Samos' cuisine has been influenced by two main factors. The first one is the population settled in the island coming from different places of Greece and Asia Minor each of them bringing their own recipes and the second, of course, the agricultural products of the island as well as fish. Gemista is the islands specialty. This can be tomatoes, peppers, egg-plants or even potatoes stuffed with rice. The little secrets of the recipe are the spices growing on the mountains of the islands such as basil, oregano and savory.

The local pies are also well-known for their relish. One of them is the green pie in which local cooks add porridge made by flour and water. Additionally, one can make pancakes accompanied with honey using the left-over of the porridge made for the pies.

The so-called Vetouli is kid meat cooked in the oven with pasta or tomato sauce. Fish is usually served broiled on the grill, while some of the local delicacies are smoked herring and anchovy fillet on the grill cooked with onions, peppers and tomatoes.

Some of the local recipes the visitor shouldn't miss are the zucchini-balls the tomato-balls and the chickpea-balls which can be washed down with wine or the local drink "Souma".