Atelje Restaurant Review: Michelin Star in Ljubljana

Atelje restaurant in Ljubljana earned the city’s first Michelin star in 2020. We visited for lunch that summer and found inventive cooking in a relaxed dining room, with a few practical frustrations alongside the best plates. Atelje no longer operates under that name: chef Jorg Zupan’s AFTR now occupies the address with a different, shareable-plates concept. This is our review of the original Atelje, preserved for readers interested in the meal and the restaurant’s place in Ljubljana’s dining history.

Atelje Restaurant in Ljubljana: Setting and Chef

Atelje sat on a pedestrian street in central Ljubljana. In warm weather, the outdoor tables offered a calmer place to eat; inside, dark gray walls, terracotta brick, wooden chairs, and a few artworks gave the room the informality of a bistro. We liked the brickwork more than the dark faux plaster, and the restrooms did not live up to the meal. The glassware came from Slovenian maker Rogaška.

Jorg Zupan drew on experience abroad and seasonal ingredients at Atelje. The kitchen made bread, butter, pickles, and fermented dairy in house, while the menu moved comfortably beyond a single culinary tradition. Michelin announced Atelje’s star in 2020, the first for a restaurant in Ljubljana. The award belongs to Atelje’s history and should not be read as a current star for AFTR.

Our Atelje Restaurant Lunch Review

The short lunch menu gave us two starters and two mains to choose from, followed by dessert. That kept the meal moving, though we wanted another savory option, especially a vegetarian main. At the time, Atelje also had longer seven- and nine-course evening tasting menus. Those formats and the dishes below are part of the old Atelje experience, not a guide to what AFTR serves now.

Bread and whipped butter

We each received buckwheat bread with walnuts and wholegrain sourdough. Their crusts had a satisfying crackle around a moist crumb, and the whipped house butter carried a yeasty savoriness. It was the sort of opening that made us pay attention to the kitchen before the starters arrived.

Starters: Beetroot Gazpacho and Mackerel Salpicon

Beetroot and blackberry gazpacho

The cold soup brought together beetroot, blackberry, walnut, and sour cream. The fruit brightened the beetroot’s sweetness; the walnuts gave the smooth soup an earthy counterpoint. Young beet leaves kept their shape and gloss, a small detail that made the bowl look as carefully considered as it tasted.

Mackerel salpicon

A thin sheet of compressed cucumber wrapped diced mackerel with shallot and mint vinaigrette. Black garlic paste added little pockets of umami, while a sauce based on fish stock and Chardonnay circled the plate. We particularly liked the cucumber’s crunch against the tender fish.

Mains: Octopus and Beef Tongue Katsu Sando

Octopus with pil-pil

Our octopus came with young potato and leeks in a pil-pil sauce seasoned with coconut milk and lemongrass. The sauce suggested Southeast Asian flavors without taking over the plate. Most importantly, the tentacle was tender, and the potato worked well with its sweetness.

Beef tongue katsu sando

The kitchen put slow-cooked beef tongue into a Japanese-style cutlet sandwich, then fried it in crisp crumbs. Soft bread absorbed the tonkatsu sauce, with onion rings and a generous mixed salad, particularly arugula, on the side. It was a substantial main and one of the clearest examples of Zupan’s willingness to move between culinary traditions.

Dessert and Slovenian Cheese

For dessert, we had buttermilk ice cream with lemon verbena and Greek yogurt panna cotta with strawberries, sage, and a sugar-braised peeled cherry tomato. The dairy and fruit made a light finish. The tomato’s stevia-like sweetness was the one note we did not enjoy as much. It reminded us how much the sweetener matters, whether here or in a very different ingredient such as gula Melaka.

The cheese plate brought sheep and goat cheeses from the Oresnik family farm, ranging from mild to more assertive, with dried figs, tomato, nuts, and apricot chutney studded with mustard seeds. The chutney was our favorite accompaniment. We would happily have lingered over this course with a glass of wine.

Wine, Service, and Our Final Verdict

Atelje’s list included Slovenian and European wines, a few from Latin America, organic choices, and a useful selection by the glass. We appreciated the range. The list arrived on a shared tablet, however, and we had nearly finished the cheese by the time we could order another wine. Service itself was lovely; the bottleneck seemed to be the single device.

This Atelje restaurant review remains a record of an excellent 2020 lunch. The food showed precision without demanding ceremony, and the price we paid represented particularly good value. We would have liked a broader lunch selection, while the interior and restrooms could have used more attention. The strongest memory is still the cooking: from the sharp blackberry in the soup to the crisp cucumber around the mackerel. If you are planning a meal today, look at AFTR on its own terms, since the restaurant and menu have changed.

Atelje Restaurant Review Card

• 8.5/10
  ATMOSPHERE – 8.5/10
• 9.0/10
  SERVICE – 9.0/10
• 9.4/10
  PRESENTATION – 9.4/10
• 9.4/10
  FOOD – 9.4/10
• 9.5/10
  DRINKS – 9.5/10
• 9.6/10
  VALUE – 9.6/10

Practical Details: Atelje Then, AFTR Now

Atelje Ljubljana FAQ

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For another first-hand Slovenian restaurant review, read about our meal at Restaurant Grič.