The mysterious café that serves coffee through a hole in the wall

In recent years, specialty coffee shops have popped up in every neighborhood of Buenos Aires like mushrooms after the rain, and here we present our selection of the best ones. Most of these spots offer some pastries and the same types of coffee in both cold and hot versions.

However, Buenos Aires always surprises with a new way of serving coffee to lovers of specialty coffee who want to take it to the office or their university classes. This is the case of a café that serves coffee through a hole in the wall, functioning like a window. It’s called The Glory Hole Café, a concept which refers to the clandestine meeting method of the gay community in almost every city around the world.

The idea behind it comes from Rodrigo, a neonatologist from Corrientes, who one day left his medical practice to first focus on pastry and then specialty coffee.

His career change happened after visiting a friend's house and seeing how food was shared at the table. “That idea of integration around food blew my mind. I said, ‘This is what I want to do.’ First, I started taking pastry courses until I ventured into making cakes,” Rodrigo reveals.

How The Glory Hole came to be

Rodrigo went on to make dishes for parties at Susana Giménez's house, events for the Caras magazine, and parties organized by Claudia Villafañe. He still takes on some of these orders to scratch his pastry itch.

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“I have a shop on 9 de Julio, and I was looking for a place closer to the Universidad Abierta Interamericana (UAI),” the entrepreneur explains to Time Out. “The students had little time between classes, so they needed a closer spot.”

That’s when Rodrigo found the location between Constitución and San Telmo, at Humberto 1° 998. Initially, everything was planned to set up a traditional café with a counter and a few tables. But then, Rodrigo came across some reels of Japanese cafés serving through a hole in the wall. “The algorithm helped me bring this idea to life,” he laughs.

And refers that every details in the coffee are thought to reply the idea that everything that happen in The Glory Hole is clandestine. “Everything is designed to replicate that culture. From the typography that looks like it’s been painted with fingers, like how it’s often written in public bathrooms, to the irregular hole, as if it were broken,” the coffee entrepreneur explains.

My idea was to mimic brutalist architects. That’s why the wall is made of gray concrete, he says.

The Glory Hole Café and it's social media virality

Rodrigo admits that it’s “a daring idea.” In fact, it has already had both positive and negative reactions on social media. “Some people laugh and see it as a fun idea. Tourists come who saw it on social media, and UAI students too,” Rodrigo explains. “Then there are the haters. I respond to them all the time. That, in turn, generates more talk about the place and attracts more people.”

Without tables, baristas in sight, or intermediaries, this original café promises a quick exit and an Instagram photo of the experience. “However, behind the wall, there’s a traditional bar with the coffee machine and all the tools to operate in a traditional manner. With all the cleanliness standards of any bar in view,” Rodrigo explains.

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How The Glory Hole Café works

The process is simple: the order is placed through a hole, the payment is completed immediately, and after a few minutes, an anonymous hand delivers the drink through another hole.

Regarding the menu, The Glory Hole Café stands out with innovative options. Among their offerings is the Espresso Gin Tonic, which combines coffee with gin, and the Campari Coffee, where bitterness and roasted notes meet. They also offer the Baileys Frozen, a favorite for the hot days in Buenos Aires. For those who prefer something more traditional, they have options like American coffee, latte, or flat white, paired with medialunas or artisanal cookies.

Prices reflect the café’s accessible and competitive spirit: combos like a medium Americano with two medialunas for around $5200, or a flat white with medialunas for about $5600. For those with a sweet tooth, the flat white with a cookie costs $7500, while the most complete option—medium latte, fresh orange juice, and medialunas—costs $8500. These prices were valid at the time of publishing.

For summer 2025, Rodrigo plans what he calls the drink of the summer. “It includes Corona beer, Campari, and orange juice,” reveals the entrepreneur. “It’s the perfect combination of acidity and bubbles.”

Rodrigo is thrilled with the attention his café has received. “It’s going much better than my other café. Here, I have far fewer costs, and the social media buzz means there are many days when there are lines to order,” he says.

The social media buzz means there are many days when lines form to place an order.

In this same vein, Rodrigo doesn’t stop. “I’ve already received franchise requests to open other glory holes in Palermo, Devoto, and even in Entre Ríos. The proposals are on the table. Now we just need to see if the negotiations go through.”

So, Rodrigo has a map of the country where he hopes to place many points. “Each one could be a ‘glory hole.’ That would be beautiful. Like a tribute to the entire gay community that has so often had to hide to avoid society's gaze,” he explains.

Where: Humberto 1° 998, San Telmo.