Tamara’s Tamales

Moist & delicious tamales. Little hole in the wall that is perfect for pickup when you are craving tamales. They have the hottest hot sauce if you ask them. Every kind of tamales you can think of.

Fantastic! Go here! Not only are the tamales delicious but Tamara and her team are very sweet. We had the chicken verde and the Tamara special. The salsa is also delicious!

Between going here since the beginning. Some of the best tamales in Los Angeles, if not the best. Light and flakey, never heavy and ludden. Super flavorful, with excellent salsas as accompaniment. Rice with red sauce also available. Chips are awesome. This is the real deal with a multigenerational Mexican family legacy in making tamales.
Favorite tamales: cheese and jalapeño, chorizo potato, red pork Chile, green chicken cilantro pesto, nacatamal

Probably the only tamales I’ve tasted that come a little close to my family’s recipe.

Hands down the best tamales I’ve ever had! I come very very often and have never been disappointed. Delicious! The chips and salsas are amazing and the service is fast and friendly.

These tamales were in-​cred-​i-​ble! But like all good food it’s even better when they are served and prepared with love and kindness. I came in there today exhausted and starving after moving and my card didn’t go through. No matter, because the lovely proprietress offered to buy my order for me. «Just make sure you come back» she said. One bite into my first chicken mole tamale and that’s a guarantee!

Great selection of tamales that were excellent and fresh (I had chicken verde and the pumpkin) and friendly service! The guava agua fresca was also super refreshing on a hot day.

It’s ok. Prices are high and portions are small. They are gluten free and health conscious so they get points for that, but the potato chorizo wasn’t very good and the jalapeño cheese was tasty, but mostly spicy.
If it weren’t for my wife’s allergies I don’t think I’d go here again. It’s fine if you want a taste or eat like a bird, but if you like quantity pass on it. The chocolate one is especially small and for $ 4+ it’s a ripoff.

Delicious tamales and the perfect place for meat-​lovers, vegetarians, and vegans! There is something for everyone on the menu, and the unique tamale flavors make this place stand out. Doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the inside is well-​lit, quaint, and clean.
The only downside is that because they are tamales and must be pre-​made, you can’t alter any of the choices … for example I couldn’t get one of the vegetarian tamales without the cheese… but not to worry because they had vegan options!
I tried the vegan jalapeño cilantro tamale and it was delicious! A perfect place to make a quick stop for some good food.

Two stars for good food. ZERO stars for staying open until 6pm, the posted time on your website. Today I literally was walking toward the door only to watch someone shut and lock the door. I have tried going there between 545 and 555 on 5 separate occasions now (BEFORE SIX) and the doors were shut and locked. If you going to close before 6 you need to change your website and anywhere the time is posted. Due to the time I get off work I can’t make it there sooner, but that is beside the point because you are supposed to be open until 6. AND out of curiosity as a place that sells food, why in the world are you closing at 6pm??? Isn’t that a little early???

No idea why it took me damn near a decade to finally try this place… i was randomly craving a tamale, and found this place on Unilocal.
went there before they closed, and surprised by the high high prices for a tamale. im used to paying less than $ 2 per tamale, but this place is around the $ 5 – 6 per tamale range.
is it worth the high price? well, yes… if you have the money. i thought it might have been the best tamales ive ever had. i ordered the chicken verde and the machaca beef… both excellent, but im a red meat eater, so i felt the beef was better… but get both if you can!
people on Unilocal must also have small appetites, because i was lookin for a snack and ordered 2, and felt it was perfect for a snack… but if i were starving and needed a full meal, i would need 3 – 4 of them… and that would cost me a ton of money.
***
LIKES: best tamales ive had. AWESOME housemade hot sauce… its super spicy, where a couple drops go a long way. make sure to ask them for it.
DISLIKES: parking sucks, prices are high
VERDICT: if im craving a tamale, and i just won a lot of money somewhere, ill be coming here… if not, im going to some random hole in the wall to get some for ¹⁄₃ of the price… and if i want to get stuffed on food, im going across the street to in-​n-​out where i can get full off $ 8.

we got take out from this place a few times. and the tamales are so good. chicken mole and veggie tamales, really good. price is normal for tamales this good. we will go back for sure.

I have a hard time choosing a favorite kind of Mexican food, but I do know that tamales are pretty difficult to beat!
Tamara’s Tamales is walking distance from my old high school, which makes me regret not taking advantage of it before! I came in on a rainy day craving some kind of comfort food. My mom and I both ordered a few: chicken verde, machaca beef, chorizo potato, and traditional sweet. My mom also got a cup of Jamaica, which was perfectly tangy (not grossly sweet). Every order comes with a generous portion of warm and freshly fried tortilla chips! The little salsa bar has 2 different kinds of salsas and a sour cream! The traditional sweet tamale was smaller than the savory ones, but the flavors were even more distinct. The raisins and pineapples were a wonderful addition to the sweet masa. The meal was incredibly satisfying and I can’t wait to try more of the options!
The employees working there are so sweet and really patient. These tamales are fantastic and are definitely worth the price!

We had a Christmas ornament making pot luck party and we bought the tamales from Tamara’s. We ordered over 40 tamales and folks wanted to take the left overs home. Wonderful hand made tamales. Favorite was the Chicken verde.

A lot of variety — savory meat or chicken, vegetarian and dessert and they were piping hot when I picked some up for lunch today. They came with a side of fresh and tasty tortilla chips.
As many have already said, the tamales were were very expensive. I got 3 tamales and the total was over $ 15. They all tasted good, but definitely not the best, nor worth the money.

HELL YEAH! Surprisingly, my mother spotted Tamara’s on her way home from Costco. So we tried it a couple weeks later, and were super impressed. The masa is the perfect texture. Not too fatty, not dry at all. There are a ton of different kinds, and they have their own homemade aguas frescos (KILLING, and not too overly sweetened with sugar, sandia is my have), and homemade salsas (perfect), and homemade chips (just fried tortillas). Go for any of them (I loved the machaca and chicken verde and am excited to try the sweet ones next time)
And while these tamales can run you quite a bit more than some you’ll find at street vendors or even at farmers markets, these are by far the most high quality and tasty bundles of masa you’ll find anywhere West of Mama’s Hot Tamales across from MacArthur Park. A TOTAL score.

Very delicious tamales served here. My absolute favorite is the Chicken Verde. When I’m craving their tamales, my taste memory of the Chicken Verde is strongly on my mind. Some of the other flavors such as the Jalapeño pesto potato are also very good… in case you were in a vegetarian mood they have several meatless options.
It hadn’t crossed my mind until after eating there for over a year, but I inquired about the quality of their corn products… and Alice confirmed for me that they use non-​GMO corn.
They tell you that 1 tamale is a snack, and 2 tamales is a meal… seems about right. They also give you a complimentary basket of freshly fried up tortilla chips to sample with their homemade salsas, so if you only get 1 tamale, it’s still pretty filling with the chips.
I would give this 5 stars but I feel that the tamales are slightly too pricey for their petite size. Otherwise it’s a very quaint little family owned restaurant that serves excellent tamales.

Desperate for a decent tamale West of Sepulveda, I found this place. on Unilocal.Being 5 minutes from where I work and about 10 from where I live, I decided to give this place a shot.
First off, this isn’t a «Hole in the wall». If you think this is a «hole in the wall», you’ve obviously never been in one. Tamara’s is well kept, bright and houses friendly service. The kitchen is open. and you can clearly see everything is being cleaned on an hourly to daily basis here. So don’t fret, folks. You’re in a nice neighborhood.
The name tells you what they serve: «Tamara’s Tamales». I didn’t walk in expecting to see enchiladas or tacos. Not going to lie, they had a huge selection of tamale choices. most of which I wanted to try. From your everyday Jalapeño & Cheese, to sweet tamales like their chocolate tamale. «No Bueno» came to mind when I thought of chocolate in a tamale and the entire «sweet tamale» section.
I asked the server on duty what the «locals» (haha) like. Before ordering she mentions, «One’s a snack, two’s a meal». She then recommended the Red Pork Chile and the Jalapeño & Cheese tamales. I went ahead and grabbed both along with a cantaloupe aquas frescas to sip on.
«$ 12 :)» she says as she’s ringing me up. Wait. What? Did I order a dozen and not know? «I ordered two tamales right?» I immediately questioned. «Yeah, 12 dollars sir» she replied. I’m not one to throw a hissy fit. But it’s probably because I grew up in the SGV and East Los Angeles regions. and for that price in return I’d get too many tamales. Yes too many.
Out on the East side it’s around $ 1-​$ 2.50 a pop. Here, the Jalapeño and Cheese — $ 4.45. The Red Pork Chile $ 4.25. The Jalapeño & Cheese is more? Interesting. AND. the tamales are small! Like the size of my palm small. Unless I got the end of the last of a batch, these were like appetizers!
I can’t deny it though. The tamales were fuggin’ great. Warm, soft, and gooey insides packed with vast amounts of flavor. I love generic tastes with a light kick, and that’s what the Jalapeño and Cheese did for me. That Red Pork Chile was GREAT. The red sauce against the cornbreadish texture on top of tender pork left me wanting more. My word.
I’m torn in between. I’m totally a fan of the food and flavors along with the service and the location itself, but the price and size of the tamales were a let down. Tamara’s is close. and I like good food, so I’ll probably go back at least one more time to clarify things.

«But Justin, you can’t eat tamales, you’re vegan! Ain’t no vegan tamales…» says the uniformed.
«Au contraire, mon frère» says I.
Tamara’s has meaty-​meat meat filled tamales if you must, Tamara’s has straight up vegetarian tamales bursting at the seams with veggies and cheeses, and then Tamara’s has some of the best vegan tamales I’ve ever had.
In other words Tamara’s has something for everyone, you just have to check it out
Vegan wise I popped my Tamara’s cherry with a veggie curry tamale, a jalapeño-​pesto potato tamale, and a veggie special tamale. Every one of them, soooo amaze. Next time I’m going to keep it real and just eat as many of the jalapeño-​pesto potato as I can fit in my stomach because that’s the gold medalist of the group.
One word of caution to my vegan and vegetarian brethren out there: If it’s not under the «Vegetarian» or «Vegan» section of the menu, there’s a good chance that it’s not vegetarian or vegan even if it sounds like it would be. My vegetarian homie ordered up one of the pumpkin tamales under the «Sweet» section of the menu, totally assuming that the description of «pumpkin, sugar, raisins, and spices» would be vegetarian.
I’m paranoid about that shit so I asked for her, «Vegetarian right?» Dun, dun, dunnnn… not vegetarian, apparently chicken stock gets thrown into almost all of the tamales as a source of savory/​saltiness, so even an innocent sounding chocolate tamale could be full of chicken juice. Gross, I know, I suggested they migrate away from that but then again, I don’t own a four star tamale restaurant so maybe they know something.
Anyway, I’m all about these vegan tamales, totally worth the $ 4.50-$ 5.50 a pop. I can’t even really gag down average tamales anymore, I just start missing that jalapeño-​pesto potato over here at Tamara’s. Check this place out, if you dig tamales you will not be disappointed.

No, not good tamales. F’ outstanding !
Ok — why pay $ 4 for one? Because they are simply delicious and creative. Pork /​chicken /​meat /​steak served with chips. Definitely mouth watering.
The jackpot was their cinnamon and pumpkin tamale. Yes, sounds weird but served warm and simply delicious. Must try!