The Tamale Lady

5.0 (4 reviews)

InexpensiveLocal Flavor, Imported Food

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Vicky T.

Elite 26

461

3215

1690

18 years ago

Sali del mercado y alla estuvieron las Girl Scouts a fuera de la puerta The GS Force Squad: Wanna buy some GS cookies? Yours Truly: No, I have a mom who works at your Santa Clara office, I bought them from her daughter (which is true) -- 70 bucks later (5 orders 4 for friends and 1 for my little brother) The GS Force Squad: Okay *enter Tamale Lady* La Senora: Ay- Mija quisiera comprar tamales Yours Truly: Claro que si! Cuanto cuestan? La Senora: un dolar, doce por diez Yours Truly: Quisiera seis de queso, seis de pollo SOLD! Long story short-- Girls Scouts you may look cute and have a multi-million dollar industry, but you ain't got @#$# on the Tamale Lady selling fresh tamales from her van in the parking lot. I got the first batch and they are fresh out of the steamer. A perfect way to start my day...sun is shining, steam is coming up from my bag... The Tamales are still hot and I have two for breakfast with my tea and eggs. Gracias al Dios por la Senora! If you have NO IDEA WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT... It is like Katt Williams says... (this is rephrased and made PG) If you don't know, ask somebody who does... ask someone on the bus.... or ask a friend... if they should get it but don't-- they need to come back to their people..come back.. come back home! read more

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Crystal J.

4 years ago

Is this the lady that is usually on the westside? I worked over there about 5 years ago and someone would stop by and the tamale's were amazing. Trying to get in touch with her..anyone know how?? read more

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Dawn H.

139

16 years ago

Consuela "The Tamale Lady" is the hardest working lady in Santa Cruz! She's everywhere, all day, all night. You can go barhopping and see her 3-4 times. Great food--immediate hot treats in your hungry hands--and she does it all with a big smile! read more

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Otteray P.

13 years ago

Best ever tamales, best in Santa Cruz county, without a doubt. Haven't seen her on the Westside for awhile and I look for her every time I go grocery shopping at the Mission St Safeway. My favs are her pork tamales, my god, the are good. read more

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More info about The Tamale Lady

Santa Cruz, CA 95060
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Hours

What time does The Tamale Lady open?

What time does The Tamale Lady close?

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Does The Tamale Lady take credit cards?

No, The Tamale Lady does not take credit cards.

Outdoor Amenities

Does The Tamale Lady have parking?

Yes, The Tamale Lady has parking options. Private Lot Parking

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Bookie's Pizza

genuinely one of the best pizzas i've ever had! i got the pepperoni pizza with a side of hot honey…read moreand the gluten free buffalo wings, and both were sooo yummy. i loved the cheesy crust so much; the crunch was addicting. the wings with blue cheese ranch were phenomenal, and surprisingly still super tasty the day after! i did takeout but i wish i was able to dine in as i have a feeling everything would taste even better. service is great and looks like a great place to hang out and grab a bite with family and friends. i visited from socal and i'm already counting down the days i can come back!

We went to Bookie's Pizza for my son's birthday because he's dairy-free, and my wife is both…read moregluten-free and dairy-free. We were really excited to try it because it came highly reviewed and had been recommended by friends. I was especially looking forward to checking out their beer menu. Unfortunately, we ended up leaving because of the very strict no-substitution policy, which felt surprisingly constricting for a pizza place. Since they already offer vegan cheese, we thought it would be reasonable to substitute dairy-free cheese onto a standard pizza or add meat to one of the vegan pies, but neither was allowed. For families with dietary restrictions, a little flexibility can go a long way. We left disappointed, especially since this was supposed to be a birthday lunch. I'm giving two stars because I genuinely think they probably have good food and a great beer selection. I just think they could have done better in accommodating reasonable requests for guests with dietary restrictions. Maybe it's just not for us, but as a fair warning to others with dietary restrictions, don't assume that menu items can be modified simply because they already carry the ingredients. It may be worth calling ahead before making plans, especially for a special occasion.

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Inside is spacious

Mistake mushroom wings

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Fennel Caesar salad

The Penny Ice Creamery

My goodness!! The toasted marshmellow fluff was absolutely delicious and the perfect touch to my…read moreice cream. It was light and paired with a cone it's like smores! We got the Brown sugar oat with walnut ice cream, I also really enjoyed the bitter caramel, which really was bitter but perfect for people who don't like too sweet of an ice cream. Quinn was the employee who helped us out, she was so sweet and accommodating! She gave us recommendations convinced us to get the marshmellow fluff which we are grateful we tried. Thank you Quinn!

I've been coming here for a long time and visit pretty frequently, so this experience was really…read moredisappointing. When my boyfriend and I walked in, one of the employees was having a conversation with what looked like friends. I didn't mind at first because there were two other employees standing at the front, so I assumed one of them would help us. Instead, we stood there for several minutes without anyone acknowledging us. I understand if the other employees weren't assigned to the register, but what bothered me was that no one even took a second to say, "We'll be with you shortly." A simple acknowledgment goes a long way and would have made a big difference. The lack of customer service and communication made us feel ignored so we just ended up leaving and went some place else. As someone who has supported this business for a long time, it was disappointing. I hope management addresses this because good customer service is just as important as the product itself.

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Mandarin Sorbet with rainbow sprinkles

Dark Chocolate (Vegan) with Toasted Marshmallow topping

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Verve coffee praline ice cream with roasted marshmallows topping! Hee.

Cat & Cloud

Walk up those steps. It's located inside of a shop that has multiple restaurants in it on the right…read moreside of the sushi restaurant. I wish I had read this somewhere during my mission to find this place. It took a lot of walking back and forth and definitely walked past it twice before realizing where it was. Very friendly and quick service! The price is also good! I wish the menu was a bit bigger since I didn't get what I originally came for (I looked at Yelp picture menus for items that no longer exists; that was a huge bummer).

Second time visiting this lcoation and everythingnis so bright and colorful here…read more People are friendly and service is fast. Reasonabke prices and good drinks.

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