hole-in-the-wall
(North America, informal) A restaurant, shop or other establishment catering to customers that is particularly inconspicuous and easily overlooked.
Seen in the wild
Mashed Texas' 13 Best Hole-In-The-Wall BBQ Joints, Hands Down www.mashed.com/2158096/texa...
I walked down College Street in Toronto today with a hard copy printout of a paper and a highlighter until I found a hole-in-the-wall burger place with outdoor seating. Absolute 11/10 lunch break.
The Hole-in-the-Wall Shop That Dressed Hip-Hop www.nytimes.com/2026/05/05/n...
See, the _last_ time I got sick (and was miserable for 3 whole weeks), it was because even though the I suspected the 14yo to be sick, I said "fuck it" and ate sitting across from him at a tiny hole-in-the-wall dumpli…
Definitions
(North America, informal) A restaurant, shop or other establishment catering to customers that is particularly inconspicuous and easily overlooked.
“I walked down College Street in Toronto today with a hard copy printout of a paper and a highlighter until I found a hole-in-the-wall burger place with outdoor seating. Absolute 11/10 lunch break.”
“See, the _last_ time I got sick (and was miserable for 3 whole weeks), it was because even though the I suspected the 14yo to be sick, I said "fuck it" and ate sitting across from him at a tiny hole-in-the-wall dumpling place in Flushing.”
They walked by a tea museum, two local pharmacies, a bakery, and one hole-in-the-wall shop still selling knickknacks from Chinese New Year, before coming to a stop outside the unassuming front door of 189.
“Mashed Texas' 13 Best Hole-In-The-Wall BBQ Joints, Hands Down www.mashed.com/2158096/texa...”
— Bluesky· May 2026“I walked down College Street in Toronto today with a hard copy printout of a paper and a highlighter until I found a hole-in-the-wall burger place with outdoor seating. Absolute 11/10 lunch break.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“The Hole-in-the-Wall Shop That Dressed Hip-Hop www.nytimes.com/2026/05/05/n...”
— Bluesky· May 2026“See, the _last_ time I got sick (and was miserable for 3 whole weeks), it was because even though the I suspected the 14yo to be sick, I said "fuck it" and ate sitting across from him at a tiny hole-in-the-wall dumpling place in Flushing.”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
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