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User Reviews on The Paragon Cafe
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 29 comments
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| Overall |
  
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Not Recommended |
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Food 1 |
Ambience 4 |
Service 1 |
Value 1 |
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Like many of the other reviewers, the Paragon was a favourite over many years, and was always worth a stop when in the Blue Mountains. It's one of the most famous cafes in the mountains, and everyone knows of it.
Disappointingly, after having just visited again, we share other reviewer's feelings about the place, it's undoubtably gone downhill. It has a reasonable ambience, but it felt somewhat dirty inside.
We were greeted and shown to a seat, and our order was taken, and then seemingly after it was taken, we were left for more than 10 minutes. Another person came over and asked if we wanted some water to drink whilst we waited for our meals, not realising that the first person had taken the order and then ignored our drinks. Shortly thereafter we at least had drinks.
The mains (toasted sandwiches) took almost 30 minutes to be brought out, and even with only 4 other people in the restaurant. When they arrived, the toasted sandwiches were acceptable, but ultimately very plain and nothing to be excited about.
This place is obviously trading on its reputation, because when you charge $15 for toasted sandwiches and $5 for a quite ordinary cappucino, you expect a commensurate level of service. Sadly, that is no longer what you get here. Normally we just grin and bear it when it comes to restaurants, but on this occasion we felt it bad enough to complain directly.
A paragon this isn't. Stay away.
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beardoc -
See my reviews 24 , 18 August 2010
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| Overall |
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Not Recommended |
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Food 1 |
Ambience 1 |
Service 1 |
Value 1 |
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Genuinely one of the most unpleasant dining experiences I and my friends have endured. The staff were openly arguing with each other about confused orders, the food took an age to arrive (and was pretty bland), other customers were leaving in disgust at the level of service.
Unfortunately, I last came here 2 years ago and recall terrible service, I only return because a friend wanted to see the chocolate displays. Such a pity to say this, because it's a nice enough environment, it just needs some staff who will give it some love, rather than it being a mere cash cow. Stay away.
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prallott -
See my reviews 1, 05 August 2010
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| Overall |
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Not Recommended |
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Food 4 |
Ambience 3 |
Service 1 |
Value 1 |
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The Paragon Cafe was a place where three generations of my family have been returning to for tradition, quality and historical ambience. This fell through on all accounts this visit. Somethings should never change. I can no longer recommend going there any more nor do my family want to return. It became apparent on being seated that others too were voting with their feet due to lack of patronage.
In the not so recent past people were lined up to be seated, to have the traditional quality service and to purchase a sample packet of chocolate. It is school holidays and Yuletide in July the token marshmallow bar that was affordable to any one who visited or just simply wanted a gift to take home, were no where to be found nor did two of the staff know if they had any or when they may be available. We talk about heritage lisiting. About preservation. Perhaps, if the staff were replaced and someone who knew what they were doing stepped in there would be something to remember, a tradition that would live on and a local business that would be supported by locals and tourists.
A $7.00 milkshake should at least come with a smile. The menus were badly hand written, scrappy and illegible, a disgrace to the Paragon name but symbolic of the staff and managements attitude toward their customers.
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lake macquarie -
See my reviews 1, 09 July 2010
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| Overall |
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Below Average |
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Food 5 |
Ambience 7 |
Service 1 |
Value 1 |
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I feel sad for this place. It obviously used to be an institution and the art deco venue itself has such charm, but the food and service is awful and hugely overpriced. Tourist trap or not, many Sydneysiders go to the mountains often and nobody would bother with a return trip.
Our breakast at The Paragon on Sunday 4th July 2010 was a bad end to a wonderful weekend away. We should have judged the place by its menu: scrappy, full of spelling mistakes (muesil, crossants, smaoked salmon) and very expensive. The big breakfast was $25.50 without coffee. I thought it has to be pretty good at that price or they're having a laugh. They were. It was cold and very average. It should have come with sausages and hash browns which made it $7 more expensive then the bacon and eggs. There were no hash browns.
I asked and was told they had none and I could have chips instead. I said no thanks, just take some money off the bill. Then the hash browns appeared 5 minutes later. My friend's muesli should have come with fruit and came out plain. She asked and it did reappear with fruit. Hers was probably the safest bet on the menu as it turned out.
Another friend didn't even get her breakfast after being told they had run out of bacon. Then they miraculously did have bacon when another table came in. The pancakes with bacon and maple syrup came with a very unappetising lump of synthetic cream on the top which was promptly scraped off by another friend. It stayed in one big lump.
The service was awful. Whenever we asked for something that was wrong or missing (I don't have the inclination to list all the eff-ups here) we were treated as if we were the ones who had done something wrong. There were no apologies. When we paid, they ignored us as we left, not saying thank you or sorry or anything.
The chocolate counter at the front was sad looking. Friends had been told great things by friends and relatives who had visited in the past and it didn't live up to their recommendations by any means. It was cold and in need of heating and we all left angry at the bad service and waste of money. I would never go there again, not even to soak up the art deco interior.
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jbish -
See my reviews 1, 06 July 2010
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| Overall |
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Below Average |
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Food 3 |
Ambience 2 |
Service 8 |
Value 3 |
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I was for many years an "annual regular" at the Paragon, by that I mean several times each year from the mid 1960s through to about 2003 I'd be there, sometimes eating meals, having scones, sipping hot chocolate, drinking coffee but most often stocking up on chocolates and other sweet things for myself and as gifts for friends.
Yesterday was the first time I've been there (or to Katoomba) since 2010, so of course, I headed straight for the Paragon, with memories of trays and trays and trays of delicious chocolates, coconut ice, marshmallow-chocolate bars, marshmallows with toasted coconut and so much more. Past memories shattered as soon as I walked in the door and looked to the right at what has always been the chocolate section.
So many empty shelves above, around and within the display cases, so many empty trays. As I was peering at the meagre range of handmade chocolates (meagre when compared with clear memories of earlier visits) a helpful lady appeared behind the counter. I enquired about toasted coconut marshmallows, out of stock. Marshmallow-chocolate bars? - only two in stock, I bought them and discovered just now when I bit into it that it must have been sitting in its paper wrapper on the counter for many months as it was stale, the marshmallow inside shrunken, another pleasant memory shattered.
Coconut ice, no sorry. "Seven Deadly Sins" or "Three Sisters" little gift packs of chocolates? no, sorry. Range of "Waratah" brand chocolate bars also sadly diminished. So I bought a few handmade chocolates, paid for them and my marshmallow-choc bars, and browsed around a bit more. I didn't like what I saw or rather, what I didn't see, opposite the chocolate counter the cakes/pastries/ biscuits display cases had but 3 different items and then a little glass refrigerated case (modern, added since my last visit I'm sure, and very much out of place amongst the rest of the decor) had a few other cakes on offer.
The place didn't feel the same. It wasn't as packed as it always was. It didn't even smell the same. And it was the day that schools finished for the holidays in NSW, so in days gone by the shelves would have been jampacked with chocolates and other tempting goodies ready for the school holiday influx.
I'm guessing that the Paragon has undergone a change of ownership or management somewhere between my last visit in 2003 and my visit now at the start of 2010. Can anyone reading this confirm that? The range is so diminished, and reading all the reviews on this site now, it seems that the service and the quality of the food have also dramatically declined. A real shame. The Paragon is an institution, a venerable part of so many people's treasured memories of Katoomba.
I hope that soon its cherished role as a place of treasured rekindled memories returns. On a positive note, the handmade chocolates that I bought did taste as good as ever, if only the old wide range had been available. But the marshmallow-choc bars, well I just bit into the second one, also stale, a real let down.
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OzzieWideTraveller -
See my reviews 1, 03 July 2010
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| Overall |
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Not Recommended |
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Food 1 |
Ambience 1 |
Service 1 |
Value 1 |
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The minimal service was rude. The menu was overpriced. The food was bad. They had no chocolates. They had no heat and when I asked the waitress if the aircon could be put on she said it was the mountains and its always cold. My poor mum had to put her parker over her legs under the table and my dad asked someone else if they could turn up the heat and they just said they would go and ask. We would have left but we had already ordered 3 steaks well done.
Unfortunately, the steaks looked good but were completely raw, even on the edges. When we asked if the chef could put them back on the grill the waiter apologised and took them out to the kitchen. Only a few minutes he returned with our steaks straight from the deep fryer! Yes they were well done but in the fryer! Then we were charged $91. Don't go there! They stink!
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Yummy3270 -
See my reviews 1, 27 June 2010
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| Overall |
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Not Recommended |
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Food 4 |
Ambience 2 |
Service 2 |
Value 1 |
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My wife took myself and our 2 children to the Paragon in late June, 2010. Having not visited the cafe for some 15 years, we were excited. What a mistake. The service was dismal and the prices outrageous. We were pointed to a table by the waitress who promptly left. This was after unlocking the other half of the front door ourselves so as to gain entry with a pram. We went there specifically to have lunch but decided against this after seeing the prices in the menu (which was located in a crumpled plastic sleeve ).
We opted for a coffee and hot chocolate, and small ones at that. Mug of flat white $6.00 - please! At some stage a different waitress wandered over to our table and took our orders. I got the look and "is that all you're having?" reaction from the waitress. Some 20 minutes later our drinks arrived. Coffee was ok and my wife's hot chocolate mediocre. We made for the exit and purchased some chocolates from the surly girl serving at the chocolate bar.
I later spoke to my mother who has resided in Katoomba since '93. Even before hearing our experience, she said the Paragon is just for gullible tourists, the prices sky high, the food and service absolutely awful. I would never visit the Paragon again. The staff are rude and have little customer service skills. I would expect those prices in a high end bistro or cafe located in a 5 star hotel. I live near Byron Bay and would not expect to pay those prices anywhere except a high class resort (say Byron on Byron). Disappointed? Yes. More rude staff ? Yes.
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Northcoast -
See my reviews 1, 25 June 2010
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| Overall |
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Not Recommended |
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Food 1 |
Ambience 1 |
Service 1 |
Value 1 |
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Took my friends there for lunch as I was having a trip down memory lane as I went to katoomba high some years ago remembering their great sweets. Very busy weekend finally getting a table asking anyone to take our orders. Service was terrible.
After placing our order 45 minutes later we ask where is our lunch and they said there has been a mix up with our orders. When our lunch arrived the pumpkin soup was served with a knife and fork, trust me you needed it as it was so thick it was horrible then the hamburger came out, meat not cooked through then the chicken looked so dry I would not even feed it to my dog the quiche had so much cheese on top. Quiche should not have half inch thick of cheese on top.
We then waited for the 5th meal to come out but had to ask for it the easiest of all chicken toastie. I cannot believe the prices $22.50 each meal what a ripoff as you could not eat these meals. Will never go there again. Something needs to be said as it is such ashame as once such a lovely cafe many years ago with a great name has gone down hill. The kitchen staff should be ashame of himself for letting these meals go onto a table.
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marls -
See my reviews 1, 20 June 2010
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| Overall |
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Not Recommended |
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Food 1 |
Ambience 2 |
Service 1 |
Value 1 |
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I haven't been here for years and used to love the place. So on Easter Saturday trip to the Blue Mountains I suggested to my husband that we go as I wanted their waffles, they had none, how do you run out of waffles batter, don't you just make more or are they frozen ones these days?
Going here turned out to be a serious mistake, food was appalling coffee was undrinkable and for two coffees and quiche, salad and chips (which I am sure were cooked in old oil) to pay $32.00 is absurd. So disappointed. The place still looks great, love they way it looks.
But I would also suggest that the staff get an attitude adjustment as well it seems like it is a chore for them to even take your order.I will never go here again, shame really!
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Tracey&John -
See my reviews 1, 08 April 2010
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| Overall |
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Recommended |
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Food 7 |
Ambience 7 |
Service 6 |
Value 5 |
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The food was decent, the carrot cake was really yummy. The physical appearance of this place is fantastic as well. We waited nearly an hour for our food to be served, however, which was a minus and it was a bit pricy. Overall it wasn't bad. The other reviews I have read about this place shock me in light of our dining experience here. Maybe this place is a hit and miss sort of affair.
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Michael&Emily -
See my reviews 7, 30 March 2010
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