Songpan's food scene reflects its Tibetan and Han mixed character. The local speciality is Suan Can Mian Kuai, a Tibetan-style noodle soup made with yak meat and local fermented vegetables, sour and slightly oily in a way that makes sense at altitude after a day outdoors. Several restaurants along the main street serve it, and the ones nearest the West Gate tend to be the ones local trekking guides actually eat at.
Muslim-run noodle restaurants cluster near the market area and serve a Gansu-influenced style of hand-pulled noodles with beef that is considerably cheaper than anything in the tourist-facing places. The bread stalls near the South Gate sell large flatbreads baked against a clay oven that are excellent with tea in the morning. Yak butter tea is available everywhere and is worth trying once, even if you find the combination of rancid butter and strongly-brewed tea initially surprising.