing their job, they decided to point at the wall of liquor and told my friends they can order from the server. Spoke to the hostess and manager re the bartender behavior and told us they will talk to the bartender. We left. Why should we spend our money where we are not wanted. read more

I'm going to start this off by saying I LOVE PONTE! I live in Phoenix,AZ but visit often. The cellar lounge is a great twist to the wine country life and I just love the live music aspect also! Service isn't the best but it's not horrible either. I went on a Saturday night then again the next evening on Sunday. It always took the bartender or server like 15 minutes to approach us so that was a little underwhelming. I'm still giving 5 stars because the wine is fabulous, food is great and the other cocktails are great. I will definitely be back! read more

My girlfriends and I stayed at Ponte Winery Hotel for the weekend. We were excited to find out that in the basement was a small lounge where they played live music and had drinks and food. We decided to go for dinner after a day of drinking wine on a local wine tour shuttle. We didn't really want big plates of food, so most of us ordered some appetizers. The lounge was quaint, well decorated and very tasteful, as well as dimly lit as many lounges are. This particular lounge has live music on certain nights and I believe the night we went there was to be some live music, which we were looking forward to. We lucked out because as we walked in a table perfect for us opened up... right in the middle kind of close to what imagine is the "back" from where the stage would be. The seats were comfortable and the table large and sturdy. We kind of got some odd stares and looks from the server who seemed perturbed that her previous guests were leaving (I think she was worried that they were prematurely leaving because they hadn't squared their check...so I get it). But she was far from welcoming and left us with a bad taste in our mouths. Some of the food ordered included a seafood pasta dish, and Margherita pizza. The pasta was "ok", but the pizza/flatbread... whatever you would call it seemed soggy and lacked flavor. Granted, a Margherita isn't supposed to be a flavor explosion, but I think there is definitely a delicate balance that should be there of mozzarella, basil, sauce and crusty/crispy dough. I ate 1/2 a piece then felt I couldn't eat more. I can't remember if our server asked if everything was alright, but we did decide to sit and order drinks. Perhaps this is where my 3 stars come from because the drinks were well made, tasty and delicious mixed drinks. I think if I stay at Ponte again, I will stop here, and hopefully enjoy some more drinks, but skip the appetizers. read more

This was our go to cellar lounge before Covid-19. We were so excited to see their new renovation. However, it was such a disappointment! The cozy atmosphere isn't there any more. I feel like we are sitting in a cafeteria with hospital lighting! read more

If you're looking for a place to lounge whether it be in the winter or summer the Cellar Lounge is the place to come. Located in the Ponte Inn; just head down the stairs and you'll find a lounge with open seating, cable TV, a full bar, happy hour menu, and small bites. The ambiance is a dark speakeasy feel but still can enjoy a conversation, drinks, and good eats whether it be a small or a large group. Highly recommended to check out on your next visit to wine country. read more

The Cellar - Wine Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

See all

This is a nice venue for music, dining and cocktails. Very comfy and cozy with large couches and chairs. Bar stools on on side and dining tables on the other side. I had no idea Ponte Winery also has a lovely mission style hotel where the cellar is located. Sunday nights are nice and chill, music is from 5:30pm to 8:30pm. Not too late for us older folks to enjoy. read more

The Cellar - Wine Country Salad. Very nice. - Wine Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

Seriously a hidden Gem! Love the burger, the drinks are amazing. I most appreciated the ambiance and service. Must try.

Brand new look with a Great staff and Awesome Food and Craft Cocktails. A must try come check it out. read more

See all

Ended up passing the evening here. The food was tasty, a Latin duo kept the music rolling at a fast clip, and the people watching was unique, so we stayed! I recommend their Brussel sprouts. We shared the chicken wrap,which was a flavorful blend of vegetables & chicken. Our waitress worked hard to keep drinks coming, refill water and take food orders. Good spot!! read more

The Cellar - Enter... - Wine Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

Located inside Ponte winery and hotel Review is for food only Greeting-,no Vibe- place to be Parking-,free Service- friendly Price- moderate BRM- 2/1/1 Food Burger and fries $13. It looks great. The shiny brioche bun radiates the circumference. But the medium cooked burger is dry as a bone. The fresh but dry bun adds to the drought. Fries are those same horrible fries they serve at Avensole restaurant. Coated with crunchy bits that ruin the fries WIGB? Not for food Its a cool speakeasy to get a drink in. NYC like decor. Great artwork by Fabian Perez hangs on walls read more

See all

End up at the Cellar Lounge because the restaurant was closed which actually turned out to be 5 star rating. Love how the lounge is under grand and has a good happy hour. S/o to Grace who was a fabulous mixologist and easy on the eyes told her if she ever need a plus one to other wineries perks of the job when her husband in the dog house I'm a great travel buddy lol. Grace was really helpful, friendly and had good recommendations. The flatbread was amazing and hands down the burger was worth the price. It's juicy and loaded with tons of favors the fries were actually well made. When in the area definitely stop by not only is the food and drinks great as well as Grace but how cool is it to impress your peers going underground to a cellar lounge. 5 stars see you in a couple months to try more menu options and see if Grace ready for a vacation. Enjoy! read more

The Cellar - Wine Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

Located at the basement of Ponte Inn exists this wine cellar that provided live music to the patrons and a well stocked of their house made sangria. To four girls who were quite thirsty, our wine sommelier knew exactly what we wanted. We visited last February for our girls weekend getaway. We wanted a little appetizer before we had dinner. So partnered with our bottle of moscato , house made sangria, and a bottle of chardonnay we had: Lobster bisque, savory yet light. But definitely flavorful. Apple arugula salad-organic greens, gala apples, crimini mushrooms, pecans, parmesan, with citrus vinaigarette. Another salad I truly enjoyed accompanying our wines. Kobe beef sliders- with cheddar cheese, red onions, spicy ketchup, on brioche bun. Gotta have some kind of beef between us....and dinner. Hahaha. Absolutely perfect portions and right on with the flavors. Awesome ambiance. Great service. Beautiful live music. Delish grubs. Cheers ! read more

See all

The food here is pretty decent but lacks balance. We got the chicken and there's next to no vegetables. The service is pretty slow, although friendly. My biggest issue comes with the dessert we got to go back to our room. The cheesecake is just ok and the double scoop of ice cream for $7 is a joke. They shoved a biscotti in the bowl to take up space and gave us barely a scoop of actual ice cream. So lame and not worth the money. read more

The Cellar - Ridiculous double scoop of ice cream - Wine Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

This place is awesome! We walked into The Cellar last night for their official Grand Opening. The place looks great with completely updated decor and lighting, a fresh food menu and new line up of craft cocktails, beer and wine. Andrea took care of our party of 4 on a packed Valentine's Day (evening), with friendly service and attention to detail. The vibe is chill and relaxing. We'll definitely be back again! read more

Totally neat place located in Ponte Winery Inn. We had a gift certificate and enjoyed a romantic dinner. We had two glasses of the beverino (my favorite) to start. For dinner my husband had the chicken sandwich with french fries, and I had the steak. The chicken sandwich was really good, and so was the steak. Their fries are so salty and full of parsley goodness. For dessert he had the vanilla gelato and I had the mouse cake. Both were good, but nothing to write home about. Great place to kick back with your girls, go to a date (live music) or spend a fun day hanging out with mom. read more

The Cellar - Chocolate mousse and vanilla gelato - Wine Bars Near Me - Temecula, California

See all

Awesome little bar. Walk down the stairs when you enter the Ponte Hotel...to the left. Great craft cocktails. Good food. Live music. read more

See all

Great service. The waitstaff here are really pleasant and friendly. The little gem salad was absolutely fantastic - I would come back just to order this. The burger was great- we had the pretzel as an appetizer and I wouldn't recommend. A little dry and hard. I'm sure if I'd said something they would have remedied it, but it wasn't terrible. Their happy hour is a good deal, but I'd suggest the full price wines after a day of wine tasting. The happy hour wines are not Temecula wine and are a little lower quality, not bad for what you pay for though. A huge plus to this place in addition to great service and good food was the availability of a full bar and being able to visit somewhere in wine country later than 6pm . We would definitely go back. Also a great walk next door if you're staying at South Coast! UPDATE July 2017 - still a good place, but I think they changed their menu. When we were back over the summer, they served this same entree salad I enjoyed before pictured on a tiny appetizer plate. About 25 percent of the size as before. When I asked the waitress about it, she told me "they ran out of bowls and it's the same". I was a little disappointed in the lack of addressing the concern, especially after I ended up ordering another meal (which I never do). read more

The Cellar - Little gem salad with chicken added. Delicious!! - Wine Bars Near Me - Temecula, California