Dessert is an acceptable meal day or night at the Paragon. Photo: Martin Conway.
Is there anything more Goulburn than the Paragon Cafe? The gargantuan menu, the epic sundaes, the chance to order a steak or even an ice cream at almost any hour.
For 86 years, this Greek-owned cafe has been more than somewhere to eat. It reflects a migrant culture that helped build the country. It represents stability and it embodies community in a way few places manage.
Goulburn was once dotted with Greek cafes. The Bon Ton, the Blue and White Milk Bar, the Acropolis, the Empire Fish Cafe, the Florentine, the Monaro, Spiros Cafe, Oasis Milk Bar, the list goes on. But when it comes to that classic cross-cultural blend of Greek hospitality and American-style milk bar, only one remains: the Paragon.
For those of us who grew up in Goulburn and left, stepping back inside feels like coming home. Nothing much changes. Sure it’s been through a long line of owners, all of which were Greek families, and yes it has moved location once, but the menu holds steady. Familiar faces still appear, and the Kontos family have been at the helm for more than four decades.
I found myself there recently, killing time before a midnight train to Melbourne. The romance of that idea far outweighs the reality of an XPT sleeper, but it’s improved significantly with a nostalgic stop at the Paragon before boarding.
The original line-up at the Paragon Cafe – Jim (James) Sophios, Anne Gavrilis (née Sophios), Sheila Slater, Phylis Downes, Joyce (surname unknown), and ‘Mr Jennings’ (who managed the confectionery section). Image: Paragon Cafe.
Late nights aren’t really Goulburn’s thing, so we stretched things as far as possible and arrived around 7:30 pm, just ahead of the 8:30 pm close. The decor has shifted over the years, thankfully. The deep browns of the 80s and 90s have given way to light cream walls, and a slightly French provincial feel behind the counter.
At that hour, there’s no fight for a booth, and there’s really nowhere else you’d rather sit. Ordering now happens at the counter, at least at this time of night, which feels like a small loss, but the friendly table service picks up thereafter, and the staff are as warm as ever.
The decor has evolved with the decades and is now a bright and light setting. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Greek cafes were Australia’s original all-day diners, and the menu still leans into that Anglo-Australian mix. Breakfast at dinner? No problem. Pizza, burgers (13 varieties), club sandwiches, soups – all accounted for. Then come the classics: T-bone steaks, lasagne, risotto, pages of pasta, and the ever-present steak with seafood in its many forms including surf and turf, beef and reef or topped with garlic prawns.
I went for the BBQ steak sandwich, the structural stability of which was undermined by the ample BBQ sauce that had destabilised the structure, but despite that it ticked all the boxes of tender steak, sweet onions and tasty fried egg.
My dining companion, also known as my ever-suffering husband, opted for the veal marsala, a dish as old-school as the cafe itself. Maybe slightly smaller than it once was, but still hitting that nostalgic note.
The veal marsala is as classic as the Paragon itself. Photo: Martin Conway.
Being late in the evening by Goulburn standards and having a train to catch we had to go full-retro with the desserts. The banarama sundae (not to be confused with the banana split which also appears on the huge dessert menu), came in a goblet fit for a very hungry king. Stuffed full of caramel gelato, bananas, whipped cream, caramel sauce and honeycomb crunch, it’s the kind of dessert that turns you back into one big kid.
The accompanying sticky date pudding clearly takes decadence as a serious business, mounted high with ice cream and topped with strawberries.
On our way out I noticed the bright red neon light that shines over the door was out for the night but felt comforted in knowing it would be lit again in the morning, as it is most mornings, for another day at Goulburn’s Greek Cafe.
The Paragon Cafe is open from Wednesday until Saturday from 9 am until 8:30 pm and on Sundays from 9 am until 3 pm. Keep up with them via their website, Facebook page and Instagram.
Original Article published by Tenele Conway on About Regional.
