The oldest restaurants of Madrid

The oldest restaurants of Madrid

The capital of Spain enjoys a good reputation for local cuisine. A large selection of cocido, meat dishes and snacks… So it is no wonder that the center of the city offers a large variety of restaurants in different styles. Some of them have already worked for centuries. These restaurants are marked with a special sign as the establishments of Madrid, whose age exceeds 100 years. These places have witnessed the war and went through the dictatorship and establishment of the modern democracy. A lot of all writers, artists, politicians and интеллектуалов проводили had casual conversations, and some of them let their imagination go wild and even created their masterpieces within its halls. Today it is one of the main requirements of the clients who come here to enjoy the delicacies of these restaurants, imagining themselves at the site of the famous literary meetings.

Sobrino de Botin

Opened in 1725, on the street Cuchilleros (next to Plaza Mayor), this restaurant is registered in the Guinness Book Of Records as the oldest restaurant in the world due to the fact that it hasn’t interrupted its activity or changed its kind over all these years. The founders of this restaurant were the French Jean Botin and his nephew. It was located in the small tavern. Some celebrities even became the regulars of this restaurants, for example, Goya (who worked here as a dishwasher in 1765!), Hemingway and Truman Capote. They always order the specialty of the restaurant – suckling pig. In the XX century the place changed its owners, and now it is run by the third generation of the Gonzalez family.

Casa Alberto

Founded in 1827, Casa Alberto is proud to be the second oldest restaurant in Madrid. It is located on the street Las Huertas, in the district of Las Letras. It has been visited by many artists, writers, bullfighter, actors and politicians (one of them is Enrique Tierno Galvan, who often told his secretary: “I can’t get home without stopping by Casa Alberto”. Now this phrase is even quoted on the restaurant website). The design of the restaurant includes the objects of different ages and styles. Therefore, many people consider it the museum of Madrid history. The main delicacies of the restaurant include: oxtail (rabo de toro), cocido and vermouth, which is considered one of the best in the capital.

Restaurante Lhardy

Located on the street Carrera de San Jerónimo, between Puerta del Sol and Plaza de las Cortes, this restaurant is famous for its elegancy and the fact that its look remained almost unchanged. The restaurant was found in 1839 and was the first restaurant granted with the sign of establishment of Madrid, whose age exceeded 100 years. It was visited by such celebrities as Queen Elizabeth II (who snuck out of the castle to have lunch here), General Leopoldo O’Donnel and some writers, such as Ramon Gomez de la Serna and Benito Perez Galdos, who even described the interior of this restaurant in their famous works. The restaurant menu has been constantly updated, though its main part still consists of the typical dishes of Madrid cuisine, such as “cocido” and “callos” (vegetable and meat stew).

Taberna Antonio Sánchez

Also known as “the tavern of three centuries”, this restaurant was founded in 1830 by the bullfighter Antonio Sanchez. It is located in the central district of Lavapies, which was the meeting place of “Generation of ’98”. The restaurant still keeps a lot of postcards with the signature “torrijas for 15 centimes”, the pictures of famous bullfighters, such as Frascuelo and Lagartijo, as well as the antique furniture. Its interior was shown in the film of Pedro Almodovar “La flor de mi secreto” (“Flower of my secret”). The specialties of the restaurant include ”cocido”, stewed snails, oxtail (“rabo de toro”) and “tortilla”.

Los Galayos

Located in Habsburg Madrid, the restaurant had the honor to be the last meeting place of “Generation of ’27” before the beginning of civil war. The restaurant was founded in 1894, and was then called “Casa Rojo”. At that time, it was famous for its snacks and aperitifs that became increasingly diverse. Then the restaurant menu expanded and started to include the main dishes of Spanish cuisine. It inspired many famous writers. One of them is Arturo Perez-Reverte, who wrote his famous novel “The adventures of captain Alatriste”.

Café Gijón

Founded in 1888 by the resident of Dijon, this café of Madrid is famous for the organization of literary nights with the participation of numerous intellectuals. Many generations of artists used this café as the meeting place (mostly after its first reform in 1925, when Benigno Lopez Jabato became the owner of the restaurant and turned it into the most famous place in the city). Although the restaurant menu has been constantly updated, here you can still taste the best dishes of the local cuisine.

The guide in Madrid wishes you a pleasant gastronomic experience!