TERESA MONTAÑO
EXECUTIVE CHEF |OWNER
Teresa Montaño is a New Mexico-born, Los Angeles-based Chef, best known for her modern Spanish
cuisine. Teresa’s unique perspective on Spanish cuisine integrates creative use of technique and
ingredients rooted in Californian sensibility, seasonality, and aesthetic. Much of Chef Teresa’s cuisine is
based off of her many trips through the Basque and Catalan regions of Spain. Teresa also pulls from the
vast palate of the international city of Los Angeles, integrating Japanese, Chinese, Peruvian and Mexican
ideas into her dishes. With strong roots in the organic food industry early in her career, Teresa developed
a strong sense of stewardship towards the environment and sustainable business practices.
At age 30, Chef Teresa opened her first restaurant, Ración, in Old Town Pasadena. At Ración, Chef
Teresa highlighted Basque cuisine with her own modern spin in dishes like Bacalao al Pil Pil, Buñuelos
de Lengua, and a very special Txuleta, a cast iron seared rib eye served with padron peppers. At Ración,
Teresa also cowrote the all-Spanish wine list. Ración became a destination for local wine clubs and
collectors to share and celebrate Spanish wine. Ración was beloved by the Pasadena community and was
highly lauded by acclaimed food writers and critics, alike, including Jonathan Gold, who featured Ración
as his first, full page review upon joining the LA Times as Lead Food Critic. The restaurant was included in
the celebrated LA Times 101 Best Restaurant for the entirety of Teresa’s tenure as well as dozens of local
and national recognitions including the Diner’s Club World’s 50 Best Restaurants Discovery Series.
In the summer of 2018, Chef Teresa opened Otoño, a love letter to paella and the tapas culture. The
heavily anticipated, Otoño, opened with massive excitement and media coverage from Food and Wine
Magazine, Eater, LA Times, The Wall Street Journal, as well as the 2019 and 2021 Michelin Guide and
many more.
Michelin Rated, Otoño, is based off of Chef Teresa’s Spanish travel journal where she explored the many dialects of paella in the Catalan region including the birthplace of the dish: Valencia. From the celebrated, established
institutions practicing traditional techniques to the young, ambitious chefs seeking to revolutionize the
experience, the significance and relevance of this dish to Spanish cuisine and culture was deeply felt
throughout the region. It was here, where the intermingling of the Old and New World played out over a
rich canvas of cuisine, art, and culture, that the idea for Otoño was set into motion presenting an
opportunity for Chef Teresa to further express her devotion to the genre and create something new for the
magnificent food city of Los Angeles.
Otoño recently reopened, June 2021, after the shutdowns of 2020 ravaged the restaurant industry. The
restaurant remains a well-loved neighborhood tapas bar and destination for paella lovers and
Spanish wine enthusiasts! Chef Teresa continues to reinvent her unique cooking style while paying
homage to the cuisine that lives in her heart and travel journals.
Follow Chef on Instagram @cheftmontano