Lató Inn

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Memory · Subcategory: Historic sites · Year: 1801?

Lató was the surname of a Marseille-born cook who arrived in Santa Cruz in 1784 with the Marquis of Branciforte, general commander of the Canary Islands. This Frenchman appears to have settled in the city and, around 1801, created a very popular and well-regarded eating establishment, frequented by the high society of Santa Cruz and the large foreign colony residing in the city.

The venue, with a main room and mezzanines, was located on the former Calle de los Malteses, now Candelaria Street. There, the crème de la crème of Santa Cruz at the time gathered to eat and converse. Apparently, the service was quite punctual and tidy, thanks to the work carried out by several young boys employed there. 

According to the memoirist Juan Primo de la Guerra, who frequented the establishment regularly, the quality matched the price, as he wrote in an entry in his diary from November 1805: “ We ordered food from the innkeeper for six people: it was to be stew, soup and two starters, one roast and one stew, with dessert and bread. Four starters and a good sweet dessert arrived. I was trembling with my purse and the bill came to three and a half pesos, so for the cheapness I had to give him a little more ”.

We do not know how long this business operated; what we do know is that monsieur Lató died in Santa Cruz on 6 June 1806 of a pulmonary disease; he was barely sixty years old. He left behind two daughters, a considerable fortune stored in chests with clothes and money, as well as several sacks of cloves and other highly prized spices at the time; all the fruit of his prosperous commercial activity.

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