Places to Eat in Murrieta California

Murrieta is a rapidly developing community nestled in between Lake Elsinore and Temecula, California. Due to the continual population growth of Murrieta, many chain stores and restaurants have decided to locate within the city. Nevertheless, Murrieta has retained the charm of its small town roots by supporting unique and individual establishments at the same time. One of the areas where Murrieta has remained individualized is in the dining industry. Whether you are in the mood for Chinese, Mexican, Italian, or just down home cooking, Murrieta, California has something special to offer.

My top pick for Mexican food in Murrieta would have to go to El Gordito Restaurant off of Murrieta Hot Springs Road.  El Gordito is a very clean little hole in the wall place, with just a few tables and chairs available for dining in.  I believe most of the business El Gordito does comes by way of takeout food.   

What El Gordito is lacking in atmosphere it makes up in the taste of the food, it is downright amazing! El Gordito's Chili rellenos have a great crust with a zesty chili middle, and their cheese enchiladas are probably the best around town. 

Enjoy the warm chips with salsa that is just right, or add an order of guacamole to make them even better.  Honestly, everything El Gorditos makes tastes great…

For Chinese food there is really only one place worth mentioning and that is Peony’s Chinese Restaurant. My pick of the menu there for appetizers is their cream cheese wontons. I could make a meal on them alone. The Brocoli Beef is my next favorite thing to order. Although I love the broccoli, they certainly don’t skip on the beef either. My hubby picks sweet and sour chicken, and the kids love the chicken chow mein, and cashew chicken.

The restaurant has a fairly good size dining area for you to eat there, but we are big takeout Chinese food fans. Don’t forget the fortune cookies afterwards!

Italian is always one of our favorite types of foods and Raviolis Osteria is the total pick of the litter. Originally located in only Lake Elsinore, Raviolis just recently ventured into Murrieta and opened up another fantastic location here. The combination of food, wine, and music invites you to spend time at Raviolis enjoying the experience itself.

Chef Giuseppe di Gristina has created a menu that offers a fabulous selection of fresh, unique, and delicious Italian dishes. The specialty at Raviolis is the fantastic pasta with a wide selection of signature ravioli dishes. Both the seafood and veal are perfect choices to order as well.

Raviolis has it all atmosphere, and great tasting food. This is definitely an upscale dining experience.

Honeycutt Farms, or as we lovingly refer to it, “The Ham Shop” is a Murrieta legend.  Originally located in Old Town Murrieta, Honeycutt Farms has been around a long time.  Specializing in spiral cut glazed ham similar to the larger chain called “Honey-Baked”, Honeycutt Farms has a taste all its own.   So, not only is this a small, family owned and run café, it is a place to get specialty cooked hams and turkeys for your holiday needs, or simply anytime you have a craving for it!

The café itself serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, offering a home cooked cuisine.  Honeycutt Farms is a comfortable place to go to eat, especially for a family meal.  It has a country feel to it, probably because of the hand crafted pig items all over the place!  Honeycutt Farms also offers takeout dining too.

If you go for breakfast, my suggestion would be the giant ham and cheese omelet, with country fried potatoes, and homemade toast.   If you decide lunch is the meal to have, a thinly sliced ham sandwich on homemade squaw bread is another winner.  Anything you choose for dinner is always excellent, but don’t forget to try the split pea with ham soup as an addition to your meal.  I know it sounds like Honeycutt Farms has nothing to offer but ham, that simply is not true… but, when that is your specialty, why not brag about it!

The place around town in Murrieta for a reasonable, great tasting steak is RJ’s Sizzlin Steer.  The name just about says it all.  Originally built in Temecula, family owned and operated RJ’s Sizzln Steer relocated to the city of Murrieta in a brand new spacious building built especially for large crowds.  Even though the accommodations are spacious, believe me, the place is always packed.  That tells you something about the food!

Decorated with a western flare, RJ’s Sizzlin Steer gives you the impression you are in a large ranch house, settlin’ down to a nice meal, after a hard day’s work on the range.  Make sure you bring your appetite to match that feeling. 

The pick of the menu here is the Bacon Wrapped Filet, which is brought to your table on a metal platter that is still sizzling.  Always cooked to perfection, this meal is a steal at $17.99 a plate. Other steaks that need mention are the Stockyard, and Specialty Steak, all made from choice cuts of sirloin steak and come in around $12.99-$14.99 a plate.  As you can see, RJ’s Sizzlin Steer is a great place to treat the entire family to dinner because of the low prices and quality food.  Make sure you save room for dessert here because they have a warm, fresh baked, apple dumplin’ topped with ice cream, that will blow you away!

RJ’s Sizzlin Steer has a full bar with nightly entertainment and outside patio dining too.  The patio dining is a perfect place for parties or banquets and RJ’s Sizzlin Steer offers a catering menu to fit your every need. 

Every entrée comes on a sizzlin’ platter, hence, the name RJ’s Sizzlin Steer… so be careful the plates are hot!

As you can see, diversity is the name of the game in Murrieta. With all these great restaurants to choose from Murrieta will make sure you never leave hungry!