Wyl Lima, the chef and co-owner of Atleiê in North Oak Cliff, says there is one throughline on the bistro’s menu: “We’re all more closely connected than we think.”
It’s not an easy line to follow at the bistro, which Lima says he chose to call Atleiê for lack of a better term, not because it is French-influenced, but because the restaurant hasn’t quite gone to plan.
With his business partners from the Charlotte, Lima’s restaurant on Henderson Avenue, he took the lease on this space on Jefferson Avenue, thinking it would be an all-day cafe where people could linger and work in the day, and use the side room as a tasting menu spot by night. As the space started coming together, a different plan emerged. “It shifted… from coming in, sitting down, having coffee, and working to having candles on the table,” Lima says. “It made the most sense for the business… People are calling, and they want to make dinner reservations.”
The space itself dictated a change to the kind of restaurant that serves dinner and cocktails. Lima partnered with the Daisha Board Gallery to curate art for the space, much of which is large-scale and eye-grabbing—full of personality.
There are portraits and photographic imagery of cowboys everywhere. Sculptures hang on the walls in the private dining room. It was formerly the home of Gonzalez Restaurant, which moved down the block, and the archways in the walls and doorframes remain, creating a Mexico City vibe that the soundtrack leans into. The walls are painted a muted cream color and limewashed to add texture and depth.
Lima grew up in Zimbabwe and Angola, and immigrated to North Texas with his family as a refugee from Angola’s 27-year civil war. Early in his career, he worked at Michelin-starred Temporis and at the three-starred Grace in Chicago. When he returned to DFW, he worked through the well-respected kitchens of Sister and Le Margot in Fort Worth before opening his own restaurant, the Charlotte.
His global experience, in life and travel, informs his menu. While the half of a roasted chicken is a French bistro standard (although it is served with plantains and a Mediterranean chutney rather than mashed potatoes and au pouve sauce), nothing else on the menu is.
There is a wagyu skirt steak served with yuca fries and piquillo salsa that Lima’s sous chef pointed out to him are a South American take on steak frites. The prawns come with an Israeli-style flatbread that Lima says a customer told him is exactly like Kenyan chapati. Potato croquettes shine with mushroom and a side of allium- and cilantro-infused aioli. Comfort food lovers will veer towards the turkey hot pocket, dressed up with truffle mornay and smoked gouda.
If you order one dish, Lima says, it should be the cacio pepe. “I never thought I’d become a pasta guy,” he says with a laugh. “But it’s what I’m known for now.” He keeps it classic, using only Parmesan and pepper, but adds a little dash of his style to the plate in the form of an acidic squeeze of lemon. “Probably the only dish that won’t change on the menu is the cacio pepe.”
At the moment, Ateliê is serving a 12-item menu, with a bar program of six cocktails designed by Stephen Gazaway, also of the Charlotte. The tasting menu will debut in a couple of months, and, for the time being, that room is available to reserve for private dining and large groups. The regular menu is also expected to expand in 2026.
Ateliê, 1801 N. Pearl St., Dallas, posh.vip/e/ateli-waitlist
