Richie's Real American Diner — Restaurant in Temecula

Richie's Diner is a festive look that apparently travels back to a time when diners were extremely popular. The place is decorated with very lively colors, in this particular location the one color that stands up is Teal. Now, teal is a beautiful color, really cheerful or extremely depressing, depending in the state of mind one has upon entering. Richie's is a nice concept, and one would have to travel long and far to see something comparable. The staff is nicely attired, and overall one feels quite at ease while eating at the place. One expects Archie to walk in with his high school entourage any time soon. I have eaten in this place already 3 times, mostly because of location and ice cream offerings for Big Mama, who apparently can not get enough of ice cream, or all things sweet! Service is adequate, and always performed with a friendly smile, 4 Stars. Food in general is acceptable, but not the kind you remember with fondness later. For celebrations, specially one involving kids, I see where this place could be a hit. We have tried several items, and to the best of recollection I will include them: Just Chicken Strips, $6.95,nothing fancy or memorable. Similar to countless places. 3 Stars. Fresh Vegetable Sirloin Soup, $4.65 the bowl, plenty of beef, nice broth, had a difficult time requesting that it be served hot, it took 3 times and by the end I was being, or felt I was being, frowned upon. What is the big deal, after all I suspect they use a microwave to reheat. Finally on the third time it arrived piping hot, and I was happy again. 4 Stars. Bacon Cheese Burger, $8.45,just your average run of the mill offering, with the welcome inclusion of sweet potatoes instead of traditional french fries. 3.5 Stars. Hickory Swiss Burger, $8.35, this one did not rise above an over soaked in bbq rendering. 3 Stars. Fridays only: Triple Baby Clam Chowder, $5.75 a bowl, if by triple they mean amount of clams, I was sorely disappointed for the amount. Bowl was served 3/4 full, as opposed with the Sirloin Soup, almost like if they were running out, and now the late comers had to pay the price. Nothing special, I was curious with the title, but it was such a meager amount of clams, please try not to call it Triple Baby Clam, maybe Little Baby Clam? Okey flavor. 3.5 Stars. Triple BBQ Combo, $13.95, consisted of sliced chicken breast, sliced Angus Tri-Tip, and two Killer Ribs, pinto beans and cole slaw. We noticed they had a small pit outside, and the smoke was rising in the air, what where we supposed to do but give it a whirl? Mediocre at best, I guess we are spoiled when it comes to BBQ. 2.5 Stars. Spaghetti Feast, $10.95, they are not very good at this plate either. Just average, with the promise of seconds (which is not a bad thing for value, but it was not repeated), the sauce a secret according to the menu, they should have kept it a secret way in the back of the kitchen. The bread with parmesan was a respectable size, but not extra yummy. The Salad was a sad affari, not worth remembering. This is no italian diner, meatballs okey do key. 3 Stars. Cookies and Cream Malt, $4.95, this is where one would expect, and reasonably so, that it is their forte, having the looks and the history of good ice cream creations. Not so. It arrived in a very small glass, compared to better places, and the extra metal glass they usually serve as well, that normally is filled halfway, was only two fingers from the bottom. Flavor and taste, just average. 3 Stars. Turtle Sunday, $5.75, another big miss. Very light on the toppings, sadly presented, but the member of the group said the vanilla ice cream was okey. 3 Stars. Please note I mentioned this was our third visit, and each time we dropped by we were hungry. These dishes were not consumed by moi alone, we are normally a crowd of 3. Prices reasonable most of the time. Quality of food average. Fun Factor for families with kids, High. Our Waitress deliver well on her function, and was adequately compensated. We will not be going back for a 4th...

We’ve noticed recently this restaurants quality has been declining. Back in the summer we noticed a B rating in their window but decided to still eat there since we have been for years & have always had consistent quality. Our past few trips have been disappointing to say the least. Our wait for food has been over 30 minutes & you can tell that half our meal was sitting for quite some time before coming out to us. During our trip today we finally said something because our meals came out incorrectly, but no one had come to check on us, so we had no way to tell our server. I spent over 10 minutes looking around for our server & no one looked inclined to help. Even the manager had looked at our table multiple times & didn’t stop. Eventually we just ate the food they brought us because we were hungry & didn’t know how much longer it would be to get help. Finally, I had stoped that manager to let him know our issues with the food & the quality of service that day. He offered to bring us another entree, but we had already been there for over an hour & finished with our food for almost 20 minutes. He then brought us our check & said we can let the general manager about our experience. This statement frustrated me because, as someone who works in the service industry as well, I would never expect the guest to be the one to let someone else know after they’ve expressed their concerns to me. I was trying really hard to be understanding & patient, but being told I need to let the general manager myself was surprising. I understand being busy, but that is when you need to take a step back & look at your establishment. Maybe it is time to reevaluate how many people can be accommodated. In my opinion, it’s not worth it to accommodate more guests if they are not having good experiences. Like I said, I’ve been going here since they opened, & the experience definitely...

My waitress was the bomb! She was experienced and had worked there for decades and was filled with great enthusiasm, pride and menu knowledge. She really made the difference and made up for the sticker shock of the prices I did not expect for a “diner”; then again, going in I didn’t also understand that most everything was made in house.

Regardless, the prices are high for a diner, especially when sides are priced and sold a la carte which is contrary to the traditional concept of a “diner”. Knowing that now, I’ll be more prepared next time for $16 burgers and over $20-$25 dinner plates and beef plates $27 - $40 with one side.

We still enjoyed the whole experience and will be back to give breakfast a try. I hear it is really tasty.

I loved that the owner, in her 90s, still is onsite and makes her rounds to the tables where locals know her personally.

Loved the true Americana 🇺🇸 which is so very rare these days. The potato salad was just like my late mom’s recipe, it brought tears to my eyes….

The malt shoppe deserts and shakes looked fantastic!

I was thrilled to find a place that served actual corned beef on the Ruben despite the sandwich being very thin, the sauerkraut layer was also scarce but at least it wasn’t over processed & canned corned beef versions.

My husband’s steak was quality but could have been cooked better and was a bit dry.

Like I said- the service, community energy & potato salad made the difference for this first time patron.

Next time I’ll start with a desert so I don’t miss out! 😂

I’m saddened by the review concerning the service dog discrimination and had I seen it prior to visiting I probably would’ve passed this place up honestly. (Management: please abide by the law and understand that service animals are not expected to eat outside or wait in the car- it’s nice that pets are allowed outside but service animals are...