Spaghetti Western — Restaurant in Desert Hot Springs

Recently my wife and I made use of some beautiful weekend weather and made a getaway from Los Angeles to Morongo Valley, where we visited the Spaghetti Western Saloon. When we showed up it was Saturday evening and the joint was jumping. We were warmly greeted and apologetically told there would be a wait to be seated. We said we didn't mind and indeed it was no problem at all because they have two bars, a fireplace, pool tables, and plenty of space and comfortable places to sit while you wait. And it is really gorgeous in there. No photos I'd seen online beforehand had prepared me for how impressive it felt to be in there and walk around. Tons of beautiful woodwork and real historical appointments. So we got some drinks and enjoyed live music while we waited. They had the music dialed in with a warm pleasant sound that was loud enough to enjoy depending on how close to the stage you want to sit, but not loud enough to interfere with conversation. We saw the Pat and Susan Kearns duo. Pat played acoustic guitar, harmonica, and sang, and his wife Susan played upright bass and sang some harmonies. They both were flawless and their music had a lovely heartfelt country twang just perfect for the experience. Time flew and before we knew it we were shown to our table. Every staff member was warm and professional and made us feel welcome and cared for. We actually had such a good time that we came back the following night. All the food was great, and we enjoyed the beer and wine selection as well. I also had a cocktail I enjoyed, a variation on an Old Fashioned made with rye, maple syrup, and bitters. The first night we enjoyed their signature Spaghetti Western dish: spaghetti with tomato sauce and pecorino cheese made delightfully smoky with a bit of smoked pepper bacon. We also had the mushroom risotto (SOOO good omg) and a bomb salad that included beets, pomegranate seeds, and goat cheese. The next night we had homemade fettuccini with very flavorful mushrooms and cream sauce, to which we opted to add chicken, which was well browned in the pan but still moist and flavorful. The mushrooms are plenty flavorful enough if you don't want chicken, but we enjoyed the chicken. For dessert we had the skillet brownie, which I now realize I will have to get every time I go there from now on. The owners (a sweet husband and wife team) were both there checking to make sure customers were having a good time both nights we were there. This place feels like everyone there is working together to make it a special place. There is local art inside and out contributing to the unique and memorable experience. We...

Update from 5/2024: The food is still mediocre, and the service was kinda wack as well. The red sauce and the actual breaded chicken on my chicken parmigiana was so so so bland, I couldn’t even finish it. The pasta it came with was extremely boring as well. If the owners are from Italy, I would think the taste would be way more interesting, like food at Olive Garden somehow has more substance. Large portions this time though. My family thought their burgers were very average. I don’t think we’ll be back again, this place is all hype and no substance.

Original review:

We live about 10 minutes away from this restaurant and pass it all the time, so we wanted to give it a try with our friends for dinner last week. Overall, the location and staff were wonderful. The live music was a great addition to our experience and I love have spacious and unique the environment is inside, it truly feels like we stepped into an older, “westerns” era with the decor.

I will say, the food itself wasn’t super exciting. A couple of us ordered spaghetti, and me and another friend ordered flatbreads, as well as side salads. The flatbread I got was relatively basic, and probably could have had a few more mins cooking, and the side salad was extremely basic, with no toppings and just a spring mix with a basic house Italian dressing. I think the spaghetti entrees were enjoyed by the guys who got them at the table, and the drinks were great overall. We also enjoyed the free bread and herbed butter, just wish we got a little more bread for our table of 4 people.

Overall, I think we’ll be back to try some additional items on the menu and drinks, and take in the ambiance, and we can’t beat how close it is to us. I hope that the chef and culinary team continue testing new recipes and adding creative, tasty items to the menu to get people back in with specials, because I worry the menu as it currently is, is a bit small...

Im not sure what planet these reviews came from and no , I am not a bitter person with nothing better to do .. we gave them two chances believing maybe they needed to work the kinks out First time the bill was for two of us was close to 100 dollars My husband ordered the spaghetti and I the rib eye Okay so whoever though BBQ sauce is a good accent for a spaghetti sauce needs head examined No salad and no cheese although now I see in pics they have actually sprung for Parmesan cheese wow ! Rib eye ? Please remove the rib eye from menu until you can serve a piece of meat that can actually be chewed ! Served with fried potatoes . 30.00 dollars for tough as nails meat and fried potato’s !

No choices - no baked potato- no ranch dressing - only their house dressing which I found appalling -I could go on and on but I’m going to say this :

The reviews you are reading are obviously friends or bought out supporters because it was horrible food . Horrible . The interior is cool The location could be a gold mine But the food was plain , bland and unappealing and that is being nice !

This simply put , is a tourist trap because there is no repeat local business .

We truly felt ripped off beyond measure . Seriously it was horrible food both times .

You almost feel used for getting stuck in your seat and having to pay the bill after being served food that is the furthest thing from good Italian .

Advice … keep the spaghetti Italian and save the bbq sauce for the western but whoever’s idea it was to combine Italian w bbq and fried potato’s...