With my tour starting 12 July, I decided to fly into Madrid a day earlier and book in for a tour and lunch at Botin. Founded in 1725, it's the oldest restaurant in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records and this year is celebrating its 300 year anniversary.
Situated in the Austrias area of Madrid, the restaurant was founded by Frenchman Jean Botín in 1725 and has been in the González family for four generations.
The Botin Experience started at 12pm with a guided tour and covered the history of the restaurant and a bit about Madrid at the time. We got to see and learn about the 4 dining rooms, the cellar, the underground tunnels and the original oven - filled with little piggy's being roasted. Poor little piggies.
After that, it was time to eat - and a good thing I hadn't had breakfast. The set menu was:
Manchego cheese
Iberian ham & chicken croquettes
Roasted red peppers with tuna belly
Scrambled eggs with morcilla & potato
Segovian mushrooms with jamon
Suckling pig or roasted lamb - I chose the pork
Homemade dessert - I still can't believe I turned down cheesecake, but I would have been sick.
All washed down with a nice Rioja. There was a lot of food and for 93€ it was great value and a good way to try lots of dishes. And I wonder why I've put on 10kg since I started this job........
Oh yes, and as I had booked an extra night at the hotel we use in Madrid (Hotel Quatro Puerta de Sol) I got an upgrade for the two nights - a very large patio on the top floor!
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