Special Report

The World’s Oldest Bars and Restaurants (That Are Still Open)

edenpictures / Flickr

The average lifespan of an independent restaurant in America is said to be somewhere between three and five years. Some last a lot longer than that, but longevity isn’t the same thing as eternal life. 

Unfortunately, many venerable eating places, in this country and abroad, have given up the ghost in recent years, and especially during the pandemic. For instance, these are the saddest restaurant closings of 2020.

That said, there are also restaurants — as well as bars, taverns, cafés, and the like — that claim histories dating back centuries. The oldest such establishment in the U.S. is probably the White Horse Tavern in Newport, Rhode Island, opened in 1673. That’s practically yesterday compared to certain places in Europe and Asia — some of which date back to the 12th or 13th centuries and even earlier. (Fascinated by antiquity? These are the 50 oldest things in the world.)

The tricky thing about identifying these venues as being among “the oldest” is defining terms. Does age refer to the building itself? To the point at which it started serving food and/or drink? Is continuity of ownership an issue? What about premises that have moved over the years or that were converted to other purposes, only returning to their original function in recent memory?

24/7 Tempo has assembled a list of 40 bars, cafés, and restaurants in the U.S., Asia, Europe, and the Middle East that have a fair claim to being among the world’s oldest. The selection is based on lists published on a wide range of travel, food, news, and lifestyle websites, including Travel & Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Fodor’s, Far and Wide, Time Out, Delish, Insider, The Daily Beast, and Robb Report. Information was verified on the establishments’ sites and from other sources where possible.

Click here to see the oldest bars, cafés, and restaurants in the world.

One restaurant — Sobrino de Botín in Madrid — has been operating as an eating place in the same location continuously since its beginnings almost 300 years ago. The others? Their history may be murkier, but while they may have opened and closed or changed identities over the centuries, all have a clear connection to their ancient pasts — even St. Peter Stiftskulinarium in Salzburg, Austria, an abbey inn turned restaurant that may date back as far as 803 A.D., where Christopher Columbus may once have dined.

Photo by Shari S. via Yelp

Rules
> Located: London, England
> Established: 1798

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El-Fishawy
> Located: Cairo, Egypt
> Established: 1797

Courtesy of The Old Talbott Tavern

The Old Talbott Tavern
> Located: Bardstown, Kentucky, USA
> Established: 1779

Photo by Mónica C. via Yelp

Café-Restaurante Martinho da Arcada
> Located: Lisbon, Portugal
> Established: 1778

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The Griswold Inn
> Located: Essex, Connecticut, USA
> Established: 1776

Antico Caffè Greco
> Located: Rome, Italy
> Established: 1760

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Courtesy of The '76 House

The Old ’76 House
> Located: Tappan, New York, USA
> Established: 1755

L’Auberge Saint-Gabriel
> Located: Montreal, Québec, Canada
> Established: 1754

Martin Leitch / iStock Editorial via Getty Images

Sobrino de Botín
> Located: Madrid, Spain
> Established: 1725

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Den Gyldene Freden
> Located: Stockholm, Sweden
> Established: 1722

Det Lille Apotek
> Located: Copenhagen, Denmark
> Established: 1720

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Caffè Florian
> Located: Venice, Italy
> Established: 1720

Photo by Vivek T. via Yelp

McHugh’s Bar
> Located: Belfast, Northern Ireland
> Established: 1711

Café le Procope
> Located: Paris, France
> Established: 1686

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Photo by Gerry S. via Yelp

À la Petite Chaise
> Located: Paris, France
> Established: 1680

White Horse Tavern
> Located: Newport, Rhode Island, USA
> Established: 1673

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Zur Letzten Instanz
> Located: Berlin, Germany
> Established: 1621

anouchka / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images

Bar de l’Entracte
> Located: Paris, France
> Established: 1614

Photo by Jessica S. via Yelp

Staatliches Hofbräuhaus
> Located: Munich, Germany
> Established: 1589

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La Tour d’Argent
> Located: Paris, France
> Established: 1582

Photo by Yinlan S. via Yelp

U Malířů
> Located: Prague, Czechia
> Established: 1543

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Courtesy of Butoiul de Aur

Butoiul de Aur
> Located: Sibiu, Romania
> Established: 1542

Photo by Sofia C. via Yelp

Al Brindisi
> Located: Ferrara, Italy
> Established: 1535

Photo by Caitlin O. via Yelp

La Campana
> Located: Rome, Italy
> Established: 1518

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Café Vlissinghe
> Located: Bruges, Belgium
> Established: 1515

Courtesy of Gostilna Gastuž

Gostilna Gastuž
> Located: Loče, Slovenia
> Established: 1467

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Photo by John A. via Yelp

Osteria del Sole
> Located: Bologna, Italy
> Established: 1465

Honke Owariya
> Located: Kyoto, Japan
> Established: 1465

Zum Franziskaner
> Located: Stockholm, Sweden
> Established: 1421

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Courtesy of Hotel Gasthof Löwen

Hotel Gasthof Löwen
> Located: Vaduz, Liechtenstein
> Established: 1380

The Sheep Heid Inn
> Located: Edinburgh, Scotland
> Established: 1360

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Courtesy of La Couronne

La Couronne
> Located: Rouen, France
> Established: 1354

Courtesy of Brauhaus Sion

Brauhaus Sion
> Located: Cologne, Germany
> Established: 1318

Piwnica Świdnicka
> Located: Wrocław, Poland
> Established: 1273

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The Brazen Head
> Located: Dublin, Ireland
> Established: 1198

Courtesy of Wanna Fact PH

Yùxīng Tǒngzi Jī
> Located: Kaifeng (Henan), China
> Established: 1153

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Courtesy of The Old House 1147

The Old House
> Located: Maesteg, Wales
> Established: 1147

Wurstkuchl
> Located: Regensburg, Germany
> Established: 1146

Photo by Greg A. via Yelp

Sean’s Bar
> Located: Athlone, Ireland
> Established: 900

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Photo by Qype User via Yelp

St. Peter Stiftskulinarium
> Located: Salzburg, Austria
> Established: 803

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