Restaurant Botin: the oldest restaurant in the world

The oldest restaurant in Madrid, Botin, was founded in 1725. From this basic but very important fact, one could already say that this is now a touristic place, and there is nothing more historic and charming left, but you will be totally wrong, as the place is truly magnificent and vintage, though in a natural way, even now. Even the fact that the institution was mentioned in the book of Guinness World Records as the oldest restaurant in the world didn’t harm the actual and almost legendary atmosphere of this place.

Favourite restaurant of Ernest Hemingway

This place will not astonish you with exotic interior like Baggers Restaurant in Germany or Vampire Restaurant in Japan. The oldest Spanish restaurant is located in not that pleasant part of the city, and majority of people who have been here, will say that this region of Madrid is not worth the second attempt. Though, this great historic place is fully filled with Hemingway. It may seem strange but "Botin" is just the most-most place of this great man. Within these walls writer not only ate his meal with a glass of wine and wrote, he even tried in the local cuisine his culinary talents. As the current owners of the restaurant say, Ernest Hemingway once asked for permission from the chef of "Botin” to make paella by himself.

Even for the sake of a great writer, "Botin", proud of its ancient cuisine of Madrid, was unable to go to such a breach of tradition. Paella in Madrid is a tribute to the tourist fashion; in the official menu of “Botin” you would not be able to find it. All meals in the restaurant are traditional recipes of Spanish and Castilian cuisine.

Workplace of Francisco Goya

The kitchen in the restaurant is small and quite intimate, therefore the presence of such an extraordinary man, especially someone like Hemingway, in front of the stove could disrupt the work of the restaurant. But the owner of the restaurant couldn’t refuse to this great writer and to his friend that easily, therefore forbidding him to stand at the stove, the owners of "Botin" have made an exception for him and allowed him to mix a martini for himself.

Therefore Ernest joined the list of great people who not only ate here, in "Botin”, but somehow worked in it. Among the other people one can find the great Spanish painter Francisco Goya, in his youth, when he was as poor as a church mouse, Goya worked in "Botin" as a dishwasher.

Famous restaurant with impeccable service

Right now, even though the place is a pretty exclusive one, the restaurant is able to serve and fit all the people, who are willing to get the touch of history among the walls of the oldest restaurant in the world. Unique aura of this place is very unlike to the spirit of modern restaurants like Chinese A380 Summer Kitchen or Ice Restaurant in Dubai.

The service at this restaurant, as always, impeccable, so the place is always packed with tourists. You can get a tremendous pleasure watching coherence, accurate waiters with dignified movements. Therefore everything in this place is filled with great feeling, that you for sure have to experience next time when you are in Madrid.