Recently, my wife Jun and I visited Turkey for our spring vacation. It was a magnificent trip, from Istanbul with stunning mosques (especially Hagia Sophia which brings in a sense of awe the moment you step inside) to Cappadocia known for surreal rock formations (yes, we were fortunate to be able to ride on a balloon for an epic tour). In terms of food, though, our experience in Turkey was somewhat mixed largely because most of our itinerary involved group tours with free lunch (almost all the time in mediocre buffet format). That doesn’t mean we discovered restaurants with tasty food during our trip, and one of them was Topdeck Cave restaurant in the town of Göreme in Cappadocia. The family-run restaurant, despite its tourist heavy crowd, offered some delicious Turkish dishes.

The daily changing menu at Topdeck Cave, whose dining space is within one of the caves, is rather concise, starting with meze options with various sizes, followed by starters, main dishes and then desserts. The meze plate (we ordered a medium size one containing hummus, muhammara and other spreads) is always the best way to explore Turkish cuisine, and Topdeck’s offering will be a good introduction to it. For starters, we ordered Turkish fried pastries with chicken and lamb. Both pastries were delicious, especially the lamb one. The best dish from our meal was a simple oven-baked lamb dish. Lamb, one of the main staples in Turkish food, is not always the easiest meal to prepare due to its inherently gamey flavor. The dish from Topdeck, however, was absolutely fantastic, with spot-on texture and aromatic flavor. Despite not very hungry and still exhausted from our hectic itinerary in Cappadocia, we gladly devoured this dish in a short amount of time. No meal in Turkey is complete without desserts, and the baklava at Topdeck offered delightful finish to our satisfactory dinner.  

The restaurant accepts reservations via telephone; it is a popular spot in Göreme with tourists (I think almost everyone in the dining space during our space was one) so I highly recommend booking in advance. Another reason this restaurant is popular besides its delicious food is the cozy and inviting décor (as mentioned above, it is located in a cave setting) where you can either sit on the table or on the rug. If you are inclined to try a bottle of Turkish wine, Topdeck has a small list from local producers in Cappdocia (from our few days in the region, I can’t say their wine is world class but still worth giving a try). The staff all spoke good English so communication won’t be an issue (really, you won’t encounter language barrier in much parts of the country’s regions popular with tourists). Cappadocia is a must-visit region in Turkey for its geography, and you will marvel at countless rock formations and caves that you probably haven’t seen anywhere else in the world. If after all the tours you find yourself hungry, I do recommend Topdeck as a solid restaurant to treat yourself.  

KenScale: 8.0/10 (Jun’s Score: 7.75/10)

Address: Hafız Abdullah Efendi Sk. No 15, 50180 Göreme/Nevşehir Merkez/Nevşehir, Türkiye

Website: https://www.facebook.com/TopdeckCave/

Reservation via Telephone +90 384 271 24 74