Makedonia Palace Thessaloniki: Chef & Restaurant
Who runs the kitchen at Thessaloniki's landmark 1972 hotel, why Salonika Restaurant serves no burger, and where to eat one in the city instead.
Photo: L'imaGiraphe, CC BY-SA 2.0
The restaurant at Makedonia Palace in Thessaloniki is Salonika Restaurant, a fine-dining room facing the sea, and its kitchen is run by Executive Chef Sotiris Evangelou. He does not own the hotel. He did not found it either. He is its chef, on his second stint there since 2017. And Makedonia Palace is no place for a burger: as of 17 October 2026, neither its official gastronomy page nor its press coverage mentions one. If a burger is what brought you here, skip to the burger bars local guides actually recommend, further down.
Sotiris Evangelou and Makedonia Palace: chef, not owner, and no burger
Sotiris Evangelou is the Executive Chef of Makedonia Palace, not its owner or founder, and the hotel’s kitchen does not serve a signature burger. I checked both points against the hotel’s own pages, his Thessaloniki City of Gastronomy biography and the Greek press.
The chef and the hotel really are linked, and still are today. A Makedonia Palace burger, on the other hand, does not exist. So this is a portrait of Evangelou and his restaurant as they are, followed by the addresses that matter if you want a burger in Thessaloniki.
Who is Sotiris Evangelou, chef of Makedonia Palace?
Sotiris Evangelou is a Greek chef, born in 1967 in Tyrnavos, Thessaly, who leads the kitchens of Makedonia Palace in Thessaloniki. He graduated from the Thessaloniki School of Tourism in 1985, according to his chef-ambassador biography on the Thessaloniki City of Gastronomy site.
Trained by Alain Ducasse in France and Monaco
Evangelou learned French haute cuisine inside the Ducasse system. He trained at the Alain Ducasse school in Paris, then cooked in Ducasse group restaurants in Monaco, Marseille and Provence, and at the Plaza Athénée in Paris.
Two stints at Makedonia Palace, with Athens in between
Evangelou came home to Greece at 28 and became the youngest Executive Chef in Makedonia Palace’s history. No source gives the year of that first appointment, only his age. From there he moved to Athens and ran the kitchens of three landmarks: the Athenaeum InterContinental, the King George and the Grande Bretagne. If you are heading south, our burger guide to Athens covers that city from a very different angle.
He has been back as Executive Chef of Makedonia Palace since 2017, the year the hotel reopened, and the restaurant’s official site still names him. In 2017, To Vima reported that he was in charge of every menu in the building: the Salonica and Navona restaurants, Enatos, catering, 24-hour room service, conference menus and Ktima Deda. Navona and Enatos are gone from the hotel’s gastronomy page. Treat them as history, not as places to book.
His cooking philosophy: Greek food the guest understands
Evangelou cooks Greek and Mediterranean food from local produce, and he has no time for molecular gastronomy or deconstruction. “We want the customer to understand what they will eat,” he told To Vima in 2017 (our translation from Greek).
His published biographies credit him with putting patsas, the Greek tripe soup, on five-star tables. His view of the city fits in two sentences: “Thessaloniki is the town of meze. Its culture is to put the dishes in the middle of the table and share,” he says in his City of Gastronomy biography.
A bowl of patsas, the Greek tripe soup, topped with chilli flakes and served with bread in a Greek taverna. Sotiris Evangelou is credited with putting this dish on five-star tables. Illustrative photo, not taken at Makedonia Palace (1760 × 1168 px). (Photo: Kaihsu Tai, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Patsas\_soup\_200509.jpg)
Salonika Restaurant at Makedonia Palace: menu, hours and booking
Salonika Restaurant is Makedonia Palace’s fine-dining restaurant, serving contemporary Greek cuisine with a view of the Thermaic Gulf, and it does not list a burger. The hotel’s gastronomy page names three outlets today: Salonika Restaurant, Salonika Bar and a Pool Bar open from May to September.
What is on the menu
The 2025 menu leans on Thessaloniki’s own dishes. Athens Voice’s review of 4 June 2025 picks out grilled squid, fresh fish of the day, beef tartare, traditional sausages, Thessaloniki-style bougiourdi, an eggplant salad prepared at the table and a signature pavlova.
Bougiourdi, the baked feta, tomato and chilli dish that features on Salonika Restaurant’s menu, served in a cast-iron pan. Illustrative photo taken at a taverna on Samothrace, not at Makedonia Palace (1024 × 576 px). (Photo: Dimitris Siskopoulos (dimsis), CC BY 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/62001345@N00/20039935890)
What I like about that list is that it does not pretend to be in Paris. Bougiourdi and grilled sausages are taverna food. Serving them under hotel tablecloths is exactly the line Evangelou has argued for since 2017.
Opening hours and reservations
These are the hours and phone numbers published by the hotel and the restaurant, checked on 17 October 2026:
| Outlet | Hours | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Salonika Restaurant | 07:00–00:30 | À la carte 13:00–00:30, last order 23:30 |
| Salonika Bar | 09:00–01:00 | — |
| Pool Bar | Seasonal | May to September |
Book Salonika Restaurant on +30 2310 897197 (the number on the gastronomy page) or +30 2310 897176 (the number on the restaurant’s own site). Neither page says the restaurant is for hotel guests only, but neither says it is open to everyone. Call ahead if you are not staying.
Awards: Greek Cuisine Awards and Toques d’Or
Salonika Restaurant is one of the most decorated hotel restaurants in Thessaloniki. At Athinorama’s Greek Cuisine Awards 2020, it was named best contemporary Greek cuisine in Thessaloniki with a score of 15/20, GTP reported. At Athinorama’s Toques d’Or ceremony on 13 September 2021, it won for the second year running and was the only Thessaloniki restaurant among the 23 winners, according to the hotel’s press release.
Makedonia Palace: Thessaloniki’s landmark waterfront hotel
Makedonia Palace opened in 1972 and is often described as Thessaloniki’s first luxury hotel. It was designed by the architect Constantinos A. Doxiadis, according to Wikipedia and GTP. It stands at 2 Megalou Alexandrou Avenue, 546 40 Thessaloniki, on the eastern waterfront.
Makedonia Palace lit up at night in 2006. The hotel was designed by Constantinos A. Doxiadis, opened in 1972 and reopened after renovation on 2 May 2017 (800 × 584 px). (Photo: Salonica84, Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Makedonia\_Palace\_Thessaloniki.jpg)
The hotel reopened on 2 May 2017 after a renovation of about €20 million. That work added a 450 m² spa, a 2,000 m² conference centre and a 900 m² ballroom, GTP reported. Evangelou came back as Executive Chef for the reopening.
What Makedonia Palace’s €20 million renovation added in 2017: a 450 m² spa, a 900 m² ballroom and a 2,000 m² conference centre (source: GTP, 2 May 2017). (Chart: Burger Breton, CC BY 4.0, data from GTP https://news.gtp.gr/2017/05/02/grand-opening-makedonia-palace-make-history-again/)
Best burger in Thessaloniki: where to go instead
For a burger in Thessaloniki, go to a dedicated burger house such as Brothers in Law, not to Makedonia Palace. It is the name local and travel guides mention first, and the longest-running burger specialist I could document in the city.
Brothers in Law, Pavlou Mela 30
Brothers in Law says it has been open since 2008. In 2012 it moved to Pavlou Mela 30, a space done up like a Brooklyn industrial loft, according to Greeka and Spotted by Locals. Phone: +30 2310 270707.
Map of Thessaloniki: Makedonia Palace at 2 Megalou Alexandrou Avenue on the eastern waterfront (marker), and Brothers in Law at Pavlou Mela 30 in the city centre, about 1.5 km north-west by road. (Map: OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL, https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright)
The menu lists more than 30 burgers and wraps made from 100% fresh beef. Buns are baked every morning in white, wholewheat or brioche, and the sauces are made in house. The Elvis burger is the one everyone talks about: peanut butter, cheddar, strawberry jelly, bacon and fried banana. It is a stunt burger. Order it once, for the story.
Local listings also name branches on Komninon (LiFO gives Komninon 3), Lambraki and Vasilissis Olgas streets. I could not confirm current prices, opening hours or whether each branch is still trading, so check before you go. I have left out the founders’ names because no primary source confirms them yet.
Other burger bars local guides recommend
Four more names keep coming up in Thessaloniki food guides. Here they are, each with the one detail its source confirms:
- Pax Homemade Burgers: patties of 100% veal, chicken or buffalo mince (Greeka).
- Tarantino Sandwiches & Fries: Black Angus beef (Wanderlog).
- Hey Joe: a patty of beef, lamb and pork seasoned with thyme (Best of Thessaloniki).
- Grill Bros: named by local guides; no menu detail confirmed.
If I had a single burger night in the city, I would try Hey Joe before the Elvis. A thyme-seasoned patty of beef, lamb and pork is the closest thing on this list to a Greek burger rather than a copy of an American one. For the homegrown chain, Goody’s opened its very first restaurant here in 1975: our guide to Goody’s in Thessaloniki has the addresses, hours and prices.
Fine dining or burger bar: which one fits your evening
It depends on the night you want. Here is how the two most-searched names compare on verified facts:
| Salonika Restaurant (Makedonia Palace) | Brothers in Law | |
|---|---|---|
| Style | Contemporary Greek fine dining | Burger house, more than 30 burgers and wraps |
| Address | 2 Megalou Alexandrou Ave. | Pavlou Mela 30 (plus other branches) |
| Signature | Bougiourdi, table-side eggplant salad, pavlova | Elvis burger |
| Recognition | Greek Cuisine Awards 2020, Toques d’Or 2021 | Leading name in local burger guides |
| Burger on the menu | No | Yes |
My call: book Salonika for a long meze-style dinner by the sea, and go to Pavlou Mela when you want a burger and a beer. Don’t expect one place to do the other’s job.
For the full picture, our Thessaloniki burger guide collects every venue we have verified in the city, and the restaurants section has hub pages for more than 180 cities.
How I checked this article
I wrote this portrait from published sources and have not eaten at either venue yet. Every fact above was checked on 17 October 2026 against the hotel’s official pages, the Salonika Restaurant site, the Thessaloniki City of Gastronomy, GTP, To Vima, Athens Voice and the guides linked in each section. I left out anything only one weak source supports: the hotel’s exact room count, the founders of Brothers in Law and burger prices.
FAQ
Who is Sotiris Evangelou and where does he cook?
Sotiris Evangelou is a Greek chef born in 1967 in Tyrnavos and trained in the Alain Ducasse group. He has been Executive Chef of Makedonia Palace in Thessaloniki since 2017, his second stint there.
Does Makedonia Palace serve burgers?
No burger appears on Makedonia Palace’s official gastronomy page or in its press coverage, as of 17 October 2026. Salonika Restaurant serves contemporary Greek cuisine.
Is Salonika Restaurant open to non-hotel guests, and how do you book?
The restaurant publishes public reservation numbers and à la carte hours (13:00–00:30). Book on +30 2310 897197 or +30 2310 897176, and confirm access when you call.
What awards has Salonika Restaurant won?
It was named best contemporary Greek cuisine in Thessaloniki at the Greek Cuisine Awards 2020 (15/20). It also won a Toques d’Or award two years running, the second at the ceremony of 13 September 2021.
When did Makedonia Palace open and who designed it?
Makedonia Palace opened in 1972 and was designed by Constantinos A. Doxiadis. It reopened on 2 May 2017 after a renovation of about €20 million.
Where is the best burger in Thessaloniki?
Local guides most often point to Brothers in Law at Pavlou Mela 30, known for its Elvis burger. Pax Homemade Burgers, Tarantino, Grill Bros and Hey Joe are the other names they recommend.
Which Thessaloniki burger restaurant has been open the longest?
Of the burger bars I could document, Brothers in Law has the longest history. It says it has operated since 2008 and has been at Pavlou Mela 30 since 2012.
What should you eat in Thessaloniki besides burgers?
Thessaloniki is a meze city: dishes go in the middle of the table and everyone shares, as Evangelou puts it. Try bougiourdi, the baked cheese dish served Thessaloniki-style, and patsas, the tripe soup Evangelou brought to fine dining.
