A First Taste of Ateliê — Chef Wyl Lima’s New Globally-Inspired Bistro (and Art Gallery) in Bishop Arts

Over the summer, Dallas chef Wyl Lima announced that he would be debuting two new concepts — a café-bistro and a tasting menu experience — in Bishop Arts. Now, the creative bistro we’ve been highly anticipating, Ateliê, is officially open with the second concept, Origen, soon to follow. We recently stopped by for dinner at the former to get a first taste of Lima’s curated 14-item (including dessert), globally-inspired menu. We were blown away by each dish we tried at the new restaurant and can’t wait to return to taste more. But before we get into our recommendations, here’s a bit about Lima and his new restaurants.

About Chef Wyl Lima and His New Concepts

In 2024, Lima helped open Henderson Avenue’s The Charlotte, which quickly gained popularity for its global twist on Southern comfort food. He remains Culinary Director as he pursues his new concepts. Before that, he was Chef de Cuisine at the Michelin-starred Temporis in Chicago and Executive Chef at Dallas’ Sister. Lima brought flavors from Africa (he was born in Angola) and beyond to The Charlotte, while also running a Bishop Arts-born immersive dining and arts series called The Experience.

Ateliê and Origen are the brick-and-mortar evolution of The Experience. Beyond the food, the space doubles as a rotating satellite gallery showcasing emerging and underrepresented visual artists. The artwork is curated by Dallas’ Daisha Board Gallery, with each piece offering a scannable QR code so that guests can discover more about the artists. “This place is meant to feel alive,” Wyl says in an opening press release. “The art is part of the energy of the room.”

The art selection will rotate seasonally, as will Ateliê’s menu. And when Origen opens, its menu will be inspired by individual artworks selected by Daisha Board Gallery.

The Inspiration Behind Ateliê’s Menu

Every single dish is intriguing on Ateliê’s menu as there is something unique and unexpected in each one. Everything is family-style and meant to be shared.

In the release, Lima mentions that the opening menu features the dishes that feel the most like him. After dining at Ateliê, we caught up with the chef and asked him to expand more on this sentiment.

“Being from Angola, yucca and plantains were a big part of my culture,” Lima tells PaperCity. “So much so that fufu is a staple in how we eat. And depending on the region of the country, we would use these ingredients for fufu.” Fufu is a pounded meal found in West African cuisine, primarily made from starchy vegetables like plantains and yams. You’ll find these ingredients across his menu.

When reading Ateliê’s menu, I wondered how Chef Lima thought to pair so many different flavors from various cuisines — that, spoiler alert, all end up working out really well. “As far as how the pairing comes together or how I conceptualize a dish, it’s a memory or history for me,” he says. “I don’t think of food as just multicultural. I think of it as a connection between us.”

The Dishes We Loved

We recommend starting with the potato croquettes — a current favorite on the menu. Three fried pieces are filled with mushrooms and are served with a delicious (and bright green) allium aioli. I don’t usually go for cabbage, but the roasted version at Ateliê is a must-try. It has a kick of spice and includes pistachios, pear slices, and a smoked Gouda fondue that you’re going to want to scoop up every last bit of.

For larger plates, we went with the half-roasted chicken and wagyu skirt steak. Both were flavor bombs and cooked to perfection, but it was the former that stood out as my favorite with its savory Mediterranean chutney and side of sweet plantain. It’s one of the best chicken dishes I’ve ever eaten. The steak was also served with a tasty piquillo salsa and yucca fries. An additional bite you should order is the sweet potato with a cocoa crumble, coconut, and herb oil. Again, how does Chef Lima come up with these perfectly unexpected flavor combinations?

Ateliê serves just one dessert, and it’s currently an “abstract” deconstructed matcha cheesecake. The slight bitterness of the smooth matcha mousse balances out the sweetness of the strawberries and crunch of the graham crackers. It’s a real treat.

“The menu will change as ingredients become available, or if we feel it makes sense to do so,” says Lima. “However, the cacio e pepe [a staple of his] may be the only dish that may not change.”

Our server told us ateliê means workshop, and Chef Lima finally has his ultimate workshop.