Matera's cooking belongs to the peasant tradition of Basilicata — direct, filling, and built around a few excellent ingredients. Bread is serious here: pane di Matera, made from durum wheat semolina and baked in a high dome, has IGP status. Pasta comes as lagane (wide flat strips) with chickpeas or with crusco peppers — sweet dried red peppers fried in oil until they crisp, a Basilicata speciality worth seeking out. Lamb and pork appear on most menus; the local pecorino cheese is sharp and good.
Most restaurants in the Sassi occupy cave rooms and charge accordingly. The quality is generally higher in the Sasso Caveoso; the Sasso Barisano has more tourist traps. Booking is essential in summer.