Dozens of tourists gather outside a wood-paneled restaurant in Madrid’s oldest neighborhood. They’re here for more than just the food.

Botín claims to be the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the world. The Guinness World Records says Botín has been in business for 300 years. Founded in 1725, it’s become a global tourist destination.

We’ve heard it’s very good, and also it’s allegedly the oldest restaurant in the world, which has been verified by Guinness. So that’s why I’m here, says British tourist Thomas Donegan.

Botín was first opened by a French chef, Jean Botín, and later run by his nephew. Back then, customers brought their own ingredients. The kitchen cooked them. Selling food directly was banned under local laws.

By the 19th century, it had become a full restaurant—still in the same spot, on Cuchilleros Street, just steps from Madrid’s Plaza Mayor.

It's the oldest in the world because Guinness World Records says so, based on four conditions. The first, it has been operating continuously. The second, in the same location. The third, with the same name. And the fourth, with the same activity, explains restaurant owner José Gonzalez.

One of Botín’s most prized features is its wood-fired oven. It’s made of graphite and fireproof brick, and it has never gone cold. Even during COVID lockdowns, staff kept the fire alive. Letting it cool, they fear, could cause the oven to crack.

The prized oven cooks the restaurant’s signature dish—roast suckling pig. It’s seasoned with garlic, onion, parsley, laurel, paprika and white wine.

Over the years, Botín has welcomed celebrities and world leaders—names like Woody Allen, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and even Ernest Hemingway, who wrote about it in two novels.

But not everyone is completely sold on the restaurant’s history.

There is some controversy, explains Pedro Montoliú, a historian and chronicler of Madrid.

The existing documentation corresponds to the second half of the 19th century, and there is no documented proof of the relationship between that restaurant from the mid to late 19th century and the one from 1725, he adds.

Still, Guinness says the history holds up.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.