Caveau

Caveau on Schillerstrasse is Mainz's answer to the question of where to spend an uncomplicated evening with good rock music and affordable drinks. The bar occupies a basement and lives up to its name: low ceilings, stone walls, and lighting that barely suffices to locate your beer. The music selection ranges from classic rock through punk to metal, and the system plays loud enough to carry the atmosphere.

Drink prices are refreshingly low, drawing a correspondingly mixed crowd — students alongside old-timers, metalheads next to casual visitors. The menu is straightforward: beer, shots, simple long drinks. Cocktails with three ingredients are not on offer here, and that is precisely the point. The staff is direct and no-nonsense.

Open evenings, with weekends running into the early morning hours. Live music happens regularly and is announced through the usual channels. The location on Schillerstrasse is central and allows for easy bar-hopping routes through the Old Town. Anyone looking for a polished evening is in the wrong place — anyone wanting an honest pub with character is exactly right.