TIO BIGOTES
Our Story

An empanada
with history

It began with two brothers who left Lugo for Argentina. Today it's a family recipe baked in 8 countries.

El Tío Bigotes
EL TÍO BIGOTES
The road

From Lugo to St. Gallen

Seven stops of the same recipe.

  1. LUGOTHE JOURNEY

    The greatest adventure of their lives

    Two brothers say goodbye to their village in Lugo, promising to return. After weeks at sea they reach Argentina, the country that would take them in for the rest of their days.

  2. ARGENTINATHE KITCHEN

    From Galician to Argentine

    Drawn to the stove since he was young, the great-uncle takes his Galician empanadas and, little by little, adapts them to the classic Argentine style. Tío Bigotes is born.

    Empanadas crudas y palote de madera
    Cuatro empanadas con repulgue
    Fila de empanadas con el sello Tío Bigotes
  3. BARCELONATHE RETURN · PARÍS 131

    The first TIO BIGOTES opens

    Almost half a century later I return to Spain with the recipe and the secrets of his kitchen. The first TIO BIGOTES opens on Calle París 131: the recipe had crossed the Atlantic for the second time.

    Primer local TIO BIGOTES en la calle París 131, Barcelona
    THE FIRST STORE · CALLE PARÍS 131
  4. CERVELLÓOUR PLANT

    Production of our own

    We open our production plant. No industrial shortcuts: every empanada still follows the same steps as always.

    Planta de producción TIO BIGOTES en CervellóPlanta de producción TIO BIGOTES en CervellóPlanta de producción TIO BIGOTES en CervellóPlanta de producción TIO BIGOTES en CervellóPlanta de producción TIO BIGOTES en CervellóPlanta de producción TIO BIGOTES en CervellóPlanta de producción TIO BIGOTES en Cervelló
    ONE TEAM
    A SINGLE RECIPE
    FRESHNESS INTACT
    HANDS THAT KNOW
    FLAVOUR THAT TRAVELS
    BOX BY BOX
  5. FRANCEPARIS · FIRST STEP ABROAD

    The recipe crosses the border

    The first store outside Spain opens in Paris. From there, the Tío Bigotes recipe starts making its way across Europe.

    SPAINPARIS
    Bonjour, Paris
    FIRST COUNTRY OUTSIDE SPAIN
  6. EUROPECOUNTRY BY COUNTRY

    One recipe, many neighbourhoods

    After Paris come Portugal, Poland, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Germany. Every new store, the same fold.

    PORTUGAL
    POLAND
    LITHUANIA
    THE NETHERLANDS
    GERMANY
  7. SWITZERLANDTODAY · ST. GALLEN

    We arrive in Switzerland

    We open in St. Gallen, our eighth country. The recipe that left a village in Lugo is now baked in the heart of Europe.

    Tienda TIO BIGOTES en St. Gallen

Classic
Argentine
style.

I still remember, with nostalgia, those afternoons when “Tío Bigotes” — that's what I fondly called him — taught me every secret of his kitchen in his workshop, knowing that his legacy would live on forever.

Today I get to honour his memory by making the very same empanadas as my Tío Bigotes.

Raúl González
FOUNDER · TIO BIGOTES

Roots

It all started with a family recipe and a promise not to let it die.

Craft

Real ingredients, our own processes, and the time every recipe needs.

Community

Customers, suppliers and team hold up every new opening.

Ambition with roots

Dreaming big without losing a family, a tradition, a flavour.

The next chapter, written together

We keep growing country by country. Find out how to open your own TIO BIGOTES franchise.

Join the expansion