'Best bakery in Texas' is a Sugar Land mom-and-pop Greek café



Anonymous Cafe is among Yelp users' favorite brunch spots in Houston suburbs. Click through the slideshow to see more hot spots. less Owners Tasos and Patricia Pantazopoulos serve up a pastry called Ekmeik at Anonymous Cafe, Houston, TX on June 19, 2017.

Anonymous Cafe is among Yelp users' favorite brunch spots in Houston suburbs. Click ... more Owners Tasos and Patricia Pantazopoulos serve up a pastry called Ekmeik at Anonymous Cafe, Houston, TX on June 19, 2017. Photo: Craig Moseley, Chronicle Photo: Craig Moseley, Chronicle Image 1 of / 36 Caption Close 'Best bakery in Texas' is a Sugar Land mom-and-pop Greek café 1 / 36 Back to Gallery

On a Saturday in March, just short of a year after opening, Anonymous Café in Sugar Land was even busier than usual. The line stretched to the door of the petite storefront throughout the day.

The owners, Patricia and Tasos Pantazopoulos, scrambled to bake, cook and serve the crowds, not realizing that the sudden uptick in business had come from a Buzzfeed article published the previous week that had named the independent, suburban eatery the best bakery in Texas – according to a Yelp algorithm that looked at the number of reviews and the star rating.

It wasn't until a customer said he had just been reading the article about the café when his flight from Nashville landed that the couple realized that some of their clientele that day had come from outside the Sugar Land – and even Houston – area.

"The day after the (Buzzfeed) article came out, it was just chaos," Patricia said. "To be named the best bakery in the entire state of Texas ... it's huge. And it's here in Sugar Land."

Anonymous – which got its name when the couple couldn't agree on one – had won over the hearts – and stomachs – of Yelp reviewers with its traditional, made-from-scratch Greek desserts.

The blockbuster treat that takes up the prime photo on the café's Yelp page is the ekmeck, a Greek pastry made of shredded phyllo dough and vanilla custard. Patricia uses her mother's recipe.

Perhaps it's the authenticity that resonates with the customers.

Patricia grew up in Sugar Land, but her parents immigrated to the area from Greece. She met Tasos while visiting her family's home village and the couple had a long-distance relationship for nearly a decade before getting married. Patricia moved to Greece to be with him and they lived happily there for several years before the poor economy pushed them to move back near Patricia's family in Sugar Land.

Their idea to open up a small Greek café came together fairly quickly and easily, since Patricia grew up in the restaurant business. The farmhouse-chic style café is in a space that used to be a private party room for Patricia's family's barbecue restaurant next door, Vasos Bar-B-Q.

In addition to its desserts and Italian coffee drinks, Anonymous also has a full menu – although it can change nearly every day.

"I cook with my mood," Patricia explained. The offerings can range from chicken and waffles to Mediterranean sea bass. The café also sells olive oil and oregano from their home village in Greece.

And if Yelp can be trusted, this tiny, Greek eatery tucked in a suburban strip mall with its mood-driven menu and homemade desserts rivals some of the most hyped urban bakeries in the state.