Our history
José Puerto Galveño founded the historic restaurant with the well-known and unique name “Lo Güeno” in Málaga in 1967. You can now be a part of this half-century-long history.
Since 1967, we have been bringing the best of our traditional cuisine to locals and visitors at our restaurant on Marín García Street, expanding the facilities in 2002 with the opening of a dining room on the same street.
In 2010, Lo Güeno de Strachan opened, a new establishment located on the central Strachan Street, just a few meters from Larios and the Málaga Cathedral. This new venue specializes in grilled meats and quickly made its mark on the local culinary scene.
Half a centuryof history
José Puerto Galveño and Francisco Ríos joined forces on February 18, 1967, to create a partnership for operating a hospitality establishment in the heart of Málaga’s Historic Center, specifically on Marín García Street.
They named it Lo Güeno, and it was surrounded by reputable businesses that have since disappeared, such as La Hostería, El Boquerón de Plata, La Manchega, and La Alegría. The beginning was not promising, and a few months after its opening, José Puerto became the sole owner of the business.
A narrow bar occupied almost the entirety of a space of barely 60 square meters. The early days were not easy, and soon Mr. José Puerto emerged as the sole proprietor of Lo Güeno.
He introduced a new menu of tapas and small plates, reinventing traditional dishes from local, regional, and national cuisine. He brought excellent Manchego cheeses and Iberian cold cuts to Lo Güeno, making it a sanctuary of good food and drink.
In a short time, Lo Güeno made a name for itself and became an essential stop for anyone visiting Málaga at any time of the year. Prawn skewers, elvers, Iberian ham, large meatballs, scrambled eggs with asparagus, flamenquines, baby broad beans with ham, cod dishes, and a long etcetera make up a menu in a symphony worthy of the most demanding palates. But undoubtedly, what has given Lo Güeno national and international fame is the tapa. This peculiar way in our country of sampling different kinds of food in small portions, which, according to the Royal Spanish Academy, is “any portion of solid food that can accompany a drink.”
The culture of tapas, that Spanish invention almost as well-known abroad as the popular siesta, becomes an art in this business. In 1977, Lo Güeno was mentioned in ‘Newsweek’ as the place in Spain where “they make an art of the tapa.”
Some of the waiters who have worked at this establishment are mythologized as “glories of the bar.” This is the case of the now-retired Miguel Retamar, Juan Puerto, Pepe Ruiz, and David Moreno, the latter still active.
After the death of José Puerto Galveño in 1998, his daughter, Lidia Puerto Vadillo, took over Lo Güeno, with her husband, Mariano Reche Plaza, leading the way. He has achieved new milestones for a business already renowned for its prestige, which celebrated its 50th founding anniversary in 2017.
