The Anthora Cup’s Movie Career.

The Anthora coffee cup has become more than just a vessel for a hot drink – it’s an icon of New York City life.  Introduced in the 1960s with its instantly recognizable blue-and-white design and “We Are Happy to Serve You” motto, the cup was originally created to appeal to Greek-owned diners across the five boroughs. But over time, it became something bigger: a symbol of the city itself.

So recognizable is the Anthora that it’s an essential prop in movies and television shows that are set in New York – an authentic detail that says this is New York without ever saying a word.  You’ve seen the cup in Goodfellas, The Sopranos, Nurse Jackie, Archer, Brooklyn 99, NYPD Blue, Suits, Friends, Men in Black, How I Met Your Mother, Succession, the Law & Order franchise, Marvel's Daredevil, and Flight of the Conchords. The cup has been filmed in the hands of Leonardo DiCaprio, Jon Hamm, Tommy Lee Jones, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Clive Owen, Harvey Keitel, Nicholas Cage, Sandra Bullock, and many others.  The design was so important to the aesthetic of NYC that production designer Bob Shaw used it to help convey a convincing ‘90s-era NYC atmosphere for The Wolf of Wall Street.  

Whether it’s in the hands of a cop, a cabbie, or a Wall Street executive, the original Anthora coffee cup tells its own story of a city that runs on coffee and never slows down. It's not just background – it’s part of the character of New York itself.