Aromatic dough, which has walnut and cinnamon inside, honey and syrup to sweeten everything… These are the basics that characterize isli. A sweet full of history, which carries with it memories from other times and different places. With its roots in Cappadocia and Pontus, isli has been the traditional sweet of happy moments for entire generations, while today we find it at its best, honoring history at the “Isli Porfyridis” cafe-confectionery, in Thessaloniki.

Since November 2017 that the pastry shop has been operating, one can enjoy this wonderful confection on a daily basis, along with other sweet creations of the Porfyridis family, in the square of Agia Sofia. The success of the pastry shop came as a natural continuation of the tradition of the family that once came from Asia Minor to Thessaloniki, bringing with it this little culinary…treasure.

From Cappadocia and Pontus to Ano Poli

Isli is a handmade sweet with melomakarono-like dough, filled with walnut and cinnamon and syrupy enough to be honeyed without losing its crispness. With roots in Cappadocia and Pontus, it was Asia Minor’s trademark for Christmas, but also a confection… of the heart that housewives made with love on holidays and other joyful moments.

At “Isli Porfyridis” they know the art first hand and offer us, from the heart, the traditional isli, traditionally embroidered and with its aromas from the past. But how did this unique sweet get here?

After the Asia Minor disaster, the grandparents of the family arrived in Thessaloniki. Knowing very well how to make traditional isli, they decided to make it themselves and take it to the then Ano Poli stores.

Little by little, people began to learn about these honey-soaked stuffed sweets and after the know-how was passed on to the children, it was in 1990 when the son of the Porfyridis family together with his wife decided to open a workshop in Melissochori.

There they prepared isli and spread it not only in the city of Thessaloniki, but also throughout Greece and then abroad.

Isli’s house

So in 2017, Stelios Porfyridis, one of the six brothers of the family, decided to make his dream come true. To open a pastry shop where one can enjoy isli, but also other sweet creations together with their coffee.

This is how the house of isli was created. A beautiful, warm and comfortable patisserie where one can sit and enjoy, as in the old days, their coffee with isli or any other of the handmade sweet treats they choose.

Ekmek, spoon sweets, syrup-soaked sweets and fluffy dips easily tempt you. But even the most modern cheesecakes and lemonpies leave no one unmoved.

But it is worth trying a piece of Antigone. A serrano mosaic dipped in Niagara couverture with powdered sugar and almond fillets, named after Antigone, the fifth child of the Porfyridis family.

Almost the whole family works in the business that made isli known throughout Greece and naturally everyone’s ultimate goal is to maintain the tradition based on the traditional, secret recipe they have in their hands and of course the quality that has remained unchanged since the beginning .

The finest ingredients are enlisted along with the artistry required for this hand-embroidered confection to continue to deliver powerful taste sensations.

“Isli Porfyridis” does not only offer hand-made sweets, but it is the same, made almost entirely by hand. Woodworker Stelios himself has created all the wonderful furniture found in this beautiful patisserie, which looks straight out of the past and makes you nostalgic for the good old days. There is his personal stamp on the place and this makes “Isli Porfyridis” even more special.

If you haven’t already, spend a day at “Isli Porfyridis” enjoying whatever your heart desires. The space and the diverse ages that visit the pastry shop will make your day as much as the honeyed sweets of Cappadocia.