Mietta's Review
Phillip Searle is one of Australia's great chefs. He has built a cafe around the old Blackheath Bakery's wood oven. Slow cooked dishes are the order of the day. It's a short menu, but the flavours and cooking are terrific. Barry Ross runs the friendly, relaxed front of house and Phillip's artworks adorn the walls. Highly recommended.

Other published opinions

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2010 Score: 15/20, One Hat "You could easily miss this byword of mountain dining, squeezed among the craft shops of Blackheath, which would be a mistake for anyone seeking high-quality, innovative food"

Gourmet Traveller 2010 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: ** "Though it's an easy day-trip from Sydney, this hard-edged old bakery space retains an aura of pilgrimage. Phillip Searle's cuisine is a singular thing and his supplicants don't want to miss tasting a single thing on the concise menu"

Sydney Eats 2009 "Atreasure at the top of the Blue Mountains. Vulcans is, quite simply, a serious food destination"

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2009 Score: 16/20, Two Hats "If there's one thing to be grateful for, it's that some things never change, including the bustling atmosphere at Vulcans. The cosy, rust-coloured room always seems full of talkative diners enjoying sensational food and a BYO bottle or two"

Gourmet Traveller 2009 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: ** "Vulcans is no ordinary restaurant. For one thing, with its concrete floor and unclothed tables, it more closely resembles a cafe. It's not every cafe, though, that takes its hundredyear-old woodfired bakery oven as the point of departure for its menu, and that's where it becomes clear that Vulcans is very much a restaurant, and an exceptional one at that"

Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: ** "The setting is the old Blackheath bakery, the chef, Phillip Searle, an artist at the stoves wh first vowed Sydney with his cooking in the late 80-$, and together they make for a singular Australian dining experience"

Sydney Eats 2008 "One of Australia's great chefs, Phillip Searle, continues to weave his magic at this renowned restaurant"

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2007 Score: 15/20, One Hat "There are rules at Vulcans: n by six, out by eight (in time for the second sifting - be on time); minimum spend of $45 per person; and bookings phoned in, 9am to 2pm Thursdays only. The welcome seems warmer if you're a regular or carrying an expensive bottle of wine."

Gourmet Traveller 2007 Restaurant Guide Score: ** "'Uncompromising' is a word often associated with Phillip Searle. And certainly the hard edges of this former bakery, the clipped nature of the menu and the occasionally superior service carry an echo of gastro-temple rigidity."

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2006 score 16/20, 2 Hats "Many accolades have been thrust upon Phillip Searle and his Blackheath beacon of fine food, but the truth is that visiting Vulcans is a lesson in the simple splendour of a great meal. The decor may be glorified cafe - rustic, rust-coloured walls and polished-concrete floors - but the devil is in the detail."

Gourmet Traveller 2006 Australian Restaurant Guide ** "Word that Vulcans was going on the market in mid-2005 had us freaked out. But with no movement at the station as we go to press, not listing one of Australia's greatest country restaurants and to not offer everyone a taste of what Phillip Searle has been doing here would be a crime."

Sydney Eats 2006 "If you have heard that Vulcans is being sold, we have some good news and some bad news. First, as is customary, the good news. At press-time, nothing has changed, except some internal restructuring that will not effect the quality ofthe food. Phillip Searle is still leading the kitchen team."

SMH Good Food Guide 2005 score 16/20, 2 Hats "It's there in the way the kaffir lime leaf scented beef brisket melts apart at a harsh word. It's there in the bread, in the art and in the chunky duck sausage with beetroot. What? We wish we knew, because then we'd trademark the magic of Vulcans and copy it around the state."

Gourmet Traveller Australian Restaurant Guide 2005** "Not everybody gets Phillip Searle's food. Which is a good thing, as it's hard enough to get a booking as it is. lfthe thought of eating your way through the unique and subtle creations of one of the nation's great culinary stylists doesn't ring your bells, put the phone down and make room for the rest of us."

Sydney Eats 2005 "Most of the incredible dishes on the menu here come out of the woodfired oven that also, thankfully, heats the restaurant to just the right side of toasty."

SMH Good Food Guide 2005 Best BYOs "Phillip Searle's subtle, unfussed, intelligent, wood-fired fare is worth the pilgrimage."

SMH GFG 2004,Score 16/20,Really Lovely,'Vulcans is a mountain Mecca for serious food lovers.It's an understated room,with concrete floors,glass front,red walls and a wood-fired oven.But god is in the detail,and the subtlety and finely honed skills of legendary chef Phillip Searle make his small menu an object of veneration.'

Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide Australia 2004, 2 Black Stars,'creation's at times look stripped in their simplicty...But on tasting...the true warmth of the restaurant is revealed.'

Sydney Morning Herald 1.8.01 on the Blue Mountains