Atelier F French Fries in the City

Who would have known that the walls of a lordly old Hanseatic house are hiding Vapiano cofounder Mark Korzilius’ newest innovation, Atelier F? We didn’t. And I was just as surprised when we had already entered and, on our way to the table, were explained their upgraded service concept, ‘the digital menu’: each guest receives a tablet of their own upon entering, and with a few clicks, your order goes straight to the kitchen.

The whole place is flooded with light, and you can either choose to sit in one of the individually decorated booths or in the BBQ section that has front row seats to the grill. We scrolled through the apparently French-American menu: salads, grilled meats and burgers, all with a French twist. The dishes even come with witty names, be it “Hungry Heidi’s Secret”, the haute couture version of the classic burger with salmon, romaine lettuce and lime aioli, the “French Rabbits Habits”, a carrot salad with olive oil and lemon, or a classic Steak Frites, available in ladies’ and gentlemen’s size.

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You can literally taste the joy that was being put into making all that food: hungry Heidi’s secret is unbelievably delicious, so is its French counterpart “Jean d’Arc” – a burger of chicken breast, with arugula, lime aioli and avocado - that my friend is devouring with the greatest pleasure and the biggest eyes.

Tough choices are continued on the side: the classic fries as well as the “Fresh Fried Crispy Chips” are crispy and seasoned perfectly. Along came our homemade carrot-apple-ginger-juice and a lemon-rosemary-lemonade. Imagine how much better these goodies taste when sitting on the beautiful terrace this upcoming summer! Speaking of, here’s some classified information: the restaurant’s terrace is accessible directly from the city’s Neuer Wall center via a little skywalk, the Bleichensteg. Now we all know!

Kathrin Willhöft

Guest Author Hamburg