World's oldest restaurant - Casa Botin in Madrid, Spain

Those authoritarian chaps at Guinness World Records have attempted to silence the bickering over who gets the honour of being dubbed the world’s oldest restaurant, and have declared the Casa Botin in Madrid, Spain the winner.
Tucked away on Calle de Cuchilleros near the main square in the Spanish capital, this has become something of a tourist trap, but it has been open since 1725 for a very good reason.
Whilst most diners are visitors, it is not one of those places that the locals conspicuously avoid because the food isn’t up to scratch.
Quite the contrary, in fact, with the house speciality of roast suckling pig reputed to border on the divine and well worth the few extra Euros you’ll pay for location and gimmick factor.

More information: Casa Botin

Green Hills Cafe in Chisinau, Moldova

It’s all very well having a couple of plants in the corner of the bar to add a natural feel, but Green Hills Café in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, takes things to excess. There are billowing pot plants all over the place and the entire outside of the building is painted bright green.
Oh yes, and there are four trees growing in the middle of the cafe, reaching up through a fabric roof, which looks to all intents and purposes as though a giant’s mattress has been flopped on top of the walls.
Aside from this rather Midsummer Night’s Dream-esque setting, the food’s pretty good (and reasonably cheap compared to some of the places clearly aimed at Russian oil oligarchs). More to the point, it’s one of the best places to hang out at, people-watching, on Moldova’s most upmarket street.

Getting to the Green Hills Cafe in Chisinau, Moldova
Nearest international Airport: Chisinau International Airport.
Address: 77 Stefan cel Mare si Sfint street – Look for Green Hills Nistru. It’s smack bang in the centre of the city, so walking distance for travellers staying in a relatively central location.

Eat puffin in Reykjavik, Iceland - Laekjarbrekka restaurant

Puffins are possibly the cutest birds on the planet, with their multi-coloured beaks and sad, doleful eyes. But in Iceland, they eat them, and any visitor with a heart of stone can savour the local favourite.
A lovely – if tear-jerkingly expensive – restaurant in which to dine on puffin is Laekjarbrekka on Bankastraeti in Reykjavik. It’s a classy joint, complete with pianist playing through the meal, and its housed in one of Reykjavik’s oldest buildings.
More importantly, however, one of its special menus is the Puffin Feast - as seen on Gordon Ramsay's 'The F Word' on July 29th, 2008.
For this, the starter is a fresh salad with smoked and marinated puffin, which is followed up by a main of puffin with brennivín sauce.
Bizarrely, they meat tastes rather different in each one. In the starter it’s cold, and has a texture like calf liver mixed with a fairly strong, salty aftertaste.
The brennivín is a special Icelandic drink –it means burnt wine and tastes foul as a shot, but works really well in the sauce. It has the effect of masking the taste of the puffin a little bit, but in the main course the aftertaste is a little stronger. And, according to some, not particularly nice.
Be warned though – Laekjarbrekka is an expensive restaurant, and visitors that suddenly decide they don’t enjoy the taste of puffin are likely to be left crying into their wallet.

Getting to Laekjarbrekka Restaurant in Reykjavik
Nearest international airport: Reykjavik has its own central airport for domestic flights, but nearly all international flights land at Keflavik, about 45 minutes drive or bus transfer away.
Using public transport: If staying in central Reykjavik, Laekjarbrekka is in walking distance.
More information: Laekjarbrekka restaurant

Eat whale burger in Reykjavik, Iceland - Geysir Bistro and Bar

Iceland is one of the few countries in the world that thinks chasing down whales with big harpoons is perfectly OK – not a popular viewpoint in the rest of the world.
Therefore, there’s something a little bit wrong about seeking your teeth into a whale burger. But some of us are going to hell anyway, so why not give it a go if you’re in Reykjavik, the Icelandic capital?
The Geysir Bistro and Bar is one of the few places in Reykjavik where the ordinary mortal can afford to eat without taking out a bank loan, and it’s rather nice. It’s a laid back, modern-style bar, with cute touches in the lighting and wooden pillars.
But for the bad people, the most important thing is that it serves a whale burger with lobster mayonnaise.
Obviously, it’s not a whole whale, but the meat looks rather like a steak. More horse-meat than prime rump cow, though.
And it’s what some would call an “acquired taste”. The burger is very chewy and packs a hefty meaty bang. The problem comes with the aftertaste – it’s overly salty and bordering on pungent. To be honest, it’s a battle to get through it, even for someone who loves trying out new meat.
The campaign to keep the whaling ban starts here...

Getting to the Geysir Bistro and Bar in Reykjavik
Nearest international airport: Keflavik International Airport is approximately 45 minutes away from Reykjavik by car or bus transfer.
Using public transport: For those staying in central Reykjavik, none is necessary – it’s in walking distance. The address is 2 Adalstraeti – it’s in the same building as the Tourist Information Centre.

More information: Geysir Bistro Bar