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    Tommy Tamale Market & Cafe

    4.8 (1.6k reviews)
    InexpensiveMexican, Tex-Mex
    Closed 10:00 am - 7:00 pm
    Updated 1 week ago

    Order Tommy Tamale Market & Cafe Takeout or Delivery

    Tommy Tamale Market & Cafe Photos

    Business Info

    TOMMY TAMALE MARKET & CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Tommy Tamale Market & Cafe

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    Grab and go
    Tj S.

    Best tamales that I've ever had and my aunt would make homemade tamales every Christmas and deliver them in small cardboard shirt boxes (RIP Aunt Mary). Tamales are moist, flavorful and scrumptious. Easy to grab and go. If getting salsa to go don't buy the jar (it's different than what's in the restaurant). Great service. Military discounts, Pepsi on tap but often there's Diet Coke in the fridge. Casual and small with plenty of parking.

    Inside
    Andrea B.

    Just ok. I got the pork hatch chili tamales fresh and to go. I like the ratio of meat to masa but they were pretty greasy. Other than that, not too bad. Salsa was good with the tamales.

    Dave F.

    Dude. These tamales. I could just leave it at that - and that review would sum up my experience at Tommy Tamale. I ordered a few different types of tamales along with the chili - OMG, the food was so tasty. I want planning on eating a lot, but things didn't go according to plan. I ate and ate - then ordered more to go. The food comes out in a relatively quick fashion and the staff is exceptionally nice. One wouldn't expect great tamales at a place that looks this nice, but they are. When I drive from Plano to Houston, I'm now taking the long way home to eat some tamales and order some frozens to go.

    Queso!

    Good food! Great queso! This little restaurant has it's own unique vibe. Customer service isn't a issue because you order at the counter. They didn't have all the options on the menu available for order. The 5 star rating is because the food was that good. It's not the best option for me because I am a T1D foodie. My blood sugar went high that day. I insisted on eating more than a few bites.

    Tommy Bowl
    Gus S.

    A little local tamale joint that does the only thing it needs to really well: Make and serve great tamale dishes. That's what they do here. We were in town, it was later than we usually eat, so we were looking for a counter service restaurant and this popped up. Glad we went!

    Alex A.

    We had an excellent experience here thanks to the outstanding customer service and delicious food. We ordered the tamale plate, quesadilla, nachos, and chips with queso--each dish was fantastic! Everything came with a variety of salsas, pico de gallo, and sour cream, which added even more flavor. I highly recommend giving this place a try. Plus, there's a market where you can pick up salsas, desserts, and more to take home.

    Inside
    Rosibel R.

    I had 4 different tamales, don't remember which, but they were so good I want to go back and try all the rest. The sides (rice and beans) were not remarkable. 9/10 def recommend

    4 Tamale Plate (Black bean)
    John B.

    This place is slaying in the reviews, and I see no reason to dissent. The core of what they do is great in so many ways: tamales are pure Americana, a cuisine that goes back for thousands of years in the region. They are well suited to the modern world, and people with special dietary needs will find vegan tamales and no gluten. And it's fast, convenient food; mine were heated up in minutes. Ordering a platter with four tamales, I got two of the vegan ones with black beans and two bean and cheese. I could hardly tell the difference between the two, but they were certainly delicious, especially with salsa. More beans and rice on the side made for a filling meal, and at around $10, it's as good of a deal as you're likely to get. The one caveat is that they are not open particularly late, and from what I heard, online ordering closes an hour before close of business. So plan ahead, and head on over.

    Tamale Plate
    Raul C.

    Good food, awesome service! Tommy walks around greeting everyone and making you feel like an old friend.

    Black bean /cheese tamale in Tommy Bowl
    Krista G.

    The Tommy Tamale Market & Cafe is quietly placed on the corner of a strip center. There's was ample parking available when we stopped in for lunch so we were able to easily find a good spot. The restaurant was quiet but if it had been busy, I imagine it could get loud in the space. The food was good and I loved that they served them in resealable bowls. Don't expect a vast menu; they are concise and to the point...after all it's called Tommy TAMALE. We tried the Tommy Bowl with black bean tamale and a Tamale Pie with spicy chicken (possibly pork). We both had leftovers so we combined them together to make a bowl to take home. I'm happy to report, the leftovers reheated well. Although I'm not planning on taking the extended drive to go back, if I was in the area I would go back for another bowl or two.

    Ashunti N.

    As much as I brag about this place I'm super bummed to give it anything less than 5 stars. Reason being isn't because of the quality of food! My food was still very very delicious but I couldn't take my mind off of the new bowls. I had to call and get clarification. Assumingely, they are discontinuing the original bowls and replacing them with some way smaller ones. same circumference around the top and bottom but the new bowl is a just about HALF the size of the original bowl. I thought maybe I was going crazy but I got confirmation they were changing. My LARGE bowl for $10.25 was honestly a SMALL and I should have paid less. There was barely any rice and the ratio to rice and chili just wasn't the same. Super disappointing to see. I will always love the food but I'm not sure anymore for price and quantity. I will edit and show both bowl for comparison

    The variety of excellent!
    Martha M.

    The food was beyond my expectations... brought back childhood memories. The service is excellent 5/5! The staff is friendly, helpful and the way we were greeted was amazing, I felt at home. The ambiance was cozy, relaxing and truly enjoyable. When I come back to Grapevine... I will definitely will be back. Thank you! It's a must come back.

    Guy H.

    Oh yeah! Not only is Tommy the nicest guy you'll ever meet, but he slings sum great grub outta the back. This was my 3rd "Hole in the Wall" establishment this week. You could say it's barely a hole in the wall. Really not that old but they're geared for take out of their frozen tamales which appear to be at least 50 percent of their business. They have a few tables to dine in on their fabulous tamale creations if you want to. The ac was acting up today and not much cooler than outside so, I opted to take with me. This visit, I took my time to carefully peruse the menu and get exactly what i wanted. This ended up being a burrito. Specifically, a burrito stuffed with a beef tamale, beans and rice, seasoned beef,cheese, Fritos and then grilled. Wow, what a concoction and delicious. It was so hot I couldnt eat it while driving so took it home. 30 minutes later when I got it in the house it was the perfect temperature. It came with sour cream, pico de gallo, salsa verde, and a hot chipotle sauce. All terrific. We also got a tamale bowl which is basically a chili pie with a tamale of your choice on top and Fritos on bottom. Again, superb! If you are anywhere close to Tommys dont miss a chance to stop in. Tell him Guy H sent you.

    Chips and Queso

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    11 months ago

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    1 month ago

    Fresh, fast and yummy! A nice quick stop to get your tamale fix! Staff were friendly!

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    7 months ago

    Great food and the young man working at the counter was fantastic and friendly. He deserves an addition five stars

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    5 months ago

    Business owner information

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    1 year ago

    always a favorite for take home tamales to eat later. we also dined in and had our tastebuds fulfilled

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    We love serving!

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    Page 1 of 42

    Ask the Community - Tommy Tamale Market & Cafe

    Is lard used in the masa?

    No lard.

    How long to the tamales keep when frozen? Is that just for best taste or do they genuinely go bad?

    Tommy Tamale sells frozen tamales vacusealed. They can tell you how long they last in the freezer. Obviously fresh tamales taken home and frozen in a zip lock bag won't last as long as vac packed.… Read more

    Do they make their tamales there, or do they buy them premade?

    They make them there

    So I bought extra tamales and they have been in the refrigerator, for a week unthawed. Anyone know how long they are good for, once thawed, but never warmed... thanks?

    If the tamales are still in the Cryo Sealed bag, then they should be just fine thawed out for three weeks, if you opened the bag just to eat a couple and then left the rest, I'd say maybe a few days.

    Are there vegetarian options?

    They have a black bean and cheese option.

    View All 9 Questions

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    Showing up on a Saturday evening to a nearly empty restaurant is kind of a double edged sword. On…read moreone hand, it's nice to have the dining room and server pretty much all to yourselves, but at the same time the lack of patrons certainly arouses suspicion. Such was the case recently when we paid a visit to Mesa. The first order of business was getting an appetizer to go with the chips and salsa. Upon the server's recommendation we got the queso Blanco. It was quite possibly the blandest queso I have ever eaten. At this point I started to worry that it was a sign of things to come. However, the extra spicy salsa that we also requested to go with the chips was more flavorful and gave me hope for the entrees. The good news is that my chicken and cheese enchiladas turned out to be better than the insipid appetizer. The not so good news is that it was still a mediocre meal. The rest of my family had mixed feelings about their food. My husband, who got 2 beef enchiladas, said his were overly salty but otherwise average. The bacon wrapped shrimp that my mother got were a little overcooked but she liked the sides. Both of my sons' entrees, the Mesa burrito and the chicken strips, were very well received. People like to say that even when pizza is bad it's still good. For me, that also applies to Tex-Mex. But, considering the plethora options out there, I doubt I will be returning anytime soon.

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    Tommy Tamale Market & Cafe - mexican - Updated May 2026

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