The Tamale House

Best cheese tamales I’ve ever had! Spicy and delicious, this little hole in the wall restaurant is authentic. It’s hard to find good, affordable Mexican food; this is the place to go! Cheese and jalepeño tamales all the way.

Best tamales I’ve had. Love the pork and chicken. Must have the salsa with it, just adds flavor.

We went on a Saturday evening and were too late for the Menudo so got the Posole and pork and chicken burritos. Everything was excellent and freshly prepared. This is authentic! Hard to find in this area unless you drive to Woodburn or Hillsboro. Definitely will return!

When it comes to Mexican food I’m as picky as they come. Specially when is tamales. I walked in with low expectations since I’ve had bad experiences in other places before. I’m happy to report that this was not the case here. The tamales are excellent. Good flavor. Amazing texture. All and all I give it a 9!!! That’s because the 10 belongs to my mom’s! For sure will come back here again!

The tamales are super mega awesome. The tacos, not really no. The interior really isn’t stellar. I would recommend placing an order to go.
I had the pork tamale and was blown away. Creamy and smooth and making me drool as I think about them now. If I lived here, they would be in my freezer! I can’t say enough good things about the tamales. The tacos, I am sad to report, were not as super fantastic. I am a total taco snob, I freely admit it. Saving grace was the tortillas were made fresh and hand pressed. Unusual to find these days. The tortilla was delicious, the carnitas was delicious! But it came with cheese and lettuce and a slice of tomato and the tortilla was flour and not corn. I was expecting street tacos, two corn tortillas, some meat and a little salsa with a slice of lime. It threw me.
Here is my bottom line. Eat the tamales, freeze the tamales, love the tamales!

Alwats pleased with food and the friendly
owners I especially enjoy the BBQ
tamales and chili renellos, JUST LIKE HOMEMADE

Their tamales may be even better than mine. Delicious, always fresh, always packed with the best fillers. I love their traditional pork, but the bbq pork is great too!
Wonderful family owned and operated business. They’re always friendly and helpful. We’ve also used them to cater for a party before and everything was delicious.

Tamales taste good, however customer service didn’t impressed me, when we first got there no one welcomed us, or tell us how to order, they didn’t have coffe or champurrado which is a must have when you are eating tamales, next time I’ll make sure I’ll bring my own drink

Laura and I love this place! The family is so fun and they really make the environment great.
I’m always on the lookout for great places to experience and this has become one of our Favorite. We have been back many times and each time has been a 5 star experience.
Their food is delicious and they give big portions and their tamales are awesome!
Great Family, great food, great Prices.

I tried the jalapeño and cheese, chicken and pork tamales. I would rate them all as fantastic, delicious, tamale perfection. The fillings were flavorful, the tamales were fresh. I was particularly impressed by the fluffiness of the masa. I’ve loved tamales for a long time but never enjoyed such greatness. Only reason I didn’t give 5 stars is the price is a little much. Definitely my go-​to place for tamales from here on out.

The whole family is amazingly nice and they seriously have the best jalapeño and cheese tamales. I’m also a huge fan of their salsa but, be careful, it packs a pretty large punch. I wish I had more experience with their menu but I usually just get a bunch of tamales to go. 10/​10, will be doing again

Once again I planned my evening around this place just to get screwed by them shutting early. Fool me once… I’m never patronizing them again.

The best tamales! Can’t get enough… even better that the family is sooooo nice! Can’t go wrong when you stop here!

We went here for the first time tonight. Thanks Unilocalers! This place was great! The tamales were awesome — nice, thin, tender masa that held its shape but wasn’t gummy. The yummy pork filling was plentiful and seasoned to perfection.
In the name of full reviewing, we also tried a few other items on the menu. (Not because we are big eaters or anything). The flautas are made fresh right there — not pre-​rolled — and then fried. The chicken is fresh, tasty and tender. They were out of ground beef so we had a chicken enchilada, which was also quite delicious, loads of chicken and cheese, topped with a yummy red sauce.
The chile relleno was a-​ma-​zing! Nice big chile, delicious red sauce, deep fried to a golden brown and stuffed full of yummy, stringy, oozy cheese. A real treat!
Unfortunately they were out of dessert, so no flan or tres leche cake — maybe next time! And believe me, there WILL be a next time!

The gentleman who helped me was awesome — friendly and helpful. The lady who was packing the tamales didn’t even crack a smile although I caught her staring (or was it glaring, not sure) at me a couple of times.
The tamales (bbq pork, pork and chicken) were well… just average… I found them to be very bland. It didn’t help that the corn husk wasn’t wrapped tight the way I’m used to from Cali and Texas which keep the masa and filling moist. The filling portion was decent but do note, their price is no longer $ 2/​tamale. It’s $ 3 now. Yeah, another disappointment since this was my first time there and even the recent review had them as $ 2 per tamale.

If you like tamales you should definitely stop here. The chicken tamales, in my opinion, are one of the best I have had (very moist!), and I am quite the snob when it comes to tamales!
I’m giving it 4 stars because the eating area is a bit cramped and the menu is limited (because not everything is available even if on the menu). If you are ordering anything other than tamales the prices seem slightly high given the quantity of food. I often just get a dozen tamales to go (since they freeze well). Oh, and their salsa is outstanding! I usually buy a container of that too.
If you are looking for good tamales (and salsa), give this place a try!

This small restaurant has very good, authentic Mexican food. There are 2 reasons I wouldn’t give them a better rating. First is that for slightly above prices the portions are small. Second reason is that if you don’t get there early enough or call ahead they may only have tamales and refried beans left to serve. They only prepare a limited amount of some selections for each day and when they’re gone they’re gone.

They are good tamales. When I am close by them I pick up a half dozen pack of the pork tamales us for my mom. She considers these a real treat and see has gotten to the point in her life where she has forgotten a lot of her recipes or have the energy to cook tamales all night and day. When she gets these we are able to have a cup of coffee and heat a couple up and just talk. Definitely Mexican comfort food and The Tamale House does a good job. I will need to order other dishes from them to give them a better review if they are as good as the tamales. The counter service is friendly and quick.

Wowee, am I glad that my Mexican friend took me here! I had been on the hunt for a decent, authentic tamale for almost a year. He told me that these were as close to authentic tamales that he could find, besides his own mother’s cooking.
The place is a tad odd on the outside. This doesn’t change when you walk inside — random paintings and colors, unmatched chairs: all things you would expect with an authentic Mexican food place, right?
Right. The menu had a lot to offer: tacos, enchiladas, burritos, chili rellenos (green peppers stuffed with queso fresco and fried), and — of course — TAMALES. I wasn’t about to leave this place without trying everything I could. Plus, it was all so cheap!
I had 2 tamales (at $ 2 each), an enchilada, and one chili relleno. The pork tamales, wrapped in the corn husk like tradition, had a tad more masa (corn, essentially) than anticipated, but they were still so magnificent and fresh — especially with some of the hot sauce on top. Are you drooling now? I am.
The cheese enchilada was kind of small, but it was everything you could ever wish for. It was fiiiilled with gooey cheese and drenched in tomato-​y, mildly spicy enchilada sauce.
I wouldn’t trust my judgement on the chili. I had it about a half hour after it had come out of the kitchen, so it was kind of cold. But the green pepper was stringy and stuffed with plenty of queso fresco. I don’t recommend eating it cold. It’ll be weird.
If you’re hungry for some authentic Mexican food and friendly service, come on down to The Tamale House!

Friday 6pm. Its hailing and I have just been in a 3 hour IEP meeting for one of my kids. (Work kid).
Tigard.
No plan for dinner. Starving because I had a bad lunch I didn’t finish.
Hmm. Tamales?
Ok. I know better than to expect a Tucson-​like Tamale in Tigard but I thought it’s worth a try. The best tamales I ever ate were handmade by the Pasqua-​Yaqui mother of a college boyfriend of mine. I think she ground her own masa with a rock and grew her own chiles and made her own cotija from her own cow’s milk. Yeah, like I will ever have one like THAT again. Sigh. Too bad he didn’t work out.
But this little place isn’t bad. I went for a family deal: 18 tamales (6 each chicken, bbq pork, and cheese jalapeño), with rice and beans for $ 45.The guy waited until some other customers left to offer me salsa explaining if they’d heard him he would have had to give them some. While I should feel happy and grateful that made me grumpy. I think all the customers should be offered free salsa.
The tamales were pretty good. Wrapped in corn husks like they are supposed to be. BBQ pork was our fave. Rice and beans were yummy. Salsa had a little heat. We wished for chips.
I think we’d go back. It was ok. Definitely a hole in the wall place, not glamorous and few tables, but friendly enough and a little bit like home.
A little.

3 tamales