Sobrino de Botín


Sobrino de Botín, founded in 1725, is the oldest restaurant in the world in continuous operation, according to the Guinness Book of Records. The artist Francisco de Goya worked in Cafe Botin as a waiter while waiting to get accepted into the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. The restaurant is mentioned in an Ernest Hemingway novel and the book Fortunata y Jacinta by Benito Pérez Galdós.

History

The restaurant was founded in 1725 by Frenchman Jean Botin and his wife, and was originally called Casa Botín. It was inherited by a nephew called Candido Remis and had a name change to Sobrino de Botín, which survives to this day. Sobrino is the Spanish word for nephew.
The cellar is from 1590 and is very old in comparison to the restaurant.
Apart from using the original recipes, the restaurant has also kept the flame burning in the oven continuously, never to be extinguished. The restaurant and its speciality of cochinillo asado are mentioned in the closing pages of Ernest Hemingway's novel The Sun Also Rises. Its other signature dish is sopa de ajo : a favorite pick-me-up with Madrileño revellers.