Leura Garage, Blue MountainsCredit: Destination NSW
Leura Garage, Blue Mountains: showcasing local, sustainable ingredients.
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Whether you’re seeking quality coffee, a light breakfast, a hearty lunch or a unique offering that showcases local ingredients, the many cafés, restaurants and food experiences throughout the New South Wales Blue Mountains deliver. Here’s where to find a place to eat in the mountains as you drive west from Sydney.
Lawson
One of the first major villages you’ll encounter after you’ve made the ascent into the mountains is Lawson, an 80-minute drive from Sydney and a 15-minute drive to the east of the main Blue Mountains town of Katoomba. Here you’ll find Lyttletons Store Cooperative, a worthy place to start your Blue Mountains food experience. This community hub makes sustainability the focus by selling fresh produce and offering courses on gardening, cooking, art, craft, health and wellbeing. It’s also a popular stop on the Edible Garden Trail, which takes place each March and showcases the ways locals are living sustainably.
Across the highway, Rust & Timber Chocolate Bar offers freshly roasted coffee and handcrafted artisan chocolates. On Staples Crescent, Black Cockatoo Bakery has people queuing for its naturally leavened bread and pastries, all made from certified organic ingredients. Cortado serves up specialty coffee and a seasonal breakfast and lunch menu, and next door is Mesa Barrio, where dishes have a strong Spanish flavour and are designed to share.
Leura
Around 10 minutes’ drive from Lawson, and just before Katoomba, Leura is a quaint village with a main street, Leura Mall, lined with shops and cafés. One for the early birds, Sparrows on Railway Parade, which intersects Leura Mall, offers freshly roasted coffee and nourishing food from 6am. It’s close to Leura Garage, famed in the region for implementing progressive sustainability initiatives and highlighting local producers and regional wines.
At Red Door Café, on Leura Mall, expect hearty, homestyle meals served with house-made preserves, chutneys and sauces. On Megalong Street, Wisteria Place Café provides an all-day breakfast menu plus sweet and savoury crepes, and Campos coffee brewed to perfection — the open fireplace is an extra treat on chilly days.
Back on Leura Mall, Little Niche Nosh offers a comprehensive plant-based menu of burgers, curries, pies and pasties for vegetarians and vegans. Head to Café Madeline for delicious hot chocolate and sweet treats, then pick up a box of chocolates from Josophan’s Fine Chocolates, where you can watch Fair Trade certified chocolate being paired with fresh flavour infusions through the viewing window.
Josophan's Fine Chocolates, Leura Credit: Destination NSW
Chocolates available for purchase at Josophan's Fine Chocolates, Leura.
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Josophan's Fine Chocolates, Leura Credit: Destination NSW
Chocolates available for purchase at Josophan's Fine Chocolates, Leura.
Blackheath, Blue Mountains Credit: Destination NSW
Exterior of Anonymous Cafe, Blackheath, Blue Mountains.
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Blackheath, Blue Mountains Credit: Destination NSW
Exterior of Anonymous Cafe, Blackheath, Blue Mountains.
Katoomba
From Leura it’s less than five minute’s drive to Katoomba, a popular base for many travellers passing through the region. On Katoomba Street, the town’s main shopping and café strip, Hominy Bakery’s signature sourdoughs, pastries and hot pies are worth lining up for. Vegetarians and vegans will find savoury and sweet options at Plantbased Wholefoods or Embassy Vegetarian Café, while Sushi n Co. presents an extensive Japanese menu.
Off the beaten track, on Lurline Street, Cassiopeia Specialty Coffee is all about coffee quality and sustainability. Keep heading south to Miss Lilian Tea House, where authentic Asian street food is paired with crisp interior design.
And Carrington Cellars and Deli, located behind the magnificent Carrington Hotel, is your first stop for stocking up on local and regional deli items, craft beers and wines. For organic fresh produce from commercial and backyard growers across the region, call in to the Blue Mountains Food Co-op.
Blackheath
Blackheath is the last major town in the Blue Mountains before you make the steep descent to the plains of central western NSW. Fuel up on coffee at Anonymous Café, which has set the local standard for excellent coffee and seasonal fare, with bread made in-house and dishes beautifully presented on wooden boards.Supporting local producers, Blackheath General Store & Café serves flavoursome meals and sells many of the key ingredients, while This Little Piggy Deli stocks gourmet small goods, cheeses, condiments and wholesome takeaway meals.
Held at the Blackheath Community Centre on the second Sunday of each month, Blackheath Growers Market will give you an overview of the dynamic local and regional food scene. Five minutes from Blackheath, on the Shipley Plateau, Logan Brae Orchards is open every weekend from March to July. Enjoy freshly picked apples, hot apple pie and delicious cloudy apple juice as you take in the escarpment views.
Blackheath, Blue Mountains Credit: Destination NSW
Anonymous Cafe, Blackheath, Blue Mountains.
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Blackheath, Blue Mountains Credit: Destination NSW
Anonymous Cafe, Blackheath, Blue Mountains.
Govetts Leap, Blue Mountains National Park Credit: Destination NSW
Sun setting over the Grose Valley in the Blue Mountains National Park.
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Govetts Leap, Blue Mountains National Park Credit: Destination NSW
Sun setting over the Grose Valley in the Blue Mountains National Park.
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Blackheath, Blue MountainsCredit: Tyson Mayr
Man enjoying views of the sunset near Hanging Rock, Blackheath in the Blue Mountains National Park.
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Throw yourself into a natural wonderland of magnificent sandstone escarpments and deep valleys in the vast UNESCO World Heritage-listed Greater Blue Mountains Area, just 90 minutes by car from Sydney. Unwind as you explore Katoomba, the largest town in the region, and cruise from one historic village to the next, follow bushwalking trails to breathtaking vistas, indulge in inspiring food and wine experiences and nest in cosy hotels and resorts.
Commune with nature in the mountains
See some of the highlights of the Blue Mountains National Park in comfort during Australian Luxury Escapes’ full-day Private Adventurous Blue Mountains Tour, departing and returning to central Sydney. Or lace up your bushwalking boots and recharge with an invigorating hike in rugged bushland — there are great walks throughout the Blue Mountains, from easy strolls leading to remarkable lookouts to longer hikes such as the spectacular Grand Canyon Track, a 6.3km loop past waterfalls and sheer sandstone cliffs starting from Evans Lookout in Blackheath.
Challenge yourself on the three-day Six Foot Track walk along the old coach road between Katoomba and Jenolan Caves — or make things a little easier on your legs by joining a guided tour with Life’s An Adventure, which will transport your pack so you can focus wholeheartedly on your surrounds. Sign up with Tread Lightly Eco Tours for a guided bushwalk or 4WD tour where you can immerse in local history as you visit some of the oldest rainforests, tallest waterfalls and deepest canyons in the area.
In Katoomba, take a thrilling ride on the Scenic Railway, the world’s steepest passenger railway, at Scenic World, or steady yourself as you gaze down at ancient sandstone ravines 270m below you in the glass-bottomed Scenic Skyway cable car. Thrill to cockatoos screeching as they fly beneath you and let the serene sound of the wind in the trees far below wash over you on a Beyond Skyway experience, climbing onto the roof of the cable car as it hangs in the middle of Jamison Valley (safely harnessed, of course).
For a more gentle natural high, surround yourself in flowers and bushes at formal and informal gardens across the mountains. During spring, revel in the sight of magnificent private gardens in the villages of Leura and Blackheath blooming with bluebells, azaleas, magnolias, camelias and cherry blossoms, ready for the annual Leura Gardens Festival in late September and early October and the Blackheath Rhododendron Festival in November.
Lose yourself in reverie as you wander around the five hectares of beautiful European-style gardens at Everglades House & Gardens, designed by famed Danish-born landscape gardener Paul Sorensen, in Leura. Or take the scenic drive along Bells Line of Road to The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden at Mount Tomah to be spellbound by majestic cool-climate gardens framed by panoramic views.
Embrace the subterranean at Jenolan Caves, a 70-minute drive from Katoomba, as you navigate a labyrinth of stalactite-lined limestone chasms carved by underground rivers. Look up in awe in the Lucas Cave at the spectacular limestone formation known as Broken Column and the Cathedral, a 54m-high chamber that is sometimes used for musical concerts.
Beyond Skyway, Katoomba Credit: Joe Wigdahl Photography
Couple enjoying the Beyond Skyway experience at Scenic World, Katoomba.
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Beyond Skyway, Katoomba Credit: Joe Wigdahl Photography
Couple enjoying the Beyond Skyway experience at Scenic World, Katoomba.
Discover an elevated dining scene
You’ll work up an appetite in the bracing air of the Blue Mountains. Linger in Leura for a modern Australian meal with astonishing views of a dramatic escarpment at Fairmont Resort Blue Mountains’ No.1 Sublime Pt. adults-only restaurant (open Friday and Saturday nights). Or, indulge your sweet tooth by popping in to Josophan’s Fine Chocolates and picking up exquisite handmade chocolates.
In Katoomba, ease into the evening with a cocktail (or an ale by Katoomba Brewing Company) at Champagne Charlie’s cocktail bar in the heritage-listed Carrington Hotel, or venture to the Echo Point lookout and enjoy a glass of fine wine as you take in incredible views of the iconic Three Sisters from BAR NSW.
Enjoy the Art Deco charms of the former Savoy picture theatre over dinner at Katoomba’s Avalon Restaurant, opposite the Carrington Hotel, or settle in for a memorable meal of modern Australian fare at Darley’s Restaurant at Lilianfels Resort & Spa, facing the escarpment at the far end of Katoomba Street.
At the iconic Hydro Majestic Hotel in Medlow Bath, around a five-minute drive from Katoomba, soak up spectacular valley views over lunch at Boiler House Restaurant or afternoon high tea at The Wintergarden.
The Hydro Majestic Hotel, Medlow Bath Credit: Destination NSW
Aerial view of the Hydro Majestic Hotel, Medlow Bath and Megalong Valley in the Blue Mountains.
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The Hydro Majestic Hotel, Medlow Bath Credit: Destination NSW
Aerial view of the Hydro Majestic Hotel, Medlow Bath and Megalong Valley in the Blue Mountains.
Rest and recharge in luxury
Bed down in Art Deco splendour at the magnificent Carrington Hotel, steps away from the train station in the heart of Katoomba, or head down to the other end of Katoomba Street to immerse in the timeless charm of Echoes Boutique Hotel and its sister property Lilianfels Resort and Spa, a historic mansion surrounded by lush manicured gardens. Keep the kids engrossed with a games arcade, heated pool, cinema and pony rides at Fairmont Resort Blue Mountains while you take in the serene views in nearby Leura.
Steep in romance and nostalgia while luxuriating in modern-day opulence at the circa-1904 Hydro Majestic in Medlow Bath, from the group behind Lilianfels and Echoes. Step back a few decades into the recent past when you check in to Kyah Boutique Hotel, a reimagined and recently renovated 1970s motel in the village of Blackheath, or venture off the highway to soak up a sense of seclusion in a freestanding luxe studio set in bushland at Chalets at Blackheath.
Lilianfels, Katoomba Credit: Destination NSW
Exterior view of Lilianfels Resort & Spa, Katoomba in the Blue Mountains.
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Lilianfels, Katoomba Credit: Destination NSW
Exterior view of Lilianfels Resort & Spa, Katoomba in the Blue Mountains.
NOTE: Please refer to operators’ websites for relevant information on park and road closures prior to travelling.