Executive Chef Saúl Montiel was born in Atotonilco el Grande, a small town outside of Pachuca in central Mexico, and quickly adopted the kitchen as his second home under the tutelage of his grandmother and mother. He not only developed a passion for food but for the restaurant industry as well, honing his skills at his family’s two restaurants Inspired by the great “American Dream,” Montiel moved to the United States at age seventeen, and after a short time of working odd jobs to support his family, Montiel moved to New York City and finally broke into the restaurant industry as a dishwasher. To support his family back in Mexico, Montiel began arriving at work early to observe and learn from the cooks he worked with in an effort to move up the ladder quickly. 

Montiel quickly advanced within the restaurant industry, from I Coppi and the Upper East Side’s Amaranth to the Mediterranean restaurant Tappo. At Tappo, Montiel met his culinary mentor, Chef Jody Williams. Williams taught him many of his culinary skills, reaffirmed his passion for food, and appointed him sous chef at only 19 years old. Progressing alongside Williams, Montiel served as sous chef at Giorgione and was eventually appointed executive chef. Following a stint as sous chef at SoHo’s Lure Fishbar with Chef Josh Capon, Montiel rejoined Williams to work as the sous chef of Gusto Ristorante e Bar Americano. At Gusto, Montiel also worked with chefs Amanda Freitag and Anne Burrell. 

Saul joined the Cantina Rooftop team in 2018. With a solid grounding of authentic Mexican recipes, combined with his adopted skills of Mediterranean techniques, Chef Montiel has created an exciting contemporaneous Mexican cuisine at Cantina Rooftop weaving in Mexican street food recipes and classic “fonda” dishes. Chef Saul’s recipes have been featured on Good Morning America, The Wendy Williams show,  Epicurious, Univision, Food & Wine, Forbes, NowThis News, People en Español and Telemundo, The Cooking Channel Chef Saul resides in Union New Jersey  with his wife, Eliana and he’s three kids , Ella Maria, Elena Lucia & Saul Elias