Some businesses start with a business plan.
Casa Egón started with a war.
Hidden away on one of the steep streets of La Orotava, this historic pastry shop is considered the oldest patisserie in the Canary Islands, and its story goes back more than a century.
Not to Tenerife originally either.
Germany.
A World War Changed Everything
The story begins with Egon Alfred Wende Bard, a young German pastry chef travelling through the Canary Islands in 1914.
Then World War I broke out.
Unable to return home, he stayed in Tenerife, sought political asylum and started again.
A couple of years later, in 1916, Casa Egón was born.
More than 100 years later… it’s still here.
Four Generations Later
Today the business remains in family hands, now run by the founder’s great-grandchildren.
The recipes?
Many are still the originals.
The place has evolved over time too. Alongside the pastry shop sits Restaurante Taoro, serving food and even its own house wine.
But the bakery remains the heart of it.
The Cakes Still Pull People In
Visitors still come for the classics.
Popular favourites include:
• Apricot millefeuille
• Glazed doughnuts
• Pistachio-filled puff pastries
• Traditional almond sweets
Recent visitors described the portions as generous and the flavours as “brutal”.
Always a good sign in Spain.
Old-School Charm Still Intact
Casa Egón hasn’t tried to modernise itself into something trendy.
Wooden displays.
Traditional counters.
Family atmosphere.
The sort of place where you walk in planning to buy one pastry and leave carrying a box.
Located on Calle León, 5 in La Orotava, it remains one of those Tenerife spots where history and food quietly sit together.
And all because one German pastry chef never made it home.