The island of Lesvos is known for its exceptional and multifaceted gastronomic culture that reflects all external cultural influences through time and its physical distance from mainland Greece. Lesvian cuisine is based mainly on local traditional recipes that have been handed down from one generation to the next, employing fruits of the Lesvian land as basic ingredients and adopting influences of the Asia Minor coast and the refugees who came from there. Recipes are so numerous, depending on the season of the year, the social occasion and seasonal products. The visitors may start their culinary journey from the city of Mytilini with its many famous tavernas, kafeneia and sweet shops in the center of the town and from there venture onwards to its environs and then to any small or large village all over the island.