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.
The menu will feature elevated takes on Mexican favorites, including tuna ceviche with passion fruit leche de tigre, shrimp aguachile, handmade tetelas, pork belly tacos, bone marrow tacos and the signature five-ounce picanha Taco Grill Taco.
Premium proteins, including 25-day dry-aged ribeye, New York strip and picanha, will be prepared in the restaurant’s Josper charcoal oven, a Spanish oven-and-grill system that cooks at high heat to create a distinctive smoky char while sealing in juiciness. Additional specialties will include whole branzino Veracruz-style, salmon with house-made mole, Arroz a la Tumbada, fideo seco with pork belly and slow-braised carnitas.
Handmade masa will also play a central role in the menu, with freshly ground corn masa and tortillas hand-pressed to order for dishes including quesadillas, tetelas, enchiladas and street tacos.
Brunch will bring the same modern Mexican approach to daytime dining, with dishes including shrimp and poblano omelets, chilaquiles with house-made red or green salsa, avocado toast, and berry toast with sweet goat cheese, mint and honey. Guests can also add proteins such as chicken, cecina or pork belly to select dishes, offering a mix of familiar brunch favorites and bold Mexican flavors.
For dessert, guests will be able to order a Mexican-inspired flan flight featuring several traditional-style flans. The bar program will highlight an extensive tequila and mezcal selection alongside made-from-scratch margaritas featuring house-made syrups and flavor combinations.
The restaurant's interior will bring a modern feel, with seating for 70 to 85 guests in the dining room and up to 150 guests on the spacious outdoor patio. Cantina Taco Grill will be open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“Cantina Taco Grill is everything I've learned in decades of cooking, brought together in one place,” said Jose Oliver, Owner and Executive Chef of Cantina Taco Grill. “I grew up on these flavors in Mexico, and I've spent my career cooking them for hotels, restaurants and my own family. This is my chance to serve them the way I always pictured, with unique, new ingredients, but still delicious food that feels like home.”
Cantina Taco Grill is located at 15 W. Jefferson Ave., Suite 101, in Naperville, and opens this Fall. The restaurant will be open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Worth a Taste
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.
The menu will feature elevated takes on Mexican favorites, including tuna ceviche with passion fruit leche de tigre, shrimp aguachile, handmade tetelas, pork belly tacos, bone marrow tacos and the signature five-ounce picanha Taco Grill Taco.
Premium proteins, including 25-day dry-aged ribeye, New York strip and picanha, will be prepared in the restaurant’s Josper charcoal oven, a Spanish oven-and-grill system that cooks at high heat to create a distinctive smoky char while sealing in juiciness. Additional specialties will include whole branzino Veracruz-style, salmon with house-made mole, Arroz a la Tumbada, fideo seco with pork belly and slow-braised carnitas.
Handmade masa will also play a central role in the menu, with freshly ground corn masa and tortillas hand-pressed to order for dishes including quesadillas, tetelas, enchiladas and street tacos.
Brunch will bring the same modern Mexican approach to daytime dining, with dishes including shrimp and poblano omelets, chilaquiles with house-made red or green salsa, avocado toast, and berry toast with sweet goat cheese, mint and honey. Guests can also add proteins such as chicken, cecina or pork belly to select dishes, offering a mix of familiar brunch favorites and bold Mexican flavors.
For dessert, guests will be able to order a Mexican-inspired flan flight featuring several traditional-style flans. The bar program will highlight an extensive tequila and mezcal selection alongside made-from-scratch margaritas featuring house-made syrups and flavor combinations.
The restaurant's interior will bring a modern feel, with seating for 70 to 85 guests in the dining room and up to 150 guests on the spacious outdoor patio. Cantina Taco Grill will be open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“Cantina Taco Grill is everything I've learned in decades of cooking, brought together in one place,” said Jose Oliver, Owner and Executive Chef of Cantina Taco Grill. “I grew up on these flavors in Mexico, and I've spent my career cooking them for hotels, restaurants and my own family. This is my chance to serve them the way I always pictured, with unique, new ingredients, but still delicious food that feels like home.”
Cantina Taco Grill is located at 15 W. Jefferson Ave., Suite 101, in Naperville, and opens this Fall. The restaurant will be open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
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Location
15 W. Jefferson Ave., Suite 101, Naperville, IL
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