Dine Deep Inside Fascinating Civil War-Era Caverns At This Ohio Restaurant

History buffs have plenty of museums to choose from, but dinner in a Civil War–era beer cavern? That's harder to find. In Mansfield, Ohio, there's a place where you can do exactly that. It's called Prohibition at the Caverns, tucked 30 feet beneath Hudson and Essex, the city's fine dining spot upstairs. The space wasn't uncovered on purpose. Owner Rick Taylor was conducting renovations when he and his crew discovered a hidden sandstone chamber. People had told stories about tunnels under Mansfield for years. Turns out they were right.

The roots go back to the mid-1800s, when thousands of Germans fled political unrest and landed in U.S. cities like St. Louis, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee. They brought lager beer with them, and by the 1860s, brewing was booming. This laid the groundwork for many of the most popular beers enjoyed today. Temperance groups weren't thrilled, but German brewers kept at it. Some even managed to supply Union soldiers with beer, despite the rules.

Local historians think these caverns were dug in the 1860s, but the official records were lost decades ago, so no one can be sure. What's left is the stonework, the same as it was back then. You can picture barrels of lager tucked into the dark corners, long before it was a dinner spot.

You can't just walk in. Dinner here is by reservation only — four courses on Friday nights, eight on Saturdays — a telltale sign of a fine dining restaurant. The evening starts upstairs at Hudson and Essex, then you take an elevator down into the caverns. It's cooler down here, with a more relaxed, intimate feel. The stone walls are still rough in places. They're lit by the warm, soft glow of candles and overhead lights.

The menu changes with the seasons. Courses start off with fresh bread and an amuse-bouche, moving into a bright soup, a plate built around local vegetables, and a piece of fish. The main course is often red meat, followed by a cheese plate, a small scoop of sorbet, and dessert. There's a coffee service at the end to cap off your night. You can also opt for a wine pairing option featuring bottles from the restaurant's own Cypress Hill label. If you've got dietary restrictions, they'll adjust, no problem.

Thursdays are different. They roll out a "dinner and a movie" series, building the menu around films like "Casablanca," "Pulp Fiction," or "Ratatouille." It's not the sort of thing you stumble into. Seats are limited, so you'll have to make reservations for this, too. But if you want fine dining wrapped in local history, it's hard to beat a night spent under Mansfield's streets.