Ended my membership. Food isn't on par. Would only recommend the sparkling flight here.

Lovely winery and patio area. Had a good time with family and friends but wines were just ok, not great. Really wanted the wine to be better than it was. read more

Wife and I ventured over to beautiful Temecula for our 2 year anniversary. This was the first stop on our voyage. We arrived at around 1230pm and decided to do a tasting with lunch. I highly recommend going this route as the tastings were generous and the food was wonderful. We shared the lobster grilled cheese sandwich and a spiced pecan salad. We both had the white wine flights that features 4 glasses of different white wines each. Definetely recommend this place and it will be our first stop next trip out. read more

This place was very nice - our second stop on our day of wine tasting (though we did the champagne here). This place was beautiful, with indoor or outdoor seating - the outdoor seating might benefit from misters or ceiling fans. We got there right before the lunch rush started and I think there could've been another server, but service wasn't bad by any means. Not a lot of interaction with the tender, or server in this case, who is bringing your tasting. It's more of a restaurant style and she didn't have a whole lot of time to be chatty or provide info about the choices. We ordered goat cheese spread with bread and the spread was awesome. Soft cheese not a great companion to some of the sweeter champagnes but so good on it's own. The food from the restaurant looked really good, but we weren't quite hungry for lunch yet when we got there. We ordered flights of champagnes, 4 different kinds, from dry to sweet and the flight was about 13-16 dollars. This was good for 2 people, especially if it's not your only stop; they were generous pours for champagne. They also had a very pretty herb garden and use the fresh herbs in their kitchen on the grounds. The purple plants that line the garden though, are a bit smelly and initially overwhelmed us while sitting on the patio. read more

See all

I had my wedding here and it was amazing. I am not a big wine connoisseur at all; I don't drink wine regularly or anything so this review is based on their wedding services. Their wedding/events coordinator literally thought of everything and anything we needed for the wedding. They recommended a great bakery, DJ and florist. They had all worked together before and pretty much knew the drill which made the day of the wedding super un-stressful. Hours before the wedding was to begin, the coordinators found that the outdoor heaters were not working (it was pretty damn cold that day) and my mother was freaking out. The coordinators reassured her that it would all be fine and swiftly called some party rental company and got 12 working heaters to take their place. It seemed like they arrived and were set up and warming the place up within minutes We weren't charged for the extra rentals which was a big relief. The food choices were great and varied which made it hard to chose what to serve. In the end, there was something for everyone. We opted for an open bar until a certain amount was $$$ was spent and then move to cash bar. We left the option open that if we passed $$$ too early my dad would keep it free a bit longer. The coordinator kept my dad in the loop throughout the night and let him know how close we were to spending the set amount at the bar. Honestly, they were the most organized coordinators I have ever seen (after experiencing my older sisters' weddings when I was younger). They couldn't have been more helpful and I know that their coordinators saved the day and my mother's sanity on multiple occasions that day (see my review of Wineberry Hill Designs). read more

Came here for lunch got a deal for checking in on facebook (2 for 1 tasting). The wine wasn't all that special.. The burger was delicious very good meat, vegetables were perfect, and the french fries were good. I wouldn't really go back for the atmosphere, its very outdated and old fashioned. Not very inviting. Not to mention the staffs uniforms are also stuck in the 80's. read more

Loved tasting the different wine flights. I like that they created the flights for you so you don't have to choose your own. The dessert wines were delicious and also the red blends. They also let us keep our glasses which was nice. They have a nice outdoor seating area where you can enjoy music. Overall nice place, I will be returning. read more

Thornton Winery - Sampling the different wine flights - Wineries Near Me - Temecula, California

A wonderful View and service! Took my son for his 30th Birthday to Thorntons Cafe Champagne for lunch. He did a Flight of the reserve wines and we enjoyed a delicious lunch of the Tapas, Lobster Griiled cheese and short rib sliders. The Friendly wait staff made sure our glasses were filled and even took photos of us at the table ( I'm never in photos as I always have the job of taking them) so was a fun lunch and I have a nice photo & memory of it. I will be back with friends and family and a designated driver so I can enjoy the wine too! A delightful Wine Country experience! read more

I love this place! Great tasting wine! I love the chocolate flavored wine .. Appetizers were really good too read more

See all

Yummy brunch. We ordered the tuna melt and fries dish. It came with a complimentary glass of Thornton champagne. The champagne was delicious. Made me want to walk over to purchase a bottle. They also offered wine and champagne tasting flights while you ate. Service was really good too. I would definitely come back again. The couple across from us was having the eggs benedict and it looked YUMMY! Next time I plan on trying that dish. read more

See all

First of all, David at the cash register was the most professional server I've ever experienced. He made my visit smooth, hassle free and enjoyable. Thank you David. read more

Here for the Billy Idol/Elton John Tribute... great food, if overpriced, thought it weird they added Billy idol after the tickets went on sale. He was really good, but didn't appeal to the same audience. We had a table right in front, but with the piano placed so far to the left, we couldn't see Elton at all. Still great place to see a show and the servers were great. read more

I was happy they were open since i has never been here. I know people are trying their best at restaurants during COVID, but this wasn't fun. Went here for dinner Saturday night. They said it would be an hour wait but it ended up being almost 2. We got a bottle and waited on the lawn and they never called us. Walked back up to the top and the really nice hostesses got us (3) seated 1.45 later which was almost 8pm. The waitress then told us they couldn't do a wine tasting because they were out of glasses?? My friend asked the manager and she finally let us have tastings. Then when they came out they were all wrong and they gave us 4 of the same wines that we already had bought a bottle of. Then it was time to order food. I'm not sure if this place thinks it's the Ritz Carlton or French Laundry or what, but $23 calamari?? Nothing on the menu is under $18. So I figured it must be special and super yummy. I cook a lot so I was really excited! I ordered the linguini and clams. Wow. Huge disappointment. Looked like dirty bath water, had zero flavor. The Caesar salad was just lettuce with no dressing on it and some croutons. At this point in was almost 9pm..I was happy with the piece of bread and water I had left and to leave. Bathrooms were a hot mess as well. Waitress acted bothered to help us. Very disappointing for such a pretty place! Wine was good! View is amazing. If I go back, I will take my own pasta and snacks and eat it on the lawn. Please talk to your chef and offer assistance. The 3 of us spent over $300 and we were still hungry and not even buzzed:( read more

See all

The outdoor patio area is so pleasant. We love coming here for a nice Sunday brunch and always pick up a few bottles of wine. read more

My wife and I were celebrating our 5 year anniversary and have been to Sonoma/Napa many times, but never Temecula wine country so we decided to give it a try this weekend. I booked a room at the South Coast Resort and we headed up to Temecula Friday morning. We arrived in Temecula around 11:00am and headed down via Rancho California Road. One of the first wineries you hit is Thorton so I said what the heck it looks nice let's stop. The short drive up the driveway was pleasant and they kept parking for individuals and tour drop off/pick up separate which was nice. The entrance was nice and to agree with some of the other reviewers below the buildings seem to be a little run down... not rustic and charming, just not well taken care of. We noticed the Tasting Room sign on the glass door so we entered. It was extremely small tasting room and we were quite surprised given the size of the facility. The gentleman behind the bar explained that it was seat yourself anywhere inside or outside and a server will be able to take care of you. This is one of two things we really liked about the winery. We have been to Sonoma and Napa many many times and the only other winery I have been too that has seated tastings service is Domaine Carneros (Trust me it is the ONLY comparison to Domaine). We sat down in the shade and it was really nice. We did not feel rushed to pick a wine nor did we have to have mindless chatter withsomeone behind the tasting bar then listen to them have the same conversation with the person next to you, like a lot of the other standup tasting rooms. No offense to the people that work in tasting rooms as I am sure you are tired of dealing with people who don't know as much about you on the origins of your wine or are plastered thinking they are masters of modern chemistry. It is just when you are standing at the counter in most tasting rooms there is this big need to keep the patrons engaged. Telling us all about the different wines and how the grapes were created, then turn around and hear the same story being told to the person elbowing you to get room at the bar. The waitress walked up and said hello and asked if we were eating or just tasting. We told her we were just tasting and she politely explained how it works and said she will come back in a little while to take our request. They have 8 different tastings basically called "Flights". California Champagne, Red & White, Reserve, Red, White, Sweet. I think there were two more but I cannot remember. First glance is the price for tastings. Average cost was $15 and you only get 4 tastings. Most of the wineries in the region give 6 at average cost of $14, but it was our first winery so whatever The waitress came back shortly after as promised and took our order. I requested the Red Flight ($16) which consisted of 2011 Zin ~ 2010 Thorny Red ~ 2010 Estate Syrah ~ 2011 Toot Sweet Red. My wife ordered California Champagne Flight ($15) which consisted of Brut ~ Blanc de Noirs ~ 2005 Brut Rose ~ Cuvee Rouge. We sat for about 5 minutes just soaking up the atmosphere when the server came back with our "flights". We really liked the way they served the wine. They have a menu they set on the table with the wine mapped out in order in which they recommend you drink, along with a little information on the wine and the grape. We could sit there and enjoy the each other's company without having someone explain each grape and aroma. If we wanted to know more about the wine we could check it out ourselves It was a real pleasant surprise and a great start to our 1st Temecula wine tour. Then we actually started trying the wine and we honestly could not wait to leave. My wife's was so bad she took a baby sip of the next two to confirm and did not want them. I thought she was just being a Champagne snob so I tried some of hers and they were worse than mine. I'm sorry but how could you put this wine out for tasting let alone try and sell this to people. When the server came back we explained that we really enjoy the grounds and atmosphere but the wine is horrible and my wife barely even tasted hers. She was nice enough to take the cost of one tasting off the bill, but of course I tipped her for two tastings anyway. After tasting several other wineries over the weekend this was not only the worst wines we tasted all weekend, but I think the worst we have ever had. Service = 5 stars Grounds = 4.5 stars Facility = 3 stars Wine = 1 star Since this is a winery the wine score is highly weighted which is why we gave 1 star read more

Came here for my 30th anniversary, made easy reservations which were not needed. Wine was very good, started with the roasted Brussel sprouts which were very good. I had the fettuccini with salmon, my wife had the flat steak. The salmon was awesome, very good. But the fettuccine was bland at best. Wife's steak was undercooked. After sending it back it returned and was very good. When empty the place was nice, but the tables were too close and a VERY large man was seated 2 ft from me. Ruined the mood. Place was also very warm. Overall I will not return. For the price ( over 125 for two) it was not worth it. I am not cheap, but did not get my money's worth. read more

Sheilah our tour guide , was very informative and nice. We came for a birthday celebration and had a great time !!

I came here for my bachelorette party as part of a tour, the food and wine were really good. The best part was the tour, we had Shelagh as our tour guide. She was very sweet and informative and we learned so much! We had a great time! read more

First of all, I'm a member here. I chose to be a member because the food keeps drawing me back in! Seriously, the food is awesome! I have NEVER gotten anything I didn't like! My favorite is their mushroom soup and Brie! But they make a new soup everyday, and it's always a nice surprise!! Talk about fresh ingredients - you can absolutely taste it! The service is extraordinary and the wine is phenomenal! This is definitely a great place to bring out of town guests or go on a nice date! They're like the only winery that stays open till 7:00 pm...but be aware that they often have concerts that you must buy tickets to at nighttime!! Usually it's just weekends, but if they do have an event...you can't just pop in for dinner. Call ahead. read more

Possibly the worse experience. Went there to grab a quick drink and dessert! There were only 4 other tables at 3:00 on a Monday afternoon. It took close to 10 min before our server came to take our order. I ordered a Peach Cobbler, other guest a Diet Coke and another a glass of champagne. The cobbler took over 20 minutes to arrive and it wasn't peach but apple!!! The server never cam back to see if we were ok until she arrived with the 31.00 bill! We told her the cobbler was not what we ordered she said she would give us a discount, the bill showed a $1.00 Covid discount! A bottle of the champagne was in the store for 39.00 and a glass was 16.00 what a "mark up"! We will never return to this winery, before we stopped there we had a wonderful lunch at Wilson Creek for 51.00 which makes Thornton Winery the biggest over priced winery in Temecula! read more

Beautiful winery with great views and even better wine. Try the chocolate wine lovers flight. If you want the best service possible ask for Scott, he is incredibly knowledgeable and even more friendly! read more

Yum....yummy and YUMMINESS!!!! What a great view from the patio, sitting with family and friends (AND YOUR PUPPY TOO!) while a nice Spring breeze blows the warm Southern California air around. My family enjoys the "Flights" for wine tasting and even though I don't drink, it was just such a PERFECT setting to enjoy my niece's new job at one of our beautiful, local wineries. THIS is how it's supposed to be when your a native Southern Californian, good food, good company and making great memories! I can't wait to leave the covid year of hell behind, leaving us no other choice but to eat at subpar, franchised chain pits where they've forgotten basic customer service and what "manners" are. Neanderthalistic attitudes and ZERO professionalism will cost dearly in the end. BACK are the days of real family outings and delicious fare and if you REALLY luck out, Scott could be your waiter and make your Thornton Winery experience one that will gladly keep you coming back! Thank you Scott and thank you Thornton for bringing us back to great dining experiences! read more

Scott K was excellent! The wine was amazing! I recommend anyone of the wine fights. Great atmosphere!

Scott is absolutely amazing at his job. I've frequented Cafe Champagne many times throughout the years and have always gotten outstanding service from him. I brought a friend recently and he concurred. Bread and goat cheese, a bubbly flight, and Scott.. heaven! read more

Gorgeous place with Amazing landscape and views! Service at the restaurant was amazing! If you want exceptional service ask for Lisa. Wine, food, and service is amazing all around! read more

Excellent spot. Great wine, location, and staff. Red or white? Doesn't matter, full send. read more

Thanks so much for the sheeeeesh! My friends and I had a wonderful time and are so thankful you were able to accommodate our large party. See y'all soon! read more

What a complete JOKE!!! Bought 2 tickets for $100 each for horrible General Admission seats ( there were no other options) for a concert that was scheduled to start at 5:00. At almost 5:30 the Absoloute worst opening NOT funny act came on. Once we made it through that pain we were informed by the artist that it would be another 20 min before the concert would start!!! Overpriced tickets, overpriced below average food, and poor opening so called entertainment. We will NEVER be back to an event at Thorton Winery!!! read more

The food was good. I recommend sitting inside when it's hot because it can hinder your experience. Not a fan of the seated tasting. The chocolate infused wines were delicious & not your ordinary white or red wine. We went on a Tuesday and it wasn't crowded at all, would highly recommend going during the week. read more

Had a great time at Thornton winery. Atmosphere is relaxing and wonderful views of the vineyards. Staff was great, specially Stephanie. We aren't big wine drinkers but all wines were tasty specially Thornton's a Kiss of Mint and Muscat Canelli. Will definitely be back. read more

Went and had dinner at Thornton's restaurant and let me tell you what a HUGE disappointment that was! Ordered 2 dishes, the Lobster Ravioli which says it comes with shrimp and the Filet (med rare). First off, we waited for an hour and thirty mins just for 2 dishes to come out. For the price of these meals and how long they took to come out, they should serve a small salad and bread! This is not fine dining like the pictures show on their Facebook page! The outside tables have the crappiest tablecloths, no decor on the table, they literally threw down two menus and two rolled silver in napkins on the gross plastic tablecloths. The outside patio where there is a view had only 3 heaters, all at one table. Meanwhile, I froze outside waiting an hr and a half for the food (no one offered to bring over a heater, instead had to grab warmer clothes from the car) because I wouldn't step foot inside because the decor was so dated and the atmosphere was blah. Before ordering with our server who was kind enough to be honest about the $35 Fish and Chips menu item not being hand battered but it being frozen out of the box. The food last night looked like they opened store bought Ravioli and dumped it on a plate but only gave you 6pcs the size of ravioli from the can and the shrimp size that comes out of cup of noodles. The Lobster Ravioli which is on your Facebook page is VERY Different from what I was served. The filet was dry and the presentation looked like food you would get at an old folks home. I am being very critical since I paid $170 for my meals which was deceiving based on your Facebook pictures and was nothing like the actual food that was served there. When your hostess sat us, she or the server should have told us that it would be that long to get food! The only time I have ever witnessed such high priced meals with low cost food served was in the Sequoia National Forrest which had only one restaurant to eat at. But being located at the beginning of Temecula wince country in a desirable location with lots of places to choose from this should not be the case here. Very disappointing! read more

Awesome vibe! And service. Blake was amazing! Very genuine and attentive. Would highly recommend. Blake went above and beyond to make sure we received great service and a great value! read more

2 starts because the service was ok and the location was great. The food however was not up to standard. The deconstructed tiramisu ice cream tasted like frozen clotted cream that left greasy film around your mouth. The rose finished flat. Plus there was mandatory service fee on top of gratuity. read more

Attended Champagne Brunch on Easter but to our surprise the champagne isn't included in the over priced $65 charge. We were told when we booked our reservation champagne was included, however, apparently not. Another $30 for a peach champagne. Then to the food. Nothing special except the crab legs were cut in half for easy opening. Your typical omelette station, prime rib, salad, cheese. Tack on another automatic $40 for gratuity. He opened champagne and picked up our plates once. Other than that we bused our own plates on table beside us. Happy Easter $284.69 for a party of 3!!!! How bout that... read more

Me and my sister took my mom here for lunch for a girls day with some of our other friends and their moms. When we arrived they were setting up for an event and we had to walk through it to get to the restaurant. We were seated immediately because we had a reservation for 7. The atmosphere not high class, but higher than medium class. The service was GREAT as was the food. But when our bill came out to $175 for me, my mom and my sister we were a little shocked. After reviewing the bill we could see why... 20% tax is included in all parties of 6 or more. The food and wine was pricey and because the atmosphere was not my preference I'm not sure if i would go back with so many other options in the area. read more

Honestly, we likely won't be back here unless it's to grab a to-go bottle. We had dinner reservations for a Monday evening, and considering the price point and elevated branding, I expected more. The decor in Cafe Champagne and the tasting room is outdated and kind of sad, and lacks elegance. We were seated on the outdoor patio, which does have a nice view of the vineyards across the street, but the greenish faux-leather tablecloth gave off a cheap diner vibe. We ordered a glass of sparkling (Blanc de Noir at $16/glass), the short ribs, and clam linguine. The short ribs were good, but the pasta felt almost as sad as the decor. The sauce was watery and the entire dish lacked flavor. We also ordered a flight of three different cabernet ($26), and we're pretty sure our waitress mixed up which was which. The service felt lacking and rushed, like the staff just wanted to go home. We also noticed the bottles of wine are priced approx. $5 higher at the restaurant than they are in the tasting room...20 ft away. We didn't feel welcomed, and definitely did not feel it was worth the $150+ price tag for that experience/food. We returned the following morning to pick up an extra bottle of Blanc de Noir from the tasting room to take home, hoping for a different outcome. Upon entering we were ignored for a minute while the woman at the register watched a maintenance team replace light bulbs. Nobody was wearing a mask (indoors!). She then seemed annoyed that we were there; like us spending $50 on a bottle of their sparkling wine was an inconvenience to her. Overall, we will not be back to Cafe Champagne, but may risk the poor attitudes of the staff to pick up a bottle of blanc de noir to-go if we can't find it at the local Bevmo. read more

I went to this place last weekend with family, and we had a good time. We sat on the patio and each ordered a glass of wine. I recommend ordering the goat cheese and bread for an additional four bucks, it's delicious. I ordered the bacon cheeseburger, and it was great. Two people in our party ordered the almond chicken salad sandwich, which I tried, and it was very tasty. I think I'd order that if I ever go again. We each had a dessert. I had the moulton chocolate cake with ice cream, super yummy. We also ordered the green tea chocolate mousse, which was pretty good. I didn't see the bill, so I can't comment on the price, but I'm pretty sure it was expensive. They had a great wine tasting menu. Overall this place didn't disappoint. I liked it but plan on trying a different place the next time I am in the area. The menu was a little small but everything we had was good. read more

First time at Thornton winery and my last. If I could give it a zero I would . I don't usually write reviews but this was such an awful experience that I had to write one. We went as group of 4 to celebrate a bday, and we had Scott K as our waiter. He wasn't very much available the whole time we were there, our food was very late, and I asked him for a desert w a candle for the bday girl few times and never got it. At the end, when we got the bill and he automatically included the gratuity to the bill. I told him that we would prefer to leave the gratuity to the discretion of the customer because we weren't very impressed w the service we got. He got upset and w an attitude stated " what am I the cook? " " we are busy and have lots of people to take care of" I told him that we will definitely not return there. He again stated " that's fine. Please pay and leave , we have no shortage of people". I honestly have not encountered in a very long time such horrible manners. I really hope they get to train him because that was very disappointing. read more

We've been to a lot of wineries but never experienced such a rude waiter. I was out for lunch to celebrate my birthday with 3 of my girlfriends and 3 of our toddlers. The waiter Scott K was okey up until my friend asked for a cake and candles for me (mind you, this was going to be paid, she didn't asked for it for free), Scott kept telling her "we could do that". We waited about 10 minutes and nothing so she asked again, this time same reply. Then he handed us our bill after we had asked for it since it looked like he wasn't going to be bringing the cake to the table anytime soon. Mind you there weren't many customers as it was towards the end of the day and they had other waiters. When we got the bill we were baffled at the added automatic gratuity just because we had a total of 7 when in fact it was 4 adults and this was not mentioned at time of booking. We felt cheated as we didn't think it was a well deserved tip. So my friend talked to Scott and he basically told her that it was their "policy" and they have plenty of customers and that we didn't need to come back. When asked about the food taking so long to be served, he said "am i the cook?". This left a bad taste to our experience. Scott definitely needs training in customer service, we are nurses just wanting a great lunch and to catch up with friends and he really ruined that experience for us. There's no way he deserves the gratuity that we were forced to pay. read more

I enjoyed my lunch here today. The culinary garden was lovely. The champagne flight was refreshing. The tomato basil bisque was quite delicious, as was my salad. The salad was loaded with fresh fruits, greens, herbs, candied cashews, and feta cheese. It was perfectly dressed with a light vinaigrette. The French fry I stole from one of my dining mates was so perfectly crispy! I would love to come back here again! read more

See all