About Nolla
Nolla is a restaurant who asks questions, on a simple mission to change the industry for the better.
Nolla’s three founders, a trio of chefs – Luka Balac from Serbia, Albert Franch Sunyer from Catalonia and Carlos Henriques from Portugal – were brought together in Helsinki by a shared vision for a better model. Together we envisioned a restaurant founded on environmental and social responsibility, transparency and community: an ideology which has guided our actions everyday since. And beyond our principles, what motivates us as chefs day-to-day is simply the instinct to serve wonderful food, and to be a place where everyone is welcome around the table.
Stepping through the doors of Nolla restaurant, little might seem unusual at first glance. But all is not what it seems. Every dish, and every aspect of the experience for guests, is underpinned by a radical set of practices – whether our thorough sourcing of organic, local, ethically-produced produce, our abstaining from single use plastic and packaging, or our commitment to efficient energy consumption. Across the restaurant, from our kitchen to front-of-house and even office teams, our working practices are designed to conserve resources and maximise the life of materials wherever possible. With regards to food waste, we believe in preventing food waste from the start. Our systems always aim to tackle the root cause of the problem, rather than keeping a cycle of waste going, by investing resources in solutions for surplus or discarded produce.
We were pioneers in our region when we opened, and we remain one of the very few restaurants around the world led by a holistic approach to responsible hospitality. Still, we continue to refine our practices, better our knowledge, and share our lessons – including our mistakes.
Nolla’s mission is simple: to denormalise the vices of the industry, whilst continuing to share with guests what we love most and do best.
Press
Nolla began as an effort to build a better model, and in the seven years of our operations, we have continually strived to integrate more ethical, responsible and transparent processes. Here are a snapshot of some of our conversations with others over the years
“From the very beginning, we believed that if we didn’t normalize what we do, it would stay something strange, weird, basically artificial.”
MAD DIGEST
Read more“It [Nolla] also happens to be a world pioneer in zero-waste cooking, which isn’t even trumpeted on its menus. Why? Because that’s not why people eat in restaurants.”
MONOCLE
Read more“We don’t define what’s on the menu — the producers define what’s on the menu,” says Franch Sunyer. “We just go along with whatever is in the fields.”
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
Read more“Helsinki’s Nolla (meaning “zero” in Finnish) gives compost to its suppliers and guests – a doggy bag with a difference.”
THE GUARDIAN
Read moreGIFT CARDS
Nolla’s gift cards have been designed from biodegradable poppyseed paper which can be planted after use in Nolla’s own compost soil. They are a gift which keeps on giving.
Our gift cards can be customised to any amount. You are warmly welcome to collect one of our poppyseed gift cards at the restaurant.
If you would like an electronic gift card, please follow the link to our online shop:
