CHEF LEM SORIANO
Chef Lem Soriano was born in New York City and raised in the Philippines, where early exposure to a deeply rooted food culture shaped his approach to cooking as an expression of care. With over a decade of experience in New York City restaurants, his work reflects both cultural memory and refined technique.
He began his career with the John Fraser Restaurant Group, contributing to the opening of restaurants including The Loyal, 701West, and North Fork Table & Inn. He later worked with Redwood Hospitality, where he was part of the reopening team at Oxalis (️1 Michelin Star) and the opening team at Place des Fêtes. In 2024, Chef Lem co-founded Solo Diner, a Filipino-American pop-up with two close friends, created as a way to reconnect with their roots and reinterpret shared cultural memories through food—a project he continues to develop today.
Chef Lem’s cuisine centers on Filipino flavors through the lens of New American cooking, grounded in French and Japanese technique and guided by New York’s seasonal produce. Drawing on fine-dining experience and personal culinary memories, his cooking offers a refined and intimate expression of Filipino food.
