Best of Cappadocia

Seyr-ü Sefa on Göreme's Museum Road pairs solid regional cooking with a terrace that faces the open-air museum approach — a sensible lunch spot built into most itinerary routes.

My Mother's Restaurant in Göreme carries that homestyle cooking character that chain restaurants never quite replicate — a good choice when you want Turkish food that feels made with care.

This is the one we send people to when they want the single most special dinner of the trip. Revithia, inside the Kayakapı Premium Caves, holds Cappadocia's only MICHELIN Star, and it earns it with a seasonal tasting menu that reimagines the region's layered Turkish, Greek and Armenian heritage. There are only around 25 indoor seats plus a terrace, so the evening feels intimate and quietly theatrical, with local Cappadocian wines poured alongside. Choose between the longer chef's menu or a full vegan tasting, dinner only, and book well ahead. Worth dressing up for and lingering over.

A polished take on Anatolian cooking near the top of Göreme, and an easy recommendation for a proper dinner with a view. Seten, listed in the MICHELIN Guide, has been refining regional dishes since 2010, sending out tender lamb kebabs, generous mezes and village bread baked in a clay oven. Its name comes from the old round stone grain mill, and a centuries-old cave on site, once used to press grapes, now serves as the wine cellar where the house still makes its own wine. The rooftop bar and valley views make it as good for a relaxed drink as a long meal. No reservations, so arrive a little early at peak times.