Bakel: A Slice of New York in the Heart of Athens

I stumbled upon it one Sunday morning, somewhere between my walks through the city center. A small, bright space with orange details and an atmosphere that instantly transports you, without much effort, to the streets of Manhattan.
Bakel moves in step with the wave of refined all-day concepts; with clean aesthetics and attention to detail, it gives the bagel the place it deserves. On this small corner opposite Agioi Theodoroi Square, the dough with its crisp crust and chewy heart takes center stage.

In Greece, the bagel isn’t widely known as a food option. And yet, in New York, the lines for a good bagel are legendary. Nikos Karavas, founder and owner of Bakel, came to know it well during the years he lived in the U.S. -not as a chef, but as an engineer and robotics researcher at Harvard University.
“I wanted to bring something that was missing from everyday life in the city center,” he says. “Something quick, healthy, authentic—something that feels like part of a metropolitan routine, without losing quality or freshness.”

Together with chef Thodoris Sideras, who has experience in Brussels, they decided to join forces. A shared vision brought them to the same table: to create an open mall of flavors, a meeting point for city people looking for something different. As Nikos explains, “Bakel is a way of making something fresh, right there in front of you so you can see how it’s done.”

After ten years in the U.S., he returned to Athens during the pandemic and has since been working remotely, usually from one of the coworking spaces downtown. “Every time I wanted to take a lunch break, I ran into the same problem,” he says. “If you don’t want to eat souvlaki or sit down at a restaurant, there aren’t many quality options in the center-at least not something filling, healthy, and tasty at the same time. I’d always had in mind to start my own business. And that’s when I thought of bagels.”

The secret, of course, lies in the details: a dough made exclusively for Bakel, using high-gluten flour and a two-day fermentation process. The recipe comes straight from New York – with guidance from a bagel expert who visited their lab in Athens and coached them, step by step.  The result is a bagel boiled in water and honey before baking, with the perfect elasticity and that subtle “chewy bite” that true bagel lovers know to look for.

One of the first things I tried was the pastrami bagel and another with smoked salmon, both excellent. They have that clean, premium feeling you recognize immediately: carefully sourced ingredients, balanced flavors, proper baking. And, most importantly, that lightness afterwards you feel satisfied, but never heavy.

As Nikos explains, that’s part of what makes it special: “Our bagel fills you up without weighing you down. It’s made with high-protein, high-gluten flour, no butter, no oils. It stays nutritious, light, and with a beautiful texture.” Indeed, you feel like you’re eating something genuine and thoughtfully made, not a dense fast-food imitation.

One of Bakel’s nicest features is the freedom to customize. You choose your base -white, whole grain, or multigrain- and your topping: sesame, poppy seed, or the popular “everything,” an aromatic blend with dried garlic and onion, sesame, and poppy seeds (a little bit of everything in one spontaneous mix).
Each bagel is made fresh, on the spot, right before your eyes. From dough to baking, nothing is pre-prepared. If you linger by the counter, you can watch the process unfold like a small ritual. It’s part of the experience reminding you that freshness and simplicity need no embellishment, only care.

At the heart of Bakel lies its commitment to ingredients. Everything is Greek and carefully selected: cold cuts from Drama, fish from small local producers, and juices or soft drinks from Funcky Greece Project, a small business from Kalavryta that uses natural sweeteners instead of sugar.
“We want to collaborate with people who share our philosophy,” says Nikos. “Quality, purity, and respect for the product.”

Among the choices that stand out are those with prosciutto, salmon, and omelet and, of course, the classic cream cheese and avocado, already a favorite. These are Bakel’s best-sellers: simple, clean combinations made with care.

Next to the main space of Bakel, a small arcade serves as a natural extension of the venue, where guests can enjoy their coffee along with a freshly baked bagel. Bakel collaborates with Greek micro roasters, supporting small, independent coffee producers who prioritize quality and sustainability.

Today, Bakel goes beyond savory options. There are also sweet versions with chocolate, cinnamon and raisins, inspired by traditional American recipes.

Nikos smiles as he recalls the public’s initial hesitation. “At first, we didn’t sell plain bagels,” he explains. “We wanted people to learn how to eat them properly-to try them as they should be, with the right filling.” Today, customers ask for them passionately-some take them to the office, others home, others simply for the joy of good bread.

Foreigners and Athenians alike who appreciate good ingredients step into the small shop and, for a moment, feel as if they’ve been transported elsewhere. “When people tell me, ‘It feels like eating in New York,’ I know we did something right,” Nikos says.

Our conversation inevitably turns to today’s Athens-a city Nikos now rediscovers with fresh eyes after years abroad. “It’s changed a lot,” he says. “People are more informed, more open, more updated. But I do miss a bit of the old romanticism—the sense that time used to move a little slower.”

Bakel, perhaps without intending to, captures something of this new city rhythm: the need for quality amid speed, for freshness without excess, for an everyday life that has both flavor and tempo.
A small slice of New York that found its way to the heart of Athens-woven into the city’s urban culture, made of dough, craft, and a sincere love for the simple things that become special.