America's 75 Best Hole-In-The-Wall Restaurants

A restaurant doesn't need to be big, bright, flashy and expensive to be great. In fact, some of the best and most beloved restaurants in America are small, don't really look like much from the outside, and can be considered "holes in the wall." Today, we're honoring America's 75 best.

So what makes a restaurant a hole in the wall, exactly? First of all, it needs to fit the most literal definition of the term — by being small. Second, it has to be fairly inconspicuous, not exactly looking like a legendary restaurant (until you account for the perpetual crowds, of course). And third, it has to have an air of authenticity, that feeling that this is the place and that there's nowhere else quite like it. A lived-in feel also helps, but that doesn't mean that it needs to be old. And in order to be called one of the best? Well, obviously, that's the most important part: The food needs to be absolutely spectacular, because that's the main reason why the crowds keep coming.

Some of these places are weather-beaten shacks, some are tiny storefronts, some are old railcar diners, some are tucked away where you'd least expect them. Some specialize in burgers, some hot dogs, some tacos, some dumplings. But they all have a couple things in common: They can be considered holes in the wall, and they're all great places to eat.

Before Eddie Huang became a familiar face to anyone who regularly watches Vice, he and his brother were the brains behind Baohaus, which opened on New York's Lower East Side in 2009. Their restaurant has since moved up to 14th Street (a Los Angeles location is also open), and it's a narrow slip of a space with just a handful of stools sandwiched between two exposed brick walls. The brothers did a lot to bring gua bao (steamed buns folded and filled with, for example, pork belly, housemade relish, crushed peanuts, Taiwanese red sugar and cilantro) to the masses, and it's every bit as good as it's ever been.

Since 1973, the Brooks family has been serving some of North Carolina's finest burgers in a small, no-frills, no-seating Sandwich House (twin brothers David and Scott Brooks took it over in 1991). Balls of freshly ground beef are flattened on the griddle to order, cooked until the exterior develops an enviable char, tucked into a super-squishy bun, and (if you order it "all the way") topped with mustard, raw onion and a smoky, beefy chili that's the restaurant's other claim to fame.

Founded in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2005 by Carrie Morey and already a beloved institution, Callie's Hot Little Biscuit is serving biscuits filled with your choice of jam, country ham, pimento cheese, bacon or other substantial offerings like sausage, egg and cheese. It's a small counter-serve establishment, though, so get there early and get in line. We suggest you take your order to go; the only seating is stools packed in against a wall. 

Caracas Arepa Bar is perhaps the best spot in New York for Venezuelan food, specifically arepas, thick griddled corn-based patties split and loaded with meats and other fillings (try the classic pabellon, with shredded beef, black beans, cotija cheese and fried sweet plantains). The teeny-tiny original location opened in 2003 (there's a larger one in Brooklyn now), and crowds line up nightly for one of the handful of seats.

Charles Gabriel of Charles' Country Pan Fried Chicken in Harlem has been pan-frying chicken since he was a kid growing up just outside of Raleigh, North Carolina. Using nothing but a couple of pans and his mother's recipe (which calls for the chicken to be turned and flipped over frequently), Gabriel has made his shop a New York institution; the restaurant itself is absolutely no-frills, tucked between a cell phone store and a (far inferior) fried chicken chain. Inside the narrow, recently-renovated restaurant you'll find a handful of tables, a small counter and not much else.

There was a big White Castle-inspired hamburger stand boom across America in the early 1920s, and Salina, Kansas' Cozy Inn is one of the last ones standing. A six-seat counter that opened in 1922, it gained local popularity for serving 1-ounce burgers griddled with chopped onions that came to be known nationally as sliders, and so is the birthplace of this beloved dish. To this day the grillmen are still doing it the old-fashioned way, in the same tiny room, with fluffy white buns made especially for them.

The teeny tiny Danny's is literally a shack on the side of a Tampa, Florida road, and it's so small that guests sit on picnic tables outside. It has a surprisingly large menu, with a wide variety of sandwich options (including a killer Cuban), but the thing to order is Guy Fieri's Triple D Triple Play (which Fieri created while there filming an episode of his TV show): a 6.5-ounce fresh-ground patty topped with slow-roasted pork, pastrami, Swiss, American, tomatoes, jalapeños, onion ring and mustard on sourdough.

In 2006, Dottie Sperry purchased the Depression-era Phillips Diner, kept all of its historical touches, and renamed it Dottie's. A no-frills menu of simple New England diner classics is topped off by stunningly delicious, simple doughnuts. Pancakes, French toast, clam chowder, sandwiches and stellar pot pies are all on offer, but we'll repeat: Don't leave without trying the doughnuts.

A humble, no-frills lunch counter on tony Fifth Avenue, just south of Madison Square? That's Eisenberg's, which has been going strong, against all odds, since 1929. This no-frills diner, with its 25-foot-long stone counter and photos of celebrities on the walls, has remained essentially unchanged since opening nearly 90 years ago. All the diner staples are here, including burgers, tuna melts, hot open sandwiches and pancakes, but don't miss the opportunity to sample some Jewish classics, including a Reuben, knockwurst, chopped liver, and lox, eggs and onions. Make sure you wash it all down with a lime rickey.

The tiny El Pique gets packed on a daily basis, but it's still easy to pass by. Head inside and you'll encounter just a few tables and, behind the counter, a plancha manned by two ladies cooking an astounding variety of proteins, including hard-to-find cuts like pork snout (trompa), beef head (cabeza) and a combo of all different types of offal (surtida). The best move is to go for the birria, made with lamb.

Fat Johnnie's is a small, ramshackle, white-paneled hut that's just a bit taller and just a bit wider than a canoe, on an industrial stretch of Western Avenue, a 20-minute drive from the Loop. You order through a tiny window in wonderment at how someone can fit inside the shack, but the hot dogs really are worth the visit, especially the Chicago-style dogs and tamales. Try the Mighty Dog — a hot dog and tamale on a bun with chili and cheese.

The tiny Flo's Hot Dogs in Cape Neddick, Maine, is a family-owned and -operated establishment that has been slinging sausages from a small, red shack on the side of the road since 1959. They specialize in steamed hot dogs that only need a sprinkle of celery salt, relish and mayo. Know what you want to order by the time you get to the front of the line, and look for a spot at the six-seat counter inside, but if it's full (as it normally is), don't worry — picnic tables are provided outside.

Gilley's is an adorable little restaurant that's been in business since 1940; it started life as a lunch cart that was towed by horse into Portsmouth, New Hampshire's Market Square every day and has been in its present (permanent) home since 1974. The menu is simple — burgers, hot dogs, fries and sandwiches — but just about everything on the menu is the best you'll find for miles around.

Howlin' Ray's owner Johnny Ray Zone has spent time working for some of the world's most renowned chefs, but he found his true calling on a trip to Nashville. What started as a food truck is now a tiny storefront located inside a Chinatown shopping mall serving fresh-from-the-fryer hot chicken made screamingly hot with help from cayenne and extracts of habanero, ghost pepper and red savina.  Be prepared to wait up to two hours to sample it, though.

A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania institution since 1979, Ishkabibble's is a hole in the wall with a few seats at the counter inside and a walk-up window facing the shaded sidewalk. While they pride themselves on being the inventor of the increasingly ubiquitous "chicken cheesesteak" (made with chicken tenders instead of steak), you should still order their cheesesteak. A fresh loaf of bread is lightly toasted and piled with steak that's grilled with onions and chopped to order. While purists can stick with the Whiz, a combination of both Whiz and provolone takes this sandwich to the cheesesteak stratosphere.

Since 1930, the corner of Weccacoe and Snyder avenues has been home to a tiny one-story building housing John's Roast Pork, a South Philly institution if ever there was one. Their roast pork sandwiches — made with an old family recipe and house-roasted daily — are the stuff of legend. But their cheesesteak is every bit as good as the roast pork, and arguably better.

Located a stone's throw from the ocean, the charming counter-service Kihei Café  serves some of Hawaii's finest breakfasts from a menu 40 items strong, and to keep those early-morning surfers happy, it opens at 5 a.m. daily. The huge cinnamon rolls and classic Hawaiian loco moco (with two eggs, a burger patty, white rice and brown gravy) are the real deal, and the big, fluffy pancakes are just about perfect, especially when stacked high and topped with bananas and macadamia nuts or pineapple and coconut. The restaurant itself is tiny, however, with not much of a dining room to speak of and a handful of outdoor tables. 

Flushing, Queens, is a labyrinth of life-changing Chinese street food, and some of the finest food in the neighborhood can be found in the basement of a food court called the Golden Shopping Mall. Wandering through its corridors can be a little intimidating, so do yourself a favor and make sure you stop at Lan Zhou Handmade Noodle. You can find it by following the thwacking sound of dough on a wooden block, slowly being transformed into some of the best noodles you'll find anywhere. Try them cold, mixed with chile oil, sesame paste and cucumber.  

It's not much to look at — just a small, one-story white shack with turquoise trim, on a corner with palm tree fronds setting the scene behind it — but La Super-Rica  has the kind of reputation that draws a crowd. The late culinary star Julia Child, who divided her time between Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Santa Barbara, mentioned La Super Rica Taquería on "Good Morning America" as her favorite taquería. Some standouts: the Frijol Super-Rica (a bowl of pintos with chiles, bacon and chorizo); Super-Rica Especial (pork with pasilla chiles); and the tacos de adobado.

Three close friends from Brawley, California, and Tijuana opened Los Tacos No. 1 to bring their truly authentic Mexican tacos to the East Coast, and they succeeded with flying colors. The menu was crafted entirely from family recipes and offers a variety of tacos, quesadillas and tostadas. Diners can choose from a variety of fillings such as carne asada, pollo asado and nopal (grilled cactus) to incorporate into any taco or tostada. 

If you went to NYU, or have spent any time carousing Greenwich Village's MacDougal Street in the past 40-odd years, then the odds are pretty high that you've been to Mamoun's Falafel. New York's first falafel shop (opened in 1971) is still one of its best, and a big part of its charm is that it's absolutely miniscule: a narrow nook with a few booths along one wall and just enough space for everyone else to line up for their turn to order from the counter along the other.

Serving some of America's best sliders since the 1930s inside a tiny circa-1929 White Castle, this humble Detroit mainstay is a must-visit for any burger lover passing through the city. Located inside a quiet industrial neighborhood, Motz's is bright, cheerful and welcoming. Grab one of the six round stools and watch the magic happen: One-and-a-half-ounce balls of fresh-ground sirloin are smashed down onto an ancient griddle with a hefty spatula and thin-sliced onions are pressed on, then it's flipped, cheese is applied, the toasted top bun is placed on top to steam, and the finished product is served with a squirt of ketchup and mustard.

In Evanston on Central Street, in a shack that's barely 700 square feet, Mustard's Last Stand serves hot dogs with a pedigree that few others have from a restaurant that has a counter, a few seats, a couple gumball machines and not much else. Go in, order a Chicago dog and dig into a great dog in a classic setting.

Grab a seat at the counter in Oklahoma City's diminutive Nic's Grill, joining the hordes of other pilgrims who line up here daily, and watch chef/owner Justin "Nic" Nicholas work his burger magic. He forms massive patties by hand and sears them on a hot griddle, and if you order yours (as encouraged) "with cheese and everything" it'll be served with plenty of cheese, griddled onions, pickles, mustard, mayo and ketchup on a perfectly steamed bun.

Atlantic City, New Jersey's small and unassuming Panchos Mexican Taquería was opened to cater primarily to employees of the local casinos, but it quickly achieved a level of local renown. Why? For one, the tortillas aren't just homemade, they're made to order. Second, tacos and huaraches are filled with a wide variety of expertly prepared proteins like steak, chicken, brisket, goat, tripe, chorizo and carnitas. And third, their mole poblano enchiladas are life-changing.

In Seattle, Washington, Paseo has been a household name for more than 20 years thanks to its Caribbean-inspired sandwiches. Just about everything on the menu is ridiculously delicious (seriously, repeated visits are necessary), but if it's your first time, you might be surprised just how tiny this place is: It's just a little red building with a counter and a handful of seats and perpetual lines out the front door.

Prince Street Pizza started serving "SoHo Squares" in 2012, and since then it's gone down as one of the city's finest pizzerias. Don't leave without trying the Spicy Spring: It's topped with tangy-sweet fra diavalo sauce, fresh mozzarella and spicy soppressata that turns into crispy circles that cradle shimmering pools of oil. Unfortunately, if you want to try this legendary slice for yourself, you'll have to wait in line and cram into the tiny pizzeria, which is standing room-only.

Widely regarded as serving one of the best lobster rolls in America, Red's Eats is a small roadside stand in the small town of Wiscasset, Maine. It's a tiny waterfront shack, and looks more like an ice cream stand than an establishment that serves one of America's finest culinary creations. Expect to wait an hour or more for your roll during peak times, but the roll itself is heaping with fresh, wet lobster — so much it falls all over. It tastes just-cooked and -picked, and it's a great deal.

From the outside, Shu Jiao Fu Zhou looks like any of the countless other restaurants in Manhattan's Chinatown, and, well, it basically looks like all the others from the inside as well. It's totally no-frills, with fluorescent lighting, a tile floor and some tables and chairs. But take a peek backstage and you'll find cooks hard at work making dumplings, thin and thick noodles, wheat noodles, meat-filled rice balls and other doughy delights, and they've earned legions of followers.

The old-school, chrome-detailed South Street Diner has been going strong since 1947, when it was built by the Worcester Dining Company to feed local factory workers. Today it's a favorite among the local college students and artists, and is widely regarded as the best late-night eatery in Boston, Massachusetts. (It's open 24/7.) The menu includes a variety of breakfast items (including the super-popular Boston crème pancakes), more than a dozen Benedicts, burgers, sandwiches, frappes (a New England spin on the milkshake) and a surprisingly good beer list.

David Bouhadana is one of New York's star sushi chefs, a master craftsman who also happens to not be even the least bit Japanese. His skills are second-to-none, and he's found a perfect showcase at Sushi by Bou, which opened at New York's Sanctuary Hotel in 2017 and has since spawned an additional five locations. The original is still the one to visit, and it's where you're most likely to find Bouhadana himself behind the counter, but there are a few things to know in advance: There are only four seats at the counter, the restaurant itself isn't much larger than that, you'll have exactly 30 minutes to enjoy your 12-piece omakase, and it'll cost you just $50, extremely affordable by sushi's (and Bouhadana's) standards. 

At the no-frills, order-at-the-counter Tacomiendo, where you'll hear much more Spanish than English spoken, the tortillas are homemade, the prices are reasonable and the tacos are big. Burritos are a favorite here, but the tacos get high marks, too. It's located in an unassuming strip mall, and has just enough room for 18 seats and a small counter; there's enough room for a salsa bar, though.

Chinatown's Tasty Dumpling is one of those places where, once you know about it, you can't decide whether to shout its praises from the rooftops or keep it as a secret all to yourself. The small, unassuming storefront is home to some of the city's best dumplings, cabbage and pork-filled pancakes and noodle soup. It's all very inexpensive and supremely satisfying, a college kid's dream.  

Most burger purveyors griddle, grill, or pan-sear their patties, but since 1959, Ted's — in the historic community of Meriden, Connecticut, north of New Haven — has steamed theirs. Cooked in custom-designed steam boxes, the burgers, served on kaiser-like rolls, lose very little bulk while cooking and hence stay very moist. The steamed cheese is spooned over the patties and cloaks them thickly. If you want to sample this rare regional specialty, you'll have to squeeze in at the tiny lunch counter, which has just a handful of stools and a few small booths.

If you visit one dumpling stand (as opposed to a noodle stand, which Lan Zhou already has covered) in Flushing's Golden Shopping Mall, make it Tian Jin, a tiny little stall right in the middle of the slightly claustrophobic space. Dumplings here are boiled to order, and are absolutely worth the trek alone. But you'll definitely want to save some stomach space for the stall's other offerings, which include marinated tofu, marinated cucumbers and Chinese sausages.

Brooklyn's Brighton Beach is home to a thriving Russian community and is nicknamed Little Odessa. Tucked away on a side street is one of the neighborhood's (and the city's) true hidden culinary gems, called Varenichnaya. As the name might imply, this tiny, nondescript restaurant specializes in vareniki (the Russian equivalent to ravioli), along with other Russian comfort food like pelmeni (smaller filled dumplings), blintzes, borscht and beef stroganoff. Grab a couple bottles of Baltika from the bodega around the corner and go wild.

One of the country's best burgers is the cheeseburger with fried onions at White Hut. There's really only one thing you need to know about this adorable little counter-only restaurant, in business since 1939: The burgers are legit, squashed, cheesy affairs — the kind of cheeseburgers where the cheese is not just a topping, but an integral part of the cooking process, and as important an ingredient (or at least close to it) as the patty.