Uçhisar punches well above its size for food. Many of the village's cave hotels run their own restaurants, several open to non-guests, with rooftop terraces looking onto the castle. Local specialities to try: testi kebabı (slow-cooked lamb or chicken in a sealed clay pot, cracked open at the table), mantı (small lamb dumplings under garlic yoghurt), and the local pekmez (grape molasses) drizzled over yoghurt for breakfast.
For a memorable meal, the rooftop restaurants of the Argos in Cappadocia and Museum Hotel are atmospheric and worth the splurge. Lower-budget options sit around the village square — quick lentil soup, pide (Turkish flatbread pizza), and gözleme cooked over a wood fire by women in headscarves. Prices are higher than in less touristy parts of central Anatolia but still moderate by international standards.