Deventer eats notably well for a city of its size. The combination of a substantial student population (Saxion University of Applied Sciences is here), a long bourgeois food tradition, and the riverside location has produced a more interesting restaurant scene than you find in most provincial Dutch capitals.
The riverfront Welle has the highest concentration of cafes and brasseries with terraces, ideal in summer. The Bergkwartier hides several of the better small restaurants in the narrow streets around the church. Local specialities to look out for include IJsselzalm (smoked river salmon), the inevitable Deventer koek, and Salland mustard. Several established mid-range names — Bij de Tijd on the Walstraat, Hoogeland, Sandrah — are reliable. For the inexpensive end, the cafes around the Brink do solid kroketten and broodjes.