The regional dishes in Hefei make the grade by being listed among the "eight most famous cuisines in China". Cooking styles in the city are mainly of the frying, roasting or braising varieties. The famous Anhui dishes can be found here, with fresh water crabs (Dazha xie), best between September and December, and the Gujing wine (Gujing gongjiu), that used to be sent as tribute to emperors. The food here is generally slightly spicy and salty.

Other dishes worth trying are braised chicken (Dun ji), turtle (Wugui), Mandarin fish (Jiyu) and Wenzhenshan bamboo shoots (Wenzhenshan zhusun). Many of the Hefei dishes are related to famous Anhui characters who used to live here. Particularly interesting is the Caocao chicken, named after the notorious warlord who lived in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD) and the Wei Kingdom (220-265 AD), and Li Hongzhang hotchpotch, named after a wily Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD) official.

Restaurants and Food Areas
The best place to sample authentic Anhui dishes is in the Anhui Hotel (Anhui fandian) at 18 Meishan lu.
The Jiujiu Long Restaurant (Jiujiulong fandian) at 327 Jinzhai lu. Serves good hotpot dishes.
The Huangshan Restaurant (Huangshan caiguan) on Bengbu lu. Food served, possibly better than on the mountain itself.
The Huaishan Restaurant (Huaishang jiujia) on Changjiang lu.
The Luyangcun Restaurant (Luyangcun jiujia) on Huaihe lu.
The Taiwan Restaurant (Taiwan jiujia) on Jinzhai lu is probably the best place to try Cantonese food (also worth trying is the Holiday Inn at 1104 Changjiang donglu).
The restaurant in the Aoxing Hotel (Aoxing binguan) on Mongguang lu serves good Anhui and general Chinese cuisine.
The Novotel Hefei (Yagao qiyun shanzhuang) at 199 Wuhu lu is best known for its western bakery.
On Changjiang lu lie quite a number of street side restaurants, serving food at affordable prices.
The area around the railway station, like those in most other cities, is also heavily populated by food stalls and small restaurants.
KFC can be found on Changjiang lu, near to the intersection with Suzhou lu.