So we went to our dog trainers play yard to run our new dogs n Stanton Mexicatessen is right next door, it smelled sooo good we had to try it... Soooo glad we did, this place is absolutely hands down the best tamales we've ever been served We tried the beef, pork, chicken n cheese/jalapeno, all were ridiculously good... Can't wait to go back, great people, service, quality n scrumptious eats They do things right, we'll definitely be back soon... read more

Bought masa for tamales from here and I'm so disappointed. It did not taste good at all and they took longer to cook. The masa was not well prepped and the color definitely looks different. Not sure what happened but the tamales came out disgusting. I'm sad the masa was horrible. I hope the owners or whoever makes the masa reads this. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who is experiencing this if you bought from here recently. ZERO STARS read more

My son and I have breakfast there two weeks ago and the food was terrible. The bacon tasted rancid and the eggs were covered in some kind of liquid not hot sauce. The waitress was busy with her I phone and didn't smile or greet us with a smile. She acted like we were intruding and didn't want to be bothered. My parents were in the food business and owned a restaurant. My wife went to chef's school in a near by college and completed her courses. We know the difference between quality and bad food. It's too bad. This restaurant was a great place to enjoy a good meal. The place was empty when we walked in. Now I know why. read more

It's too bad what happened to this place. The food is mediocre for an extremely high price. Paid about $20 for a carne asada plate with a conservative portion of meat, dry rice, beans and a mini salad with thousand + tortillas. Nothing really going on inside, removed the chips/salsa bar. Limited amount of drinks with no aguas frescas. read more

Stanton Mexicatessen - Carne Asada plate - Mexican Near Me - Stanton, California

Have LOVED this place for several decades. My dad used to get tamales on the weekends - a very special memory. My son got his first piñata here. Just got tamales there for the first time in years. The best!!! read more

The best tamales I use to come to this restaurant when i was a kid my mom will always bring us here there tamales and there other food they have is bomb asf I would highly recommend read more

Their buisness claims "fresh tamales" made every day. This has to be at least 4 days old. Absolutely disgusting I would avoid this place 100% read more

Stanton Mexicatessen - Their business claims "fresh tamales" made everyday. This has to be over 3 days old. Really disgusted I would avoid this place any day. - Mexican Near Me - Stanton, California

Best masa ever, we've had many and nothing compares to theirs. My parents have been coming here for many years and now my family goes there. I live in Moreno Valley and is worth the long drive. read more

Was a customer many yrs ago and decided to try them again. Tamales were dry with no taste and the beans????? I'd rather buy from Vallarta market. Sorry! read more

They were closed when I needed them Jan 1 & Jan 2nd. Found another place opened w more options. read more

Absolutely amazing food! Service was fast and attentive. Been loyal customer for years & to come. Must try masa

I was heading to another place for lunch and saw a couple UPS trucks parked in front of this place and figured it must be good if those 2 drivers are here eating. It was about 2pm on Thursday 3/10/2022, very slow and empty and they have about 6 inside tables inside to eat at. Really looked like these people specialize in in tamales and masa for the do it at home customers. Had large selection of lunch specials and also a regular combo. menu to select from. I did the combo. menu - bean&cheeseBurri/Taco plate that came with rice and beans a small side of chips. Two different salsa's, both were good. Combo was $9.89, large diet coke $3.89, side of flour tortilla's 0.75, total with tax was $15.84. Will I return, no. Pros- Place was clean, plenty of open seats. Young lady taking orders at counter very nice. Restroom available back through kitchen and was clean, kitchen spotless too! Lady that cooked the food brought out and delivered to table. Food was OK, quality and taste were fine, just nothing special. Plenty of easy parking. Hours on door seem to show close earlier than posted here on Yelp. Cons- Food price was ok, soft drink at almost $4 for a fast/quick food seat yourself place is a little higher than I prefer to pay. All was good, but nothing I tasted or anything about this small place grabbed me and makes me feel I would want to go back and try another time or items. read more

I do not recommend this place to buy masa for your tamales no wonder he has no more customers that places is very dirty as well the cashier lady was RUDEE. My family and I got food poisoning we all ended up in the ER and no it was not the chicken or anything else. read more

I showed up 15 minutes before closing time (1:45 pm). I understand when an employee is eager to shut things down for the day, but the woman was extremely rude about it. I took a friend here about 6 months ago, and the service wasn't much better. It's too bad. I remember how great this place was in the 1980's. read more

This is my first and my last time coming to get masa at this place. This woman here was extremely rude to EVERYONE there not only me. If she didn't want to come to work this morning then why did she even show up?? Stay home honey! Stay and sleep in or find another job. read more

Stanton Mexicatessen - Rude person. She needs an intense course of costumer service! - Mexican Near Me - Stanton, California

Came back a couple more times for the tamales and finally got the pozole twice now. It's AMAZING for the price--rich in flavor, and you can pick between corn and flour tortillas. What I'm blown away with is the service. They were closing a little earlier than listed (7pm instead of 7:30). I called in around 6:50 without knowing to order a tamale, salsa, and pozole, and they had it ready within 10 minutes. This place is an absolute gem of a hole-in-the-wall. read more

Best masa in the world. Really moist and made to perfection. I drive to this business from Moreno Valley, Ca. Best place ever guys!!!

I would give them a zero if I could. The girl taking orders looked like she was forced to be there, not friendly at all. I ordered tamales, 1 of each - pork, chicken, & cheese. Worst tamales I've had in my life. They're literally like 3" long for over $2.00, absolutely not worth it! I took only one bite of the cheese one and it was so dry I thought I was eating saw dust with a piece of rubber inside. The outside of the tamale looked like it was three days old and the cheese was so over cooked it looked like it was a piece of orange rubber. I tried the chicken thinking how can you go wrong with chicken, I was wrong. The pork had a bit more flavor but the masa was as dry as saw dust. Needless to say, I threw them away, waste of money and time read more

Stanton Mexicatessen - A piece of the so called cheese tamale. Even the husk is dry. - Mexican Near Me - Stanton, California

I had hope for this place. Even after reading the reviews I thought I'd give it antry since they ate so close to my home. I ordered 2 cheese and jalepeno tamales and a small pozole. The tamales, both of them are dusty dry. I may try a damp paper towel and microwave, but I am not hopeful. The pozole is tasteless. I feel robbed of $12... read more

Stanton Mexicatessen - Pozole - Mexican Near Me - Stanton, California

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Awesome place for tamales ..... we have been going here for years ! Very consistent quality !!

Excellent portions and quality carne asada !! Longtime business , always gracious and friendly here .

I hate to give such a low review to this place but I hope this feedback is taken into consideration by the owners. I have always loved the carne asada burritos and pozole. More recently, I had been surprised at how good their machaca plate tasted. As far as I know, there was always a nice lady in the back who was preparing the food. As of late, I don't know what has happened with the food. The last time I ordered pozole, the meat tasted rancid and the flavor just permeated the soup. I ended up throwing it away after a couple of bites. I was prepared to never go back, but I remembered how delicious the machaca plate was, and I was hoping to experience it again when I ordered the machaca plate today. I was incredibly disappointed. The meat and eggs were a little slimy and it was so under seasoned that I thought something was wrong with it. But I tasted it again and again to confirm that it wasn't rancid. So I thought maybe it was the green salsa that caused the sliminess? I figured it was either that or under cooked egg. So I went to the microwave and heated the machaca egg for about two minutes and once the egg fully cooked, the sliminess had gone away. Even without the sliminess, I still didn't want to eat the machaca egg because it just didn't taste good. I really hope the owners of this place can turn things around, because I have enjoyed eating at this restaurant for so many years. Thank you for taking the time to read this review. read more

Stanton Mexicatessen - Machaca egg without the rest of the plate, which includes, beans, rice, and salad. - Mexican Near Me - Stanton, California

I love tamales and when I googled best tamales in town, this spot turned up. But honestly they were hardly up to par, they were dry and mostly massa and way over priced. I paid $35 for a dozen. Overall they were fair, not what people claim were best in town unfortunately. read more

I really wanted to love this place, because I love supporting small businesses. Unfortunately, it just wasn't anything special. First, I got a quesadilla that was just a carne asada quesadilla you can get from any taco place. It was good, it came with a salad though. This I found interesting, but they covered the Salad with thousand island that ended up all over the quesadilla. Which kind of ruined the taste for me. We got a side of guacamole that desperately needed salt. Now the tamale sauce is what saves it for me. Had I ordered the tamale itself, it would've been way to dry. The sauce saves it 100%. The red sauce is so yummy I wanted it on everything. In fact, I'd buy a jar of it. I would come back just for enchiladas if they use the same sauce. The service was also great and the prices are unbeatable. I love small businesses and will continue to support. read more

Stanton Mexicatessen - Carne Asada Quesadilla - Mexican Near Me - Stanton, California

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I keep coming back for the enchilada sauce. It's so tasty I dip my corn chips in it after I've eaten my enchilada. The back kitchen looks very clean and they are always cleaning, a good sign that they care. I loved the huevos rancheros plate because it was authentic, delicious, and comes with bacon. My go to lunch spot in Stanton. read more

Stanton Mexicatessen - Huevos rancheros with bacon! I'm in heaven - Mexican Near Me - Stanton, California

I don't know much about Mexican food, but that never stops me from appreciating a great bowl of caldo or a generous and meaty tamale. Stanton Mexicatessan serves up a delicious chicken meatball soup. Cabbage, carrots, zucchini and celery sweetly simmered in made-from-scratch broth and 5 savory chicken-and-rice meatballs warm my belly and my soul on cold days like this. Although I was full and very satisfied with the caldo, I had to try the carnitas tamale. This huge tamale had large chunks of roasted pork in spiced sauce. The tamale by itself would have been enough to stave off hunger for a few hours. I was not expecting the humble tamale to be so hearty. My friend had the cheese enchiladas which she thoroughly enjoyed. Everything here tastes like somebody's Mama and Tia are cooking in the back kitchen. read more

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Called & said they were closing in 30 mins, came 13 mins till 5 & they're closed. Ridiculous. I had literally just called. Now I understand all the bad reviews. read more

Stanton Mexicatessen - a view of a restaurant through the windshield of a car - Mexican Near Me - Stanton, California

I discovered this place 20+ years ago when I was working down the street. I think the food is excellent. I do admit I usually get the same thing. Here's what I like: Chili rellano - big and battered. They add lots of sauce. Cheese enchilada- lots of sauce and packed with cheese Rice- freshly made and fluffy Fish taco - deep fried. Sauce and extra cheese Tamales - so-so. Smaller and a bit dry for my tastes. But that's what salsa is for. The salsa is not fresh but it's good. The place is not fancy but I take good food over fancy every day of the week read more

Love this place. I've come here my whole life and am always pleased with their food and customer service.

I was in the mood for menudo for lunch and knowing that the majority of places only sell it on the weekends I did a little search to find some in the garden grove area, which is how i found this place. After reading some of the reviews with quite a few people stating they have really good pozole 7 days a week I figured they gotta have menudo every day too, which they do. I ordered a small bowl of menudo and had a few of the chips and salsa. The salsa was ok. There was 2 salsas available and they were both red. I only tried one which was ok, could have been spicier. Maybe the other salsa I didnt try was the spicy one? who knows? I thought the broth of the menudo was good. It had a nice consistency, color and flavor. It would have been nice if there was a little more hominy in it. My disappointment with this dish was the meat. I like my menudo with the tripe more cooked, softer. the tripe in this menudo was kind of hard. Like it needed to sit in the pot and cook for another hour or so. Maybe thats just my preference, but I like my tripe cooked to the point where it is soft and easily breaks apart when eaten. I probably wouldnt come back for menudo, but I would be interested in trying some of their other items. I did get a taste of a tamale and the masa was a little on the dry side. read more

Stanton Mexicatessen - Small menudo - Mexican Near Me - Stanton, California

I live down the street so I go here allot. I like all the food here. I usually get menudo, pizole and Tamales. Some of my family members (from Mexi) are not real crazy about the food? But I give them thumbs up! Cheers! read more

Yummy authentic Mexican food. The pozole is delicious, carnitas are my favorite. This is a hidden gem in little Stanton. I've been coming here for over 20 yrs! Great local place! read more

Zero star! Filthy Employees had staring problems Smelled like chlorine The worst horchata I've ever had Bland burrito Maybe we didn't order their tamales, but overall experience, never again. I hold grudges to my boyfriend for taking me here lol. read more

Delicious tamales ! I tried the beef, pork & chicken. The pork was my favorite, the meat was very buttery and moist compared to the other two. Each tamales is $1.90, which is a steal for something thats fresh and good. Overall I will be back ! read more

Stanton Mexicatessen - Yum - Mexican Near Me - Stanton, California

You don't come here if you're expecting stellar customer service. The girls in the front are as dry as their masa and rude . I'm use to receiving my masa in a clear plastic bag that's tied and then put into a grocery bag. However, this place has done away with the clear plastic bag and gone to straight throwing overpriced masa into white grocery bags. The masa is prepared by a couple of Asian men, which is fine but just the first time I seen a non-hispanics preparing masa. In summary, I gave this place two stars because although there customer service is something to be desired and their masa is overpriced and questionable, their carnitas were delicious read more

Good service and looks clean ,delicious tamales and masa I have to try the champurrado They served food and more read more

It's pretty sad I grew up on this place loved it just recently went there ordered A bean and cheese burrito wet. All i got was an attitude and microwave. read more

I have been looking for a good spot to get Menudo for a long time. At last I stumbled on this little gem, don't let the outside drive you away. Inside you will find the best Menudo in town! It's not really a inside diner, but it's perfect for take out. All there food is really good as well. Give this place a try! read more

I've been here on several occasions nd just always forget to review it. This place is literally up the street from me nd thank god it is! I usually grab the two chicken tacos plate...which comes w/ two hard shell tacos, rice and beans....for 3.95!! If I don't get that i'll get just a bean and cheese buritto...which is huge nd I never finish it. Yes this place is a "hole in the wall" joint...it could use a remodeling job big time! The chicks at the counter are really nice...we always chat it up while i'm waiting for my order nd usually continue chatting even after they handed me my food ....real good local joint for some good mexi food for sure..... read more

Hole in the wall heaven! To look at the place, you'd never think to stop in for food b/c it really does look old and run down so I can see why others my be skeptical. Despite it's ugly step-sister look, this place has very good food! Just order it to go either by coming in or calling in your order. I come in for the menudo and the chorizo burritos or chorizo plate typically. The chicken and shredded beef tacos and burritos are very good too. I like the beans here which I am picky about. The rice isn't wildly impressive but I'm not a huge rice fan in general. They also sell other food items...sort of like a grocery store along one of the walls in case you need ingredients to make your own Mexican food. I love that sell cold Jarritos (Mexican soda) in lots of flavors! They have all kinds of specials so take your time ordering. If you do end up eating here, they have a few old style hard booths inside and 2 plastic tables with chairs outside. The parking lot is small and can easily fills up but you can always park on the little side street next to the restaurant. The BIG draw here every year is their MASA and TAMALES!! Come Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's...expect a line around the building for masa or ready made tamales by the dozen (chicken, pork, beef, cheese). I highly suggest calling in your order for these items before you just show up. They have run out before!! The workers are all bilingual so it's okay if you don't speak spanish. I know it can be initimating walking into a place that looks like it belongs in a small town in Mexico...but rest assured, they know English. The owner is actually Korean and speaks fluent Spanish and English. Crazy to witness a Korean yelling out orders to the cooks in Spanish! Very cool. Overall, stop in at least once! You won't regret it and I'm sure you'll be back!! I know I will! read more