I can't believe I waited so long to try this place! I love tamales and the ones here definitely hit the spot. My friend's mom usually makes tamales for the holidays but she's been scaling down the last few years so I've been looking for a new supplier. I feel like there could be something better out there but for now Tamale Man will be my spot. read more

Great restaurant I happened to stumble into! I had a BRC and it was great. The service was also good and the entire place had good decorated vibes. read more

We trust Tamale Man to deliver delicious and budget friendly tamales. They are always generous with portions. Friendly bunch and family owned. Best tamales in El Sereno. Charlie's the son and 2nd gen owner of this fine establishment! Give him my best! read more

Bad tasting tamales! Nice place but bad old tasting food! Avoid anyvtamalebherevespecually the tamale omelette! The worst creation ever because of the sour tasting tamale! Good customer service though! Laugh Out Loud! Avoid this place! If the place is busy or always busy, that's a sign of fresh food being served! Tamales take time to make and cook. If the place is frequently vacant, you are receiving old food from numerous days ago! Take heed! I really tried to like this place so many times! There's just not anything good to say about it or it's food other than it's in an old part of Los Angekes! read more

Came in around 1130 for a late breakfast no one was in sight already was a red flag . Ordered the chilaquiles plate . The chips were perfect the way I like the taste was 8/10 but the rice and beans were so salty I couldn't eat anymore of my plate so I got up to pay and the owner let me slide on the bill I was a little upset because I had been wanting to try this place for a while and that's how it went down read more

The tamales are so salty, that it tasted like I was eating a teaspoon of salt. I only was able to take a couple of bits of it, before pushing it aside. That's when the owner of the restaurant came by and asked how things were. When I told her it was way too salty, she started offering different tamales. Well, if the pork tamales was salty, then what makes her think the chicken or cheese tamales aren't going to be salty? To top it off, the can Diet Pepsi was expired, as it was flat. When I showed it to her, she had to look at the bottom of the can to see for herself. I'll definitely will never come back to this place, no matter if it's free or if I get paid to eat here. read more

I had the tamale breakfast with some orange juice and coffee. Service was good to very nice and felt comfortable. Good way to start the morning. read more

Tamale Man - Tamale Breakfast , really nice way to start the morning and the orange juice is freshly squeezed. Tasted great. - Mexican Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Every thing is so good!! The food and tamales are amazing! I live so far now! I need to drive some day!

Was recommended this place by a friend of a friend. I'll get straight to it. The staff is nice and friendly. It ends there. As other yelpers have stated. You never know when this place is open. They're not true to the hours they state. The tamales meh. The meat is good but u get so little of it. Mainly all masa. Definitely pass on this place. The hype train is over read more

Placed an order with them online several days in advance, granted the delivery date was for Christmas Eve. 3 hours before my delivery time, I got a text that my order had been canceled and refunded. Extremely upset as my family enjoys tamales every year on Christmas Eve and we don't get to be with family this year. I just wish they had canceled earlier so I had an opportunity to find them elsewhere. Please call them if you make an online order to confirm! read more

I live close to this spot, had been once or twice before and only ordered tamales. The tamales were good, but for whatever the reason I had not returned in a while. Yesterday driving by, I saw patrons dining safely outside and decided to stop because it looked and sounded really good at the time. I ordered half dozen mixed tamales and a taco plate to go. I have been missing out!! Because I hadn't ordered anything beyond tamales before I hadn't the chance to taste the asada, beans and rice and salsa. Wow everything tasted so delicious I had to make a review! I have a theory. You can base alot on a restaurant's authenticity by the taste of their beans. Something so simple as beans can determine if a restaurant really pays attention to detail and these beans are so delicious. The tacos were great and the tamales were really the star. I even ate them cold and they still tasted rich. Maritza! Thank you so much for your conversation and making me feel so welcome in your restaurant! The horchata was delicious and I really enjoyed talking to you. Everything was so delicious! read more

Good stuff. Order a dozen and a half. Half green chicken and half red pork. I believe it's $2.00 a piece. Not bad thick, meaty, with kick and not dry. Yeah a little pricey but hey it's worth it if it's not dry. We also got a carne asada burrito it's OK. The beans and rice will always be a winner for my daughter. But it wasn't bad. We ordered and thought we were going but decided to have just one of each. While we waited for the burrito, Rice and beans. They told us they were closing which was weird cause the menu said they closed at 7:00pm and it was just 5:00pm. Oh well guess you can close whenever you want. But glad we made it. The place was empty. I guess they said forget it lets closed. But they were very nice people here. Polite and friendly. The bathroom was clean. Well cause they just finished cleaning it. Dining area was also clean. Nice decor and has a TV. Parking is street. read more

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They girl waitress needs to get put away from customers she looks so miserable. Too much sauce on the tamales and the flavors are whatever. Find better tamales from street vendors, no awards to give out here read more

Ok, first time trying them, and I have to say, they are absolutely delicious, BUT... what made me give only 3 stars is that they were just extremely salty. I like things a bit salty because the flavors come out more with the right amount of salt. These cheese ones are slightly salty, too, but nowhere near as salty as the red pork ones. The cheese ones seemed like they needed a bit more time because they were kinda watery. The red pork ones were, like friggin delicious, but just too damn salty. I'm hoping it's just this once because the flavor is bomb. read more

I go here a couple times a week and it is always is delicious. Good coffee and the huevos rancheros are my favorite. The customer service is great. Very authentic Mexican food. read more

Great tamales! Not too much masa and a mild and flavorful red sauce. They worked hard, opening at 5 a.m. during the holidays.

Oh yes, these tamales are fire. $2 tamale, red or green. Both delicious, the extra sauce is what makes. I loved these but there was way to much masa in the tamales, you only get a lick of meat. Posole was great, very flavorful.. really hit my heart. I've had champurado here in the past, its good! But, they run out fast. They also didn't have coffee at noon. read more

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I have enjoyed this place in the past but I'm pretty much given up on it now. Wise word to the owner KEEP UP WITH THE TIMES! And figure out a solid schedule of Open to Close. I literally just placed a order on Door dash and been waiting for about 20min to confirm and now received an email "order canceled due to store being closed" when your Yelp page LEGIT says open till 5 it's RIDICULOUS...over it!! Have officially given up on trying to support this place and will be telling my friends in the area the same. read more

Tamale Man - Mexican Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Ordered from DoorDash lady from restaurant even called to ask me a question. I can't believe half my food can I don't care if you couldn't see the order you should have asked me to tell you when you called bad service 100 percent on your behalf. I'll never come or buy from your establishment read more

Tamale Man - 2/4 combos expected ‍ - Mexican Near Me - Los Angeles, California

The tamales were the best of the best! Outstanding customer service, they make it nice and warm and especially just right. The flavor is amazing, the red tamale was the bomb! Amazing place highly recommend if you are a tamales lover! The place is very clean and have an A ranking. read more

This place was a treat, I couldn't help it, but it was so irresistible, the smell of the delicious tamales. There was no wait, and there were a lot of great places to sit, the staff is really small and everybody here got treated really nicely. The tamales you could tell was really fresh and made to perfection. They use real ingredients in the food that wasn't processed. I got the tamale breakfast for $12. And it was so good, I got full fast and was stuffed. I'll come here again one day!! read more

Stumble upon this restaurant by coincidence. We loved the food, and the tamales are delicious. Definitely recommend if you're looking for like home cook food. read more

I was looking for tamales and stumbled upon this place. They delivered promptly and must admit their tamales were pretty good and had lots of flavor,they hit the spot and were quite tasty. I would definitely go back and I recommend them highly. read more

Very disappointed. I came with a huge appetite for their tamales and came all the way from Montebello. Came by at around 1230 pm and they were closed. I checked the Yelp page and it says they are opened till 5 and closed on Monday's. Today is Wednesday. This is not the first time this has happened. read more

Its sad. I remember Tamale Man when they were around the corner in literally a tiny room. There eould actually be a line around the building. Over the years the tamales have just gone downhill. I ordered red and green. The green ones were rotten. The second i took a bite, i immediately threw it out. I think the wife used to make them. Now there is some shady looking guy in the kitchen that looks at you when you order like hes doing something to the food. Sometimes they tell they are out, then miraculously, the have some. After the microwave beeps. This restaurant owner has lost her passion for cooking good good. They will be out of business soon. read more

Depending on the experience the score can be higher- it's really a hit and miss- inconsistent- sometimes the tamales are spot on delicious and other times there's too much masa and not enough filling. Sometimes you go when the sign says they'll be open but they aren't. Sometimes the credit card machine works and other times it's cash only. Fine in or take out. Free street parking. Nice staff. Prices are comparable to other tamale places. Full menu with a variety of choices including breakfast and dinner. read more

I had the food a couple of times in the past few months. Each item ordered tasted old, to the point where I could not eat it. I'd want to give the benefit of the doubt that I went on "off" days but that level of off shouldn't really happen. Im sad to say I wont be going back at all. read more

Love the tamales and carne asade here! It's a bit out of my area but definitely worth it. They're available to make orders over the phone. Located on a busy street and an established institution and I highly recommend this place. I love their Tamales Breakfast with eggs laid on top. The beans and rice on the side are soooooo bomb. There was so much found I literally couldn't finish. And, normally I could eat a ton of food. Staff is so nice and they are great!! read more

My family and I were a party of 9. Service was great-- fast, friendly & proactive staff! Food was really good too, may be a little salty for some folks it depends on your taste buds. Raiders game was on TV so that was a plus for us!! read more

Was a huge fan of tamale man ever since he started when pushing his cart around Rose Hills we would buy all the time them he opened up his place and we would go all the time, since his passing the quality and service went down hill I'm very hurt and disappointed, not they open for a few hours and most of the days there closed, three times we stopped by when there open and the food was too salty had some tamales just a while ago and they were so salty I asked where they bought them and they told me "from tamale man" very disappointed still read more

Delicious food . Come by with the family and get really good food for a good price . Tamales are world famous and nothing short of delicious. Burritos are awesome . The meat has the perfect amount of seasoning. The salsa pica pero esta bien chingona !!!! read more

Ah the Tamale Man... world famous Tamales....Famously salty perhaps? These are some seriously salty tamales. Perhaps the saltiest non-preserved stuff I've encountered. But who knows, these tamales could prolly keep for years and years without refrigeration. We orded two tamale breakfasts, and when they came we were pleasantly surprised by the amount of food that we got. Two pork tamales, covered with a red sauce and topped with two eggs anystyle (we got one order sunnyside up and one order over medium) and a side of rice and beans. The eggs were overcooked, but the rice and beans were perfectly fine. THe tamales were so salty that even when mixed into the rice and beans it was still too salty to eat. They also serve you some warm tortilla chips (nice touch!) and a side of fresh pico de gallo (but this was also super salty). Overall, I enjoyed the service, the cashier and waitress were nice, quick with the drinks and refilling waters and all that but, those tamales were god awful. On the plus side, you get a ton of food, so if you're on a budget, you can prolly make it really stretch out with a ton of bread or rice and beans to dilute the sodium. read more

Was there on Saturday morning, place was lonely. Tamales were not fresh, seemed to be reheated prepared from another day. Had my mom with me and if Anyone knows about tamales is Mexican moms and this was not the vision lol. Owner was very nice, but sorry no never again. read more

Something that's not on the menu is shrimp cocktail but they do have it. It's a huge cup with huge shrimp and was $10.50. When we had finished the tostadas that came with it, the lady asked if we needed more, which was really nice and unexpected. Their straws are made of green and white striped paper--yes, they have paper straws! They're good strong straws, too. We ordered one red tamal ($2.00) and my daughter enjoyed it. It was pretty large compared to the ones I order from other peoples' mom's for the holidays. My other daughter got the chicken burrito ($5.95) and she said it was filled with all the good things she likes (beans, cheese, rice, onions, cilantro). Husband got two tacos al pastor a la carte. Those were super good!! They come with an orange sauce I've never seen anywhere else and it is esssspicy. We were served chips and salsa before the food came out. I was happy about that, too, and the salsa was mild enough for kids. The place is next door to a thrift store that I like (which happens to have an entertaining IG account), so I think going shopping there and then walking to this restaurant next door made for a nice Saturday afternoon. Service was excellent. read more

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The Tamale Man was a excellent choice this year for our Tamales for xmas eve and day it is our first time and not our last. The also serve for in the restaurant I had the Tamale Breakfast with a hot Champurrado so delicious read more

Tamale Man - Mexican Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Hands down the best customer service and the tamale combo plate is to dye for. I will be going back more and more now! Glad I found it!! read more

Tamale Man - Super green Chile pork tamale fire - Mexican Near Me - Los Angeles, California

I have been coming here for about a year on a recommendation for an awesome tamale joint. I have read some of the reviews and they are mixed. Some people love this place and some don't. Every experience is different and I can say my experience is always positive at tamale man. I tend to enjoy the same thing when I come. A bowl of menudo and two red pork tamales and 3 diet cokes. The sweet lady who works here always seems to remember me and my order. The menudo, in my opinion, is the best in town. And they typically have it daily even though the menu reads weekend only. The tamales are pretty awesome as well. I only do the red pork so I am not sure about the other varieties. The customer service is great and I always feel welcome. If you love menudo I say give this place a shot, and top it off with a couple of tamales on the side. Just remember, they are only closed on Monday's Update: I noticed on the listing it reads they do not take credit cards, that is incorrect, the do. Visa and MC. read more

I found this place while watching an episode of "Hungry Investors" http://www.spike.com/episodes/skug3g/hungry-investors-tacos-and-tantrums-season-1-ep-103 check out the link it's a great story of a Family run business! these are the kind of places "I totally support", unfortunately for Tamale Man they don't get the 5-Star sympathy vote, Pancho always keeps it real. The menu http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/tamale-man-los-angeles#ZFQMWpWTpXvHr94Dki7otg is pretty simple as their claim to fame is Tamales and it seems as the variety varies by day, John Besh said they were Voted Best Tamales in LA, well I didn't see that list but they had me with the small family business so I was excited to check them out. My first issue was with Charlie's Sister Maritza Jr., she's the order taker/waitress and seriously needs some customer service training, lack in communicating, slow in serving... not food out of the kitchen, but instead of bringing multiple things at one time, silverware, napkins, drinks etc she would go back and forth slowly and doing other things in-between, kept us waiting. Carne Asada Combo ($10.95) http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/tamale-man-los-angeles#r-MIFZyLjvrCJ8xdohhOrA This cut of meat is OK for tacos that will be chopped up, BUT if you're going to sell a Plate or Combo as they call it you gotta use Skirt Steak NOT http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/tamale-man-los-angeles#Eg7lp6OHBrIAiPTDZXg8rQ .... it was grilled nicely and had real good flavor I give them that!. Tamale Breakfast ($7.95) http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/tamale-man-los-angeles#7eMBp36Jf9aecQPRKf81_g Two Tamales, I got (1) Green/Chicken and (1) Red/Pork topped with two over easy eggs, rice and beans! BEST Tamales in Los Angeles?...... Green/Chicken http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/tamale-man-los-angeles#oE4UKEnN-4Q3YfT-XpZ2Sg This thing is a brick of masa! the masa itself is nice, moist BUT it's too thick and b-a-r-e-l-y had any chicken, Best I think not, it's closer to failure and that's coming from a Mexican (ME) who has made many tamales in my day! Red/Pork http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/tamale-man-los-angeles#ZFTbRKRrKd0CUhAHfSXrbg same as above.... these guys don't know how to make good tamales! they might be good for the Gabacho's who don't know any better, I mean the masa is moist and flavorful, put a bunch of salsa on top and yeah it will taste good, BUT not a good tamale. Rice - http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/tamale-man-los-angeles#j80QcD0tKai8ah4-QjQlCA I'm not a rice eater so??? Beans - http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/tamale-man-los-angeles#cEoZ6E7gXfRsMF-g2NyOiw Two thumbs up Eggs - Were cooked beautifully... Overall Tamales are a Fail IMO, eggs and beans were good - Tacos - http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/tamale-man-los-angeles#eCGZyov4YIyK_TbdPO0_gw Carne Asada - http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/tamale-man-los-angeles#J0ostxPz4ZNIK6dCrCHd4w Nicely grilled and good flavor Carnitas - http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/tamale-man-los-angeles#Aw856OQcyN6WcyEuCSWTGg Average Carnitas nothing more nothing less. Salsa's - http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/tamale-man-los-angeles#lD972mZhHMvX2JpQ7CrxFQ Good Flavor http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/tamale-man-los-angeles#PI2lqyLmSgb0iYEIDuqJoA very good flavor! Other than the BAD Tamales one thing that really annoyed me and the reason I'll never return.... we asked for WATER to drink, Maritza NEVER mentioned "We CHARGE for WATER" until I questioned the total when I paid, now it was only a couple bucks BUT... 1) IF you're charging for something like Water you should tell your customer FIRST!... 2) Charging for WATER #HijoleCabron! read more

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つº oº つ  RAISE YOUR CUTLERY  つº oº つ Tamales are a component of Southwestern cuisine that are particularly close to my heart. They're perfectly unique, even their wrapping is unusual. Even if it's a rather far drive, great tamales are worth seeking out. I stumbled upon a Groupon for Tamale Man, and boy did I get stoked at the prospect of tamales from the same part of town that produces some of LA's best tacos. The interior of the restaurant is super clean and well kept, and is decorated nicely. The various accolades that Tamale Man has earned over the years is impressive, as well. Tamale Man's menu covers a variety of options, but I think the real reason anyone goes here is for the tamales. They have 4 kinds: Chicken with green salsa, pork with red salsa, cheese, and sweet tamales. I am admittedly not a tamale connoisseur, but the chicken and pork tamales are amazing. The meat is tender, the salsas add great flavor, and everything is in balance. I think the pork ones are their best work, they're large, messy, and delicious. Even the masa is of high quality, every part of these tamales set themselves apart from lesser tamale peddlers. The sweet tamales are very interesting, the texture of the masa is different from the others, and they're filled with raisins and pineapple pieces instead. They were fantastic as well, and had the perfect amount of cinnamon. You certainly get your money's worth at Tamale Man, if you happen to be in that part of town (which, I think, is called El Serreno?) check 'em out. - The Gourmand League read more

Tamale Man - Pork Tamale - Mexican Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Could it be? Is it possible? A man whose whole life is "tamales." Yes, my friends! There is a tamale man...and he is wonderful. Come to the eastside and sample the Tamale Man's wares. He has pork, chicken, cheese, sweet. You name the tamale, he has it. His tamales are excellent. A varied collection for the discerning pallet. I also recommend his other south of the border fare...all has been good and the portions are nice for the price. So, if you ever find yourself in El Sereno and you're looking for some tasty grub. Check out the TAmale Man. He won't disappoint you. read more