Best tamales in town. I highly recommend them. Even though prices went up the quality still the same. You get what you pay for.

Best trust tamales in Humboldt park Champurrado , arroz con leche ,tamales are really good this place is always bussy This time I try the torta of tamal tamal 2 tamales is a teleelerasour creme cheese really goid and filling Something the ladies are like upset but just 2 of them but the tamales worth read more

Chilo Y Chela - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Amazing and really delicious and everything about the food just delicious and taste amazing

Rico tamales, grandes, y hechos el misno dia, cada rato sacan fresco! todos los sabores excelente, ahora puedes pagar con tarjeta pero dales su propina en cash si puede, trabajan duro todo el dia para preparar ricos tamales con amor. excellent tasting tamales, fresh, made on the spot, they keep bringing out fresh batches of tamales, now you can pay with your card but give them cash tips, they work hard to make these tamales with love, it is so labor intensive to make tamales, steady flow of people come in, lots of locals also, walking in, parking on street not easy, so park further, never parking in front. read more

Tamales are always good here they have a variety of Tamales to they also have sweet one like strawberry pina and corn all are very good I love there horchata and arroz con leches read more

Really good tamales , my favorites are rajas con queso & pineapple & strawberry tamales They also have really good atoles , champurrado & arroz con leche I tried so many places and stands all over Chicago and to be honest no one makes good tamales now a days , to dry , etc Chilo & Chelas tamales are consistent Totally recommend it read more

The tamales use to be good, but now they are skimpy on the meat, they don't taste good and are expensive for small clump of dough. The only good things there are the hot drinks. read more

I took the ends off cause it was all masa then I opened it- talk about being cheap with the meat n' sauce. I might as well ordered a tamale de pura masa read more

Chilo Y Chela - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The tamales are not like before, it seems like they're cutting corners. I understand the price increase but only if you're keeping the same quality and consistency in taste. read more

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Tus tamales serán buenos pero tu atención al cliente deja mucho por decir. Si vas atender a un cliente con attitude, quédate en casa ..

Woman mind can be very tricky thing:)) that day I craved tamales for breakfast Since we we're meeting friend and I didn't have time to do detailed research I just picked what I thought it looks good on our way. Shop from outside doesn't look like much, but I love these whole in the wall situation. Inside was a line, yes a loooong long line. Their concept is very simple, dishes with tamales and with drinks. I had luck to be there on weekend so I can try Mexican drink based on corn masa (i think) and from few different flavors I choose chocolate by recommendation of very nice lady who served us. They were out for most of tamales flavors so we picked Jalapeños with cheese in red sauce and Chicken in green. Prices are fair. And tamales fresh as they can be. I loooooved jalapeño one, chicken as well but I tried first time jalapeños one and I loved it. They are not tooo spicy they are just right for us. I loved drink, it was full of flavor and not too sweet. I like that. If I am in the neighborhood again and craving for tamales I would definitely choose this place again. Service is amazing and honest. Go girls! read more

Chilo Y Chela - the menu of a mexican restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Love their tamales and arroz con leche, also the champurrado. Always come by when craving tamales, definitely recommend.

visiting family out here & decided to treat my aunt to some tamales. I did not expect to be told about this. To then go and let them know about this to be given no refund or make the order right. Someone could have choked on this & its unsanitary as hell! Definitely would NOT recommend to anyone. If the tamales were like this i can only imagine the rest. Spending $40 you would expect better. read more

Chilo Y Chela - Plastic glove pieces - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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The green are the best kind!!! You can use card too which is so convenient! They have quick service

I get the torta who works there in the mornings doesn't want to be there. But her attitude is super annoying. Ive been trying to ignore it but she makes it hard, as she tries extremely hard to let it be knows how she feels. read more

Service it's good , I love their sweet tamales , corn , strawberry and pineapple They raise the prices $1.50 per tamale plus tax . Kind of wrong timing with the pandemic . Who wants to spend $20 on a docent of tamales Lots of people don't even have a job , kind of the wrong time to raise their prices read more

This place is a hidden gem. Their tamales and champurrado are delicious and as good as the ones my former mother-in-law used to make. Keep in mind that they sell out fast, especially on the weekends. A big plus are their strict COVID procedures. They have markers on the floor keeping 6' between people with a max of 6 people inside. There's a person at the door who is managing the line outside. Every time someone leaves the counter the door manager thoroughly wipes down the counter with a disinfectant spray. Make sure to support this business during this difficult time! read more

Best tamales I've ever had. Seriously, me and my boyfriend are obsessed. Usually we get 20 green chicken tamales and split it between the two of us. It's that good read more

Bomb tamales yummmm Highly recommended, affordable and friendly staff. Warning: ur hooked after the 1st time read more

Me encantan los tamales verdes de pollo!!! Y los de Raja ohh y el champurrado que delicious! Super Rico! Se pone ocupado pero vale la pena !

FAVORITE TAMALES & CHAMPURRADO ! Been eating their tamales before they had their shop. At the time I was 5 years old. My parents took us every Sunday. And now that I moved out we try to go and pick some up. VERDE/RAJAS Are our fav. read more

Horrible customer service. If you need a big order, order a couple days in advance not what they recommend which is one day before the you will be picking up. The tamales were tasty. read more

Had a taste for tamales and have always pasted this place everyday not knowing it was there. Did a search on yelp and this place came up. Most reviews seemed positive so gave it a try.  I went at about 3:30pm. I was greeted by a friendly smiling worker. (I have read other reviews stating bad customer service.)Not the case for me. The 2 stars are for friendly service.  As reported by other reviews they run out  tamales fast. The only options they had at the time were cheese with jalapenos and a sweet tamale with pineapple.   I opted for 3 cheese and jalapeno tamales. The tamales themselves were a good size. The masa was moist and flavorful. The problem I had was they was so little cheese in each tamale and only had one 1/2 inch piece of roasted jalapeno pepper in each tamale. So basically the tamales were 90% masa! Not sure what all the hype is about this place? A big disappointment based on yelper reviews. read more

CORNY WRAP Have you ever looked at a recipe for making a homemade tamale. It will take you hours and when I say hours I do not mean like 2. I am leaning more towards 5-6 hours and that is not including the eating part. I always have a dream where I can whip these up at home but the reality is that this is not going to happen. Recently a friend decided to bring these to a morning meeting instead of donuts. I thought it was a great idea except for starting my day out with lard. I really made an effort to block the though of lard in my veins and dived in. As we sat there and ate my friend told a story about his adventure buying these. He arrived at 5am to order them and learned he needed cash. He then went to an ATM and upon his return there was a line out the front door. The moral of this story is to always have cash when ordering Mexican food because you just never know. We laughed and dove into the tamales and all enjoyed them. I love tamales but I always find the corn to be dry. This has been something I've experienced since having my first one over 30 years ago. I found one restaurant in Chicago that made a juicy veggie tamale but they are no longer in business (RIP La Finca). I really wish I had that recipe. I did not go to this place to pickup the tamales. They were basically delivered to our meeting. I was amazed that they were still warm in the sealed plastic bags they were packed in. Remember it was 9am and he grabbed them at 5:30am. I was just really happy to have an authentic treat for breakfast. I will say it was my first morning tamale. If I was to judge these with every tamale I have ever had then I would put these on the line of traditional authentic tamales. We had two different flavors to choose from. There was a chicken with red sauce & pork with green sauce. Typically these two are flipped (pork & red and chicken & green) but I enjoyed the different combination. Personally I think most people don't order those and our dear friend picking them up was not in the know when it came to ordering. The staff basically ordered for him. He will be ready the next time, if there is a next time. I am giving these tamales a 4 star rating because they are consistent to what a good Chicago Mexican restaurants offers. Now if you have a kick butt tamale then please send it my way. Also I know many places are making yummy topping sauces. Please don't send me there because I could cover an old shoe in green salsa and it would taste amazing. So grab your cash and get in line because these tamales are hot out of the steamer. Next time surprise the office at the 9am meeting with these instead of a box of donuts. They will probably be talking about you for weeks. Who knows they may even call you "The Tamale Guy"! read more

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It is barely 1:30 PM in the afternoon. They close until 8 PM. They only had red sauce tamales! PARA QUE VENDEN TAMALES SI NO TIENEN DE TODO. No tenian tamales verde. COMO? Mejor voy con mi abuela. read more

Absolutely love their tamales here!! To me they are one of the best tamales places in Chicago (along with Taqueria El Milagro on 26th street). The difference is that Chilo Y Chela only serve tamales and different atoles all day. They have an extensive variety of tamales .... green and red with chicken, green and red with pork, rajas con queso (poblano pepper with cheese), and a variety of sweet tamales which not many places have. I've tried all of them at this point and have never been disappointed with any of them. The have a small sit down area for people to enjoy their tamales there however I always take them to go. Their tamales remind me of the tamales my mom makes for Christmas so they seem very authentic to me. The price is reasonable and even if there is a line to order it moves quite fast. Don't pass up their champurrado or try one of their other flavor atoles. This spot is perfect for cold winter days in Chicago!! read more

The best tamales I've had in the area. The foundation of any good tamale is it's masa, and here it 's delicate, but firm, and I could taste the corn essence...very good. Straightforward kind of place. Cash only. Behind a buffet style glass window are giant steel pots labeled with a choice of filling. You enter, you order, sit in or go. My dawdling over the menu was not approved. I only wish there were more veggie options. I washed down my tamale with a champurrado, a chocolatey atole (traditional hot corn based beverage). My first try. It was robust and creamy, I felt like I'd been let in on a delicious secret! read more

The variety here is awesome and you can't go wrong with any choice really except for the cheese ones, they tend to be dry any time I choose them but other than that I would recommend this place. It gets really busy on the weekend but the wait isn't too bad, you grab a number and wait until your number is called then they serve you quick and efficiently. read more

They have lost their flare and tamales are not consistent. Tamales use to have more meat, soft, flavorful and juicy. Now masa is to thick, dry, less meat and overly spiced. Time to find a new tamale spot. read more

Came to buy some tamales, I don't always trust the street vendors. I trust this place better, since they do have to pass inspections etc. Their tamales are good, and their service was fast. There are a few tables to sit and eat but I just picked up to go. The visit was fast and the tamales I got were non meat. Unfortunately there is no parking. read more

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Hands down best tamales in Illinois's ! Customer service is great ! My only problem/question for this place is , how come it isn't 5 stars ? Lol btw they always sell out so call and order ! Or early bird gets the warm ! read more

Just the best tamale house out here. They have great costumer service & very friendly/respective.

***CAVEATED REVIEW - THIS IS ONLY FOR TAKE OUT TAMALES*** A friend brought these to a friendsgiving and they were the best tamales I've had in years - extremely moist, sweet corn, delicious filling. They're good enough I actually have recommended them to others, which I usually don't do. Anyway, again, bear in mind I've never gone in the shop, and only had them once, but they're good enough I'm still thinking about them 18 months later.... read more

This is the beat tamale place in Chicago, the state and the whole of North America (including Mexico). So moist and tasty. Wowzers! I go here at least once a week to cure my tamale cravings. If you are within an 5 hour commute do yourself a favor and stop by. Yummy in my tummy! read more

Fresh tamales and champurado, yum! Go early in the morning or on Sunday morning/afternoon to get the moistest, freshest tamale selection. Tamales come in red or green varieties of pork, chicken and jalapeno & cheese. There are even strawberry and pineapple tamales, which I have not tried yet. My favorite by far is puerco rojo followed by pollo verde. A dozen costs $16, half dozen $8, single $1.35. Champurado is smooth and rich with a hint of cinnamon. On weekends they offer walnut and eggnog flavor in addition to the typical chocolate. There is also arroz con leche as well as fresh squeezed orange and/or carrot juice. Knowing Spanish is helpful. Although sometimes they get someone from the back to wait on me, since my Chicago hueda pronunciation is no bueno. I will bike to west Humboldt for fresh tamale breakfast any day! Your coworkers will love you if you bring some to the office. PS - Cash only, so bring your dinero! read more

Pretty good tamales! Having made tamales from scratch before I know how much work is involved and how easy it is to get them wrong. This place churns out hundreds a day so they must be doing something right. chicken and salsa verde were my favorite but the cheese and pepper ones were ok just not as flavorful. Horchata was on point and great compliment to the spicy tamale. Not a fancy place (counter service) but they do have tables for dining in. Cash only! read more

Once you try these tamales you'll keep coming back for more. They are so goooooooood...this place only sells tamales! This is a Chicago's must! read more

Chilo Y Chela - Chicken tamales - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Excellent tamales and good prices. I regularly see tamales at other places for $2.00 or more. Good size and flavor. The service is also excellent. I regularly purchase and share with students and they also love them. read more

They never disappoint, chicken only and rajas, they also have champurrado that is to die for. One of only 3 spots I Reccomended and trust for non-homemade tamales. read more

tamales are ok need some flavor some salt taste just like masa the champurrado & arroz con leche atole are really good the little cozy place is clean but soon you walk in smell like fabuloso clean floors ewwwww not a tamale steam read more

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