Paragon Cafe, Art Deco restaurant in Katoomba, Australia.
Paragon Cafe is an Art Deco restaurant on Katoomba Street in Katoomba, New South Wales, spread across two floors with marble soda fountains, timber-panelled walls, and leadlight shopfronts. The interior details are characteristic of early 20th-century decorative design and are protected under the New South Wales State Heritage Register.
The venue opened in 1916, when Zacharias Theodore Simos converted a set of earlier refreshment rooms into an upscale dining destination. Over the following decades, the interiors were gradually expanded and shaped into the Art Deco look that remains today.
The cafe was run by Greek immigrants who brought European confectionery traditions and American diner ideas together in one place. That mix is still visible today in the decor, from the marble counters to the leadlight shopfront windows.
The building is on Katoomba Street but has been closed to visitors since 2018 due to ongoing restoration work. It is worth checking current conditions before visiting, as the situation may change as work progresses.
From 1925, an upstairs room functioned as a small workshop where homemade ice cream and confectionery were made using imported ingredients, a practice that continued until 1987. That space supplied the dining rooms below for over 60 years.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
