Spanish Vacation: Restaurante Botin

After attending the bullfight, we decided to have dinner at Restaurante Botin, a famous restaurant which the Guinness Book of Records considers the Oldest Restaurant in the World. The restaurant was established in 1725 and has remained continually a restaurant since that date. Ernest Hemingway used to eat here and even mentions the restaurant in his books.

It is a major tourist destination but avoids being a tourist trap and makes excellent food. Some of its ovens are over 200 years old. It is a very casual place and has several different dining rooms.

We were seated in a small room, with only five tables, and had to walk through the kitchen to get there. Very quaint and homey. Our table actually was at a window looking out in the street.

They have a relatively simple menu with appetizers, soups, egg dishes, vegetables, fish dishes, and roasted/grilled meats. We started with the garlic soup and a Botin salad. The garlic soup was made with egg and soggy bread. It had a delicious taste with plenty of garlic flavor. The salad was quite large and included ham, tuna, potatoes and various vegetables. All the ingredients were fresh and tasty. You also got large portions of both appetizers.

To drink, I ordered a 2003 Dehesa De Rubiales Prieto Picudo, a Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y Leon. Prieto Picudo is a rare varietal and only a small number of vineyards grow it. This was an intriguing wine with dark berry flavors, nice spice notes and a bit of earthiness. It has a more unique taste and I found it to be delicious. I have had this varietal before but not this particular wine.

For dinner, I had the Roast Suckling Pig, one of their specialities. This was a superb dish. I received a large part of the rear of the pig, including the curly tail. The skin of the pig was perfect, nicely crunchy and tasty. The meat was juicy and flavorful. And there certainly was plenty of meat. I did eat the tail, though it was just crunchy. No big deal. I knew by now that Spain was definitely the place for fine pork.

We did have dessert, a caramel flan with fresh whipped cream and some rice pudding. Both were simple and delicious desserts.

Service was very good and they have no problems with non-Spanish speaking guests.

This is another restaurant in Madrid I would heartily recommend. Especially the roast suckling pig.