Universal Tamal

I love tamales. And hands down Universal Tamal has the best I’ve ever eaten. The choices are great. When I’m looking for a treat I go pick up a pack of 6 chicken and a pack of 6 pork tamales to go. Be sure to get some red and green salsa. I have to try really hard to only eat a few they’re that good.

The tamales are quite yummy.
Everything else tastes fine and is inexpensive, but not all that impressive. My torta had lettuce and meat and that was it. Where on earth were the other toppings?! And they didn’t even cover the bun. The sandwich was like 90% bread.
Would return for tamales. Not really anything else.

This is the best *authentic* Mexican I’ve had in a while! Not a lot of joints sell Tortas, and these were the best I’ve had outside Chicago.
The staff is comprised of most if not all family members, and they are all very friendly.
You get a lot of bang for your buck here, but the only negative would be that they do not have fountain drinks. They only sell $ 1 bottled soft drinks.
If you’re craving Mexican, this is the place to go!

LOVE this place! I’ve been coming for over 6 years and will continue to either until we move too far away to make a visit or they close their doors. (Either of which I do not see happening in the foreseeable future.) Tamales are great, chicken tacos are great, delicious salsa and chips, gooey quesadillas, yummy tortas… and the list goes on. The fact that this restaurant is owned and operated by the SWEETEST family in the area just makes coming here even more enjoyable. It may not be the fanciest place aesthetically, but the delicious food and friendly staff more than make up for that. I personally love feeling like I’m at a friend’s home for lunch when I’m here. They do get really busy on Goshen’s First Fridays, but it is still worth grabbing some food during these events even if you have to wait a little while. Out of all the Mexican restaurants in the area… this is HANDS DOWN the one to try!

Great place! Very nice staff, fluent in English. Tamales are amazing, and salsa is bomb too. The building is jenky and smells a bit like a pool hall, but the food is awesome. Love their horchata too!

First time here, was not disappointed. The tamales are great. Loved the salsa. Friendly service. Will come back again. Defiantly come and give this place a try.

If you want tamales then this is your best bet in the area. My biggest gripe with this place is the lack of an updated menu. You receive a menu when you sit at a table but when you go to order off the menu I have been consistently disappointed and told that what I ordered is no longer offered. The real menu is essentially a group of poster boards hung behind the register on the wall. Frankly, I have no clue why a tamale place would take chicken mole tamales off the menu since mole is to Mexican what curry is to Thai or Indian food; a cornerstone that should never be neglected but, to my astonishment it is no longer offered. The service has been pretty decent and the place is fairly clean. I haven’t ever gone when there is a crowd so that may be why my service has been pretty decent. Furthermore I am not as easily impressed as others apparently are by Coke in a glass bottle since you can walk in to any carniceria and pick it up not to mention most taquerias. Overall Univarsal Tamal is good for the tamales albeit it is a dwindling selection that makes one wonder if they will even offer tamales in the near future.

I really like this place despite the poor service, good luck trying to even get your drink refilled without hounding them. Try the Guacamole, its so good, although I’ve gotten it 3 different times first time it was $ 2.50, second time it was $ 3.00, today it was $ 3.50, so ask before you order it so they don’t just charge you whatever they feel like that day. IMO the best mexican food in Downtown Goshen, which isn’t saying a whole lot but you should give it a try if you like Authentic Mexican food.

Great tamales and salsa. Decent guacamole. Disappointed to not have a beer to chase it all, but certainly worth a visit if you’re in town.

I’ve only had carryout, but these tamales are bangin’. No idea when I’ll ever be in Goshen, but the delectable masa treats might be worth the drive.

Amusing side anecdote: When my mom suggested Universal Tamal for lunch this weekend, my husband, who enjoys Mexican food quite a lot, seemed a bit wary of the tamale idea itself but indicated he would enjoy a taco or similar. Imagine my amusement when, as we enjoyed our food, he admitted that he’d thought you were supposed to eat the corn husk, too, hence his apprehension. (And my husband’s a really smart guy, which made it all the more entertaining.)
Anyway. This is a smallish, no-​frills sort of place. Its main decorations are the bright menu, with large color photos, hung on the wall. (They will also give you a menu to look at.) It’s got table service or to go; our waitress was quite friendly. There’s not much on the tables besides napkins.
The food, however, is quite delicious. The limited menu makes me miss San Marcos a bit, but I don’t think San Marcos ever specialized in tamales. Here, you have your pick of multiple flavors of tamales, including a sweet one, plus tacos/​gorditas, a few tortas, burritos, etc. We were given a basket of crispy, fresh tortilla chips with delicious homemade salsa.
I had two chicken tamales with salsa verde; the salsa had great flavor and a decent amount of heat. The masa was great. I am no tamale expert, but these really hit the spot.
We also shared some flan for dessert, which had a wonderful flavor, though the texture was not quite as smooth as some I’ve had.
All in all, friendly service, excellent prices and wonderful food make this a welcome new Mexican joint on Main Street Goshen. I hope it sticks around so we can come back when we visit. :)

A relative newcomer to Goshen, Universal Tamal is a must-​visit for a quality tamale or five. It’s a small operation with a relatively small menu; once they were even out of one of the flavors of tamales, but I always leave satisfied. My favorite is the «Super Tamales.» Just make sure you try at least one sweet tamale if you’ve never had one before. They’re quite a treat.