Absolutely delicious food and vibe at this local gem. A very community centric space and wonderful, yet simple, options. Service was friendly, quick and efficient. Putting in on my list to go to again soon! Also, the bathroom is spacious and kind of like a community board (which they also have by the collection of hot sauces!!) read more

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My friend and I had this place on our list and decided to try it for lunch. Unfortunately we left very dissatisfied. We both got the vegan birria tacos but they should rename it to veggie tacos so you can have better expectations regarding the texture. It's quite mushy and nothing like birria. The accompanying sauce is good but overall the taco isn't an enjoyable experience. The waiter was a pleasant guy and it's nice that the establishment is BYOB. Also it has such cute decor! read more

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Love this place! It's so cozy and BYOB! Excellent vegetarian and vegan options- the wings and the veg birria were amazing- good with regular cheese too! Food comes out fast! read more

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Great little place to grab a bite to eat. The atmosphere alone is worth a visit bc there's so much good art on the walls. We got a good variety of things, including vegan nachos, vegan cheese fries, vegan birria tacos, regular birria ramen, Thai chili seitan wings, and a regular burrito with carnitas. Everything was delicious. My least favorite thing we got was the vegan Tamale as it was really dry and seemed to be lacking a lot of filling read more

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I was curious about this establishment that has Vegan Options. I ordered the Seitan Wings which are comparable in price from where I usually order Seitan Wings. However, the portion is small for the price. It was tasty bits with a nice dipping sauce. Very nice portion of flavorful Spanish fries. My order was packaged nice and secure and delivered fresh. I am curious about the Vegan Birria Tacos for my next order. read more

Juana Tamale - Spanish Fries - Tacos Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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When I landed in Philly in 2018 and was living in West Philly, I did what every transplant does, asked the neighborhood where to get real Mexican food. The West Willy crowd didn't hesitate: "Under the bridge. Tamale truck." Fast-forward to 2026 and that little under-the-bridge legend has grown into still lively, still rooted in community, just with walls and a roof now. And the heart behind it? Even bigger than the flavors. During the government shutdown (Oct-Dec 2025), Jennifer opened up for free breakfasts for kids. Families short on SNAP were never turned away. She rallied vendors, got groceries donated, and pushed out 150 boxes to seniors and mobility-impaired neighbors across Philly. That's not marketing, that's showing up. But let's be clear: you don't earn this kind of loyalty on good deeds alone. The food is the real deal. Not Taco Hell. We're talking roasted peppers, daily-made sauces, birria before birria was trendy on the East Coast, and a Philly-style birria ramen that somehow just works. My go-tos? Hearty tomato soup. Street tacos. Tamales, obviously. And on a personal note. in the worst moment of my life, when my youngest son passed, Jennifer opened her space for his memorial. Twenty people in the room, 140 online, all sharing stories about my sweet, kind, brilliant boy taken far too soon. She gave us a place to hold him in memory. You don't forget that. So yes -- go for the food. But stay for the community, the heart, and the reminder that some places still lead with humanity first. read more

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I go weekly. Fast, healthy, tasteful food with nice staff and good vibes. Got take out for a friend and he raved about it.

Intimate Fast casual restaurant with west-coast vibes; that's also BYOB - need I say more! Dine-in available, although there are only a handful of tables. I ordered the Birria Tacos and a Meat (Chicken Verde) Tamale. The tamale tasted super authentic, loved it and wish I ordered more than one! The Birria tacos weren't bad! Hefty portions (a lot of meat) but I wanted them to have a little more time on the flattop. They weren't crispy enough for my personal preference. The consomme was nice and flavorful. My husband ordered the Burger, 5oz so kinda of small, but the toppings were a nice touch (Hatch Chili Jam & Onion w/ Cheese). Need to try the Birria Ramen next! read more

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Looking for a casual restaurant for a quick fusion meal, Juana Tamale has you covered. Place your order at the counter, peruse the hot sauce offerings, choose a seat, and your order will be brought shortly. We tried the ramen birria taco (definitely recommend, as it was piping hot and had a great fusion broth), as well as a pork and chicken taco (managed to get there in time for the tail end of happy hour!), an order of nachos (not as flavorful as they looked), and a churro, which was also piping hot, but not quite done in the center. read more

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Great service and eats. One of my favorite spots to visit in Philly for birria tacos, I may or may not have drank the consomé it was so good. read more

Been coming here for awhile, I really like the bean and cheese burrito and the birria ramen. Everything I've had has been good, and the ambiance is really festive and joyful. That said, I just had a really bad customer service experience when picking up an order. The mexi pizza comes with crema on it, even though the website says it's on the side (picture attached). The guy on the phone was kind of argumentative with me about it, but said he would replace it and give me one without. My lunch break was almost over so I grabbed my skateboard to quickly head back, not bringing the original pizza because what are they gonna do with that, throw it away? But I guess I needed it. He wouldn't give me a new one so I skated home empty handed and had to get back to work. Sucks I loved this place but the pettiness and cynicism (like I'm trying to game a free pizza?) ruined it for me :( Only knocking one star for that because everywhere sometimes has bad service. I'll suffer bad service for good food. Well not here anymore, there are other good options in the neighborhood read more

Juana Tamale - "a Side of Jalapeño and Crema" The crema is not on the side. Guessing you must choose "vegan cheese", but I don't want vegan cheese - Tacos Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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5 stars all around for theme and decorations!!! Affordable prices and a reasonable variety of food. I love that they have a 20% student discount. The tacos were amazing in my opinion. The meat had flavor and was juicy. I liked how they came with sauce and lime. I think the chicken quesadilla was bland, but it was large. read more

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After seeing the post for best tacos my partner hurried off to get some breakfast tacos for us. Usually we go for south Philly barbacoa but I've been really excited to try Juana Tamale. First off every hours posted on social media and Google is totally off. So as he pulled up at 9am and yelp said 12 and instagram said 9 and another place said 10 it was actually 10am on Saturday. So he was probably the first few people of the day putting an order in. He ordered some sort of loaded fries which I had one I fry but I wasn't into crinkle cut fries loaded personally for breakfast. I wanted my breakfast tacos. He got his with shredded chicken mine was egg scrambled with some sprinkles of cilantro and onion, and both had hash brown patty too. . my breakfast taco is what I'm rating The whole meal was all fried so it was already too much for me. Maybe it was good for a super hungover group of people needing fried foods to soak up alcohol? But I was hoping it was going to be fresh tortilla breakfast tacos. When biting into my first taco which was two fried tortilla and the little egg scramble inside there was an off putting smell from the tortillas. It smelled like old oil was used or else heavily seasoned flavors of whatever else went in there that made it smell off. I had a hard time getting around that smell. And after a couple attempts I just scraped the egg and at that and left the tortillas. So that was disappointing. The hash brown and fries were all right but I was looking forward to breakfast taco and I couldn't get through whatever was happening with the tortilla. My partner agreed. He ate the fries later when he was starving and ate his tacos anyways but without the tortilla too. Kinda nervous about giving it another go for other advertised tacos that I wanted. The birria... read more

Juana Tamale - Tacos Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The food is delicious. The service was great. The only thing they charge a service charge although we did take out

I've been a loyal customer of Juana Tamale for years, but tonight was the first time I visited in person. It was more than I could have hoped for. The circumstances were far from ideal--my son passed away suddenly this past Sunday. We were planning a gathering to honor him, but the venue we booked canceled at the last minute. In that moment of chaos and heartbreak, the only place that came to mind was Juana Tamale. I called, and Jennifer, the owner, answered. Without hesitation, she said yes. Her kindness in that moment was a gift I will never forget. From the moment we arrived, we were embraced with warmth and care. Many of our local friends had never been there before, but now they're devoted fans. The fusion of birria and ramen was the highlight of the night, and the rare, exquisite tomato soup--my personal favorite--brought me comfort when I needed it most. We ate. We remembered. And in that space, with exceptional food and even more exceptional staff, we found a moment of solace. Juana Tamale isn't just a restaurant; it's a place of community, kindness, and heart. Thank you, Jennifer and team, for giving us a place to heal. read more

Ordered online for pickup. The food was done in a timely manner and it was easy to pick up. The decor of the place is cute and insta friendly. The food was subpar. I had chicken tacos and cheese fries. The chicken tacos had a soggy tortilla and the fries were also very soggy. The chicken itself was great, though. read more

I had been wanting to try Juana tamale for a while and unfortunately was a bit underwhelmed. We got the birria tacos, and while the flavor of the consome and tacos themselves was good and authentic, the tacos were extremely soggy and falling apart even before I dipped them in the broth. It may have been because they were so overstuffed with the meat, which while others may enjoy, it was too much for me and made the tacos hard to eat without completely falling apart. My friends got tamales and the birria ramen, they enjoyed the tamales but said the ramen was nothing to write home about. Considering the three tacos also cost $20+, im not sure I would go back. The inside of the restaurant is super cool and well decorated though. read more

Juana Tamale - Beef Birria - Tacos Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I had dinner recently right near this colorful magical place, and wish id come here instead My friends and I saw through the window that they had churros, and we decided to go get them for dessert. We weren't aware that they were filled, and I found out they're Bavarian cream filled and other times could be strawberry among a few others. Oh my gosh, they were so beyond good and came with a small container of chocolate dipping sauce. They were so good I ordered more, and they actually held up come morning. This place is a maximalist's dream. There's cool art everywhere, a local artist did it all, and even the bathroom is an experience and HUGE. They have some vegan options, and I need to get actual food there asap. If this place had existed when I lived in Philly I would've been there a LOT, and didn't ever live close to it. Would've been worth it and these days is worth the trip to South Philly. Go support this magical fun delicious place read more

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Juana Tamale is a vibe, it's a way of life, it's a revolution, it's a destination, it's more than just extremely good tacos. The decor is like the Friends apartment having a fever dream x Alice in Wonderland. The playlist was fire. The staff was so nice and helpful, the one guy had an entire conversation about Bridgerton season 2 with me and I think we're best friends now. I wish more people were dining in, sticking around. It was a lot of takeout, but it'd be a fun place to bring people and hang. The food is excellent. It's messy and it's crunchy and meaty and cheesy and spicy and really interesting. The best kind of fusion. I love the ramen birria taco and then we dipped our pork tacos in the ramen as well. The strawberry rose lemonade drink mix was delicious, wish I'd remembered to bring booze to spike it but we added some mineral water to make a mocktail. I'm curious about the salad, vegan wings, and churros but the ramen and taco and 1 order of tacos was plenty for 2, so I'll have to come back. Yes it's a little expensive for tacos, but you're not just paying for tacos, you're paying for a chef and business owner who cares so much about her employees and disrupting the industry that she's doing something about it, unapologetically, loudly, and persistently, no matter how much hate she gets on Yelp or Google reviews or Instagram. Go off Jennifer! This is the kind of business I want to support. I did Juana Tamale but unfortunately they were all sold out from Cinco de Mayo. Guess I'll have to come back! Come for the tacos, stay for the drink mix, the Instagram pics and the revolution. read more

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I was initially skeptical for the price for 3 biria tacos but when I tell you how good these were... I ate them so fast, I forgot to even take a picture! The food came faster than expected and nice and hot and the tacos were massive, I was completely stuffed after eating them! They were messy in the best way possible but somehow not excessively so. I would absolutely come here again and try all the other goodies on their menu and cannot recommend them enough! read more

Visiting from phoenix Arizona and thought we had the best tamales until trying this place! incredible food, great service and homey atmosphere! read more

We really enjoyed our time at Juana Tamale! When you walk in, you are immediately struck by the casual and eclectic design on the walls or hanging from the ceiling. They've got you vibing to hip-hop/latino music in the background, while you wait in line to place your order at the counter. Their menu is posted on the wall, and you will struggle with one thing...that's figuring out what to order from their large menu. They also offer some unique dishes, like their birria ramen (we had gotten this - definitely worth a try!). Don't be swayed by their pricing. I know some people have commented on it seeming a little too expensive for tacos, which is fair, but the portions are huge and jam packed with protein (or veggies). You won't leave feeling hungry, and that made me feel like it was all worth it. They are known for their birria tacos, so if you have to get one thing, that oughta be it! They do NOT disappoint - the consomme broth that these tacos are served with is what makes it for me. It has a memorable flavor of chiles & spices, and it will have you chasing the drippings that run down your hand. Opt for napkins if you so choose. Also - don't leave without a churro. Served fresh & hot, whether you are sitting and allowing the rest of your food to digest, or taking it to walk off the prior calories consumed, it makes for a perfect ending. Is it a place where you should obligated to travel to, in order to find destination tacos? Not necessarily...but if you are in our around Passyunk, certainly worth a visit. read more

Juana Tamale - Tacos Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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huge portions and great service! small family owned business with cozy atmosphere and good to bring kids to. no alcohol but the quality of food makes up for it! read more

I went with my mom as were visiting Philly and we spilt the bean and cheese burrito and a taco salad. Bean & cheese burrito was the MOVE! The total Came to about $25, which is very reasonable for two people for lunch. There was a lot of food on the menu I wanted to try, but since we stopped by this place right before the airport I didn't want to be full. The Birria tacos are supposed to be really good & tamales of course. But nothing wrong with what we ordered, super tasty & hit the spot. We went on a Saturday afternoon, not a lot of people eating in, but lots of pickup orders. Service was wonderful. Jen had a vision when decorating this place and it came to life. There's something fun and exciting on every wall, and it's a great vibe and atmosphere to eat in. read more

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Just ordered a take out lunch from Juana Tamale. My wife had the burger lunch special (comes with fries for $10) and I had the Birria Ramen. My personal highlight was the Birria Taco that came with my ramen, I haven't had a ton of Birria Tacos in my life, but I loved this one and will likely go back just for an order of them. I had been looking forward to the Birria Ramen for a while and, while I liked it fine and finished my meal, I found that I would've preferred just having Birria Tacos or traditional Ramen. The fusion of the two dishes was fine, but not better or unique enough compared to the original dishes in my opinion. I could see others loving this dish, but I probably won't get it again. I didn't try the burger, but my wife enjoyed it. I have to acknowledge that the place is kind of expensive. They're upfront about wanting to pay their servers a decent wage and cover rising food costs, so I understand the pricing and am willing to pay the higher cost. Our takeout order of the burger meal and Birria Ramen came out to $28, but went up to a little over $35 after the auto 20% gratuity and tax. The actual nitpick I want to call out is the lack of being able to customize an order. I'd have liked to have my ramen with vegan cheese (I'm lactose intolerant) and my wife would've liked her burger without the pepper relish. These weren't deal breakers for us, but it'd be so great if they at least allowed the option to remove certain things. I'll return to Juana Tamale and update my review then, it was overall a great meal and I can honestly see bumping my rating to 5 stars after I try more of the menu. read more

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Listen..... This is actually my second time here in a week. Tacos are out of this world and the consuma ( don't know if I spelled that right) sauce to dip them in.....I just can't even. So far we have had the Birria Tacos, Chicken Carnitas, a Tamale and The Mexican Fries. Coming back to try the Mexi Pizza and Quesadilla. Azari (sorry if I spelled that wrong) is an absolute gem and is very well versed on the menu. He also adds something very special to your visit. Had great conversation with him. Will absolutely be back over and over again. Definitely new taco spot. read more

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I love this place. Period. It feels like you just walked off a California beach and into a surf side taco shop. The food is delicious! Their portions are huge! Don't even think about tackling the nachos alone. Bring a crew. And the tamales are even great at home for breakfast. Big plus, the guy who was working the front our first time there (Matt, I think?) is super nice and a great host. He made my mom smile. read more

Juana Tamale - Nachos are for sharing. These are for sharing with your entire softball team. - Tacos Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Been following this IG for some time. Dope Chef. Dope Tacos. There are times when there needs to be respect due in theirs city when it comes to the culinary structure. Being a Chef and working next to Michelin grade myself ,appreciation to the craft is definitely applied here.The flavor is spot on,meat is tender ,and the consommé,well you have to order two to go,like i just did. Good enough to eat at 11:00 in the morning,as I am doing right now. read more

Juana Tamale - #BIRRIA#TACOS - Tacos Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Juana Tamale is a must-try. We stopped into this adorable little spot off Passyunk for a late night bite, and we were unfortunately stopping in a little too late as the tamales (both vegan and regular options) were sold out. However, we did at least get the birria tacos with their Mexi-Pizza. First thing, as you can probably sort of tell from the photo, the portions are huge. Those tacos are absolutely beefy and 10000% worth the money, they are stuffed to the brim and so juicy and tender and bursting with flavor. The best birria tacos I've had honestly. The Mexi-Pizza equally as delightful; you can pick chicken or beef or vegetarian options and we went with chicken. The fried pizza shell was so good, I really couldn't get enough of it. The interior of Juana Tamale is pretty small and it does get super crowded so if you want a table, be sure to get there early to beat the lunch or dinner rushes. However, if you are able to eat inside rather than takeout, I would highly suggest doing so just because the inside is so cute and adds to the experience! The servers are so friendly too. Next time, we definitely won't be slacking and will make sure to secure our tamales and get dessert. The taco ramen they had too looked so interesting as well, but this is a spot where two dishes already is going to stuff you enough for two meals :) read more

Juana Tamale - Tacos Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The group I get together with Friday evenings has ordered twice from Juana in the last 3 weeks, so I've gotten reasonably familiar with them fast. I've been a fan of everything I've tried, with one minor exception. The birria tacos are delicious, as that item tends to be when done even remotely well. My soon-to-be brother-in-law had somehow made it to March 2024 without having tried any before, so his mind was outright blown by them the first week we ordered them. They use the same meat for their nachos, and I've found that, when left over from unfinished nachos, it works quite well incorporated into breakfast the next morning with either eggs or home fries. The chicken chile verde tacos are also a strong offering. The elote-inspired corn fritters are a nice side to split with a small group, with a nice minor sweetness coming through. And the restaurant's namesake, their tamales, are right up there with the best items I've had from their menu. I had a pork one and it was mildly spicy with a great texture. The one thing that I'm less enthusiastic about and unlikely to order again was the bowl of birria ramen I couldn't help but try as my entree on the first order. It's not bad, but it wasn't quite what I had been hoping for. I found it surprisingly thick-brothed, with a very pronounced chipotle smokiness that I didn't think really lent itself to a soup. I hadn't previously tried a birria ramen, though I know there's at least one other place in Philly that offers one, so I don't exactly know what I was expecting...but I'd say a lighter broth was part of it - this didn't particularly remind me of birria consomé or traditional ramen broth. But like I said - that's my sole complaint and it's minor. I foresee future trips and won't be complaining when they occur. read more

Super cool decor and very clean restaurant. Consomme is fire, fast and friendly service. Will be back to try more menu items. read more

Juana Tamale - Birria Ramen - Tacos Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Happy Hour is amazing! Friendly people. Such a cool place. Clean and eclectic! Love it. Neighborhood gem! read more

Juana Tamale - FEBRUARY 2024 - Tacos Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Strolled in and got some of the street tacos and a couple slices of the tres leches cake. The place itself is rad. It's a fun space. The food was amazing. I'm a fan of the tres leches and this is as good as I've had in Philly. The young man helping us, Kevin, was as charming as James Dean. All the stars. read more

Owner is rude. There is a million Mexican restaurants that don't cost an arm and a leg.

First things first. The bad reviews will only ever be about the price, not the quality, so before you go to Juana Tamales, make a pact with yourself not to be cheap. This is not a casual lunch, this is a destination. The staff are paid a livable wage, the ingredients are high quality and thoughtfully sourced, and the portions are generous. That's gonna make the food more expensive. Deal with it, or go elsewhere. But more importantly, my god, this is the best Mexican food I've had outside of California, where I grew up. Every bite was ecstasy. I crave it constantly. ADIDAB: All Day I Dream About Birria. The service was friendly and helpful, the food was impeccable, and the decor was super cute. I could see the owner working her ass off in the back and I respect the hell out of her for that. Save up your Wawa money and go here, it's worth every penny. read more

Juana Tamale - Best tacos in town. - Tacos Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I've been following this company on IG for over a year trying to find the best birria tacos. I never made it to their taco truck and every time I came to Philly, it just didn't work out. Until today. They established online recently which allowed me to order my food within my tight schedule. I ordered the birria tacos as well as the chili verde with pork. It was AMAZING. the meat was tender but not mushy as it can be sometimes with other places. The tacos were corn, and my favorite. The consume was not overly salty at all. I was very impressed with the food. I would probably make time to eat indoors next time I come, as the food while it does travel well, I think would be better fresh and hot. read more

Juana Tamale - Tacos Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

These Cinco de Mayo Devoures come all the way from @juanatamale down and good old South philly. They hosted a cinco de mayo street celebration to celebrate the humble and they offered dollar tacos and five dollar burgers and five dollar vegetarian wings. The bathrooms are very clean. The staff is super welcoming and easy to talk to and is very in tune with their menu! While here I had a pre-of trying the chicken and beef tacos well also try the vegetarian wings. The food is absolutely amazing and definitely pleased my taste buds. They also offer churros and birra ramen! If you ever find yourself in South Philly, I want somebody dope Mexican vibes. Please check out @juanatamale and tell@them shimmy sent you! #tacos #cincodemayo #food #foodie #foodblogger #foodstagram #foodphotography #water #donation #party #festival #beer #vibes #friends #fun #philadelphia #philly read more

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Birria was delicious. The broth was as so good. The churro satisfied my sweet tooth cravings. This place is a hop and a skip from my location so it was very convenient. read more

Juana Tamale - Beef Birria and Churro - Tacos Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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4.5/5 Couple things that determined rounding down rather than up. To begin, they are only open 4 days of the week so make sure you check to see if they are open before you go. Went on a Friday lunch around 2pm. Ordered a variety of things since it was our first time. Birria ramen and taco combo ($18) Pork Chili Verde Tacos ($18) Meat (buff chicken) Tamale ($6) Tres Leches Cake Slice ($7) Horchata ($7) Note: They AUTOMATICALLY charge 20% gratuity for ALL dine in or take out orders so the total bill came out to $73 and change. Bit hefty for an over the counter taco joint. Their menu is fixed so no substitutions or mix and match. I wanted to see if an order of birria tacos and just a ramen was possible and that was a no go. Juana Tamale received the title of Best Birria 2022 by Philly Magazine which was mainly the reason why I came. By no means am I a Birria connoisseur, but the birria taco was just okay. The meat to cheese ratio was a bit off. Not a lot of cheese that wasn't evenly distributed and there was a large chunk of meat that wasn't shredded which made it a bit dry even after dipping in their consommé. I personally wasn't a fan of the ramen but my partner enjoyed and ate the whole ramen. The pork chili verde tacos were a lot better. The meat tasted more like chicken, but the tortillas were the real showstopper. It was almost like a hybrid between a hard shell taco and a soft tortilla. Made of corn, it was really crispy yet had a good bite without breaking into pieces like a normal hard shell taco. The tamale was a miss for me and the horchata was decent but the tres les cake...I would return just for this. I ordered a second one to take home along with a churro that I dipped into the cake and was divine. So, if you do come check this place out, make sure you know what you want and order all under one ticket because if you order a second thing like I did, even if it's just a drink to add onto your first order, you will get charged the 20% gratuity every time. read more

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Gobsmackingly delicious! I have gotten meals from Juana Tamale before and they are absolutely solid and the service is always so good to me. But tonight - everything was extraordinary. I didn't think that I would finish because their portions are always huge - but honestly every bite seemed better than the one before and before you know it - it was gone! I have no idea how a restaurant could pack so much delicious in one quesadilla - it must have been magic. Do not pass go - go directly to Juana Tamale! Your tastebuds will thank you for it. read more