A fusion of Greek and Japanese cuisine might sound counter-intuitive, but this pioneering restaurant has developed its own idiosyncratic culinary language. The understated, monochrome interior belies the complexity of dishes such as soba noodles with tahini and smoked salmon, topped with crispy shards of spring onion or tender duck with pickled sweet potato. Ingredients are fermented, marinated, and married in unexpected ways that reflect Kontizas' Greek-Japanese roots.

Since its opening, Nolan has been the talk of the town—and for good reason. This restaurant is the brainchild of Chef Sotiris Kontizas, a MasterChef Greece judge, and has an innovative menu that differs from the usual spots in the city. Nolan’s menu, which blends Asian and European flavors according to Kontizas’s roots, is a favorite of Athenian foodies, and it includes a decadent bao bun dish, with juicy pork meat and apricot jam.

For lunch, head to the Syntagma neighbourhood and the terrace of Bib Gourmand restaurant Nolan. This trendy restaurant with a refined interior is run by Sotiris Kontizas, a half Greek-half Japanese chef perhaps best known for presenting TV's MasterChef Greece. His original, instinctive cuisine is beautifully light, so sharing an assortment of these plates with discreet Asian influences is always an appealing option.

Prepare for a flavour explosion at Nolan, a restaurant that dares to be different. Located in the heart of Athens, just a stone's throw from Syntagma Square, Nolan seamlessly blends Greek and Asian culinary traditions, creating dishes that are both surprising and utterly delicious. Chef Sotiris Kontizas, known for his appearance on MasterChef Greece, brings his unique vision to life with dishes like the signature steamed buns filled with slow-cooked pork belly and a tangy tzatziki-inspired sauce, or the delicate sea bass carpaccio with yuzu and dill.

Nolan restaurants, located on Voulis street downtown serves Beijing and Vietnam street food, including, their all-time favourite fried chicken. The contemporary restaurant also serves up an inspiring menu of Greek Mediterranean dishes influenced by Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, Peruvian, and Chinese cuisine. Mini-sandwiches of shrimp and anchovy with chilli and coriander in rice paper, as well as steamed bao buns with pulled pork cheeks and a pear and carrot dipping sauce, are some of the examples of their appetisers.

Ένα από τα πιάτα που δεν βγήκε ποτέ από το μενού του Nolan και υπήρχε εκεί από την αρχή της λειτουργίας του είναι το NFC, το Nolan Fried Chicken δηλαδή, με το όνομα – αναφορά στον Αμερικάνο «συνταγματάρχη» του τηγανητού κοτόπουλου. Ο Σωτήρης Κοντιζάς και η ομάδα του πήραν αυτό το junk της παιδικής ηλικίας και το εξέλιξαν ώστε να είναι πάντα τραγανό και ζουμερό, διατηρώντας όμως την θαλπωρή που έχει το να τρως τηγανητό κοτόπουλο. Σερβίρεται με χειροποίητη μαγιονέζα, σπιτική πίκλα αγγουριού και λίγη πρασινάδα για ξεκάρφωμα.

In early 2016, Nolan made a stylish debut with its chic and simplistic interior design with a striking white marble counter, small dark wooden tables, and outdoor seating perfect for observing passersby. This bustling area near Syntagma Square quickly became known as Athens' trendiest location for international cuisine, largely due to the talent of chef Sotiris Kontizas. Combining his Greek and Japanese roots, Kontizas skillfully blended the two cuisines to create a unique and harmonious menu.

Since Nolan launched in 2016, the Athens culinary scene has become significantly more vibrant, yet this modest spot is still one of the most popular spots in town. Despite the fact that Greek Japanese chef Sotiris Kontizas now spends more time presiding over the Greek Master chef than in Nolan’s kitchen, which is located in a theatrical box hung above the monochromatic eating area with glass walls, his fusion food is entirely unique and personal. Price Range: $$ – $$$

Nolan: From Beijing and Vietnam street cuisine to the all-time favourite fried chicken, this modern eatery offers an inspirational menu that includes Greek Mediterranean recipes blended with Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, Peruvian and Chinese influences. Examples of their appetisers are mini-sandwiches of shrimp and anchovy with chilli and coriander in rice paper, also steamed bao buns with pulled pork cheeks and a pear and carrot dipping sauce.

Share a refined, delicious meal in a buzzy restaurant like Asian-Greek Nolan in Syntagma, meze-garden Ama Lachei in Exarcheia, Seychelles in Metaxourgeio or Nice N Easy in Kolonaki. If you prefer romance by the sea, visit the magical Temple of Poseidon in Sounio (around an hour from Athens by car or KTEL bus), have a cooling dip and then admire the temple lit up in gold light as you sit for dinner by the lapping waves at one of the tavernas below.

Nolan: Nolan is all about our passion for tasty food, an urban-cool ambiance and a menu that looks beyond geographical borders. The food takes inspiration from “familiar” ingredients that bring out feelings and memories – A food that is coupled with our love and continuous search for raw materials and techniques; A creative bridging of Greek and Asian flavors – from street food of Beijing and Vietnam to the all-time favorite fried chicken.

At Nolan, the blend of Greek and Asian cuisines craft a unique culinary narrative that’s both comforting and exciting. The restaurant’s minimalist design and the laid-back ambiance has made it a favorite among the younger Athenian crowd, while food enthusiasts praise its bold flavors and innovative combinations. Chef Sotiris Kontizas masterfully fuses the simplicity of Greek cooking with the complexity of Asian spices and techniques.

Nolan: A unique & sleek foodie hotspot, with a menu lacking geographical restrictions, and food that does not belong to any one category. With dishes rooted in Greece, , Nolan takes influence from everywhere, whether from the street food of Japan or classic fried chicken or your grandmother’s beans. Dishes are fresh, colorful, well balanced, finely executed and are served in the middle of the table to encourage sharing.

Despite what you might think, these two very different cuisines make a great combination. Seasonal local produce is incorporated into Japanese staples with results like strips of fresh zucchini with miso and smoked eggplant, reminiscent of melitzanosalata, or the cod burger in a steamed bao bun. All plates are meant to be shared, so each person gets to choose a couple of dishes, three if you’re extra peckish.

A gleaming, glass-sided affair, it is the brainchild of Sotiris Kontizas, best known in Greece as a judge on Masterchef, but with plenty of time and love poured into the creative Asian-influenced dishes: standouts include steam buns with pork shoulder; zucchini with miso and smoked aubergine, and soybean noodles with smoked salmon and tahini sauce. Don’t miss Sweet Nolan, their takeaway patisserie next door.

Nolan bends the boundaries of Greek cooking further to fuse the chef Sotiris Kontizas’s Greek and Japanese heritages. New on the scene Delta offers a meticulously crafted tasting menu that combines Scandinavian concepts with Greek ingredients at the top of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center — an architectural marvel in itself. And no trip to the city is complete without streetfood.

Nolan, located just a couple of meters away from Syntagma square, is a restaurant with international cuisine and Asian orientations. The chef of the restaurant is Greek-Japanese Sotiris Kontizas, who creates unique dishes combining Asian and Greek products. Nolan’s concept is based on comfort food and originates from the culture of street food in the world.

You’ll find Michelin-starred Nolan Restaurant in the vibrant heart of Athens, near the bustling Omonia Square and the neighborhood of Exarchia. They’re known for putting a creative Mediterranean spin on modern Asian-inspired cuisine, in a way that you can’t find anywhere else in Greece. The interior décor is chic and contemporary with industrial elements.

Nolan: Situated directly next to our hotel (we stayed in the beautiful Electra Metropolis Hotel) perhaps one of the currently best restaurant of Athens was situated. At Nolan you eat modern dishes made with the best local ingredients and a Greek touch. If you’re going to Athens make sure to reserve a table in the evening at this cute gastrobar!.

In business since 2016, the execution of high-end comfort food has landed Nolan a spot on the Michelin Bib Gourmand list. Like Birdman, Nolan is another bistro offering a taste of Asian influences in Athens. Yet, this spot is decidedly broader in scope and with a much deeper focus on the beauty of making whatever tastes good.

Greek-Japanese chef, Sotiris Contizas, set up Nolan by drawing from his multicultural sensibilities and the restaurant has been one of the hottest tables in Athens ever since. It even got a Bib Gourmand from the Michelin guide recently. The space is simple, sleek and minimalist, in the heart of Downtown Athens.

One of the locals’ favorite streets in the heart of downtown, 31-33 Voulis, is famous for its ethnic restaurants. The ‘fusion’ restaurant Nolan stands out. Its food is honest and unpretentious: the definition of comfort food, but with aesthetically pleasing and polite service with high quality!

Head to Syntagma for dinner at Michelin-starred Nolan, which serves Greek-Japanese plates under chef Sotiris Kontizas, who has a Greek father and Japanese mother. Dishes include donburi with minced lamb, burned cabbage and cauliflower with cheese from Naxos, and even a riff on fried chicken.

With a young chef and mediterranean and asian flavors (mostly Japanese and Greek) Nolan is chic, minimalism at its best. This place is buzzy and the food is surprisingly light for how in depth the flavors are. Nolan is different than any other food in the city and is a nice way to mix it up.

One of my most memorable food experiences in Athens was lunch at Nolan. This Bib Gourmand restaurant blends Greek and Japanese flavors into small dishes, served as soon as they’re ready. I say “small,” but the portions are surprisingly generous.

I like Nolan very much for both lunch and dinner nad, of course, Spondi and Funky Gourmet. For every day of the week and every hour I have another place to go. As far as wine is concerned, I have fun in Lithinon in Saronida and Oinoscent.

Nolan is all about passion for tasty food, an urban-cool ambiance and a menu that looks beyond geographical borders!. Enjoy your lunch, dinner and drinks in the heart of downtown Athens!

Finally, Nolan is a newer addition to the Athens dining scene but has already earned a reputation for its exceptional Greek cuisine, with a focus on fresh seafood dishes.

This year, six venues have retained this distinction, including Cerdo Negro 1985, Fine Mess Smokehouse, Jerár, and Nolan, along with two new entries: Akra and Pharaoh.

Try everything, but definitely don’t miss the Nolan Fried Chicken paired with Champagne, grilled fish for babies, and short ribs if you prefer meat.

Last year’s Bib Gourmand recipients Cerdo Negro 1985, Nolan and Oikeîo – all retain their special recognition for exquisite quality.