On a quiet lane just off Main Street in Andes, Cafe Mutsi is a cafe and wine bar that opened in May 2024. Owners Nicole Bassis and Raoul Koopman blend traditional flavors from their respective Finnish and Moroccan backgrounds with a contemporary sensibility inspired by the Catskill region. The cafe’s bright, minimalist Nordic design and open kitchen invite guests into a warm, community-focused space, where local ingredients and cultural stories come together in the food and drink.
“‘Mutsi’ is a Finnish word for ‘mom,’” Bassis explains. “I spent every summer growing up in Finland with my grandparents, so I take a lot of inspiration from that Nordic culture.” But the name isn’t just a literal translation of “mom;” it’s casual, affectionate slang—how teenagers might say, “Hey, mom!” Bassis’s word choice speaks to the warm and welcoming environment she strives to create in the cafe, where visitors feel like they’ve stepped into a friend’s home.
A Menu Rooted in Tradition, Elevated with Innovation
The menu at Cafe Mutsi is deeply connected to the owners’ cultural roots and the seasonal bounty of the Catskills, with a contemporary twist that invites experimentation and local collaboration. “A lot of the recipes are inspired by food memories, by recipes of our mothers and grandmothers from both my husband’s and my culture,” Bassis says. “We’re bringing these traditional flavors onto the table but perhaps in a more modern way.”
The all-day cafe menu features a range of baked goods, breakfast, and lunch items, including a rotating selection of sweet and savory pastries, local yogurt with housemade granola and a blueberry compote, and shrimp toast with fennel and dill.
The cafe also offers retail items like freshly baked bread, housemade harissa sauce (from Koopman’s mom’s recipe), coffee, and Finnish sweets. The full range of espresso drinks are made with coffee beans from Pennsylvania-based micro-roastery Alabaster Coffee & Tea Co.
One of the cafe’s signature items is the cardamom buns, a nod to Bassis’s Finnish grandmother, a professional baker. “I have memories of sitting at the kitchen table, rolling those buns with her in Finland,” Bassis recalls. The buns, rolled with cinnamon and sugar and spiced with freshly cracked cardamom, have become a popular treat for locals.
Bassis’s grandmother, Maila, is also honored through the “M” in the cafe’s logo, inspired by her handwritten recipes. “My passion for food and hospitality was nurtured during those summers spent with her—picking berries, mushrooms, and potatoes, and mastering the art of crimping Karalian pies with my little fingers, not to mention rolling those delicious Pull (cardamom buns),” Bassis says.
But the cafe’s menu is not just a nostalgic homage to the past—it’s a dynamic celebration of what’s available in the present, evolving with the seasons to showcase fresh, local ingredients from nearby farms and artisans. “We get a lot of our meat locally, literally right here in Andes,” Bassis explains. Beef is sourced from Gladstone Farms, while lamb comes from Evans and Evans Farm.
On Friday evenings, the wine bar serves up shareable plates, pairing seasonal produce with natural wines. Dishes like Haus Haus Cous Cous with almonds, apricots, eggplant, and hummus (Koopman’s grandmother’s recipe), steak tartare with rye carta di musica, and confit garlic chicken with schmaltzy rice showcase the couple’s diverse culinary heritage.
In the warmer months, Bassis and Koopman pick produce from local farms themselves. “It’s about getting our feet in the dirt, seeing what’s fresh, and feeling more connected to the ingredients,” Bassis says. Their hands-on approach allows them to craft seasonal dishes that are both inspired and reflective of the local bounty.
Community and Sustainability at the Heart of Everything
The couple’s commitment to supporting local farmers, purveyors, and makers is as much about sourcing fresh, high-quality ingredients as it is about building strong relationships with the community, a philosophy that extends beyond their food.
“There’s an influx of young, enthusiastically collaborative business owners here in Andes,” Koopman says. “It’s low-hanging fruit for us to want to collaborate with them.” The cafe works with local businesses, showcasing art from a nearby gallery, using pie dough from a bakery across the street, and displaying records from a local shop. “It’s a labor of love from start to finish, and we’re trying to support the local community as much as possible,” Bassis adds.
Sustainability is also a key part of Cafe Mutsi’s ethos. “We’re constantly looking for ways to reuse or repurpose,” Bassis says. Leftover bread ends are made into breadcrumbs, bamboo utensils are used in place of plastic, and disposable takeout containers are kept to a minimum.
Looking Ahead: Pop-Ups and a Special Wine Dinner
As Cafe Mutsi enters its first full year, Bassis and Koopman plan to expand their offerings and deepen their connections with the community. “We’re slowly expanding our menu and hours,” Bassis says. “Our next step is bringing in more pop-ups.” One of the most exciting upcoming events is a wine dinner on December 20 in collaboration with Cellar Door Wine Shop in Hobart. The event will feature a festive holiday menu paired with wines from the shop, providing an exclusive dining experience for guests.
Whether it’s a flour-dusted wave from their open kitchen or a smile while pouring an espresso from behind the coffee bar, Bassis and Koopman are dedicated to creating an inviting space where visitors can feel at home.
Cafe Mutsi is open Wednesday through Sunday, 9am to 2pm for its all-day menu, with wine and shared plates services on Friday evenings from 5 to 9pm.
Cafe Mutsi
22 Lee Lane, Andes, NY
