Pepe Moncayo

The Climb

Culinary school gave Pepe Moncayo the starting point, but the shape of the career came from a sequence of kitchens in Barcelona and beyond, each one adding another layer of technique and reference. He worked as cook at Restaurants in Barcelona, Spain, then moved on as chef at Via Veneto in Barcelona, Spain, and chef at Can Fabes in Barcelona, Spain. From there, the work widened further: he became chef at Santi restaurant, Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, and later went on to found and lead Bam! In Singapore from 2013. Today, Moncayo’s career spans multiple roles at once. He is chef and owner of Cranes since 2020, culinary partner of Tabard Inn since 2026, and oversees the kitchen of Bully since 2026.

Today

Since 2020, Moncayo has led Cranes as chef and owner, keeping Spanish and Japanese cuisine at the center of the work. The restaurant is built on disciplined exchange rather than loose fusion, with tapas and omakase as the two formats through which the kitchen can handle contrast, precision, and timing. That structure gives the food its shape: not a blend for its own sake, but a clear conversation between traditions. At Tabard Inn, where he became culinary partner in 2026, the task changes. The work is not to transplant Spain, but to read the region as it is and build a Mid-Atlantic identity from its own terms. Moncayo has said as much: "Being a Spanish guy living in the Mid-Atlantic for the last eight years, it was actually very interesting to really look at what’s going on here, and I learned things I never heard of." That line describes the method plainly: close listening, a willingness to be taught by the place, and enough discipline to let unfamiliar ingredients and traditions alter the brief. Tabard Inn sits in the same larger practice as Cranes, but with a different set of references and a different kind of attention.

Signature

Moncayo’s signature dishes map the range of that approach. There are hushpuppies, familiar but reworked through his hands; fava bean spread with green strawberry chow-chow, which sets brightness and texture side by side; chilled green tomato soup with pickled cantaloupe and blue crab, a composition that uses coolness, acidity, and sweetness with intent; rack of lamb with sorghum-black pepper glaze, where depth and spice land in a grounded register; and charcoal-grilled rabbit with carrots served multiple ways, a dish that points to restraint, smoke, and variation.

In Their Words “I never heard what a hushpuppy is—seriously—or what sorghum is or chow-chow.”

Recognition

Pepe's honors include Michelin star.