Photo courtesy of EJ Galvez.
The pop up social club The Experience opens a new concept to the neighborhood this month.
Located at 367 W. Jefferson Blvd, Ateliê is a globally influenced bistro and multidisciplinary creative space that will be the first permanent home for Chef Wyl Lima’s intersection of food, storytelling and culture.
The restaurant is designed as a true cultural incubator, a place where artists can convene, perform, and collaborate. In partnership with Daisha Board Gallery, the bistro turned into a rotating satellite gallery curated by the board to showcase emerging and underrepresented visual artists that will shift with the seasons.
“This place is meant to feel alive,” Lima said in a press release. “The art is part of the energy of the room.”
The restaurant will also host musicians and creatives such as Latin artist EJ Galvez and independent musician Ashton Edminster. Grammy Award-winning producer Lone Star will perform on opening night Monday, Dec. 15.
Lima describes the opening 12-item bistro menu as “the dishes that feel the most like me.”
Items include Roasted Carrots with tofu curry, sesame and crispy shallots, and a Garden Salad of frisée, fried egg and radish. Other options include the Flatbread and Prawns, layered with matbucha, amba sauce, and frisée, along with delicate Mushroom Croquettes served with allium aioli.
From there, the menu hosts reimagined comforting staples, such as the Turkey Hot Pocket filled with truffle mornay and smoked gouda, the Wagyu Melt with pastrami and caramelized onions, and Fried Rice enriched with egg yolk, garlic crisp and nori.
The heartier side of the menu showcases the dishes Lima considers personal pillars of the bistro: the Cacio e Pepe, the Grilled Mackerel finished with nam jim and fresh herbs, the slow-braised Lamb Shank with pomegranate and couscous, the Arrachera (skirt steak) with piquillo salsa and yuca.
The dish Lima considers most emblematic of his identity is the Half Roasted Chicken which features sweet plantains and Mediterranean chutney.
“The chicken is everything I grew up around, African and Caribbean influences, fire, sweetness, spice, brought together in harmony,” Lima said. “The plantains remind me of home, and the chutney blends Indian and Italian inspirations. It’s a collision of the cultures that formed my instincts in the kitchen, but it still feels natural.”
Dessert opens with a Matcha Cheesecake of matcha mousse, strawberries and graham cracker.
Cocktails are led by Stephen Gazaway with six brunch cocktails and eight dinner selections. Options include a Caesar Martini made by infusing vodka with concentrated Caesar dressing to a “dirty martini” infused with Hot Cheetos, alongside a lineup that balances creativity with approachability.
“The question we kept asking was: Who are we in a glass?” Lima said. “As long as the drink is balanced, it can be as wild or as classic as it needs to be.”
Ateliê will be open seven days a week. Dinner service will run from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Friday and Saturday until 11 p.m. Brunch service will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Ateliê is open Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Updated Jan. 13, 2026 at 12:24 p.m. with new hours.
