14 Best Restaurants In The Blue Mountains

Inspired by the stunning landscape and rich produce of the region, these beautiful Blue Mountains restaurants invite diners to relish local flavours with their innovative menus.

Ranging from ornate, heritage dining rooms to forward-thinking eateries with a rustic and sustainable ethos, the restaurant scene in the Blue Mountains is thrillingly diverse and ever-expanding. With an unwavering focus on local and seasonal produce to bring vibrancy to the plate, the area attracts serious culinary talent and is well-endowed with plenty of eateries to match any occasion.

1. Blaq

Best for: Intimate date nights

Local chef Mate Herceg has Mountain blood in his veins, which he calls upon to bring a deep respect for the land and the seasons to the table.

the contemporary dining restaurant at Kyah Boutique Hotel — Dine in the contemporary fine restaurant at Kyah Boutique Hotel. (Image: Steven Woodburn)

Helming the contemporary fine diner at Kyah Boutique Hotel, Herceg keeps his kitchen focussed on the provenance of the fare by working with local farmers and producers. The approach sings on the plate with dishes such as brined kangaroo with broad beans and goat’s curd to a classic Junee lamb rump.

pouring sauce over a dish at Blaq, Kyah Boutique Hotel — Try not to miss the decadent menu at Blaq. (Image: Steven Woodburn)

Address: 13–17 Brightlands Avenue, Blackheath

2. Ates

Best for: Good times with good friends

Firing up Mediterranean share plates from the depths of a 150-year-old ironbark-fuelled oven, Ates (which, incidentally, means ‘fire’ in Turkish), is a place to clink glasses of beautiful wine over well-considered, locally crafted food.

the dining interior at Ates restaurant, Blue Mountains — Pull up a chair inside the pastel-hued dining space at Ates.

Relish the char on dishes such as slow-roasted Rangers Valley sirloin or Clarence River octopus and toast to a good time with a local Darragh Chardonnay from the Megalong Valley.

a meaty dish at Ates restaurant, Blue Mountains — Dine on Mediterranean share plates.

Address: 33 Govett’s Leap Road, Blackheath

3. Arrana

Best for: Special occasion fare

This yearly, twice-hatted fine diner in Springwood has levelled up the culinary scene in the mountains since opening in 2022. Inspired by the area’s rough-hewn, bush-bound beauty and history, the kitchen, led by executive chef Daniel Cabban, deliciously entwines native ingredients within each dish. Fold your napkin across your lap and settle in for dishes of quail with muntries and white asparagus or spanner crab with yoghurt and lemon myrtle. Choose from the four-course ‘darrbi’ menu or the seven-course ‘marri’ menu.

Address: 9–12, 125 Macquarie Road, Springwood

4. Tempus

Best for: Relaxed and refined evenings

A restaurant underwritten by the values of sustainability, community and place, this sleek but welcoming Katoomba favourite serves incredible modern Australian fare designed to delight without costing the planet.

A dining table set in Tempus in the Blue Mountains — Expect a warm and inviting dining space. (Image: Maja Baska)

Share in freshly plated flavours that savour the current season, while also preserving it for later, such as in pork terrine with fennel jam, snapper with smoked tomato and za’atar, and confit trout with chive puree. Designed to share and enjoy alongside interesting Australian wines, this is uncomplicated yet elevated dining.

dishes on the table at Tempus — Taste your way around the menu at Tempus. (Image: Maja Baska)

Address: 66 Katoomba Street, Katoomba

5. Darley’s Restaurant

Best for: Dining with the in-laws

Refined elegance is the order of the day at Darley’s Restaurant at Lilianfels Resort and Spa. With views that tumble over manicured gardens and across the Jamison Valley, it’s one part Jane Austin setting, and one part Man from Snowy River.

the main dining at Darley’s Restaurant — Darley’s Restaurant offers a refined and elegant dining experience.

The graceful dining room is full of knock-out bygone charm with crystal chandeliers, white-clothed tables, lead-light windows and ornate fireplaces. The food is as equally embellished but, despite the gilt dining room, undeniably contemporary with dishes such as coral trout with zucchini and koji, and marinated scallops with lemon myrtle.

Address: 5–19 Lilianfels Avenue, Katoomba

6. Bowery

Best for: Come-as-you-are casualness

A place to worship flavours and friends, this restaurant and bar is set in the former St Andrew’s Church, but these days, the service here is geared to more convivial congregations and everyone is welcome to come along and partake in fresh eats and some well-shaken cocktails.

the restaurant interior of Bowery, Blue Mountains — The bones of the former church building bring an interesting aesthetic to dining at the Bowery.

From brunch to dinner and drinks, enjoy dishes of lemon-garlic roast chicken, slow-braised osso buco and bush tomato spiced barramundi.

a plate of food on the table at Bowery — Expect fresh eats and well-shaken cocktails.

Address: 56–64 Waratah Street, Katoomba

7. Megalong Restaurant at Lot 101

Best for: Purposeful paddock to plate

With organic produce plucked from right outside the dining room to land artfully on your plate, this fine diner set on a working farm certainly practices what it preaches. And what it preaches is to eat well, regionally and seasonally. You’ll do all of the above here as you take your place in the elegant, warm-textured, 60-seater restaurant and embark on a set menu that may meander from a smoked Murray cod starter to simple but beautifully cooked lamb, and a sweet fig leaf semolina.

Address: 3–7 Peachtree Road, Megalong Valley

8. Echoes Restaurant and Bar

Best for: Gazing outwards

Set in the boutique hotel of the same name, this is the place to choose if you just can’t get enough of those hazy blue peaks. Perched for panoramic views of the Jamison Valley, Echoes Restaurant still manages to draw your attention back to the table with plates of well-finessed classics, such as grass-fed lamb rump backstrap crusted with herb butter and served on a bed of couscous or the char-grilled angus tenderloin with parsnip gratin. Sunny outdoor dining is the top billing, but dinner here on a wintry evening is just as lovely.

Address: 3 Lilianfels Avenue, Katoomba

9. Pins on Lurline

Best for: Cottage vibes

It doesn’t get more Blue Mountains than dining in the charming heritage cottage that houses Pins on Lurline . A Katoomba icon built in 1898, the cottage has lived many lives, but perhaps is living its best yet as this light-filled and elegant dining room where a degustation of six or 10 courses are enjoyed alongside wines from the region and beyond.

the charming cottage restaurant at Pins on Lurline, Blue Mountains — Pins on Lurline oozes country charm from the moment you arrive. (Image: Heather East Photography)

You may encounter slow-cooked wagyu beef cheeks or black garlic and rosemary pork belly, but you’ll most certainly encounter a good time.

the food at Pins on Lurline — Expect comfort food down differently. (Image: HEP Photography)

Address: 132 Lurline Street, Katoomba

10. Archibald Hotel

Best for: Casual sessions

Beginning its life as the Kurrajong Heights Hotel in 1928, this vast establishment was purposefully built with eyes clamped on the scenic vistas toward Sydney. Its modern incarnation is as the Archibald Hotel and this Hawkesbury Hideout on Bells Line of Road is the perfect place to raise a glass to a hike well-completed or a weekend away from it all. Gastro pub classics of braised beef cheeks and sausage linguini are pleasingly rib-sticking in the cooler months, while burgers and pizza will fuel summer walks.

Address: 1349 Bells Line of Road, Kurrajong

11. Mayfield Garden Restaurant

Best for: Long lunches in the garden

Set in the exquisitely manicured 15-hectare Mayfield Garden, Mayfield Restaurant makes a lovely bookend to a day strolling the elegantly landscaped green spaces. Start with a coffee before you explore the gardens, then return for a luxurious lunch in the seasonally-driven restaurant.

You can also book in for the three-course dinner after the garden closes. Expect prettily plated dishes the likes of sugar-salt cured duck salad, confit chicken Maryland or chilli and lime prawns.

a close-up of food at Mayfield Garden Restaurant — Mayfield Garden Restaurant plates up seasonally-driven fare. (Image: Destination NSW)

Address: 530 Mayfield Road, Oberon

12. Amara

Best for: Hatted elegance

Sourcing their produce from within a one-hour radius, this restaurant located between the Blue Mountains and the Hawkesbury is blessed with a cornucopia of seasonal harvests within easy reach. Awarded a chef’s hat in the Good Food Guide 2023, the kitchen team helmed by chef Will Houia creates playful but uncomplicated dishes that allow the ingredients to speak for themselves. Set in the luxe Spicers Sangoma Retreat and open to all for lunch and dinner seven days a week, you’ll find intricate flavours arranged in plates of spring lamb with peas and jus, corn fritters with zucchini, and charred asparagus with custard and lemon.

Address: 70 Grandview Lane, Bowen Mountain

13. Wintergarden at the Hydro Majestic

Best for: Bubbles and tea with views

A mountains classic, Wintergarden at the Hydro Majestic is a must-do experience when visiting the region. While you can partake in the nightly two- or three-course dinner, the real show-stopper is the daily high tea, which runs from 11am–3pm.

a couple enjoying a high tea experience at Wintergarden at the Hydro Majestic — Partake in a delightful high tea for two at the Hydro Majestic. (Image: Destination NSW)

Between morsels of petit fours and finger sandwiches, take in those drama-filled Megalong Valley vistas and, if you’re in a celebratory mood, be sure to opt in for the Eastern Luxurious High Tea, which includes a glass of French Champagne.

Address: 52–58 Great Western Highway, Medlow Bath

14. Embers Restaurant

Best for: Fireside steak

Floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing the Jamison Valley beyond already places this restaurant located in the Fairmont Resort Blue Mountains in our best dining list. But it’s the expertly tended grill that imbues cuts such as ribeye, beef tomahawk and wagyu rump with perfect char that ensures it earns its position. Open daily, the restaurant takes pains not to sideline those who prefer seafood or vegetables with equally delicious dishes such as flame-licked hibachi octopus with chimichurri and globe artichokes with whipped Stracciatella. But if you’re here for the meat, reach for your inner carnivore with the exquisite Angus Reserve bone-in ribeye at $120 per kilogram.

Address: 1 Sublime Point Road, Leura

From serene natural beauty to vibrant nightlife, with plenty of arts and culture in between, the NSW Central Coast has been enjoying a serious glow up.

Just one hour from Sydney, the Central Coast has long been the perfect seaside getaway. And with its ECO Destination certification with a focus on sustainability, it’s a trip travellers can feel good about, too. Recently, new and exciting openings have turned the Central Coast into a place where incredible natural beauty is still on the table, but so is a vibrant and sophisticated arts, dining and nightlife scene.

Find out what’s new to discover on the Central Coast.

1. Gosford’s glow up

room at voco gosford — Book into voco and experience the best of Gosford.

Long-time Central Coast lovers will hardly recognise Gosford these days. While always boasting gorgeous water views, a range of revamps and new openings have turned it into a busy hub of arts and culture, with an increasingly diverse and vibrant nightlife.

Landmark lifestyle hotel voco Gosford is the perfect home base for a Central Coast getaway. At this IHG hotel overlooking sparkling Brisbane Water, guests can spend sunny days soaking in the rooftop pool (or just sipping a cocktail beside it). When it comes to meals, you can enjoy multiple venues serving up everything from modern Australian fare to fine-dining Japanese.

Venture out to lay eyes on the Central Coast’s first permanent Moving Image Gallery (MIG) . Opened this year inside the Gosford Regional Gallery , the immersive space is a showcase of screen-based and digital art. While at the gallery, wander around the Edogawa Commemorative Garden, a traditional Japanese strolling garden complete with teahouse, koi pond and an ornamental bridge.

Meanwhile, the revamped Gosford Regional Library has even more than books to discover. Now, it’s one of the best in the southern hemisphere – find exhibitions, historical archives and community initiatives for all ages at this perfect family-friendly escape.

2. Newcomers to the dining scene

table full of food at Amarilla restaurant terrigal — Treat yourself to sundowners and snacks at Amarilla.

The Central Coast has long been the perfect destination for gourmands, with everything from casual eats to fine dining elevating the local offerings. And three new destinations have been added to the map.

Amarilla at The Haven in Terrigal is the perfect seaside venue for sundowners, with blissed-out beats providing the soundtrack. Book in for golden hour and choose bites from a Spanish tapas menu made for sharing. Do as the locals do and wash it all down with sangria – the Sunday Sangria Sessions have become a local institution.

Also in Terrigal, Little Miss has brought a premium Mediterranean menu to the waterfront. Try the wagyu tartare with Greek caviar or butter-poached lobster and tomato bisque, paired with inventive cocktails and a handpicked selection of Lebanese wines.

Over in Ettalong, Bar Toto is perfect for pre- or post-dinner drinks. This award-winning cocktail bar is known for its creative concoctions, along with craft beer, wine and antipasti platters to snack on. The interior sets the mood, with dim lighting and wooden furnishings.

3. New Central Coast experiences

winemaker at Firescreek Botanical Winery — Book an experience at Firescreek Botanical Winery.

It’s entirely possible (and recommended) to spend a Central Coast getaway relaxing on one of its many peaceful and pristine beaches. But for those who crave more, there’s a long list of options to keep you busy.

Pop into the iconic Australian Reptile Park to see the new Weigel Venom Centre, a state-of-the-art facility that’s home to over 200 of the country’s most venomous snakes.

Get out on the water with Sail Central Coast , which offers 20 years of expertise in yacht charters. Book the Sunset Sail & Dine yacht charter for a private afternoon cruising the waterways of Bouddi National Park and Brisbane Water, stopping at Anchor on Hardys for a two-course meal with a cocktail.

For something completely different, Firescreek Botanical Winery is now offering an Aboriginal Storytelling and Wine Tasting Experience. Learn about local cultures, stories and traditions from an Aboriginal Elder, then enjoy a botanical-inspired wine tasting led by a local winemaking expert.

4. Central Coast accommodation

view from a cottage at Noonaweena — Sleep in the hinterland at Noonaweena.

There’s simply too much to experience on the Central Coast to only stay for one day. Turn your trip into a relaxing getaway by the beach.

Allawah , a retreat on the banks of the Hawkesbury River, is accessible only by boat. This secluded two-bedroom cottage is the perfect place to unwind, allowing you to spend lazy days fishing, kayaking, paddling or unwinding with a book on your own private jetty.

In the Kulnura hinterland, Noonaweena features a range of accommodation styles, from a luxe glamping bell tent to cottages and a treetop suite. It’s a leader in green travel, with 10 years of certification from Eco Tourism Australia. Relax in the onsite wellness centre or get active on various courts and in the gym facilities.

To stay by the ocean at Toowoon Bay, book into Kim’s Beachside Resort . This adults-only property offers a luxury escape nestled within a sub-tropical rainforest. Along with 36 private timber bungalows, indulge in massages or reiki treatments at the dedicated spa, or stop by the cocktail bar and à la carte restaurant.

5. Shopping on the Central Coast

Umina’s Centred Ceramics central coast — Try your hand at Umina’s Centred Ceramics’ pottery courses.

For those after unique trinkets, handmade treasures and beautiful homewares, the Central Coast is a haven.

Markets on the Central Coast have a special flavour. Wander the Umina Beach Markets at twilight, where you’ll find small businesses from the local areas, and the Norah Head Ocean View Markets , where you can soak up good food, live music and artisan finds by the beach after sunset. ‘Tis the season for the Christmas twilight edition of the Avoca Beachside Markets, celebrating the season with pop-up bars, tasty treats and plenty of unique gift options from local artists and producers.

Galleria Ettalong has also added to the Central Coast’s recent makers and creators renaissance, wrapping cinemas, a dining precinct and over 40 boutique shops into one area.

Sign up for a pottery course at Umina’s Centred Ceramics , or peruse the shop for a range of one-of-a-kind pottery made on the premises for a special souvenir.

For more eclectic arts and homewares, pop into Blue Bird Collective Co . This marketplace supports over 35 small, local and handmade businesses, artists and creatives. Take the time to check out fashion, jewellery and homewares that won’t be found anywhere else.

Start planning your coastal getaway at lovecentralcoast.com .

14 best restaurants in the Blue Mountains