photo by Helene Dujardin
On most days at Lana Restaurant, you will find Chef John Ondo on the front kitchen line — right where he likes it, making sure the plates are perfect before they hit the table, visiting with guests, and always working to prep for the next service.
Chef Ondo excels at managing a bustling kitchen, and he believes it all starts with the prep. The kitchen prepares two types of bread, housemade gelato, and various meat stocks, sauces and stews made daily.
As chef/owner of Lana Restaurant, he’s spent the last seven years refining Lana’s rustic approach to Mediterranean cuisine. He interprets classic regional dishes through local ingredients, a respect for high-quality products, and the adventurous spirit that informs the tasting menus and seasonal changes.
Ondo is a Lowcountry native, at home in the kitchen since childhood, who has honed his skills though studies at Trident Technical College, front-line work at well-known Charleston restaurants such as McCrady’s, Carolina’s and Il Cortile del Re, and he has developed a personal approach to food that is at once elegant, comforting and satisfying.
Lana Restaurant is a culmination of all that he’s learned so far, and the perfect plate to expand his culinary imagination.
