It’s strange to imagine a world without restaurants. We here at delicious. practically live at the things. But the practice of dining outside one’s own home, and letting someone else do the cooking, had to start somewhere. Luckily, not all restaurants come and go – some date back centuries and are still around! We explore the history of eating out by looking at the 10 oldest restaurants in the world.
Stiftskeller St. Peter, Salzburg, Austria (803)
The world’s oldest restaurant can still be found housed within its original structure in St. Peter’s Abbey in Salzburg. While no one knows exactly when it first opened, 803 is the year usually cited, as that’s when the first mention of it appears in print, in the work of the scholar and monk Albuin, who was a devout follower of Charlemagne. Both Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Christopher Columbus are said to have been served at the restaurant.
Bianyifang, Beijing, China (1416)
Bianyifang is the oldest Peking duck restaurant in Beijing and continues to specialise in the culinary tradition that started during the Ming Dynasty. It started life in a different, much smaller location, but expanded in 1827.5 Chongwenmen Outer Street, Dongcheng, Beijing, China
Zum Franziskaner, Stockholm, Sweden (1421)
Founded by German monks in Old Town Stockholm, Zum Franziskaner is no longer in its original structure and in fact has been rebuilt numerous times, serving as a sailor’s tavern and fine-dining restaurant in its various incarnations. The current building dates back to 1906 and still serves the same variety of beer (brewed by the monks, naturally) that the venue did when it opened in 1421.www.zumfranziskaner.se
Zum Franziskaner, Stockholm, Sweden (1421)
Founded by German monks in Old Town Stockholm, Zum Franziskaner is no longer in its original structure and in fact has been rebuilt numerous times, serving as a sailor’s tavern and fine-dining restaurant in its various incarnations. The current building dates back to 1906 and still serves the same variety of beer (brewed by the monks, naturally) that the venue did when it opened in 1421.www.zumfranziskaner.se
Honke Owariya, Kyoto, Japan (1465)
What started as a confectionary store is now the oldest known restaurant in Japan. Honke Owariya has been serving everyone from Buddhist monks to roaming shoguns for hundreds of years, specialising in soba noodles. The Japanese Imperial family are known to be fans.www.honke-owariya.co.jp/en
La Tour d’Argent, Paris, France (1582)
The Michelin-rated La Tour d’Argent is said to have been frequented by King King Henri IV. If that’s not enough, it’s also said to have inspired inspired the 2007 film Ratatouille. Its wine cellar is one of the best in the world (thankfully, it survived World War II), boasting a collection of more than 450,000 bottles that has been valued at 25 million euros.www.tourdargent.com
Zur letzten Instanz, Berlin, Germany (1621)
East Berlin’s Zur letzten Instanz has served everyone from Napoleon and Beethoven to Angela Merkel throughout its storied history. It was first mentioned in print as far back as 1561, but it wasn’t until 1621 that it transformed itself into a tavern, which it remains today. The building had to be rebuilt in 1963 after extensive damage from the Second World War was deemed irreparable and was only a block away from the Berlin Wall during the Cold War.www.zurletzteninstanz.com
White Horse Tavern, Newport, Rhode Island, USA (1673)
The oldest operating tavern in the United States, Newport’s White Horse Tavern was founded in 1673 and quickly became a meeting place for the Colony’s General Assembly, Criminal Court and City Council. As a result, it is sometimes referred to as the “birthplace of the businessman’s lunch,” which is because the public officials who frequented it would often charge their meals to the city treasury. (This corruption probably didn’t bother the owners too much: one of them was a renowned pirate.)www.whitehorsenewport.com
A la Petite Chaise, Paris, France (1680)
Since its establishment in the late seventeenth century, Paris’s second oldest restaurant has been a meeting place for the political, social and artistic elite (Colette is said to have read here). The menu features textbook-perfect examples of French classics: slabs of foie gras, escargot, French onion soup, salads of boudin noir, and more.www.alapetitechaise.fr
Sobrino de Botín, Madrid, Spain (1725)
While many of the restaurants on this list may be older than Sobrino de Botín, many of them have moved, been rebuilt or spent time shuttered up throughout their long lives. As a result, Madrid’s temple to suckling pig and roast lamb holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s oldest continually operating restaurant.Goya was on staff before he became a famous painter, but it’s Ernest Hemingway’s connection to the restaurant – it appears in the final scene of The Sun Also Rises – that accounts for much of its fame among English-speakers today.www.botin.es
Fraunces Tavern, New York City, New York, USA (1762)
In addition to being one of America’s oldest restaurants, New York City’s Fraunces Tavern boasts some pretty impressive (and important) connections with the country’s history as well. George Washington took up residency in the building during the American Revolution, transforming it into his formal headquarters and eventually negotiating peace with the British inside it. Today it’s a whiskey bar and restaurant at the southern tip of Manhattan.www.frauncestavern.com
