Whether you fancy a fine dining affair or a more low-key night out, you’ll find a menu to whet your appetite in the beautiful mountain-side town of Katoomba.

From grand hotel dining rooms to a restaurant set in a historic picture theatre and even an old church, Katoomba’s hospitality scene is varied and rich, encompassing everything from casual ambience to consciously crafted menus, all showcasing the incredible produce of the Blue Mountains region and its exceptional culinary talent.

1. Darley’s Restaurant

Take your velvet, buttercup-yellow seat at the lavish dining room of Darley’s Restaurant at Lilianfels Resort and Spa and give yourself a moment to absorb the ornate styling and sweeping views across English gardens and the Jamison Valley beyond.

Glinting crystal chandeliers, two fireplaces, and coloured led-light windows cast soft glows on the elaborate black-and-gold wallpaper and thoughtfully selected paintings. With starched-white tablecloths and such stately furnishings, you can’t mistake Darley’s for anything but special-occasion fare. The fine dining menu is seasonal and local and may include the likes of Oberon white lamb, coral trout cooked over coals or Mandagery Creek venison tartare, all plated as if standalone works of art. Take your time, this is a place to relish the elegance of times past.

2. Pins on Lurline

Housed in a grand historic homestead, this Katoomba favourite may reside in a turn-of-the-century dining room, but the menu at Pins of Lurline is entirely contemporary and accented with Australian sensibilities.

Inspired by the seasons and the cornucopia of local produce, chef Adam Shaw sets the table with finessed flavour diners can enjoy over a six-course tasting menu or a 10-course degustation.

Opt in for a well-matched wine flight featuring drops from the surrounding regions, such as Orange, Mudgee, Canberra and the Hunter Valley. Or, for lazily long lunch settings on the weekend, guests may choose bottomless French bubbles as they bask in the sun on the elegant verandah overlooking pretty cottage gardens.

3. Echoes Restaurant and Bar

Meals unfold here back-dropped by the large-format beauty of the vast Jamison Valley that seems to sprawl endlessly onwards. Plates of modern Australian flavours blended with Asian inspiration do well to compete for diners’ attention against the attention-seeking views. Set in the boutique hotel of the same name, Echoes Restaurant and Bar is open from breakfast through to dinner and serves classics such as Riverina lamb backstrap to more novel dishes of kangaroo tataki, all alongside an astute local and international wine list. The perfect place for a pre-dinner drink, we suggest arriving in time to catch the nightly light show as the sun retreats beneath the mountains beyond.

4. Jamisons View Restaurant

This Katoomba classic is a lovely, casual spot for a breezy breakfast, long lunch or dinner out. Tuck into comforting classics and inventive plates executed elegantly with a menu that spans everything from whisky-cured duck breast carpaccio to wagyu hangar steak with duck fat potatoes. When it’s cold out, there’s plenty of rib-sticking flavour and for the warmer months, fresh seafood brings a lighter touch. Set in the Mountain Heritage Hotel, you’ll dine overlooking fabulous mountain vistas. 

5. Tempus

Bringing a community-minded and sustainable ethos to everything they do, the team at Tempus champions eating locally and seasonally with beautifully crafted food that crowns the region’s produce with the halo it deserves. Pickling, dehydrating and preserving ingredients to ensure nothing is wasted, the menu is both inventive and thrilling.

Relish plates such as the beef short rib with confit garlic and the crudo bonito with celeriac remoulade, all paired with an all-Australian drinks list. Bright, stylish and accented with warm wood tones, this diner heralds in a new generation of Blue Mountains hospitality. 

6. The Bootlegger Bar

Settle in for an evening of smoky flavours and punchy drinks at this bar and smokehouse where low and slow wins the race. Taking cues from the Southern US barbecue culture and Cajun cuisine, here you’ll tuck into saucy, tender cuts licked by delicious curls of smoke, from pork ribs and brisket to tomahawk steaks and smoked mac-and-cheese. It all goes well with a cocktail or a fresh, chilled beer and is exactly what you need to replenish calories following a long hike in the mountains. If you’re eager to lean into the theme, you can select a whisky flight, where you can choose from a tasting of bourbon, Japanese, Australian, rye or Islay whiskies.

7. Bowery

Find your holy side with a visit to a 1913 Federation Romanesque church. Despite setting up shop in the former St Andrews Church, Bowery, perhaps sacrilegiously, only pays mind to the deity of a more bacchanalian nature. All about simple, beautifully prepared food enjoyed with good people, Bowery is a relaxed, light-filled dining hall where you can allocate many hours to sampling small plates and sipping well-mixed drinks. From brunch to lunch, dinner and drinks, it’s an all-day eatery ready to welcome with dishes that amble across cuisines, such as plant-based tacos, prawn koliwada and duck spring rolls.

8. Boiler Haus Restaurant

Located in the grand Hydro Majestic Hotel, Boiler Haus is a laidback alternative to the hotel’s white-clothed Wintergarden Restaurant. Serving comforting, universally adored classics of pizza, pasta and seafood alongside some truly dazzling scenery and great wines, this casual eatery is all polished concrete and industrial style, as opposed to the opulent stylings of Wintergarden.

9. Wintergarden Restaurant

If you’re going to partake in high tea in the Blue Mountains, this is absolutely the place to do so. Winged velvet chairs, crisp linens and captivating Megalong Valley views set the scene for an elegant soiree at this, the Hydro Majestic’s refined restaurant. While it’s best known for its high tea service, Wintergarden also offers a daily dinner service, where guests can enjoy a two- or three-course dinner. However, this is the spot for early birds, as dinner is done and dusted by 8.30pm.

10. Avalon Restaurant

This main street Katoomba restaurant is secreted behind an unassuming entrance, but once inside, you’ll discover you’re dining in the old dress circle of the historic, 1930s-era Savoy Picture Theatre. Filled with the ambience of bygone glamour, Avalon Restaurant and Bar is a little bit quirky and a lot of fun. A bit like dining in an antiques store, you’ll be served robust classics, such as slow-roasted lamb, pulled beef croquettes and duck breast, amid mannequins dressed as flappers and vintage curios. The drinks list favours local breweries and Australian spirits and wines, which you can sip as you tap toes to local musicians on Friday and Saturday nights.

For more great eats, read our travel guide to the Blue Mountains.