Our experience was nothing like what most of these reviews report. Yes, there were some other tourists, but when we went there for a Saturday lunch most of the customers were Spanish. I don't understand these people complaining about being charged for the bread. Every restaurant in Spain charges for the bread and they don't ask, they just put it... more

We had the "famous" sucking pig and filet mignon surrounded by other gullible tourists. We had the rare privilege of listening to 2 men from Iowa talk to folks back home, describing their dinner at this famous place to the folks back home. At least that took our mind off the food. It was terrible...we left most of both our... more

We reserved "The Botin Experience" with Joanna Wivell of Insider's Madrid (00 34 91 447 3866), and were very happy we did! It is for lunch only on weekdays, but plan on at least 3 hours to truly soak up the experience. Joanna met us promptly at 12:30 on a Monday. In her charming and quietly enthusiastic way, Joanna toured... more

The Botin experience takes you behind closed doors on a guided visit of the oldest restaurant in the world,its history and its anecdotes. We viewed the kitchen with clay ovens,dating back to 1725, where they cook suckling pigs. We visited the Bodega and the room where Ernest Hemmingway sat to write. We saw the visitors book, many film stars and... more

This is the worlds oldest restaurant and is now obviously geared up for the tourist trade. Getting a table wasn’t easy, and when he did arrive at our assigned time, they weren’t expecting us, as they wrote the time down wrong. Even so, we somehow got a table within ten minutes. Although catering for tourists, rather than dish out dross... more

Our group of 29 folks took up most of the 3rd floor at this venerable restaurant on the evening of March 17th, 2009. We had just come from Barcelona after skiing Andorra in the Pyrenees and we were all looking forward to a meal in Europe's oldest restaurant. I'm amazed other reviewers did not try the suckling pig since this... more

reserved for 4 for the wine cellar, but not seated there. We expected to have a leisurely meal, perhaps a few hours, we were out in 65 minutes. We did not order the pig, we had the hake, sole, filet BOTIN, and the lamb. they were all mediocre at best. the sole, a delicate fish, was so salty, it was... more

We tried both the pig and the lamb (house specialities) but did not like either dishes. The serving size is LARGE so if you really want to try the pig, share the entree. GARLIC soup with egg is GOOD. But not good enough for me to return. The Lamb was really gross. I thought it would be more like lamb... more

We telephoned in advance to book in the caves, when we arrived they knew nothing of the booking, however the staff did let us wait on a small table behind the bar. We did not wait too long, we ordered the suckling pig, it was a major disappointment, it was mostly bone and gristle, and very expensive. The tables were... more