Dinner at Echoes Restaurant & Bar in Katoomba in the scenic Blue Mountains has changed with a new chef at the helm and a fine dining menu. It's also now the perfect spot for a birthday, anniversary or special occasion dinner-or dining solo! Come along on our anniversary dinner and see what the menu is like.
Echoes Boutique Hotel & Restaurant is a hotel steeped in history. It stands on the site of a homestead commissioned in the late 1920s by missionary Florence Young, who travelled across the globe for her religious work. From the late 1940s to the mid-1980s, the location was as a retreat for the Australian Christian Nurses movement but by the mid-1980s, it had deteriorated beyond repair and was demolished. The site was later auctioned. The current building was designed by architect Peter Doreen and built in 1990 as a retreat for Australian writer Thomas Keneally. The 3 storey contemporary guesthouse blended modern with Federation architecture. Mr NQN and I had enjoyed a sunny, clear stay at Lilianfels but at 5pm this evening, the mists have rolled in. In the hour between when we got changed the weather had changed dramatically and when we take the short walk across to Echoes, he has to offer me his jacket to keep warm.
Usually Echoes restaurant has a wonderful view of the Blue Mountains but tonight the mist shrouds the view. We can forgive the lack of view because it’s just so damn atmospheric and perfect for an anniversary dinner. On weekends they have a pianist playing in the bar outside the restaurant at dinner. The restaurant this evening is full of couples and some women dining solo.
Truthfully, in the past I found the food at Echoes to be fine but not spectacular, preferring Darley’s at Lilianfels for a special occasion meal. But a year ago that changed under the new chef Viraj Sameera. Viraj is from Sri Lanka and worked in Bahrain, Dubai, Singapore, Maldives and Ireland before heading straight to the Blue Mountains as head chef at Echoes. There is a 2 or 3 course menu for $95 or $120 respectively with a minimum 3 courses on Saturday nights. The freshly baked sourdough bread comes out with regular and a cumin and turmeric butter and two delicious little fish croquettes. These short cuts are a popular snack in Sri Lanka and they're crunchy, hot and tasty.
We toast with cocktails. For Mr NQN, a Passion Chilli Martini made with vodka, passion fruit puree and a shot of Tabasco for a spicy, fruity kick. For me it's The Elixir with vodka, St. Germain, blue curacao, passion fruit puree, egg white, lime juice and sugar syrup. It is sweet but intoxicating.
Service is friendly and they recommend either the yellowfin tuna or the Yamba prawns and we choose the tuna. It is paired with shreds of crispy won ton skin with yuzu soy aioli and coastal herbs but this simple description belies how delicious it is. I take the bread and scarpetta all of that delicious sauce left on the plate. I’d order this again in a heartbeat as the raw slices of tuna are perfectly seasoned and balanced with the sauces.
Likewise the Angus beef tartare is a clever take on a classic French dish given new flavours thanks to makrut lime leaves, crushed peanuts and a quail egg yolk. Instead of potato chips, the beef is served with crisp ash plantain chips.
They also recommended the steamed red snapper fillet as a unexpected pick and I’m glad that we ordered it. The snapper fillet sits atop katsuobushi butter with charred broccolini florets underneath a deep fried nori cracker with dabs of caramelised onion puree and burnt lemon powder. It’s a fabulous main with so much flavour and texture in each bite. Sometimes I find that the fish choice can be a healthy but not overly exciting main but this is the pick.
We also order the other recommendation of grass fed Riverina lamb backstop with an aromatic cumin scented jus, fried Japanese eggplant discs and a rich, smokey eggplant puree and capsicum coulis. The sweetness of the vegetables pairs well with the tender, medium rare cooked lamb.
Mr NQN snuck off on the pretense of finding a bathroom and instead asked them to put "Happy Anniversary" on our desserts because that’s as far as he gets with planning our anniversary. The seasonal berry tart is served in a crisp shell and filled with pistachio cream and frangipane filling with strawberries and raspberries on top as well as a scoop of raspberry sorbet.
We had had a late lunch so we had all intentions to just have the two courses but the food is so good that we decide to try a dessert each. And I’m so glad that we did because the pandan coconut panna cotta is one of my favourite desserts so far this year. The panda cotta is so silky and smooth and the pandan oil on top so fragrant and herbaceous. I love the port wine syrup, sliced grape compote and crunchy cacao nibs for texture. I want to recreate this at home it’s that good and asked chef for the recipe!
By the time dinner has finished, the heavens have opened and the thick mist and rain have come. Mr NQN runs to the car to pick me up and drive the short drive between the adjacent hotels. And if that isn't romance, I don't know what is...
So tell me Dear Reader, do you ever ask for a recipe from a restaurant?
NQN and Mr NQN dined as guests of Echoes but all opinions remain her own.
Echoes Restaurant and Bar
Echoes Boutique Hotel Blue Mountains
3 Lilianfels Ave, Katoomba NSW 2780
Open 7 days 12–2:30 pm, 5:30–8:30 pm
Phone: (02) 4782 1966
https://www.echoeshotel.com.au/dining
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