Food & drink
Grilled octopus and prawns sautéed in ouzo at a waterfront table. Samos Muscat — the sweetest wine in Greece, still made by the cooperative that has been pressing the grape since 1934. Lamb with live music in the mountain villages.
Samos eats well in the way that all Greek islands eat well when they are not trying too hard: fresh fish landed that morning, octopus grilled or slow-braised in wine, prawns in ouzo, village salads with local olives and capers. The island’s own produce — mountain honey, olive oil pressed in the valley mills, and the Muscat grape — gives Samian cooking a local identity that distinguishes it from the generic Greek island menu. The best eating is in the waterfront tavernas of Kokkari and Pythagorion, and in the village restaurants above the coast where the lamb and the live music arrive together.
Meltemi Restaurant
On the waterfront of Kokkari — a charming beach house-style restaurant with a seafood-centric menu that changes with what the boats bring in. The octopus salad and the prawns sautéed in ouzo and garlic are the standout dishes; the fish platters are assembled from whatever has come in that day, selected by the table from a display counter in the traditional Greek manner. The setting for sunset dining — directly above the sea, with the north coast headlands visible on both sides — is among the finest on the island. Sun loungers and beach equipment are available during the day for customers. Arrive early for a terrace table.
Kokkari waterfront, northern Samos
Elia Restaurant
In Pythagorion, overlooking the harbour — the best modern Greek cooking on the island, with a menu that takes local ingredients seriously. The octopus is consistently outstanding; the grilled grouper fish — when available — is exceptional; the stuffed zucchini flowers are a must-try in season. The Greek salad comes with carob bread and capers from the island. The design of the restaurant is notably good for Samos. No reservations taken for dinner, which creates a queue in high season — arrive early or accept the wait. It is worth it.
in-samos.com · Pythagorion harbour
Allothi Restaurant
In the mountain village of Manolates — one of the finest traditional villages on Samos, a 40-minute drive from the coast through terraced vineyards and pine forest. Allothi serves the Samian mountain dishes that the coastal tavernas don’t bother with: grilled lamb, slow-cooked goat, village sausages, and the local cheeses and honey. Live music on some weekends. The combination of the village setting, the cooking, and an occasional live musician playing traditional Greek music is one of the most authentic and enjoyable evenings available on the island.
Four Seasons Restaurant
Not to be confused with the hotel brand — a long-established Pythagorion restaurant with a particular reputation for its grilled seabass, which is ordered whole and comes to the table directly from the grill with olive oil and lemon. The setting is a terrace above the harbour. Service is unhurried in the best Greek sense. The house wine is local; the ouzo is Samian. A meal here is the straightforward Greek island experience at its most reliable.
Pythagorion · No reservations website — arrive early
Tavernas of Kokkari
Kokkari is the finest village on Samos for an evening — a small rocky harbour with waterfront tavernas that have largely resisted the tourist-menu tendency. The prawn saganaki at Alfa is consistently good. The souvlaki at Cavos Café Bar Bistro is the best quick lunch on the north coast. Andreas Place and Lemonakia Restaurant on the beach below the village are reliable for fresh fish and cold beer. Any table with a sea view in the early evening — when the light comes from the west and catches the water — is the right one.
The Samos Union of Winemaking Cooperatives has been making Muscat wine since 1934 — a sweet, golden, amber-coloured dessert wine that was a major Venetian trade commodity and has been exported across Europe for centuries. It is genuinely very good as a dessert wine: rich, honeyed, with apricot and orange peel character. Order it at the end of a meal in any restaurant on the island. The cooperative also makes a dry Muscat that functions better with food. For table wine during a meal, the island’s dry whites — made from Muscat Blanc and Assyrtiko — are the right choice. Samian ouzo, produced by several small distilleries on the island using anise from the mountain slopes, is the correct aperitif.