Houston’s Hottest New Greek Restaurant Keeps It All In Family By Design — The Story Of Yiayia Kitchen’s Olive Tree

An Ancient Rowing Ship, Naked Men and More

BY Shelby Hodge // Sep 4, 2025

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The rowing vessel, the centerpiece of decor in Yiayia's Greek Kitchen, is a nod to the family's origins in Nafpaktos, Greece. (Photo by Claudia Casbarian)

Yiayia's Greek Kitchen delivers an updated approach to the design most often associated with Greek dining. (Photo by Claudia Casbarian)

A massive olive tree, the national tree of Greece, welcomes arrivals at Yiayia's Greek Kitchen (Photo by Claudia Casbarian)

The bar and demilune booths at Yiayia's Greek Kitchen (Photo by Claudia Casbarian)

A neon Iconic column adds a note of fun to the bar in Yiayia's Greek Kitchen (Photo by Shelby Hodge)

A larger than life painting of Mary Pappas, the family matriarch whose culinary legacy inspires the fare at Yiayia's Greek Restaurant. (Photo by Shelby Hodge)

Pappas Restaurant's chief design officer Evy Pappas in Yiayia's Greek Kitchen (Courtesy photo)

Wicker lamp shades overhead and a lamp replica of Greek antiquities set the stage at Yiayia's Greek Kitchen. (Photo by Shelby Hodge)

The outdoor bar at Yiayia's Greek Kitchen (Photo by Shelby Hodge)

The outdoor dining area at Yiayia's Greek Kitchen is flanked by a girgling water feature. (Photo by Shelby Hodge)

Close-up of the rowing vessel at Yiayia's Greek Restaurant (Photo by Shelby Hodge)

Yiayia's Greek Kitchen at 2410 Richmond updates the take on traditional Greek restaurant design. (Photo by Claudia Casbarian)

The rowing vessel, the centerpiece of decor in Yiayia's Greek Kitchen, is a nod to the family's origins in Nafpaktos, Greece. (Photo by Claudia Casbarian)

As waiters hustle through the 4,300-square-foot restaurant and the throng of diners feast on dishes from the grills of Yiayia’s Greek Kitchen, the bustling scene plays out against a tableau that affectionately pays tribute to the Pappas family’s Greek heritage and to Mary Pappas, the yiayia (grandmother) whose culinary legacy set the stage for the latest Houston restaurant in the Pappas Restaurants stable. But don’t expect typical Greek restaurant decor.

No Agean turquoise accents here. Rather, Yiayia offers a fresh take on Greek design where dark green is the operative accent color. On a recent tour of the restaurant with Evy Pappas, chief design officer for Pappas Restaurants, she decoded the thinking behind this unexpected approach.

“My vision on restaurant design: So many restaurants are beautiful, the lines are clean and the detail is amazing,” she says. “But there is no personality. I think ‘How do we make this place fun and funky?’ Yes, we want clean lines. We want beauty. But we want personality and character.”

That personality is delivered on entry where a massive olive tree, the national tree of Greece, welcomes diners.

Yiayia’s Interior Photos at Opening, July 2025Photographer: Claudia Casbarian — A massive olive tree, the national tree of Greece, welcomes arrivals at Yiayia’s Greek Kitchen. (Photo by Claudia Casbarian)

The daughter of Pappas Restaurants co-founder Harris Pappas, Evy Pappas and her team insured that little would be reminiscent of the Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen that previously inhabited the space at 2410 Richmond. And that there would be visual excitement and fun in addition to the compelling food.

Consider the neon Iconic column that flanks the bar, the sunburst gracing one wall and the classic Greek rowing ship on another. Look closely at the four lamps in various corners and note that the images of naked men have been painted with a well-placed grape leaf covering private parts. The lamps, replicas of Greek antiquities, are just one element of the decorative artifacts that originated in Greece.

Shelves are lined with pottery and knick knacks that Papas collected for this restaurant over several years of travel to Greece. Most impressive amid the striking decor is the rowing vessel that dominates Yiayia’s Greek Kitchen’s back wall. And it has a story.

“The ancient Greek warship was inspired by the village that our family’s from in Greece — Nafpaktos,” Pappas notes. “It’s famous for the 1571 Battle of Lepanto, which was the last battle in the Western world fought with rowing vessels.”

The Yiayia’s Greek Restaurant logo in mosiac tiles at the restaurant entry. (Photo by Shelby Hodge)

For the ship design, she tapped Greek artist Dimitris Gketsis to create the wall sculpture which while shining with the glimmer of copper is actually resin coated in metallic paint. Greek artists are also featured in the art wall that leads to the restrooms. It’s a spirited, colorful collection that makes a trip to the loo a bit of fun.

Pappas lighting designer Erik Michael had a central role in the decor. At the entrance, he created a sea of bulbs that soften and brighten to give the feel of ocean waves overhead, best experienced in the evening. In one section of Yiayia’s Greek Kitchen, wicker baskets serve as overhead lampshades and in another lights were designed to recall the Olympic medals of ancient Greece.

Observant diners will note that the restaurant’s logo designed in mosaics and centered at the front entry is repeated in floor tiles throughout.

The bar and demilune booths at Yiayia’s Greek Kitchen (Photo by Claudia Casbarian)

Yiayia’s Is For The Women

Pappas shares that because the Pappas Bros. Steakhouses are all about the brothers, the family wanted the design of Yiayia to be more influenced by the Pappas women. A larger than life portrait of family matriarch Mary Pappas salutes her legacy while images of Vicky Pappas, wife of Harris, and Maria Pappas, wife of Chris, contribute to the female influences.

Visiting Yiayia Greek Kitchen is as much a visual as a food adventure, the former solidly in the hands of Evy Pappas.

She comes by her design creds legitimately, holding degrees in visual arts and art history from Duke, an from MBA from Rice, and a master’s in architecture from Harvard. She is joined in her design efforts by the team’s interior designer Charlotte Stein and architectural designer Richard Acosta.