The iconic spot on the steps of Mnisikleous Street became a landmark for thousands of Athenians and tourists – The owner’s message about a “circle coming to a close” and Papakaliatis’ tribute post

In the heart of Plaka, nestled among jasmine and memories, one of Athens’ most beloved hangouts is closing its doors. The iconic café-bistro Yasemi, on Mnisikleous Street—famed for its homemade sweets and traditional drinks—says goodbye to its patrons after 16 uninterrupted years.

But this “farewell” isn’t due to time or financial crisis. The reason is straightforward: a change of ownership.

The lease on the property expired, and the new owners, wishing to use the space themselves, began proceedings to evict entrepreneur Mariza Kouzeli. Until the last moment, she exhausted all legal means, hoping to keep her dream alive. But as she herself admits, the circle has closed.

Yasemi wasn’t just another café on the tourist trails of Plaka. It was an experience—a journey through time, with old recipes, grandmotherly aromas, and music that blended with the afternoon light. It was mornings on the stone steps of Mnisikleous, winter nights by the fireplace, Saturdays with jasmine in hand and Hadjidakis playing on the piano.

Those who passed through remember the sights, the tastes, the sounds. Visitors from all over the world, along with well-known names from Greece’s artistic scene, drank their coffee there—on what are perhaps the most famous steps in Athens.

In a heartfelt social media post, Yasemi’s owner Mariza Kouzeli announced her departure from the place she created with love and devotion:

“Yasemi – The journey continues!”

Circles, when they close, are hard things.
And our own circle, with the fragrant name ‘Yasemi’, opened exactly 16 years ago.
It was Holy Saturday 2009, at six in the afternoon, just before nightfall. The Holy Light was on its way to the Metochi, and Yiannis Kouklis sent me with a lantern to fetch it. He lit a tall candle, made the sign of the cross above the door and said: Καλορίζικο (May it be prosperous)…
That’s how it all began!

With a light that shone for a moment and never stopped guiding our choices for 16 beautiful years.
Yasemi wasn’t just a small story.
Nor just the delicacies from our kitchen—most of which came from my grandmother’s notebooks and words.
Nor only the aromas of our drinks.
It was something beyond us. It was—and still is—the people who loved it.
The musicians who wrapped this journey in notes and sound.
The people who worked with us.
The delightful mornings on the Mnisikleous steps.
The soothing afternoons when the sun caressed the faces of our big gathering.
The nights our souls relaxed to the sounds of Hadjidakis from the piano.
Classical and modern music, notes clinging to the walls, often tangled with the crackling of burning logs in the fireplace, taking us to circle dances and teenage beaches.

March 31st, 2025, early Monday morning, Easter is near.
We embrace tonight with gratitude the cushions upon which you so lazily laid your love and trust.
Nikos Dimitrokalis is lifting the piano from the now-empty Yasemi and we set sail for new seas, new harbors.

There, our love and experience in food that creates emotions fills the shelves of a delicatessen.
Yasemi marked “something” in the life and story of Plaka over the past years.
And so, soon—thanks to nostalgia and flavor, but mainly thanks to your love—it will return.

Until we meet again!
– Mariza Kouzeli,
on behalf of the Yasemi family,
friends, and collaborators

The bar “To Taxidi” in Paxos and Papakaliatis’ post

Despite being emotional over the end of this important chapter, Ms. Kouzeli hasn’t stopped creating. She already runs the bar To Taxidi in Paxos—a spot featured in scenes from Christoforos Papakaliatis’ series Maestro.

At the same time, she’s investing in a new venue in Corfu, where she plans to open a new shop, while also looking for a suitable location in Athens to “replant” her jasmine—where nostalgia, hospitality, and the art of authenticity will bloom once more.

The journey, as she herself says, continues.
Only now, for a little while, Plaka will feel a little more silent.

Christoforos Papakaliatis, in fact, had chosen Yasemi as a filming location for most of his movie If—as the setting for the protagonists’ romantic encounters.

He even reposted the café’s farewell message in his Instagram stories.