El Meson de la Cava Restaurant
The Dominican restaurant El Meson de la Cava is known for two noteworthy things. Being one of the best restaurants in Santo Domingo, and possibly the Dominican Republic is one of them. The other noteworthy feature is that the restaurant is located in a cave underneath the country’s capital city.
El Meson de la Cava Restaurant, Photo: genesys34, Flickr
El Meson de la Cava History
As the waves of the Caribbean Sea bashed against the island’s rocky coast, large space was carved into a limestone forming this natural underground dome. Local Taino Indians were the first humans to venture into and use the cave long before Christopher Columbus ever stepped foot on the island. Naturally protected, the cave may have first served as a refuge for the Tainos during hurricanes and later as a hiding place from Europeans exploiting the island’s resources.
In more recent history, the cave was a hiding place for buccaneers preparing to raid the city and in the 1930s it was a refuge for guerrillas fighting against invading forces. In 1965, it was used as a storage facility for soldiers of the Organization of American States until eventually it was converted into its current use as one of Santo Domingo’s premier restaurants in 1967.
El Meson de la Cava Today
El Meson de la Cava continues its decades-long reputation as one of Dominican Republic’s finest restaurants. Its cuisine is known for being “Dominican fusion” – modern Spanish influenced by classic French and local Caribbean dishes utilizing carefully selected local ingredients and fish from surrounding waters of the Caribbean Sea. Chef Luis Peralta takes great pride in serving world class dishes.
Three street-level entrances located on Av. Mirador Sur in Santo Domingo allow the visitor access to El Meson de la Cava, but being within an underground cave, a forty-foot spiral staircase needs to be descended to get to the restaurant’s foyer. By taking on the descend, the visitor is rewarded with breathtaking views of natural stalactites and stalagmites. Reservations are accepted from lunch until midnight.
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