The Paragon is a favourite cafe of mine and despite the fact that it is utterly touristy (and I suppose I am technically a tourist), I love this Art Deco cafe restaurant. The food isn’t quite as memorable as the gorgeous decor but its decent for the most part and one of the few places on Katoomba’s main street that I always must visit (I’m firmly a Leura girl). The cafe has been classified by the National Trust as being essential to Australia’s Heritage so its a real treat dining here and always draws in tourists.
Service is very friendly and as its afternoon, we decide on sharing some afternoon tea type items. We order the Devonshire Tea with Irish Breakfast tea ($12), Waffles with caramel sauce ($15 full serve, two whole waffles), Belgian hot chocolate with marshmallows ($6) and a large Mugacino coffee ($6). While the waffles cook and the delicious aroma permeates the entire cafe, I go out to the back room to check out their assorted Art deco memorabilia.
Belgian Hot Chocolate with marshmallows $6
Soon after our drinks arrive. Rose is particularly impressed with the Belgian Hot Chocolate and marshmallows, she declares it the best that she’s had.
Devonshire tea $12
Our Devonshire tea with two scones arrive, with whipped cream and strawberry jam. I’m still remembering the delicious scones from the QVB tea room and unfortunately these cannot hold a candle to them. They’re warm yes, but they have no flavour at all, desperately needing a touch of salt or sugar. The whipped cream is also unsweetened and too light, I prefer a rich clotted cream. Its a disappointment and most is left behind.
Caramel waffles full serve (4 halves) with ice cream and cream $15
The waffles, dressed with caramel sauce with a scoop of ice cream and cream alongside arrive and the smell is heavenly. There are 4 waffle halves in the full size (presumably half size is two waffle halves). We take one half of the waffle each and its crispy and spongey goodness is savoured. This is heaven, we ignore the bottled supermarket type caramel sauce as the texture of the waffles themselves is perfection. Blythe finds them a bit too crispy but Rose and I enjoy ours immensely.
Appetites sated, we move onto the shop at the front which looks like a sweet toothed dreams come true where we purchase some buttered brazils-$5 for 280grams and some Paragon milk chocolate tablets with the unchanged Art deco design on the front -the chocolate is blended on the premises and there are also hand made truffles and individual chocolate, apparently hand made since 1916. Eating and shopping. Yes please.
Paragon Cafe
65 Katoomba St
Katoomba, The Blue Mountains
Ph: +61 (02) 4782-2928
Open: Tuesdays to Sundays
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18 Comments | Add your own
Thanks for the review and pics. Looking forward to checking this place out, especially the Belgian hot chocolate (although if they’re that good, not sure that 3 weeks in Katoomba is going to be a good thing for fitting into my wedding dress!).
Hi Sophie-Haha perhaps a regular visit is not a good idea but one wouldn’t hurt!
Its the waffles that do me in though…
Sophie, just make sure you visit the giant stairway each and every day, guaranteed to make you fit your wedding dress!
I’m thinking about a trip to Katoomba, Paragon Cafe is now on my list of places to raid… errr ummm visit
Hi Cappucino-Yes I would’ve done that if errrmmm… I was that way inclined!
Ah, the Paragon! My grandparents used to drive up to Katoomba with me in the backseat about once a year, to see the views and buy nougat in the Paragon. We’d always stop in for afternoon tea, too. Glad to hear it’s been classified National Heritage – it has long been classified “Grandma Heritage” in my family, which is a very special category.
Loving the posts, please keep them coming.
Hi Alison-Oooh you lucky thing! Its such a lovely place and I’m sure even better with special memories of yearly trips with grandparents
Thanks so much!
My mother grew up in Katoomba and had very fond memories of the Paragon. She particularly loved the chocolate selection. When she was in a nursing home she got me to drive all the way to Katoomba from Sydney to get her some of her beloved chocolate. It is lovely that such fond memories can be held for so long by so many.
Hi Leslee-Yes that’s so lovely that she can remember a time long ago with something as simple as chocolates!
wonderful!
The experience we had at the Paragon cafe was HORRIBLE. We went there Feb 2010. The food was very overpriced. The beef burger was comprised of cheap cheese, tasteless beef patty, no sauce, canned pineapple and beetroot. No salad to accompany meal rather potato wedges from a packet and no sauce to go with them. All for $24 – way too much. The waitress did not ask if we wanted a drink or water, she did not check if we were happy with our meal. She avoided us. The waitress did not want to hear any feedback about the meal. When I asked to speak to the manager she said I couldn’t because she had gone home, somehow the manager re-appeared at the cash register. I gave feedback and the manager walked away. We will NEVER return.
We went to the Paragon yesterday. The manager was verbally abusive when we gave feedback about the disappointing overpriced food, and poor quality of the service. What was more disgusting was the manager was smoking in the restaurant and kitchen!
The staff gave really poor service. The chef burnt my meal. We both had sore stomachs from our lunch. It was a really disappointing experience. The Paragon Cafe at Katoomba is really bad. Don’t go to the Paragon Cafe.
I’ve lived in the Mountains for over 20 years and I went to the Paragon for the first time, my experience was that of an understaffed restaurant with a manager who treats her staff and customers quite poorly and although the young waiter was very polite and hard working, the manager was a complete bitch who needs to get her priorities right. I wouldn’t tell my friends or family to go to the paragon ever. The atmosphere was alright, but the place most certainly needs new management!
oh my god just heard that the paragon is under new management by a goo looking women and a handsome young man must give it a go, the service is highly 100% percent better sure will be going back there!!!!
I would never recommend the Paragon to anyone! A member of our group recalled fond memories of The Paragon and recommended it for breakfast. The decor and ambience was amazing, but the good experience ended there. The food poor quality and extremely overpriced , long wait for drinks and food, and extremely rude staff! We made a polite request to change a warm milkshake, which resulted in the wait staff being rude/abusive towards us. One lady came to the table and stated ‘just so you know….that’s how you make a milkshake’. The staff made the whole group feel very uncomfortable and we were very tempted to walk out. But we stayed and finished the our breakfast, for a very overpriced $150 (we would have got better service/quaright at mcdonalds). The paragon could be amazing with the right people running it, but the current management/employees do not care.
My husband and i went to the Paragon today (sept 8th 2011)and had a delicious Devonshire tea, which included coffee/tea and 2 scones with jam and cream, for 10.00 per person. Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Service was excellent and staff were informative and friendly. Apparently there is a new owner who has has it for couple of months, whose childhood dream was to own it.
What a difference a person who really cares makes.
Loved it and would definately go back again.
Most of the comments seem to be negative, and perhaps rightly so, but the real interest is not the food or the service, it’s the place. Unfortunately the vast majority of visitors to the Paragon never venture beyond the shop / cafe section. At the back is a world class example of an Art Deco dinning room and and Art Deco cocktail bar. Owner and staff come and go, but not wonderful architecture and design that awaits the slightly more adventurous visitors.
D M P Cameron.
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[...] pot of coffee and that soy milk is available. Rose enjoys her hot chocolate but concedes that the Paragon hot chocolate is better. Blythe enjoys her coffee and Anneli and I enjoy the silver service earl Grey [...]
[...] ran out of passionfruit syrup this time. Read a review and see some proper pictures of the cafe here. They're waffly good! Fresh chocolates at The Paragon Cafe. Yes, yes, [...]
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