Botín

Botín, founded in 1725, is cited in the Guinness World Records as the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the world. It is a lodestar for diners interested in savoring traditional Spanish cuisine in Madrid. Since the restaurant was founded at the foot of the Arco de Cuchilleros staircase thatopens onto the Plaza Mayor, it has been a living part of the history of Madrid. It was originally one of many inns clustered around the city’s main plaza and commercial centre, offering food and lodging to visitors to the capital. In the ancient wood-burning stove of Botín, suckling pig and lamb were roasted in the traditional Castilian style. The inn was popular among bohemian and literary figures, such as the writer Valle Inclán and the painter Julio Romero de Torres. Botín is cited in the novels of many authors, such as Benito Pérez Galdós, Ernest Hemingway, Ramón Gómez de la Serna, Graham Greene, Arturo Barea, Frederick Forsythe, Conde de Sert and Carlos Arniches, to mention just a few.

Cited in the Guinness World Records as the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the world