Cantina Taco Grill will soon bring a modern take on Mexican cuisine from the family behind Taco Grill and Salsa Bar in Westmont, as they announce they will be opening for breakfast, lunch and dinner this Fall. The concept is led by local restaurateurs Jose Oliver, owner and executive chef, and his wife, Ivonne Oliver, who opened Taco Grill and Salsa Bar together in 2001, joined in the kitchen by Chef Francisco García. The new restaurant will focus on serving up elevated proteins leveraging unique flavors, creating a new experience for diners built on the traditions and techniques of Mexican cuisine they know and love.
Chef Jose Oliver has decades of culinary experience, including cooking for restaurants, hotels and conference centers, and, most importantly, for his own family and friends. It has long been his passion to serve food using the recipes he remembers from growing up in Mexico. That same philosophy will carry into Cantina Taco Grill, reimagined through a modern, upscale lens.
Cantina Taco Grill’s kitchen will also be led by Chef Francisco García, who brings years of international training and mentorship to the restaurant. Francisco began his culinary career as a pastry chef at Atelier Belge in Spain, building a foundation in technique and precision that has carried through his career. He has since worked alongside chefs across fine dining, contemporary Mexican cuisine and Japanese gastronomy, including Gerardo Corona Alarcón at El Viñedo, now Executive Chef with Habitas Hotels, and sushi chef Carmelo Ortiz, whose résumé spans Nobu Los Cabos and Nobu Bahamas. His pastry and baking training was further shaped by Alejandro Lechuga Acosta, a French pastry specialist and Cacao Barry brand ambassador. That range of experience informs Francisco’s approach at Cantina Taco Grill, where he aims to create food that feels approachable, rooted in tradition while looking toward what comes next…