Historical Restaurants & Inns from across the Globe

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The term “Survival of the fittest” can also be applied to the cuisines and systems that have withstood the tests of time and taste, only to flourish more and more with the passage of age after age. The reason they have survived is that they were exceptional. Here’s what the experts have to say on getting acquainted with some of them.

La Tour d’Argent, Paris

Feasting your eyes on the flawless view of Notre Dame Cathedral and ordering for Pressed Duckling (Canton) will surely put you in a league of those bondservants who have been ordering this delicacy since the 1890s.

Not only does it claim to have once been frequented by King Henri IV, but it has also inspired scenes in the 2007 Pixar film Ratatouille. Don’t leave without or before visiting its wine cellar, famous for housing more than 450,000 bottles of 15,000 elixirs! Book cheap flights to Paris now and have that special buffet with your mademoiselle!

St. Peter Stiftskeller, Salzburg

To my surprise, the world’s oldest restaurant—operating constantly since 803—is still dwelling in its original structure located in St. Peter’s Abbey. And though that construction has gone through a number of changes -changes for the good of course- the dining rooms decorated in baroque style and vintage chandeliers, it’s actually the menu list and the inherited spirit of true Austrian hospitality that actually attracts the aesthetes.

Sobrino de Botín, Madrid

Keeping in line with the Guinness Book of World Records, this is the oldest restaurant that still amazes the taste-buds of its visitors, renowned for turning random customers into permanent clients. Signature dishes include suckling pig, roast lamb and baby eels cooked in the legendary wood-burning Castilion oven, which is still where it was when the restaurant opened its doors for the first time.

When your dining hall has been around since 1725, a few renowned faces are bound to stop by. After all, there was something here that made patrons such as Ernest Hemingway (The Sun Also Rises), Frederick Forsyth (Icon and the Cobra) and James Michener (Iberia) praise it in their books.

Tavares, Lisbon

Old is surely gold in here. The oldest running restaurant in Lisbon is decorated with sparkling chandeliers, golden panels and glossy mirrors- a layout nostalgic of the departed era hailing from 1784, to be precise. The five-course gourmet menu is just as exquisite, with a range of quality seafood that Lisbon’s coastal proximity provides.

The Rules, London

The Rules certainly has endured ages of history and boasts the same bread and brew from the day it opened in 1421. Originally an oyster house whose menu now primarily offers game cookery, best enjoyed with the restaurant’s own special add-ons.

The Rules a very English atmosphere reflected in the artwork that adorns its very walls. For those devotees of quality taste seeking refuge in the antique, this is the place for you.

Roads and inns go way back, sharing not just history but some peculiar chemistry as well. And while the construction of highways added to the infrastructure of the time, the accompanying inns brought with them a new culture; a new fashion. The culture and manner of days gone by are still preserved in some of the old inns, spread both towards the East and West.

The Pig and Whistle Inn, Bathurst

The pub seems to be getting better with time just like the wine it serves. The menu has something for everyone, ranging from vegetarian choices to goodies for children (or piglets, as they say here).

It was originally named ‘Bathurst inn’ when it opened in the nineteenth century but later on changed to its current name by soldiers of the Royal Air Force. Once again, folks willing to avail flights to South Africa, along with alcohol and entertainment on their minds may want to lay their anchors in here.

NishiyamaOnsenKeiunkan, Yamanashi

This is the oldest inn in the world, ask Guinness if you want, that opened more than five centuries before the signing of the Magna Carta! This traditional Japanese inn, or ryokan, has been under the ownership of the same lineage for 52 generations!

A popular stopover for samurais and shoguns alike, the hot springs still bear traces of that native history that persuades passersby to halt at the inn and get a good wash. Bargain flights to Japan make your dream a reality.

The Red Bears, Freiburg

They say that the city’s tough but the inn’s tougher! Built primarily to give spent travellers a place to rest before the challenging trips ahead, it has gone through and survived not just plagues and witch hunts but also a couple of world wars, always making sure to give the best service and security to its guests.

Older than the town itself, it still gives the same air as it did back when it started in 1387. Both cheap and classic, the ZumRotenBaeren inn is a must for those flying to Germany and looking for a place to stop by in pure German spirit.

The Old Bell, Hurley

It’s easy enough to wax on and on about how pleasing a stay at an inn can be, and while the food and accommodation at The Old Bell is par excellence, it is the antique mood and characteristic English setting that actually defines its individuality. What surfaced as a guest house during 1135 for pilgrims navigating their way to St.Benedict served later on as a rendezvous point for Winston Churchill and the U.S president Dwight D. Eisenhower at some stage in WWll. But that is just the cherry on top….

The Griswold Inn, Connecticut

There are good reasons as to why the ‘Gris’ is such a darling among tourists in general and inn lovers in particular. With its top class amenities and a general ‘home suite home’ environment, this dated inn (1776) is well up to date with the latest trends and tastes of the modern man. Your first visit surely won’t be your last.