Word Study
rathskeller
CIDE DICTIONARY
rathskeller, n. [G., also ratskeller , prop., town-hall cellar.].
Orig., in Germany, the cellar or basement of the city hall, usually rented for use as a restaurant where beer is sold; hence, a beer saloon of the German type below the street level, where, usually, drinks are served only at tables and simple food may also be had; -- sometimes loosely used, in English, of what are essentially basement restaurants where liquors are served. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
rathskeller, n. US a beer-saloon or restaurant in a basement.
Etymology
G, = (restaurant in) town-hall cellar
THESAURUS
rathskeller
alehouse, bar, barrel house, barroom, beer garden, beer parlor, bistro, blind tiger, cabaret, cafe, cocktail lounge, dive, dramshop, drinking saloon, gin mill, groggery, grogshop, honky-tonk, local, nightclub, pothouse, pub, public, public house, rumshop, saloon, saloon bar, speakeasy, taproom, tavern, wine shopFor further exploring for "rathskeller" in Webster Dictionary Online