Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The World's Oldest Restaurant

Episode Date: April 19, 2021

Running a restaurant is a very difficult business. Most restaurants barely make a profit, and it isn’t unheard of for a series of restaurants to shuffle through the same building as one goes out of business after the other. Longevity in the restaurant game is very difficult. Even if you manage to make your restaurant a success, you aren’t guaranteed that your children will want to take over the business. There is one restaurant, however, which has managed to stay in business for almost 300 years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Running a restaurant is a very difficult business. Most restaurants barely make a profit, and it isn't unheard of for a series of restaurants to shuffle through the same building as one goes out of business after the other. Longevity in the restaurant game is very difficult, and even if you manage to make your restaurant a success, you aren't guaranteed that your children

will want to take over the business. There's one restaurant, however, which has managed to stay in business for almost 300 years. Learn about Sobrino di Boutin, the world's oldest restaurant, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. This episode is sponsored by the Tourist Office of Spain. If you're a foodie, you'll love Spain.

It's known for having some of the best restaurants in the world. In the latest list of the world's greatest restaurants, seven of the top 32 restaurants in the world were from Spain. That's almost a full quarter of the best restaurants in the world coming from a single country, and more than any other country. They have 11 Michelin 3-star restaurants and a total of 224 total Michelin stars. It also has one of the top five steakhouses in the world.

You can start researching your culinary dream trip to Spain today by visiting spain.in. Where you can get everything you need to know to plan your Spanish food adventure. Historically, the city of Madrid was a notable city in Spain, but the political world in the country didn't necessarily revolve around it. Royal courts were held in Madrid several times, but it wasn't a permanent thing.

In the 16th century, Madrid really took off. The city grew from a population of 4,01530 to 37,1594. Most of this was due to King Philip II, moving his court to Madrid and turning the city into the political center of Spain. The center of the city was the Plaza Mayor, which was built during the reign of Philip III. It was in this environment where the current building which houses Sobrino de Bottin was built. It dates back almost 450 years to 50,000. The original building was an inn that also served food, but that's not the origin of the current restaurant, and the current restaurant doesn't date itself to this period. The inn was built just off

the Plaza Mayor, which was some of the best real estate in the city, and remained so for the next several hundred years. The current restaurant dates back to the year 1725. The founder of the restaurant was a French chef by the name of Jean-Botin. The restaurant specialized in traditional Castilian food, which the restaurant still does today. The original name of the restaurant was Casa Boutin. After the death of Jean Boutin and his wife, the restaurant passed on to his nephew. The new owner renamed the restaurant Sobrino Boutin, which means the nephew of Boutin. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the restaurant stayed in the family and continued

to serve the same classical Castilian food that was served when the restaurant was founded. Its prime location, right off the Plaza Mayor, made the restaurant very successful. and the restaurant grew as the city and the Spanish Empire grew around it. During the 19th century, the large windows in the front of the restaurant were installed to let people see the food inside. In the 20th century, the restaurant faced the problem which so many restaurants do. They needed to find a buyer as the family couldn't continue operating it. The restaurant was purchased by the Gonzales family, which kept the name and the menu the same. They still own the restaurant today.

Unfortunately, they purchased the restaurant just before the Spanish Civil War, which halted any planned expansion of the restaurant. However, once the war ended, they began to expand. Today, the restaurant consists of four floors, including the cellar, which is the oldest part of the building. The walls have artwork, which dates back as far as the 18th century. The menu at Sobrino di Boutin has changed very little over the years. They have two specialties for which they're known.

Cochinio Asato, a.k.a. roast suckling pig, and Cordero Le Chal, aka Roast Lamb. They're both cooked in a cast iron wood-fired oven, which has been in use since the restaurant opened in 1725. Other classic Castilian dishes on the menu include Sopa de Ajo, which is a poached egg and chicken broth with garlic, and clams botin, which is a clam dish with a tomato broth. As you can guess, when you've been around as Sobrino di Boutin has, you will cross paths with history. The artist Francisco Goya worked at the restaurant as a waiter when he was young and waiting to attend the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid. The Spanish author Benito Perez Glados mentioned the restaurant in his book, Fortuna I A Quinta, in 1887. But perhaps the most famous connection the restaurant has is to Ernest Hemingway, who, for some reason, has connections to places all over the world.

He would regularly frequent the restaurant and write at one of the tables upstairs on a regular basis. He immortalized the restaurant in the book The Sun Also Rises, when he wrote, quote, We Lunched Upstairs at Boutines. It's one of the best restaurants in the world. we had roast young suckling pig and drank Rioja Alta, unquote. He also gave the restaurant a mention in his book, Death in the Afternoon, when he wrote, quote, Within our time, the scientists may well abolish these old diseases, and will live to see the end of all mortality.

But meantime, I would rather dine on suckling pig at Boutines than sit and think of casualties my friends have suffered, unquote. If you visit Sabrina Di Boutin, you can actually sit at Ernest Hemingway's table, but be forewarned it's pretty small and can only see two people. The restaurant is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest continually operating restaurant. While the restaurant does get its share of tourists, I wouldn't call it a tourist restaurant.

It still does quite a bit of business from locals. Given that it hasn't really changed its menu or cooking style in centuries, it's more a matter of catering to tourists who have simply discovered it rather than being built for the purpose of catering to them. I've had the pleasure of eating at Sabrina DeBotin several years ago, and I even got to sit at Hemingway's table. And just to double down on the Hemingway experience, I ordered the suckling pig and had a glass of Rioja Alta wine. If you're in Madrid, I'd recommend paying a visit, not only because it's the world's oldest restaurant, but because it's probably the best opportunity to experience a truly classical Castilian cuisine prepared and served in a way, which hasn't changed, in almost 300 years.

The associate producer of Everything Everywhere daily is Thor Thompson. If you'd like to support the show, please donate over at patreon.com. There is content only available to supporters, merchandise, and even opportunities for a show producer credit. If you know someone you think would enjoy the show, please share it with them. Also remember, if you leave a five-star review, I'll read your review on the show.