Chef
Santiago Perez
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- Manhattan, New York, United States
i. Biography
Founder-led taco work in Manhattan is the frame for Santo Taco, Santiago Perez’s first solo project in New York City. The concept is built around Mexico City-style tacos and planted at the crossroads of SoHo and Nolita, with Perez’s Mexico City upbringing carried through as part of the restaurant’s point of view. The result is a place shaped by memory, instinct, and the pace of the city, but kept grounded in the format of the taco itself.
The Path
Hospitality experience at Casamata gave Santiago Perez a working base before Santo Taco. As partner at the group, he spent time inside the mechanics of the business and built the perspective that now sits behind his own opening. That background shows up in the way Santo Taco is presented: not as a sudden pivot, but as a step that follows years of learning how restaurants hold together.
The Work Today
The present work is Santo Taco, and Santiago Perez describes it as his first solo project and his most personal one yet. His own announcement places Mexico City-style tacos at the center and names SoHo and Nolita as the setting, which makes the concept explicit: the cooking style is the point, and the neighborhood is the context. The restaurant reads as a direct statement from a founder working in his own register.
Career - Founder — Santo Taco, New York City - Partner — Casamata hospitality group
Signature
Steak trompo is listed as one of Santiago’s signature dishes. Within Santo Taco, it serves as a clear marker of the kitchen’s direction: concentrated, recognizable, and built to support the Mexico City-style frame that defines the project. It is a signature tied to form and identity rather than excess.
In Their Words “Excited to announce my first solo project, and my most personal one yet: Santo Taco @santo.taco — Bringing Mexico City style tacos to the crossroads of SoHo and Nolita.”
Acclaim
The recognition here is tied to the move itself: founding Santo Taco after working as partner at Casamata hospitality group. That shift marks the point where Perez’s background becomes a fully owned concept, and the opening carries weight because it joins place, format, and personal history in one project. In trade terms, the credit is not a trophy so much as a clean line from experience to authorship.
FAQ Where did Santiago Perez work before? Santiago Perez's earlier career included Casamata hospitality group. What is Santiago Perez known for? Mexico City-style tacos.
