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World's oldest restaurant serves roasted baby pig

CCTV.com

05-02-2016 23:56 BJT

The Botin Restaurant in Madrid, founded in 1725 by the French cook Jean Botin, is officially the oldest eatery in the world, according to Guinness World Records. But that's not its only claim to fame - it also famously served Ernest Hemingway, and it specializes in serving roasted baby pig prepared in a wood oven. 

The building dates back to 1590 and was once an inn where guests would bring and cook their own food.

Botin Restaurant in Madrid, founded in 1725 by the French cook Jean Botin, is officially the oldest eatery in the world, according to Guinness World Records.

Botin Restaurant in Madrid, founded in 1725 by the French cook Jean Botin, is officially the oldest eatery in the world, according to Guinness World Records.

Botin Restaurant in Madrid, founded in 1725 by the French cook Jean Botin, is officially the oldest eatery in the world, according to Guinness World Records.

Botin Restaurant in Madrid, founded in 1725 by the French cook Jean Botin, is officially the oldest eatery in the world, according to Guinness World Records.

Today, the restaurant serves a variety of traditional Spanish dishes and roasted meats, but its speciality is a roasted baby pig called "Conchinillo". It's seasoned with thyme, bay leaf, olive oil, and garlic before being put in the oven. Even the centuries-old wood oven they use to cook it has become a tourist attraction. According to restaurant co-owner, José González, the oven is essential to getting the flavour right. 

González' family are only the second to have run the restaurant since its beginnings in the 18th century.

To obtain the Guinness World Records certificate, the restaurant had to have been steadily open since its inauguration without a change in either name or location. 

Close to Plaza Mayor, one of the main highlights of the Spanish capital, Botin is a tourist attraction in itself. Author Ernest Hemingway mentioned it in his works, as did many other local writers. 

Below the restaurant, the wine cellar pays testament to the antiquity of Botin - with bottles covered in inches of dust, making this a vintner's museum beneath the diners. 

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