rathskeller

Other forms: rathskellers

A rathskeller is a pub or bar in the basement level of a building. You might visit the rathskeller in your city to feast on German food.

Rathskeller is a German word (also spelled Ratskeller) that means "a cellar in a German town hall in which beer is sold," from the roots rat, "council," and keller, "celler." Most rathskellers are in Germany, but they've also existed in the US since the nineteenth century, including one called Das Deutsche Haus Ratskeller in Indianapolis, which opened in 1894 and serves Bavarian food and beer.

Definitions of rathskeller

1. noun

   a tavern below street level featuring beer; originally a German restaurant in the basement of city hall
   type of:

   tap house, tavern

   a building with a bar that is licensed to sell alcoholic drinks