At Yorgaki Café

Yorgaki Café proudly holds the title of Paris’s first—and only—Greek café. Founded by renowned creative director and typography expert Yorgo Tloupas, whose striking visual campaigns have shaped global brands across fashion, sports, and the automotive industry, Yorgaki is more than just a café—it’s a cultural statement.

Previously the creative director of GQ France, Tloupas brings the same level of design precision and storytelling to Yorgaki. From the Cyclades inspired visual identity to the seasonal menu, every detail has been carefully curated. What sets Yorgaki apart isn’t just the quality of its Greek cuisine—it’s the people. The entire team is either of Greek origin or fluent in Greek, making the experience as authentic as it is welcoming.

We had the chance to meet the passionate team and speak with Yorgo himself to talk about the inspiration behind Yorgaki and his unique perspective on the Institutions of Paris.

If you had to define what makes an institution or describe its main characteristics, how would you explain it?

Even though longevity seems to be an essential condition, we realise that some places manage to carve out a place for themselves in a short amount of time, due to their blend of originality and authenticity. With Yorgaki, we were lucky to hit the right equation: a small but welcoming place, a neighbourhood with a lot of foot traffic, and, most importantly, an offer that didn’t exist in Paris.

We are the only place in the capital that serves both hot Greek coffee, brewed in a copper briki heated in a hovoli filled with sand, and the only place making iced frappé coffee with our machines imported from Athens. We also offer freddo espresso and freddo cappuccino, made with these same colourful mixers, and literally the entire Greek community in Paris and the surrounding areas has spread the word and floods in every weekend.

It’s like a good cheesemonger importing Camembert and Roquefort setting up shop in Iceland: all the French on the island would rush to the place, I think. Within a week, the cheesemonger in Reykjavik would be an institution.

Are there places that come to mind that you consider to be institutions? Examples of restaurants, galleries, florists, cafés, etc.?

I have my habits in the 18th arrondissement, and I’m a fan of La Renaissance on rue Championnet, which has served as a backdrop for many films, including Les Ripoux, Inglorious Basterds, etc. The decor is unchanged, it’s at a corner location with sunlight for a good part of the day, a friendly team—it's the flagship institution of NoMont for me.

For info, NoMont is a joke we came up with with friends to respond to SoPi, and we’ve defined the neighbourhood (North Montmartre, of course) in the shape of a cat’s head.

Do you have a routine on your days off? What do you like to do when you’re not at the restaurant?

Since Yorgaki is a side project to my design studio Yorgo&Co, it’s actually the other way around! We often have meetings with our clients there, who love it, and I also buy my essential Greek ingredients there. Anna and the team, whether they’re of Greek origin or at least speak Greek, all go to Greece when we take our break in August—it's an unchanging ritual.

At GiftShop, we are always on the lookout for new institutions—places that might not yet be on the radar but have a unique identity and will mark the next ten years. Do you have any places in mind that you would recommend?

I really like the Café des Deux Gares, which is part of the Touriste hotel group. It’s well located on a kind of large pedestrian terrace, with morning sun, good and pleasant. The founders of the group, Adrien Gloaguen and Julie Revuz, are also lovely.

By the way, we also designed the identity of Hôtel Château d’Eau for them, another institution, with a unique design by Necchi Architecture. Located on rue du Château d’Eau, between hairdressers and opposite one of the best press houses in Paris, it’s clearly a hotel that has found the right balance between novelty, classicism, and a warm atmosphere.

As the only Greek café in Paris, how do you manage to maintain your authentic identity without adapting too much to please the French public?

It’s simple, everything on our menu, from sandwiches to juices and alcohol, is authentically Greek. We didn’t try to create neo-Hellenic cuisine, nor a kind of unexpected fusion between the dishes and drinks from my home country and the trendy stuff from the 9th district. It’s for this reason, and because of the ambiance that feels like it’s directly from a Kafeneion in the Cyclades, that both the French nostalgic for the Cyclades and the Greek expatriates remain loyal to us.

Words : Claire Dhooge / Photos : Richard Banroques