Tamales are excellent love the pork my favorite been a customer for a few years now and I highly recommend them

The best tamale in the world!!! Super friendly!! Going to make this a regular stop forever!!

None better, just tell them how you want your tamales. (I like black olives in mine) and they will make it for you

What a gem, Sweetest ladies! And best empanada I've ever had, love that they had lemon ones!! Pretty cookies, and all the fixins one needs for tamales!! read more

Tamales were so good, the masa is moist and flavorful. Very well priced. My favorite was the pork tamales. The women at the register were so nice and helpful, even got free pan dulce cookie, and those were delicious too. Would definitely recommend if your looking for good tamales visited on 3/23/25 read more

I came here because I heard about their tamales and wow they are good and the lady that works the register so very kind, great customer service read more

Discover the best tamales in Monterey County! Here, you'll experience exceptionally courteous and friendly service. This is my go-to spot for delicious tamales. read more

I found this little gem of a bakery on Yelp today while searching for my forever tamale place. Who knew a bakery would have tamales! I'm sure all their tamales are delicious but today I had the chicken tamales. The masa is prepared to perfection, and the filling is full of wonderful flavors like Ortega chili peppers, bits of jalapeno, onion, and roux to name a few of the key ingredients. I even got some of their homemade salsa ....that stuff is bomb! Not everyone can make tamales, and not everyone can make salsa, like this. I would give this family ********** if I could, and I appreciate how friendly and welcoming the staff (family) are! I'll be back!! I can see why people travel from miles away just to buy their masa! read more

Love this hole in the wall! Owners are prepared for busy holidays! They keep different size bags of already prepared masa for tamales so you walk in, grab size of masa you need & are quick to check you out! read more

I happened to really need to buy some tamales. I read that Leal's bakery had some and so made a special trip after work to check it out. These tamales were much larger than I expected. They are perfect for lunch and the bakery makes a variety of them. I bought 10 of them and kept them in my fridge to take to work. I would be remiss to forget to tell you about the mountains of baked goods in the bakery, of course. I was surprised by the beautiful pastry fantasyland that Leal's bakery has to offer. I was blown away by variety of breads and cookies. And they also have champurado in the mornings. Yum! read more

When you drive up, if you are coming from the freeway you will need to do a U-turn. The parking is very very tiny ridiculous. Unless you have a tiny car than you are screwed because it doesn't loop around or have any room to turn around. I have an explorer and there was no way I was going to fit in those tiny spots fit for a Smartcar. i had to use about 3 spots yo go back and forth quite a few times just to try to turn around to get out. There might be parking on the street. The lady who works there was pretty sweet and I asked her if they had anymore tamales because the tamale fridge was empty. She told me they had jalapeño cheese, pork and chicken. So I got one of each. Ehh, the tamales were ok, but I wouldn't go out of my way to go back. The chicken one wasn't very good. The pork one was tasty but spicy. My daughter even ate one of the pork, but wouldn't eat the chicken one. I didn't make her. the filling wasn't good, but I cant really describe it. **Not a bakery, more of a convenient store. read more

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I sampled tamales from Zimatlan Bakery, Las 2 Fridas, and The Tamale Factory because I needed to bring tamales to the family gathering for Christmas Eve. Of those 3, I was going to buy them from The Tamale Factory. Then I remembered that someone had suggested Leal's Bakery, so I went to pick up a couple of tamales to taste. When I arrived, a woman was walking to her car with a box in both hands. She asked me if I could open her car door for her, so I did. I noticed she had masa, so I asked if she had ever had their tamales before. She said no, because her family makes their own tamales, but she said Leal's is the only place they'll buy their masa. Good masa equals good tamales, right? I continued into the store. Everybody I encountered was so helpful, which was a nice change from a couple of the other places I visited. While I was there, several other people came in to pick up their masa, which only reinforced my decision to buy tamales from there. I bought almost 3 dozen tamales and to make a long story longer, they ended up being the best of all of them!!! I will not be waiting for next Christmas to buy more tamales from Leal's. Love! read more

Best masa for tamales!!! They also had a great selection of ojas, different sizes and price ranges. Super helpful and friendly staff as well. read more

As my tamale order fell through, (coworker got sick), I found myself scrambling around town trying to find a place that sells tamales by the piece for a potluck. I perused Yelp and read good reviews on Leal's bakery and their tamales. The place was easy to find, right across the street from the McDonalds on the East Side. I walked in to a very interesting looking bakery/store. The baked goods were in a glass case, not extremely big on both sides of the store. Things were randomly everywhere, no real rhyme or reason. Huge fans of the Giants, so I gave one more star. The lady at the front was very pleasant and helpful, the fact that she was bilingual was comforting...my Spanish is good but not perfect...so 1 more star. Each tamale was $1.25 and had the choice of cheese, pork and chicken. I needed 24 so I ordered 12 chicken, 6 cheese and 6 pork. Since I wasn't familiar with the place, I decided to taste one of the chicken tamales when I got home. Each kind was wrapped in like bunches in foil and was hot. I pulled out a chicken tamale unwrapped it and it fell apart. That really wasn't my main concern because I've had tamales that were good even though it fell apart. Anyhow, I took a broken piece and felt that it was extremely wet and mushy...thought that was odd. Either it was way undercooked or masa was runny, hense the mushy tamale. I'm definitely not a chef of any sort but I know this ain't right and this isn't what in going to feed my cohorts at this potluck. Hated the fact that I'm wasting so much food so I put them the oven to at least get them cooked, then in the steamer but it was hard to get the mushiness out of my head so in the trash it went. In any case, a waste of $32 will not recommend or come back again. Sorry. read more

This is not a bakery in the American use of the word bakery. It is a store to buy all things tanale: maize to make tamales and tamales...lots of them. I have been buying tamales at leal Bakery for more than 5 years. they make hundreds everyday and they are fabulous! I usually get the pork, but Ihave had the chicken and they are great too. The salsa they give you to go with them is very complimentary to the tamale. The service is wonderful; they speak both English and Spanish fluently. The price is incredible...about $12/dozen. There is a small parking lot along the side for patrons too. It is easy to miss, so look for MacDonalds and Leal is across the street. NOTE: If you want to get some tamales for your holiday party, call ahead and order them or you will be disappointed! read more

The best ever!! Please don't take my word for it! Go I dare you taste the heavenly moist tamales ever you will be able to handle. They a so flavor full! Just the right amount of meat to Masa! And the Menudo is tender right amount of spice and the broth is on point it's not greasy. Try it out go see for yourself and then you'll see what I'm talking about. Oh and they been in business since 1976 enough said. read more

Best tamales in Salinas. Homemade every day. At Christmas time the line is out the door.

Excellent as always. The service the generation after generation of the flavors is still like the same day to open. What are the best place to get tamales! read more

Great authentic Mexican breads and food.

I'm from San Francisco where there are panaderias galore. The tamales at Leal's are fantastic, I tried both the pork & the cheese. Both were flavorful and the masa was moist & flavorful. I definitely will be back when I visit Salinas to pick up tamales & pan dulce. . read more

Some of the best tamales around. The chicken tamales are made with a green sauce and really good. They also have $1.00 burritos that are really small, but they are really good-especially their chile verde ones. Great family and great contributors to the community with really good food. ¡Got Masa! read more