Restaurante Botín

Restaurante Botín holds the Guinness World Record as the oldest restaurant in the world, having operated continuously since 1725 from the same building on Calle de los Cuchilleros in Madrid's La Latina neighbourhood, just steps from the Plaza Mayor. The building dates from the early 18th century and retains its original architectural character: low vaulted brick ceilings on the ground floor, tightly packed wooden tables, stone walls, and a central feature that is simultaneously the kitchen's most important tool and the restaurant's most famous sight — the wood-fired clay oven that has been burning continuously since the restaurant's founding. Francisco de Goya reportedly worked as a waiter here in his youth, and Ernest Hemingway — a devoted patron — mentions Botín in 'The Sun Also Rises,' describing it as the finest restaurant in the world. The kitchen's menu has remained consistently traditional throughout its 300-year history, centred on the classics of Castilian cuisine. The cochinillo asado (roast suckling pig) is the restaurant's emblem: a piglet weighing approximately 4–6 kg, slow-roasted in the wood-fired oven until the skin achieves a translucent, crackling-thin texture and the flesh beneath is tender enough to serve with a ceramic plate rather than a knife — a theatrical touch performed tableside. Cordero asado (roast lamb) is the second flagship dish, equally dependent on the oven's sustained heat. Sopa de ajo (garlic soup) and cocido madrileño (Madrid chickpea stew) represent the simpler end of the Castilian tradition on the menu. Reservations are essential at all times of year.