McPhee’s Grill

Mixed Review.
Pricey, especially for what is provided.
Food was good although not what you would expect from a restaurant named McPhee, maybe it should be Pedro.
Menu was limited and heavily influenced by Mexican food, lots of Mexican spices.
There was a special of New York steak, I ordered Ribeye from the menu. I received a New York steak with no explanation. Per the menu it came with three salsas. What the menu did not say was that the salsas were all on top of the steak, whether you wanted it or not. No way to avoid all three flavors at once. Bad move, it total hid the flavor of the steak A waste of money on my part. (I admit that I made no fuss about either issue, it was an anniversary dinner with my wife).
Service — was excellent. The young man took very good care of us. Just wish he would have noticed that the cook swapped a New York steak for the ordered ribeye.
The facility — order building across from the grain elevator. In the front there are booths and a bar with the Dinner Dining room in the back.
Parking on site is limited, on the left in the back.

I haven’t to been to McPhee’s in probably 16 years, since I lived on the coast. It was even better than I remember. I went with a couple of friends on Father’s Day and the food was amazing. From the Artichoke Appetizer to the Crème Brulee dessert. The filet was cooked to absolute perfection. Our server was very good and even though we were from 7:30 til closing, she never once made us feel rushed. Everything about McPhee’s is great. I will definitely be returning.

Best pork chop I’ve ever had! Good wine selection (where they waive your corkage fee if you buy a bottle) and nice, quiet atmosphere.

We made a same day reservation. Got seated right away. Was a busy night due to all the graduations but the service was great. Ordered the duck quesadilla for an appetizer and it was amazing. We will definitely be back.

Great food and service. A bit pricey but well worth it. Wine selection somewhat limited given that it’s located among great wineries.

This is a hidden treasure with a fine dining experience in a tiny town that looks like it rolls up it’s sidewalks at 5:00pm. The ambience, food and service were outstanding.

Probably the ultimate fine dining experience in Templeton. My filet mignon was cooked to perfection with it melting in my mouth. Snap peas and potatoes rounded out the dish. There was nothing on my plate at the end. Then I had the sheep’s milk ice cream. Salted caramel, coffee and strawberry (one scoop of each) that also disappeared slowly as I savored each bite. I was in culinary heaven.
The service was just as delectable as the food. Thank you Melinda at Honey Oak B & B for making the reservations for us! Another gem of a restaurant we wouldn’t have found on our own!

We ordered a delicious pulled pork sandwich with sweet potato fries and a chicken salad for lunch. Looking forward to returning for dinner… We’ve heard their double cut pork chop is to die for. This place is clean, super friendly and relaxing with no annoying loud music.

Very good — I ordered the pork chop and husband ordered the macadamia crusted fish. Both entrees were delicious — get the fish! We started our meal with strawberry feta salad and ended with carrot cake. Hands down best carrot I’ve ever had.

Wow what a difference. We went Friday night of wine fest weekend. Cathy was our waitress. I just cannot believe what fun we had and how much better the food was.
I had jambalaya pasta which was fabulous. Two people had the lamb chops (the special) and one had a burger. Everyone loved their food.
Cathy made solid recommendations AND opened our red wine to let it breathe. The waiter we had Tuesday needs to learn from her…
Very glad we gave McPhees a second chance. Will be back for sure.

My husband and I stopped at McFees’s on our way to Solvang for a 5:00 dinner. He ordered the sirloin and I ordered the pork chops.
The steak, veggies and garlic mashed potatoes were delicious and cooked to perfection; however, my pork cop was OUT-​OF-​THIS-​WORLD divinely tender and scrumptious!
Thank God it was a double pork chop or I would not have gotten much to enjoy since, once I gave Frank a sample of my chop, he ate half of it stating, «This is the best pork chop I have ever tasted!.»
This is high praise indeed, from a man who has owned his own restaurant and is a fabulous cook himself.
The whole experience, and more important to me, was the attentive, yet unobtrusive, skill that our waiter, Scott, gave us — a consummate professional. His suggestion of a Pinot Noir with my pork chop was the perfect pairing in MHO.
5 stars all the way.

We had a party of 10 with reservations at Noon for early Mother’s Day lunch. The waitress was amazing– attentive and thorough, the food was amazing– The Rib-​Eye with fries was phenomenal, the Swordfish Tostada was a fresh as it gets, The Macadamia Crusted Salmon was impeccable.
We had a great meal and a great time– I recommend it highly and I will definitely be back!

I have been going here for years and the food is consistently good, after all these years. Ron’t ever leave without trying their crème brûlée, the best.

This restaurant SCREAMS the Central Valley. What is not to like? It is located in a quaint downtown Templeton. The structure and the décor go hand in hand with the exterior. Lastly, the service is provided with a welcome home type feel.
We arrived after visiting multiple wineries in the Edna Valley. The hunger pains were present and ready to be medicated. The five of us sat in an extra large booth that afforded us the space needed to be comfortable.
While reviewing the menu and engulfing some homemade bread we popped open a Pinot Noir we had purchased at a winery down south. Life is good. It was about to get better.
I started with a Baby Wedge and selected the Baby Back Ribs with French Fries Julienne as my main course. My wife asked for a Prime Top Sirloin that was garnished with a fresh Chimichurri sauce on top. Her dish came with Garlic Mash and we shared our proteins. Who do you think scored the biggest portion? ME… Hee-​Hee.
Everything was cooked to perfection as we filled our tummies with delicious food. We even washed it down with a local Bella Luna Malbec. YUM!
For dessert we sampled the Four Layer Carrot Cake, the Chocolate Decadence AND the warm Caramel Sundae. Mission accomplished.
If you are staying in or near downtown Paso this restaurant is closer than you think. We will be back.

Yummmmmm! The salmon was to die for. We also had the swordfish tostada and it was quite delicious. To start they brought us really nice olives and sourdough bread. The fish entrees were quite reasonable for the quality and only 16 $ each. I’m dreaming of macadamia nut crusted salmon now!
I think the 3 dollar signs might be a little misleading because I am relatively cheap and found this place to be a great deal!

This place has the old homey feel with omg steaks. Man I got the NY steak and hands down it was one of the best steaks I ‘v had. I have had many steaks and this one was right up there. It’s the kind of NY steak you would want tho wrestle with the bone. My wife got the chicken that was begging to be eaten. Good service and amazing food. The staff really looked they enjoyed working there, the owner walks around and chats with the folks, and you cant tell its a not a job but a passion. Don’t waste your time else where. Cant wait to come back for round 2.

Cool décor, comfortable booths. Wonderful salad selection. Great menu.
Best place to eat on Journey to Napa Valley. Will return.

We had a fantastic meal here during the fair. We chose a long, romantic dinner over seeing Mini Kiss — and didn’t regret it!
After being greeted by a hilarious host, we had a perfect dinner with great wine, excellent service, and beautiful plates of expertly prepared food.
Highly recommended: the Waygyu beef burgers, lettuce wedge, and cajun pasta.

Who in their right mind would order a 36 oz porterhouse?
Riff raff like me. =} Riff raff, because we were out flamboyantly enjoying ourselves, celebrating our daughter’s 32^nd birthday while she was notably missing. Yep, stuck at home while we were taking yet another mini trip. How inconsiderate.
At 36 ounces, this meal was intended as a «steak dinner for two». Honestly, it was about the size of Texas. And now that I think about it, it also looks a lot like the state of Texas with a bone running through it. Blink.
It was one of the «Specials» the night we came, $ 78 of cold hard cash. Well, actually a second mortgage or plastic will work, too. Mr. B loves a good steak, so I went along with him, knowing that we could not go wrong with this prime cut of bovine. And folks, it really was magnificent. We ate to our hearts content the most flavorful, red oak grilled, tender chunks of perfectly medium rare, nicely trimmed meat, and still ended up bringing at least half home. And a huge bone for Lilly pup. So I say, this dinner was for 4 ½, at least.
We started off with awesome herbal bread baked on premises. Please bring your super restraint with you, as you could easily fill up on carbs before the meal even begins.
Mc Phee’s also starts your meal with a complimentary dish of really delicious homemade pickled carrots and onions, and some good olives. Used to see a lot of that sort of thing in the dinner houses of the 1950’s. I was intrigued by the pickling flavor, a mouthwatering taste of anise. Not for everyone, I saw a few tables with it untouched. (Mental note: Practice saying, «Excuse me? Can I have that?»).
We added a Baby Iceberg Wedge salad, also split. I’ve seen bigger portions, but the flavors and freshness did themselves proud.
Dinner came with garlic mashed. After deciding the mashed potatoes were simply not my thing, our awesome server, Leslie, brought out a separate plate of wonderful, wild rice pilaf with golden raisins and pistachios for me. (Mental note: Get Pilaf!)
Our wine this evening was recommended by one of the employees of a winery in Paso. No names lest I get her in trouble — this was not her current employer. Called Cryptology from Cloak & Dagger Winery, you will never find a wine tasting room, they don’t have one. You must order online. But after tasting Cryptology, an incredibly smooth red, I jumped on the Internet and made sure some was delivered to our door. Mwah! And their website is a real crack up. And, I forgot to mention, they do offer it here at Mc Phee’s at a very, very reasonable price.
So, back to Mc Phee’s. We loved being seated in a semi-​private, side room with only 3 tables. This was where our impeccable server, Leslie, did her magic. I cannot say enough about her. And I loved the candle lit intimacy of that special spot.
And the carrot cake, praiseworthy.
McPhee’s is not for everyone. But if you are looking for something special, this would be the place.

We’d originally planned for a 7:30 pm dinner at McPhee’s, but after a day of wine tasting it became clear that we would not be able to make it until 7:30 pm. We called at around 5:30 pm and were told that we could move our reservation up an hour to 6:30 pm and were recommended Clavo across the street to pass the time (a great recommendation!). When we arrived at 6:30 pm, the place was packed. Wow! Either people in Templeton eat really early or this place is packed all night long.
Disclaimer: I was very tipsy (read: drunk) by the time we sat down here but from what I can remember, the service was great. We couldn’t finish the bottle we had ordered, and they kindly gave us a cork to take the rest home with us.
I had the jambalaya which is served non-​traditional style with a penne pasta. It was a very generous serving size and I left with a box of leftovers that were great in the middle of the night. I wouldn’t really call it jambalaya, and as such won’t compare it to other jambalaya dishes that I’ve had, but will just call it a pasta dish with chicken and shrimp. The only other place that I’ve seen jambalaya this way was at the Cheesecake Factory.
The menu was a bit basic and I do wish they had more chicken dishes — I was really hoping to order a chicken dish to soak up all that alcohol, but found the menu to be a bit limited in that regard. Just make sure to check out the menu before you eat here to make sure they have something that you want.
It was on the expensive side — $ 140 for 2 entrees, one appetizer and a bottle of wine, but this is probably the go to place for locals for a nice dinner out.