{"id":14394,"date":"2017-03-06T12:18:26","date_gmt":"2017-03-06T11:18:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madridfoodtour.com\/?p=439"},"modified":"2023-08-23T18:33:36","modified_gmt":"2023-08-23T18:33:36","slug":"botin-the-worlds-oldest-restaurant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/botin-the-worlds-oldest-restaurant\/","title":{"rendered":"World’s Oldest Restaurant: The Inside Scoop on Botin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lots of visitors to Madrid are curious about Botin, and with good reason. This old eatery in the center of Madrid is famous due to its status as the world’s oldest restaurant!<\/p>\r\n

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Devour nearly 300 years of history at Botin! Photo credit: katiebordner<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Check the Guinness Book of World Records<\/a> and you\u2019ll see\u00a0Botin<\/a> listed as the world’s oldest restaurant. The restaurant is a hallmark of the Castilian style, and its food and atmosphere make it an establishment to be cherished through the ages.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Restaurante Sobrino de Botin: An Overview<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Botin still roasts its famous meats in its cast-iron wood-burning stove\u2014the same one used at its opening in 1725. Just under 300 years old, the oven still churns out delicious food\u2014so delicious that the restaurant has attracted quite the clientele over the years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Spanish painter Francisco Goya, American writer Ernest Hemingway, various European royalty and Spanish politicians have all passed through the doors of the world’s oldest restaurant. Today, the restaurant is a must-visit attraction<\/a> for visitors to Madrid, but it’s also very popular among locals. Those who go feast on the restaurant\u2019s specialties: roast suckling pig (cochinillo)<\/em> and roast suckling lamb (cordero lechal).<\/em><\/p>\r\n

\"Exterior
The nearly 300-year-old ovens at Botin are still hard at work.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

History of the World’s Oldest Restaurant<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The first recorded mention of the building that now holds the world’s oldest restaurant dates back to 1590. This was a period of growth for Madrid, even when King Philip III\u00a0temporarily installed his court in Valladolid.<\/p>\r\n

Later,\u00a0in 1725, after the area around the Plaza Mayor had taken shape as a commercial center of the town, the nephew of French cook Jean Botin bought the building and converted it into an inn. It was\u00a0during that time that\u00a0the famous wood oven was installed, and the restaurant received its proper name:\u00a0Sobrino de Botin<\/em> (literally “Botin’s Nephew”).<\/p>\r\n

The restaurant came under new ownership in the early 20th century when the Gonz\u00e1lez family bought the business with the hopes of expanding it. However, they wouldn’t completely realize this dream until years after the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s.<\/p>\r\n

Finally, the owners’ sons, Antonio and Jos\u00e9 Gonz\u00e1lez, turned the world’s oldest restaurant into the landmark attraction that it is today. They have preserved its appearance, its service and its cuisine through the years.<\/p>\r\n

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Today, Botin has four floors with wooden beams spanning the ceilings and tiles covering the floors. The ground floor is the bodega, or what used to be the wine cellars, and is lined with arched brick walls (make sure to go all the way down into the damp wine cave). The higher floors feature traditional Spanish artwork and you truly feel transported back in time.<\/p>\r\n

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The iconic roast suckling pig at Restaurante Botin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Visiting\u00a0the World’s Oldest Restaurant<\/h2>\r\n

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Visitors to Madrid often ask the same questions: Should we go to Botin? Is it worth the price? Our answer to both is a resounding “Yes!”<\/p>\r\n

However, there are a few things to keep in mind before dining at Botin in order to make the most of your experience.<\/p>\r\n