FINE dining IN the blue MOUNTAINS – ECHOES, KATOOMBA

fine dining in the blue Mountains doesn’t get much better than at Echoes, Katoomba. From the immaculate service and live pianist to the breathtaking views and exquisite food, echoes is one of those food experiences you don’t want to miss.

My mind’s weird. When I think of eating in the mountains, I imagine being sat in a fur loincloth, huddled round a fire in a cave hoeing into a huge leg of some prehistoric beast.

If you can picture that, you’re about as far as I was away from imagining dinner at echoes in the blue Mountains.

With its regal presence, echoes hotel and restaurant is like a stately explorer standing hands on hips staring out over the Jamison Valley at the top of Katoomba.

From the front, the two-storey glass entrance showed the warm, welcoming interior of the restaurant, glowing in the evening air. The current building was developed around the original 1920s homestead as a retreat for award winning author Thomas Keneally.

Through the great glass doors, the staircase takes you up to the restaurant and bar, where the tinkle of ivories tells you local pianist Annie is at that keys of the grand piano. Her music flows through the restaurant, entertaining us in much more ways than one.

You see, Annie’s repertoire is extensive, and spans genres. trying to work out what song she was playing became a fun game. expect anything from classical, to pop and heavy metal.

One of the numerous memorable moments of this meal – aside from the music – occurred best at the start and really set the scene for the evening.

Before we’d even ordered, the waiter brought us each out an amuse bouche of prawn toast.

A far cry from the strange, flabby triangles you get at your run-of-the-mill Chinese takeaway, these were crunchy, perfectly seasoned and delicious. A great way to start a meal in this modern Australian Asian fusion restaurant.

However, remember Mrs romance and also our travelling companion Ben (man of Smaggle) are gluten intolerant? With hangdog expressions, they slid their plates towards myself and Carly, knowing they would never know the deliciousness of what had been served.

It was then that the waiter appeared again, asking if they were allergic to shellfish or gluten.

The change in their expressions when the waiter came back with two portions of gluten totally free alternative of smoked salmon was priceless!

They even offered some gluten totally free bread, which was outstanding as it implied Carly and me could delight in the outstanding sourdough without feeling guilty.

From then on, we all ate like kings:

Our entrées:

Chilli caramel crispy skinned pork belly, son-in-law egg, Thai basil and peanut (Slow cooked for 14hrs at 72 degrees)

Gaulston Heights pan-fried quail, kale, shimeji mushroom, tamarind and honey glaze

Crispy soft-shell crab and pan-fried Tasmanian scallops with som tam salad

Our mains:

Char-grilled hunter Valley Angus tenderloin, onion jam, Parklands baby vegetables and red red wine glaze

Cashew nut crumbed grass-fed Riverina lamb racks with parsnip Skordalia, Swiss chard, pencil leek and lemon thyme jus

Pan-fried new Zealand john dory fillet, Thai sour curry broth with fresh Parklands vegetables finished with kaffir lime leaves

Our desserts:

Selection of ice cream and sorbet with a delicate sugar net

Pedro Ximenez prune and pecan brownie with toffee pears and mascarpone ice-cream

As you can imagine, the food here tastes just as amazing as it looks.

Echoes has a set price of either a 2-course dinner for $85.00 or 3 courses for $115.00 – a slightly odd way of doing things, but it guarantees you have the full experience of dining here. and who can argue with that?

Our recommendation would be to book an early dinner in the summer or have lunch and dinner here in the winter, as the view after dark disappears with the sun.

Alternatively, have dinner when you want and come back in the daylight to take photos. Which is what we did.

And if it’s the best views of the blue Mountains you’re after, check out our top 7 ways to see the blue Mountains.

Echoes hotel and Restaurant

Open: 7 days a week – Breakfast: 8am-10am, Lunch: 12pm-2.30pm, Dinner: 6pm-10pm.

Good for: very romantic fine dining dinner, outstanding double date venue!

3 Lilianfels Avenue
Katoomba,
NSW 2780
W: echoeshotel.com.au

Fb: @EchoesHotel
Tw: @echoeshotel
Ig: @echoesboutiquehotel

For a place to stay in the blue Mountains, echoes is one option. However, we’d be much more inclined to recommend Parklands country garden and Lodges for a real get-away-from-it-all stay. Here’s our review of Parklands.

If you liked this article, you might also like:

High Tea at the Hydro Majestic, Blue Mountains

Schwarz Patisserie Bakery – the locals’ favourite, Blue Mountains

Where would you opt for a great meal in the mountains? What springs to your mind when you think of mountain food? tell us in the comments!

Images by Mrs romance using an Ololympus OM-D E-M10 camera.
We dined as guests of Destination NSW.