Arch. Makariou 203, 25773773, LEMESOS (LIMASSOL)
Mon-Sun 8:00-23:00
Food: [rating:0] n/a
Service: [rating:3.5] 3.5/5
Ambiance: [rating:3] 3/5
Haven’t you ever wondered why a certain café might be packed while the café next door is empty,
although they are very similar? Let us take the case of the latest opening in central Limassol, Mikel: a quite regular coffee place on a central avenue which is continuously full while neighbouring places of the same type struggle.
The space itself is quite pleasant but nothing we haven’t seen before as it is an averagely sized café with tables and sofas inside and outside placed pretty close together. Initially I thought it must be super cheap for it to attract so many people, however its sweets and beverages on offer were actually averagely priced. After having exhausted the obvious reasons why everyone seems ot love it I came to the following conclusion: it is either that they offer free goodies to every table (cookies and two pieces of cake) or that its reputation precedes it. This means that the fact that it is so popular in Thesaloniki (its birth place), had spread in Limassol and therefore people assumed it must be good. This may have attracted clients during the first few weeks. Later on, other people saw it was always packed and so they also thought it must be really good and have started going leading to helping it establish itself as one of the most popular cafes in the city of Limassol.
I didn’t get the chance to try everything on offer but I thought their long list of hot and cold coffees including flavoured cold and hot cappuccino and espresso as well as a large sel
ection of cookies and cakes was a positive aspect. I also did think there was heavy cross-subsidisation going on, meaning that each cookie was as cheap as 0.25€ but a brownie would cost 5.80€. I also thought that a larger snack selection with more than 4 sandwiches and 4 toasts would have been beneficial as it would attract people that don’t usually go for long coffee breaks but are bigger fans of a light lunch, like me.
I can argue using possible reasons why Mikel is busy but there is only one real fact: at the moment it is one of the most popular cafes in central Limassol, whether we like it or not. No-one knows if it is a bubble or not but it surely doesn’t look like one.
