Madrid’s centuries-old restaurants and bars have survived all the historical vicissitudes and changes in the city and they are still as strong as when they started. The capital breaks records in this regard, so much so that here is the oldest restaurant in the world, although to be fair when Botin opened, in 1725, the word restaurant was not in the dictionary.
When Emilio Huguenin opened Lhardy a century later, he did so with the intention of opening the first restaurant in Madrid. Separate tables, with tablecloths and napkins and solemn rooms where even Queen Elizabeth II would come to eat gazpacho.
1. Botín’s nephew
Casa Botín is incombustible. Its furnaces have not been paid for since 1725. The oldest restaurant in the world, king of Madrid de los Austrias. Only closed during the pandemic months, it was the first time in three centuries that the century-old restaurant did not serve its customers: not even during the Civil War did it stop serving meals.
In 1987 the Guinness Book of Records named it the oldest restaurant in the world, which also mentions that Goya may have worked as a dishwasher in 1765.
Cuchilleros Street, 17
2. Grandfather’s house
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To think of eating prawns in Madrid is to think of La Casa del Abuelo, where they are served with garlic, with gabardine or cooked, but they were not always its star dish. They started serving them in the 1940s, in the post-war period and due to food shortages. When it began in 1906, they became known for their doughnuts and sweet wine.
12 Victoria Street, 12
3. Ciriaco House
Undisputed witness of history. It was at this point on Calle Mayor, at number 84, where Casa Ciriaco is located, where an anarchist attacked King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia de Battenmberg when they were returning from their wedding at the Jerónimos and were on their way to the Royal Palace. The bomb never hit them, but it did hit the crowd that was watching the monarchs go by, 24 people died.
In addition to this tragic event, the relevance of this food house continues. Intellectuality gave it fame since Valle-Inclán turned the tavern into Zarathustra’s Cave. Later on, a gathering was created, which was chaired by the cartoonist Antonio Mingote until his death in 2012.
84 Main Street, 84
4. Labra House
Although Casa Labra’s restaurant-like dining room is now closed, you can still enjoy its tapas of battered cod and croquettes in the rest of the restaurant, which has been unchanged since 1860. But this curved facade at the back of the Puerta del Sol also has its place in the country’s history. Here on May 2, 1879 Pablo Iglesias founded the Spanish Socialist Workers Party.
Tetuán Street, 12
5. Gijon Coffee
The great literary café, the Gijon Coffee. Here there have been gatherings of comedians, playwrights and poets. Part of the Generation of ’27 used to meet in this café, Gerardo Diego was very common, also Federico García Lorca and of course, they could not miss it: Benito Pérez Galdós and Valle Inclán. But the list is endless and crazy, even Mata Hari herself was seen here.
Paseo de Recoletos, 21
6. La Ardosa Winery
At La Ardosa, croquettes and tortillas have been making customers’ mouths water since 1892. It is called a winery because its founder, Rafael Fernández Bagena, created the chain to market his wines in Madrid, as he was the owner of the wine region called “La Ardosa” located in Toledo. In 1970 it was acquired by the butcher Gregorio Monje, and it was his wife who made his exquisite tortillas known by winning several competitions.
Colón Street, 13
7. Malacatín
El Malacatin has been run since 1895 by the same family, now in its fourth generation, and is one of Madrid’s must-visit restaurants and bars. Your cocido madrileño (Madrid stew)has been on the menu since the founder met his wife. Although it was one of their twelve children who enriched the recipe with chorizo from León and Asturian black pudding. His fame continues to this day.
Calle de la Ruda, 5
8. Lhardy
Émile Huguenin arrived in Madrid in 1839 and created Lhardy in the image and likeness of the restaurant that was then fashionable in Paris, Café Le Hardi. This emblematic restaurant was the first fine dining house, designed to bring together the city’s aristocracy in its dining rooms. The marquis of Salamanca planned here the neighborhood that would bear his name, the Queen brought her lovers, Primo de Rivera was a regular during his dictatorship and Alcalá Zamora, president of the Second Republic, was elected here. As Azorín would say: “Madrid cannot be conceived without Lhardy”.
Carrera de San Jerónimo, 8
9. La Carmencita Tavern
La Carmencita, the second oldest tavern in the capital, after Casa Botín, could not be missing in the centenary bars of Madrid. The bar of this tavern is more than 150 years old and is a heritage of the Community of Madrid, that is to say, it cannot be touched. They continue to serve the vermouth de bodega of the Monsant since 1917, which is a UNESCO heritage site. But if we add to that that their fried eggs are organic and are accompanied by chorizo, black pudding or shoulder (or all three if your arteries allow it), you will repeat for sure.
📍 Calle de la Libertad, 16
10. The Commercial Café
The Commercial Café has long since ceased to be a simple café and has become an emblem of the city. Its leather sofas and marble tables could tell more stories than anyone who has ever passed through.
It was open uninterruptedly for a whopping 128 years until it was forced to close due to a bureaucratic issue. Its windows were then filled with farewell messages, as if the biggest rock star had left, but in March 2017 it returned to the charge, reformed but retaining its characteristic “glamour castizo”, in the words of Juan Luis Medina, in charge of the reform.
Glorieta de Bilbao, 7
As the inventors of the after-dinner conversation, it is not surprising that the history of Spain has been written in these centenary restaurants and bars in Madrid.