Serres food is solidly Macedonian: hearty meat dishes, river fish from the Strymon, and a strong tradition of pies. The local bougatsa of Serres is famous all over Greece — a custard-filled phyllo pastry served warm with sugar and cinnamon, traditionally eaten for breakfast. Try it at one of the bougatsa shops near Plateia Eleftherias.
For a proper meal, the tavernas around the old quarter offer grilled lamb, soutzoukakia (cumin-spiced meatballs in tomato sauce) and kavourmas (a slow-cooked beef stew with bay leaves). Lake Kerkini fish, particularly catfish and carp, appears on menus in season. The covered market sells the local sheep's-milk cheese and the dried pork sausages of Mount Pangaio.