Gourmet Italia, Temecula CA

Sooo, this is a great Italian place for California. I don't mean it's bad. But I have Italian food all over the world and my hometown Chicago has of the best. But I am super satisfied with this place. I do have pros and cons.
Cons, was told when I called it was a 10 min wait. We show up and was still told 10 mins. 35 mins later we watch couples that walked in after us getting seated. Ok. Maybe
Then we get set in a horrible spot on the wall next to the dessert bar. No room shouldn't be there. But what ever. The spaghetti Carbonara was good, not great. Out of 5 it's a 3.5 for me. I have had way better. It's a tad greasy. And I know it's meant to be a tad but it was a lot. Not enough cream. To be honest I never seen or tasted cream. My wife said her pasta was under cooked. I tried, and it was but not horrible.
So the Pros waiter was a nice young kid. Was super helpful with some decisions. The appetizers was great the calamari was good the chopped olives was good. Not as salty as I would want but that's why there is salt in the table. The desserts was our favorite. I got tiramisu, my wife got some lemon dessert. They both were the greatest part of the food for both of us. I have shared dinners with Gotti family and I know real super great Italian. This is a great place but not authentic as I would have it. But I will be back!

Excellent service and ambience! And food was amazing as well. Right from antipasti to dessert! Their pesto was one of the best I have had. Had an amazing time.

Back in 2021 I had relocated from Temecula to Oregon and was in town last week. A dear friend and client as well as her husband met for dinner at Gourmet Italia before heading to a concert at Thornton Winery. “Samantha” was our server and she was fantastic. She had a great energy about her, knowledgeable about their menu/specials and made terrific recommendations. Being vegan, I asked what options she would suggest and the meal was terrific. It was great to visit with friends and this experience set the tone for the rest of the evening. 5-Stars across the board - thank you Samantha!

Wait staff was excellent and made us feel very special & welcomed. Pretty sure our servers name was Sam, she was great. So was the bussing staff. The food was the best Italian food I've ever had and the house wines were great. Topped it off with after dinner drinks and a delicious chocolate cake. All in all very good.

This place was great little find while we were out tasting wine all day long in Temecula. Was a great way to cap the day.

We celebrated our anniversary at Gourmet Italia last night. It has been our “go to” place for special celebrations for the past 11 years. Once again we were not disappointed. Our waitress Samantha, assisted by Francesco, was extremely helpful, attentive and caring. The food was delicious as usual. The Chef was accommodating with my off the menu request.
Thank you for making our celebration special!

Awesome real authentic Italian restaurant! This is now one of our favorite restaurants after just one visit. They have an incredible selection of wine S well as a full bar and a limited selection of beer. The food and service was absolutely amazing. Great, homemade quality and flavor! Definitely a place to take your date to, or go for an anniversary dinner! You won’t be disappointed! Bring your appetite. You won’t leave hungry! Can’t wait to go back.

Gourmet Italia was recommended to us. As such we were excited to try it out. Made a reservation and arrived on time. Hostess station was unattended and we eventually had 4 groups waiting. The hostess arrived and we were seated immediately. Sever came across ran through the specials - they had Halibut as a special - yum! She left to get the drinks. Side note, so sad that an Italian restaurant doesn't serve Sauvignon Blanc. Server returned and she took our food order. 1 veal, 2 Halibut and a Carbonara. Sorry - Halibut sold out now - perhaps if she hadn't stayed away so long we could have tried the Halibut! Ordered a second veal and pasta Alla Checa. The wait started. Well over 30 minutes passed. No food no waitress. Eventually I managed to get her attention and asked how much longer we would have to wait. She went off to the kitchen and miraculously returned with our food. Total wait time nearly 45 minutes. The Carbonara was cold. Got her attention again and asked her to reheat my food. They made a new one and she returned with a raw egg Carbonara, not properly cooked and the pasta was stuck together - she then went back into hiding. We poured our own wine, were never offered another bottle, and overall had a very disappointing evening. I know from the diners around us they did not have the same experience as we did but they did have a different server. A server who doesn't care about serving and a chef who doesn't know how to cook Carbonara or pasta properly, don't belong in an Italian restaurant. No No chance to order desert or coffee. We had to beg for the bill. We went to Old-town for desert and drinks. Just a frustrating and culinary disappointing evening. There are many other Italian restaurants in Temecula, try them instead.