The Oldest Restaurants Still Serving Today

Some dining spots feel like they’ve simply always been there—the place your parents took you as a kid, the neighborhood joint frozen in time, or the local landmark everyone knows.

That raises a question: just how old can a restaurant get?

Going into this, we expected to find places operating for a century, maybe 150 years at most. The real figures blow those expectations out of the water. Here is a look at historic eateries around the globe that truly stood the test of time.

St. Peter Stiftskulinarium (Salzburg, Austria)

This site holds the earliest documented origin of any restaurant, with written records tracing back to 803 AD. Despite its staggering 1,200-year story, it doesn’t hold the official Guinness title because it closed its doors multiple times over the centuries.

Ma Yu Ching’s Bucket Chicken House (Kaifeng, China)

Established in 1153 during the Song Dynasty, this is China’s oldest known eatery. Having survived centuries of war, political upheaval, and shifting dynasties, it still operates today—serving up bucket chicken, noodles, and rice to go.

Sobrino de Botín (Madrid, Spain)

This is the official Guinness World Record holder for the world’s oldest continuously operating restaurant. Founded in 1725, its doors have never closed. Famous among locals and travelers alike, its main draw remains the original wood-fired oven, still in use three centuries later.

Zur Letzten Instanz (Berlin, Germany)

Dating back to 1621, Berlin’s oldest tavern carries plenty of history—legend even has it that Napoleon dined here in 1806. Now housed in a heritage-protected building, it continues to serve classic German comfort food in a setting that hasn’t lost its historic character.