Our Story

A distinctive blend of food, art and culture

Tamayo Restaurant is a Los Angeles cultural landmark, celebrating the rich heritage of California’s Latino community. Built in 1928, this masterpiece of Spanish-style architecture was acquired by TELACU in the 1980s and carefully restored to its original magnificence. Named for the internationally renowned artist Rufino Tamayo, the restaurant proudly displays a stunning collection of his art. Tamayo Restaurant stands as a symbol of excellence in the renewal and revival of communities.

About Rufino Tamayo

Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991) was a Zapotecan Indian born in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. He moved to México City where he attended the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas “San Carlos.” Tamayo was exposed to the cultural wealth of pre-Colombian México as he worked as a draftsman at the Museo Nacional de Arqueologia. While his contemporaries Siqueiros, Rivera and Orozco were best known Latin American artists.

His exhibitions  have been in museums such as advocating art with a message, often political, Tamayo’s work focused on plastic forms integrated with a masterful use of colors and textures. Tamayo participated in the development of “Mixografia®,” a graphic technique to obtain colored and textured three-dimensional print on handmade paper. With collections in the Museo Tamayo and the Palacio Nacional de Bellas Artes in México, The Phillips Collection in Washington DC, Guggenheim Museum in New York, and Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid, as well as important art galleries throughout the world.