Vesta turns up the heat in Blackheath

When Philip Searle closed Vulcan's at the end of 2012, the Blue Mountains lost one of its seminal restaurants. Last week a new restaurant rose from the embers of its famed wood-fired oven.

Fittingly, the new eatery is named Vesta, after the goddess of the hearth, worshipped in a temple containing the sacred flame. Co-owner David Harris, last eyed in Sydney at Flinders Inn, moved to Blackheath a few years ago and decided to give new life to the Vulcan's site.

The menu looks suitably mountainy, with dishes such as lamb rump, puy lentils and toasted walnuts. We can't vouch for the fire being tended by Vestal virgins as the Vesta myth rolls, but Harris says he has landed former Wolgan Valley Resort chef Oliver Roberts to run the kitchen.