Best of Cappadocia

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.

One of Avanos's most praised tables, with a reputation for consistently excellent regional cooking. We send food-minded travellers here for authentic clay-pot stews, hand-rolled pastries, and the kind of warm hospitality that makes you linger over coffee.

The grown-up dinner in Uçhisar, and a lovely choice if you want fine dining that still feels rooted in the land. Nahita is the restaurant of the celebrated Argos in Cappadocia hotel, listed in the MICHELIN Guide, with cuisine guided by chef Ömür Akkor and ingredients sourced within a 60-kilometre radius. You enter across a magnificent terrace with romantic valley views before sitting among elegant stone walls; the cooking is refined Anatolian, precise but unfussy. Reserve for the evening and pair with local wines from the cellar. This is where to mark a special night without leaving the region's own flavours behind.

Our pick when you want a view and a real kitchen behind it. Happena sits high on the Kelebek Special Cave Hotel terraces in Göreme, with some of the best valley panoramas in town, and it holds a MICHELIN Bib Gourmand for good cooking at a fair price. The kitchen draws on ancient Anatolian and Hittite-era recipes: lamb cooked over a wood fire until caramelised, served with pita, a honey-ginger sauce and house pickles. It is special-occasion food without the stiffness. Go at sunset, sit on the terrace, and let the balloons or the dusk light do half the work.