Most small airports around the Nation have a cafe. They are usually fun places just due to being able to watch planes come and go… and have a nice meal… for a fair price.

French Valley Cafe is really a great destination… for a great meal. The food is excellent… the service is excellent. The menu is surprisingly complete and everything I’ve seen served there looks excellent.

The atmosphere is friendly… inviting… and what I would call “Middle America Diner”. The view of the planes … through walls of windows… is as good as it gets… and there is always a steady coming and going of small private aircraft. You can watch the pilots and friends land… tie down in front of the Cafe… come in for a nice meal… and then they load up… check off… and away they go. But… the difference with French Valley Cafe is the quality of the food. I was surprised to see they have a full bar… and happy to see not a single pilot drinking :-) I enjoyed a good draft :-)

When you drive up to the airport… except for the Marquee you would not know there is a restaurant there. Go through the main door off of the traffice circle…and straight ahead… you can’t miss it.

It’s Light… Bright… Cheerful and Spotless. The only difficulty is making a choice from the complete menu… that makes everything sound wonderful. I noticed several people had substituted Onion Rings… which were not to me very evident on the menu…. do the substituion… the onion rings are sinfull.

I’m not sure of their hours… have only been there for lunch… but if they are open… and I lived closer… it would be a favorite for a light evening meal too.

When the weather is right… they have a few tables on the patio that look like fun too. My last two trips to Murrieta have been highlighted by two consequitive great lunches here. When I think of the French Valley Cafe…. it puts a smile on my face. I look forward to the next time.