Founded in 1725 by the French cook Jean Botín and his wife on Calle Cuchilleros (knife-makers’ street) just off of the Plaza Mayor, the atmosphere at this estimable auberge, which the Guinness World Records recognizes as the world’s oldest restaurant, is the essence of all things Castilian. Along with one of the best-ever cochinillos, or roasted suckling pigs, and the suave service meted out by the third generation of the same owners, the Gonzalez family, this explains its enduring popularity with Spanish aristocrats, who hide from the tourists coming here to channel the literary vibes of two famous scribes who were patrons—Don Ernesto, as the Gonzalezes called Hemingway, and Graham Greene—at basement tables. If the suckling pig roasted in a wood-burning oven is the crowd pleaser, the white asparagus, sautéed baby clams, and shrimp sizzled in olive oil with garlic are excellent, too, as are the scrambled eggs with potatoes and black pudding that was Spanish King Juan Carlos’s favorite before he self-exiled to Dubai. —Alexander Lobrano

Alexander Lobrano is a Writer at Large at AIR MAIL. His latest book is the gastronomic coming-of-age story My Place at the Table: A Recipe for a Delicious Life in Paris