From excellent coffee to comforting dishes and cheerful hospitality, these much-loved Blue Mountains cafes will fuel, nourish and delight.
Set yourself up for good dining on your next sojourn to the Blue Mountains with this list of the top places to enjoy a sunny breakfast, casual lunch or relaxed dinner. From a forest-fringed afternoon tea in a glasshouse to a retro-inspired diner, and hip coffee haunts, our edit will ensure you eat (and drink) well at every meal.
1. 8 Things
Travel the globe in eight delicious dishes at this Katoomba eatery . Chef Misha Laurent has compiled her menu based on street food favourites, ranging from an Indian dosa to a Balinese nasi goreng.
They may be from different corners of the earth, but they all share one commonality – they’re thoroughly full-flavoured and robustly delicious. Just like all classic street eats, the eight things are fast, freshly made and crave-worthy.
Location: 133 Katoomba Street, Katoomba.
2. Frankly, My Dear
Fancy a bagel with your coffee? You’re in luck at this good vibes- and good times-oriented café in Katoomba. Run by local coffee power couple, Dylan and Alisha of Glenbrook’s Kickaboom (see below), you’ll find the same bright and breezy hospitality and dedication to a good cuppa at Frankly, My Dear as you will at their first establishment.
Enjoy your brew with a hand-rolled bagel stuffed with the likes of salmon, avo or pastrami, as well as treats, such as housemade banana bread and cakes.
Location: 195 Katoomba Street, Katoomba
3. Cassiopeia
Bean devotees can pick up the scent of a beautifully brewed coffee from great distances. Luckily, with Cassiopeia’s three espresso bars and a roastery , this mountain-born coffee brand is never far away.
Established in 2006, Cassiopeia’s specialty brews are sourced from the best-quality beans across the globe to service the Mountains community and beyond. You can caffeinate at Katoomba, Springwood and Windsor, where you may sip and grab a bite, as well as purchase beans to take home.
Location: 79 Lurline Street, Katoomba; 2/127 Macquarie Road, Springwood; 3/200 George Street, Windsor; roastery 3/59 Megalong Street, Katoomba
4. Black Cockatoo Bakery
For golden, flaky croissants fresh from the oven paired with excellent coffee, make a pit-stop at one of the two Black Cockatoo locales before any mountain adventure.
At this local go-to, dedication to the craft is at the heart of everything kneaded and baked, so you won’t be able to leave without a loaf of organic, stoneground sourdough bread tucked under your arm. While you’re at it, you may as well grab a few pastries to fuel any bush walks or fireside reading sessions, too.
Location: Shop 1/1 Staples Crescent, Lawson; 165 Katoomba Street, Katoomba
5. The Wayzgoose Diner
The Wayzgoose Diner creates comfort food made from scratch with local produce and served with a fun colour palette of green gingham tablecloths and sorbet-pink cups. It’s delicious, diner-style fare, from toasties and burgers to bagels, lasagne, waffles, and, because it’s the mountains, scones served in a flowerpot.
It’s a menu that seems to suggest there’s nothing that can’t be improved with a squirt of fluffy cream or tomato ketchup, so walk on in for rib-sticking favourites.
Location: 174 Leura Mall, Leura
6. The Bunker
Now with three locations in the mountains – Springwood, Leura and Mulgoa – The Bunker has firmly cemented itself as a veritable institution. It’s the classics done well with nothing ultra-fancy, but everything exceedingly delicious.
From the eponymous breakfast burger to the lamb ragu and burgers come lunch, and share plates of chicken bao and prawn tacos, as well as larger serves such as baked barramundi and Moroccan chicken, at dinner, there’s something to please all, no matter what time you amble in.
Location: Shop 8 and 9, 150 Macquarie Road, Springwood; 117–121 Leura Mall, Leura; 1319 Mulgoa Road, Mulgoa
7. Sorensen’s Glasshouse
An icon of the mountains, this nursery and cafe is an idyllic spot to take a window seat and gaze out to the forest beyond. The floor-to-ceiling glass building makes you feel a little like you’re dining in a cloche, or, say a glasshouse, but what’s on display is not you, rather it’s the scenery beyond.
Enjoy breakfast and lunch every day, such as a rainbow felafel bowl or Sorensen’s garden breakfast, and browse the local wares for sale in the shop.
Location: 8 Herbet Street, Leura
8. Hounslow
From breakfast served with a perfected cold drip coffee to lunch with a chilled fine wine and, between Thursday and Sunday nights, dinner and a cocktail, this Blackheath favourite is an almost-all-day diner and the place to sit and savour. You could begin the day with a kipfler Spanish omelette, then stretch your legs and return at midday for the grilled broccoli toastie, before reprising your table at dinner for Korean barbecue pork belly and a bespoke cocktail.
Location: 25 Govetts Leap Road, Blackheath
9. Kickaboom
The menu at this Glenbrook cafe operates in the light and shade of a balanced diet. On one side, choose from chia granola at breakfast and a soba noodle bowl for lightness at lunch or, on the more indulgent spectrum, allocate your daily calorie intake to the decadent fried chicken waffle.
With owner Dylan Johnson having cut his teeth at some of Surry Hills’ most iconic cafes, you can expect everything to be just as it should be.
Address: 6 Ross Street, Glenbrook
10. The Grumpy Baker
This big city import from Sydney’s Oxford Street looks as though it has always occupied the weatherboard shopfront of its Bilpin digs. Swing by daily for a baked goodie, such as a traditional sourdough loaf, pain au chocolat or chocolate brownie, enjoyed with a Single O coffee at the window seat as the sun beams in. It’s the perfect way to fuel your mountain explorations.
Location: 2481 Bells Line of Road, Bilpin
For more inspiration on where to eat and drink, read our pick of the best restaurants in Katoomba, and nearby in Blackheath.
