8/6/2026 Looking for a quick bite where you get a bang for your buck? This is the place, I got recommended by the owner of neatfreak around the block. They have enough seating for about 15ish with a good view of the street traffic. I got a breaded chicken torta (my first one) and boy was it fat! This is like 3 meals for me I never expected it to be so big. I should've gotten a different protein choice but it was a solid sandwich. The ladies were so friendly and kept the place very clean, I'll be back to try something new. read more

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We stopped in around lunchtime on a Sunday. I had a delicious egg and bacon sandwich with cotija cheese, lettuce and avocado. So good and the cheese pull was legendary! My husband got the chicken torta with Orioles, lettuce, tomato and cotija cheese. So delicious but big so he took the second half home for later. The ladies working in there were lovely. We will be going back many times since it is so good and very close to our home. read more

Consistency is the name of the game here. Haven't been here in 6 months. Tostadas and fruit 100% on point. Proprietor is as sweet as you'd expect an abuela to be. Truly a diamond hidden in plain sight. read more

I had walked past this place many times and always assumed that it was a regular hole-in-the-wall coffee shop. Boy was I wrong! It's legit for Mexican food. They have a hand-written menu on the wall: tortas, tostadas, tacos, tamales. It's pretty solid! The torta was huge and despite ordering it to go and walking home, the bread stayed crisp (always a plus!). I ordered the chorizo torta. The bread is nice a crusty and the whole sandwich held up well and didn't get soggy at the end (but then again, I ate it pretty quickly) Only a couple of issues that has kept it a 3 star experience: the chorizo had lumps in it, like I'd occasionally bit into something that was a bit harder (??)...Also, I would have liked the chorizo to be a tad bit more flavorful. I'd be interested in going back to try try tamales which are supposed to be fab, and perhaps another torta of a different variety. read more

Michelle's Cafe - Chorizo torta. It's big! - Mexican Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

Delicious chorizo tostadas, and their atoles are especially nice in the colder months. Very authentic small-shop Mexican food, pretty much anything you could ask for (except tacos). The staff are friendly and quick - you can be in and out in 6 minutes. read more

Delicious tamales! Just like the ones made by family in California. I'm so happy this place exists. The tamales are like $2 each. They have various meat and rajas options. It's very unassuming but if you want authentic, tasty tamales here's your place. We too thought it was some sort of coffee shop due to the sign. They will sell you coffee and fix it up for you, but that's about it. Definitely worth a visit for the food, though. read more

My husband just wanted a coffee. We decided to grab a little to eat after we came in and saw that they served food. My spouse got a wrap of some sort, which he devoured. I wasn't in the mood for Mexican food but my breakfast bagel sandwich (bacon, egg, and cheese) was good. Cheap meal, nice and friendly service. read more

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A small shop that packs a deelish bite. I had the Pavo(turkey) Torta with everything. Sooo filling. This sandwich comes with avocado oaxaca cheese, a thin layer of refried beans, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and Hot peppers if you want, served in a Mexican bread call "Telera" This sandwich is very filling and awesome :) lol. read more

I don't know if this is as good as it gets, but I had the first Tamale I've ever liked here. That has to be worth something. The Torta I got with everything on it (breaded chicken) and it was delicious. The ladies at the counter were pure sweethearts and even asked what I thought of the tamale. When I told them what I thought they yelled back to the lady in the back who makes them all and she came out, smiled, and said thank you. No..thank YOU Tamale Mistress..thank you. It's places like this that keep me trying smaller unheralded local restaurants. Found a gem here, give it a try. read more

As a native Mexican I have to tell you the tamales here are excellent, I love this place. I go there and buy 30 of them to freeze so I can always have them at home. I have bought them and given to friends so they can experience real Mexican tamales. The tortas are fabulous, the chorizo and the milanesa de res (chicken fried steak) one are my favorite. After work I will call and order for pick up and dinner is ready!. AGree with other reviewer, my kids are born and raised here and they eat the tamales and the tortas. The owner is Sra. Paula and I have suggested her to change the name to attract new clients, but she says people just know from word of mouth. She must be doing something right. read more

I've been to this hole in the wall a couple of times. The first time I walked in was totally by chance. I had just had lunch on Eastern Ave and on the walk back to my car my girlfriend and I wanted to get some coffee. As we looked around, we noticed Michelle's red awning and decided to check it out. From the outside, Michelle's looks like a typical coffee shop. Michelle's however is anything but typical. I noticed that the menu offers a wide variety of food from American style sandwiches to Mexican style sandwiches, tacos, and tamales. There's also a very extensive drink menu. Everything from cold fruit juices to Mexican style coffee drinks. The coffee was ok. But the food was great. I tried a couple of the tamales and also sampled the pork tacos. All of the tamales I had were very good. My favorite was the Oaxaquenno (don't ask me how to pronounce it). Some were spicy; some were mild; but all were delicious with rich complex flavors. Michelle's makes all their tamales by hand and they're very cheap. Less than $2 per tamale. All in all this is a very neat place which offers a little bit of everything. I would recommend this place to anyone based primarily on the tamales. read more

I ate a bunch of their sandwiches and they were really good!!! A variety of ham, turkey and chicken, slabbed between thin layers of tomato, lettuce, mayo and avocado with melted stringy Mexican cheese....and they serve you a spicy adobo sauce and pickled peppers....all to make a delicious sandwich!!! It's like a glorified club sandwich!! I am definitely coming back to try some of their other food! read more

I have to stop there everytime I'm in Aberdeen. Love the muffins, granola and soup! I also had their sandwiches they are delicious too! I just ordered a cake can't wait to try it! I also want to try their prepared meals I'm sure those a good too! read more

Michelle's Cafe - pistachio muffin - Mexican Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

Delicious hole in the wall, my favorite place to get tortas in Bmore. Mrs. Turtle is GIANT. You can get the baby turtle if you're not about to eat a cow because you're starving. Cheap, delicious, fast. HOORAY! read more

(08/15/2013) A co-worker brought in corn and banana leaf tamales for a party. Got to them a day old, but still pretty tasty. Great flavors imparted by banana leaf to the masa. Tamales were really dense, pretty heavy, meat was seasoned well, somewhat dry. Would like to stop in and try the tamales fresh as well as some of the rumored other great stuff, like tortas. read more

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Tamales. Get it? Best in Baltimore that I've found. There are usually a few to choose from if you get there early enough, but by midafternoon, they might very well be sold out. They use a Oaxacan masa that is plain wonderful. I stopped asking what kinds they had, I just ask for two or three of whatever she feels like giving me. Ask for a little container of the house picante and and a Tamarindo soda and you are good to go! It's a tiny space with a couple of tables if you want to eat there, and the ladies that work there are friendly and lovely. read more

For a Gringo, I know a little something about tamales. As a Chef, I've made my share. Between restaurants, Catering, and social gatherings, easily more than I could ever count. Today, I went to get some tamales from Michelle's, and WOW! OUTSTANDING!!! Knowing the time and effort that it takes to make these, the texture and taste were spot-on! Well-done, Michelle's. I WILL be back for more! :o) read more

A friend and I were looking for a quick bite along Eastern Ave and we wandered in around lunch time. Staff was extremely nice and all orders were placed in combinations of English and Spanish with smiles all around. We both got the "Mexican sausage" (I'm assuming chorizo) quesadillas and weren't disappointed. Nothing spectacular, but I don't think you buy cheap Mexican food to be anything but solid cheesy deliciousness. I paid $8.80 for the quesadilla and a bottle of water, and it came with avocado, lettuce, tomato, and avocado slices on top with cheese and sausage inside. Solid and totally delicious read more

We were referred here by a Baltimorian friend who swears by its tortas. We were not disappointed. This is a tiny place, 3 small tables, menu is on a chalk board on the wall. We ordered and got take out to eat on a bench in front of the harbor. Started with home made guacamole, made fresh in front of us, and came with crisp tortilla chips that also tasted as if they were made in-house. We ordered the tacos which came with perfectly tender pork in a soft taco shell. The pork was not itself flavored but traditionally these tacos are eaten with a hot sauce and lime, which was a very nice combination. We also got 2 tortas. The Happy Turtle, a half torta ($5)- ours was with chicken and jalapeno falvored. By contrast the Mrs. Torta ($10) must weigh in at about 2 lbs and has every meat and sauce they have. It's an eating challenge and it would likely make for 2 meals for most people. The food overall was very satisfying and the value could not be beat. It could have been spicier to our tastes, even though we ordered it spicy. They also were out of their famous tamales, which was a disappointment. We would go back to try a tamale and maybe pick up a spicy mango popsicle. read more

Michelle's has the absolute best tortas and tamales I have ever had in my life! Try the chorizo torta and the mole chicken tamales or jalapeno and cheese tamales - you will not be disappointed. The service is always amazing as well. We recently had a small gathering and ordered a ton of sandwiches and tamales (order tamales the day before to ensure they will make enough for you) and everything was perfect and exactly as ordered! Note for the tamales: they make 6 different kinds each day and usually run out, but if you order in advance they will save some for you! read more

Their tortas are incredible!!!!!! Lovely staff, great service, and by a long way the best sandwich I've had in Baltimore....and maybe even in my life. Try the chorizo torta... read more

I love their breaded chicken torta sandwich. Crunchy-breaded thinly sliced chicken with a layer of refried bean spread, guacamole, cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion. The bread is fresh and dense but toasty and the whole thing is amazing. Sandwich is big enough for two. They also offer a good cheese quesadilla, tamales (sold out at 5 pm) and regular sandwiches. Bottled water, sodas and juices. The prices are great and everything seems freshly made. The people behind the counter were very friendly and patient in explaining the menu items to us since we didn't know what a torta was. I'm glad we asked! read more

These tamales are my favorite lunchtime treat, and the tortas are huge and cheesy and delicious. Get there early before tamales sell out!