Pins on Lurline, is a favorite with locals and visitors to Katoomba and the Blue Mountains so make sure you book in advance!

We came here for dinner and were surprised by the quality, service and price we received. The staff are all very friendly and helpful, very attentive. We were shown to our seat which was near the open door over looking the beautiful garden.

Our order was taken quickly and our meals came out without delay. The quality was fantastic, I had the squid for entree while my husband had dumplings, for main I chose the chicken Cesar salad while my husband had the duck leg with risotto. All of the meals tasted amazing, there is a full menu with many things to chose from though it is a little limited if your not a fan of some items.

Leave plenty of room for dessert, as well as what is on the menu there is a cabinet with desserts at the counter they are well worth the look! This is by far the best tirra missu I have ever had.

A slight let down was the paper table cover which kept blowing about in the breeze and the plastic broken water jug... just small things really. The restaurant can get very busy and gets a little cramped so I would recommend an early booking.

Bottom Line - Well priced, Lovely Food and Friendly Waiters one of the best places to eat out in Katoomba! Well worth booking!

Approximate cost: $17

The Good and The Bad of dinning in Leura...

The Bad - Our table was sticky, one of the plates was dirty, we had been given a window seat (how romantic) only to have a blow fly crawling all over it the entire time we were there... The staff were friendly enough but at times seemed a little awkward...

The Good - The atmosphere is nice, it's a very casual dinning experience. The food is well good and well prepared, there is a minimal wait between meals. Meal sizes were good as well. We shared an entree of Patatas Bravas (roast potatoes and paprika), I chose the duck which was well cooked while my husband had the eye fillet (this was however over cooked, after he ordered it medium rare and it was more medium well) desserts where nice but a little of a let done, my husband had the chocolate mouse tart while I opted for the Halva Tiramisu Semmifrado (it sounded a lot more impressive on the menu)

Bottom Line - Good value for money, good food and nice atmosphere.

Approximate cost: $From $25

Silk's is perfect for that special occasion dinner, Silk's is a fine dinning experience so keep this in mind because a three course dinner for a couple is expensive but it is well worth it.

After honeymooning in Leura/Blue Mountain's 2 years ago we returned. We chose Silk's to be our Special Anniversary Dinner Restaurant and we were not disappointed.

For entree I had the Pan-seared scallops with tempura zucchini flower, sweet-corn + pea puree cooked perfectly. My husband chose the Cream of lobster bisque never having had it before he was rather happy with his chose. For main I had the Roast lamb back-strap fillet with cannellini beans, broad beans, Dutch carrot, shiitake mushrooms + rosemary jus... in a word... YUM! The chef was even nice enough to cook all the way to medium for me! My husband had the Tenderloin of Trunkey Creek pork fillet now I don't eat pork but this looked divine when it came out. With both chose the chocolate mouse for dessert! Mind even came with a special "Happy Anniversary" message written in chocolate on my plate!

The service was amazing it was a very hot day and the waiter made sure we were kept hydrated topping up our water glasses when ever they were low, the food came out well timed, no long waits or delays and the restaurant was getting busy so it was all round fantastic service. Waiters are also very friendly and very helpful.

Made a special occasion even a little more special!

Bottom Line - Expensive, but perfect for a special occasion!

Approximate cost: $From $30

On our recent stay in Leura we snuck into Lilypad's for lunch. The first thing I noticed was this little cafe seems to be a real hit with the locals and tourists alike. It's a busy little nook, the seating inside is a little cramped but if the weather is fine there is plenty of outside seating available. A downside of sitting inside is the noise coming from the kitchen.

The service is pretty good considering it's a busy little place. We took a seat inside and where served quickly, there was a short wait on our meals. Staff are friendly and well trained.

The meals were well presented and tastes great! I had the BLTA open sandwich which inspired me to make my very own open sandwich creation. Simple menu, perhaps not something for everyone but there are a selection of desserts inside as well as black board specials so look around.

Bottom Line - Worth a visit even if it's just to try the passion fruit/mango smoothie!

Approximate cost: $16 - Lunch

This is the kind of place that you keep coming back too. We came back here again to celebrate my birthday, My husband booked a table for lunch and tipped the staff off it was for my birthday so my dessert came with my very own "sparkler" candle it was a nice surprise and made a special day even a little more special!

The service is always great and the food is always amazing and great value.

We keep coming back here time and time again, a great local place to have a nice lunch though it can get a little loud inside at times, its always been a pleasurable experience for us!

When we visited here for the first time 2 years ago they were renovating the railway so we were unable to do that part of the trip but since going back this November we thought well why not do it all again.
I think it really pays to pick your time, we arrived not long after opening around 9.30, parking at this time is easy and the tourist coaches haven't started piling in yet. We found it most relaxed with most of the "rides" being all most empty at times, twice we found ourselves the only ones aboard which was rather romantic, enjoying the ride just the two of us.
I like the addition of the $35 unlimited ticket which allows you to ride all the rides, all day unlimited. While it is still somewhat expensive for a couple or family it does allow you more freedom to do your trip your way and take advantage of doing your favourite rides over and over again.
The skyway offers a beautiful view over Katoomba falls and also offers walks to a couple very nice lookouts and falls below though I find this to be one of the more popular rides and gets a little cramped when it gets busy.
The railway is NOT for short people... I thought I would be very brave arriving there first we were offered the front seat which I jumped at the chance for! I did very much regret this later… I am short, 5'3 and my knees don't come close to brace and those handles seem very far away for my little arms to reach on to! It all made for a very uncomfortable ride down and equally on the way back up again… I didn't see much of the view as I couldn't bring myself to look down as I was too busy holding on!
It's a great experience while in the Blue Mountains, well worth the trip. To make the best of it I suggest getting their early for the rides and doing some of the walks at your leisure.

Approximate cost: $35 Unlimited Pass

The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden covers 28 hectares, boasts some 40,000 native, exotic and rare plants and is set in the very picturesque Blue Mountains range. There are some 8 recommended garden walks but you are free to wonder and explore by following many of the paths through out the garden.

I have to say some of the gardens here don't appear to be well kept and were in some areas rather disappointing. While other areas are spectacular keeping in mind gardens do change with the seasons there is still much to see even when some flowering seasons might be finished.

There are some truly beautiful views over the mountains so it pays to look up and out while walking through the gardens. We didn't get to take all the walks as it was unseasonably hot during our visit but what we did see was well worth the visit.

Entry is free, there is accommodation available also a "restaurant" though I would give that a miss (see my review for Tomah Gardens Restaurant). There is a kiosk and picnic area as well as a visitor center on site.

Bottom Line: It's free, with great views it's well worth the visit.

Approximate cost: $Free Garden Entry

The website for Tomah Gardens Restaurant boasts "The restaurant sits perched on a ridge overlooking an endless vista stretching as far as the Hunter Valley across the Wollemi National Park" This sounds idyllic setting for a lunch or dinner does it not?
Well they have one thing right, there is a beautiful view from the deck, but the view is free. The restaurant itself is far from an idyllic experience.
While boasting seating for 60 outside we were forced to sit inside because of a lack of suitable seating outside. There was only one section of the “terrace” in shade. The wisteria which was providing cover for the entire deck had been cut out leaving the rest of the deck about 2/3 of available seating exposed to direct sunlight. It was over 30° outside and while this is very unseasonably warm for the Blue Mountains we would have expected some alternative arrangement being made, but this was the least of their issues.
On arrival we were told there was no available seating outside because it was just simply too hot on the deck, while there were empty seats these where apparently reserved though we did not see anyone take seating in these the entire time we were there. We arrived just after noon which is the opening time for lunch; the “restaurant” was far from busy.
We chose our seat and were given menus. Water was supplied on the table, the problem with this was being a hot day the water was also hot. I would have thought being so hot the water would have been put in the fridge or at least a cool spot till it was to be served but this seemed to be just another over sight. Surprisingly our order was taken quickly, while it did take about 10 minutes for us to receive our drinks it was nothing compared to the 45 minutes we waited for our lunch.
There were only two staff on floor and the “restaurant” was not at all busy when we arrived there was maybe 2 small tables ahead of us, no more than half a dozen other patrons waiting. So we sat and waited… at first it was nice sitting looking over the view but that turned to watching the clock… in 45 minutes none of the waiting staff came in our direction; there was no explanation or apology when our food finally came…
At first both meals looked well-presented all be it small. I chose the “Murray cod fillet, steamed on creamed corn with fennel salad and kippler potatoes” ($36 on the website menu, $39 at the restaurant)… The skin was crispy probably only because it was cooked separate to the cod, which I would like to say was well cooked but I can't. A large portion was grey and a congealed grey blob had formed under my fish. I had assumed by kippler potatoes I would be served potatoes… wrong again this no more than 4 undercooked and thinly sliced slices of potato. While it tasted fine, this was a small meal and definitely not worth $39.
My husband chose the “Lamb Rack”… the interesting thing about this was it was PINK on the outside and cooked on the inside. Now I am no chef, but I've only ever seen lamb pink in the middle and well rendered on the outside. It was as though the lamb was first cooked in a microwave and then “cooked” again. The fat was not at all rendered and again while it tasted alright it was still a small meal and well over priced.
Once we'd finished our meals we got up, we had other plans and we had already wasted a lot of time waiting so we just wanted to pay and leave. There was another couple ahead of us waiting to pay they had already been there some time. When someone finally did come, we were told “I'll just fix these people up and be right with you” well she took their payment and then walked off leaving us standing there without saying a word. She came back again a moment later, offered no apology just took my card, gave me a price and asked if I would like to give a tip… What for I thought? The 45 minutes wait and the crap service?
2 LUNCHES and 2 Lemonades = $90, to put this in perspective we had a 2 three course meals and drinks for $107 the next night… with a hell of a lot better service and quality. This was only lunch!
Bottom Line: The view is free; the restaurant is an overpriced cafe with poor service. Take in the view for free and if you want to eat while visiting the Botanic gardens, pack a lunch or take advantage of the picnic and barbecue facilities provided in the garden.

Approximate cost: $20-$40

We visited here recently looking for a fishtank cleaning hose siphon... No sooner had we walked in I wanted to walk right back out again (not wanting to seem rude I did at least look for what we wanted)... We were hit with a stench I've never smelt anything like it! Sure most pet shops have a smell but this really stunk, the shop was dark and looked dirty.

Just as we were about to walk out we were "greeted" by a young lady who kind of just stared at us and made us feel really awkward, I told her what we were looking for and she told us she didn't have one or more to the point she did but it was for her own use. She was not very helpful and made us feel uncomfortable... could NOT wait to get out of there and back into the fresh air... They have a very poor and small selection of pet accessories and the fish tanks were milky.

I would not come back... and I don't think I'd feel safe buying anything from this shop it was a put off from the first foot in the door!

I had a hem on a dress I desperately needed taken up.. I had bought a new dress and being short everything is 6 inches too long! Having had a good experience previously with "Zip-In" I ducked in and dropped off my dress, the lovely lady there (Deb?) measured it up for me and said it would be ready to pick up on Thursday and when I can back it was all done, quality was amazing and the service pleasant as always!

Approximate cost: $20