English Version I love tamales. Like... LOVE. It's one of my favorite comfort foods and honestly feels like a whole experience, not just a meal. Unfortunately, I don't get to enjoy them as often as I'd like. I'm Seventh-day Adventist, so I don't eat pork or any "unclean" foods--which means traditional tamales (especially the ones made with lard) are usually off the table for me unless they're homemade by family. So when I walked into Tamales Guadalajara on Telegraph & Downey, I had my fingers crossed . I immediately asked if their tamales had pork or were made with lard... and the answer was yes. Not gonna lie--that one hurt a little . I was really hoping they might have a vegan or lard-free option, especially with how many people are looking for that these days. No luck this time. BUT... I didn't leave empty-handed. I ended up trying something new from the menu that I'd only ever heard about before--huaraches (which I accidentally called "slippers" at first ). It's like a long, oval-shaped sope, and wow... it was actually really delicious. Full of flavor and definitely something I'd come back for. My dad did try one of their chicken tamales and said it was really good too, so if you're not restricted like me, you'll probably be very happy here. Overall, there's a lot of fun, authentic items on the menu, and I appreciated getting to try something new. I'll definitely be back to explore more. Small request to management: I know it's a big ask, but I would LOVE if you offered tamales made without lard. There are people like me (and vegans too!) who would be so excited and grateful. You'd definitely have a loyal customer in me Versión en Español A mí me encantan los tamales. O sea... me ENCANTAN. Son de esas comidas que se sienten como un abrazo, no solo comida. Lamentablemente, no puedo comerlos tan seguido como quisiera. Soy Adventista del Séptimo Día, así que no consumo carne de cerdo ni alimentos "inmundos", lo que significa que casi siempre tengo que evitar los tamales tradicionales (especialmente los que llevan manteca), a menos que sean hechos en casa por mi familia. Así que cuando entré a Tamales Guadalajara en Telegraph y Downey, tenía mucha esperanza . Lo primero que hice fue preguntar si sus tamales tenían cerdo o si estaban hechos con manteca... y la respuesta fue sí. La verdad, eso me rompió un poquito el corazón . Tenía la ilusión de que tal vez tuvieran una opción vegana o sin manteca, especialmente con tanta gente que lo busca hoy en día. Pero no fue así. PERO... no todo fue pérdida. Terminé probando algo nuevo del menú que solo había escuchado antes--los huaraches (al principio les dije "slippers" ). Es como un sope largo y ovalado, y la verdad... ¡estaba delicioso! Mucho sabor y definitivamente algo por lo que regresaría. Mi papá sí probó un tamal de pollo y dijo que estaba muy bueno, así que si tú no tienes restricciones como yo, seguramente te va a encantar este lugar. En general, tienen muchas opciones auténticas y divertidas en el menú, y me gustó poder probar algo nuevo. Definitivamente voy a regresar. Pequeña petición para la gerencia: Sé que es mucho pedir, pero me encantaría que ofrecieran tamales sin manteca. Hay personas como yo (y también veganos) que estaríamos muy felices y agradecidos. Cinco estrellas read more

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While on a business trip in the area I sought out a great Tamale. Tamales are tricky for me, in fact I've never found a Tamale I "liked" I either love them or dislike them. Tamales Guadalajara has the art of Tamales perfected. Moist, full and flavorful, I tried 3 different types and they were all great. Though the Tamal De Elote was my favorite. I then ordered a dozen to go to share with friends. The service was great, such sweet kind staff. No hesitation giving 5 stars to this hidden local hem. read more

Tamales Guadalajara - Mexican Near Me - Downey, California

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Got some tamales for Christmas and they did not disappoint. Very tasty and masa was not dry. They are expensive and not too big but otherwise I am not complaining they did the job. Spicy and I loved it. They had a variety of types too. Like 6 or more kinds. Highly recommend. Seemed to be family owned so thats another plus. read more

Simple place, it's small inside . They have GREAT Tamales and food. We usually order to take home. Since, inside it's small and limited seating . Fresh and delicious food!! read more

CALDO DE POLLO: The blandest interpretation of this soup I have ever had in my life. It is as if salt and pepper offended the cook. The chicken, bones and all, was boiled with the gelotinius fat hanging off the bone. Awful. TOSTADA WITH CARNITAS: The only redeeming aspect of the dish was the tostada itself. Crunchy and made in house. Everything else was painfully plain. HUEVOS CON CHORIZO: Imagine over cooking chorizo until you get these dried clumps and then adding these dried clumps to a very small amount of scrambled eggs. If this sounds good, please enjoy. I shan't return. read more

We were in the neighborhood and were looking for a good place to eat Mexican food And found this little mom & pop hole in the place, in a small shopping center surrounded by Mexican food restaurant, thinking that the competition must be fierce. We randomly pick this place . I had 3 hard shell tacos with rice and beans and my partner in crime had chile rellenos and cheese enchilada with rice and beans, WOW the food was great, the service was kind and endearing, definitely family ran business. It felt like we were in a little restaurant in Mexico, food was great, absolutely great. I highly recommend this place.....enjoy read more

Tamales way Overpriced $36 bucks for a dozen OUCH !! Ordered a variety of them .. the red ones were very dry .. would not normally leave review but if your going to charge $36 for a dozen tamales they better be dang good read more

I have been coming here for over 15 years, it is not far from my job so my cowoker and I try to eat here at least twice a month. The food tastes almost as good as my mom's cooking from scratch. It is very authentic and fresh, it has that homemade flavor. My favorite thing to eat here is the bandera burrito, you pick your choice of meat (I always get half asada and half chicken) and it is smothered in both red sauce and the green sauce which are equally delicious! They also have a house chile sauce that is amazing and comes in a plastic bottle you can squeeze it out of upon request. I will always be a customer at this place. read more

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Hidden Gem! The best crunchy Taco I've ever had. I also ordered cheese enchiladas and chile relleno compination with rice and beans. I would come back here for sure although driving here took me 45min. Sevice was outstanding also! read more

Our go to spot for holiday Tamales, we've been coming here for years. The staff is efficient, prices reasonable, and tamales tasty. I particularly like the chile and cheese and the green pork. Not mind blowing, perhaps, but consistently good and the next best thing to homemade. read more

Love these tamales. Been coming here for years. They are fresh and the mass to meat ratio are perfect!! The chicken and cheese ones are little on the spicy side. But soooo delicious!! :) read more

If you're looking for some genuine Mexican food that tastes likes it's straight out of your abuelitas kitchen. This is the place you're looking for. read more

To be a place that specializes in tamales I have to say these are the worst tasting tamales. Besides the bland taste they are super small tamales. I was looking forward to enjoying my coffee with these tamales and I was very disappointed not coming here again. If you are going to get the tamales. Buy one to taste it first. I wasted my $$$. read more

I used to pay $14 for the vegetarian burritos. They were very good with a variety of vegetables. Then the last burrito I bought mostly just had bell pepper and onion, no nopales, only 3 pieces of potato, it was certainly not worth the price. When I told the owner, he refused to replace it and make it right. That is terrible customer service, read more

This place never disappoints with the food and service. The atmosphere is very family oriented as if you are eating your own home made food. Authentic Mexican !! read more

Been going to this spot for many years, everything I've had is good. I especially like their Pozole! They are always friendly and are very quick. read more

Good place to get tacos. Came here really for the tamales but they were out. The only ones that had left were the sweet corn which were good. I get why the previous reviews talked about the quality of the masa. It was good. I wouldn't mind coming back here to get the tamale. Ordering was easy. No wait today. The food did take a bit but it's fine. Needed to stand outside to get some sun anyway. Super friendly inside. If using a credit card, they do charge a fee. When I return back here I'll update the review to talk more about the tamale. For this post, I leave you with some clearer menu than the ones that's been posted. Hope you find them useful! read more

Tamales Guadalajara - Ordering process - Mexican Near Me - Downey, California

Really bad experience with the food, I order 2 menudos with no grano and they serve with grano even more than the meat, I order it with pata and the pata was cold , the tortillas was old and smells, and the orange juice it was just water. read more

Hmmm! I have mixed emotions about this place. I love salty foods, but I can see how that would not set well with any other person! The tamales are salty! But I like them, the chicken green tamales are spicy (I'm ok with spicy) BUT they were kinda dry. These are the kind of tamales you eat once in while.... Not the type to bring home for Christmas lol . Tried their tacos dorados de papa with rice and beans.... They were AIGHT! The rice and beans didn't taste so well..... Idk, I might come back to this place for a quick craving fix, however, I believe I've tried better tamales. read more

This place was incredible. I had a large pozole that was so good and tasty, just needed cilantro. Overall very tasty!

Delicious I got the gordita al pastor so delicious. Service was good very friendly. Small place but very clean. read more

The breakfast burritos we got were kind of small and the prices on the menu outside was not reflective of what the price really is. What was only supposed to be about $20 and some change ended up being $33. If you go, be sure to check the menu inside instead. read more

The guy taking the order is always in a rush and has a attitude never again tamales weren't even good

Primero lo primero.. vine por un menudo y estaba feo.. es igualito al menudo juanitas que venden en La northgate.. segundo.. un señor de 3RA Edad pelon que mal genio tiene.. Al menos que sea familiar del dueño o sea el dueño no se como sigue trabajando ahi.. no vuelvo y TAMPOCO recomiendo este lugar read more

I loved this place and have been going there for years but today when I walked in they told me go outside and order from there, when I seen people eating inside. I wanted to eat inside because it was raining. However I still kept it cool and Decided to take the food home. When I got home I only saw like 3 pieces of meat when I had ordered half red and green costillas, so this got me upset and when I called back the lady was rude and told me to go dispute it with my bank. That was not my intention but this lady got me so upset that I won't EVER! Go back. My advice is don't ever take out from there read more

This family business is just wonderful. I've been here so many times, I have no complaints whatsoever. Always great customer service, very nice owners, and tasty food. So far I've had the pozole, enchilada plate, red pork tamales, taquitos, guava drink and horchata. Everything has been so tasty so far, the green chile is my favorite, just be careful it can be very hot at times but still so tasty. Oh and I forgot to mention excellent prices. You have got to try this place it is well worth it. read more

My second time ordering tamales here. 2021 they were so good moist and delicious tamales 8 out 10 for non homemade tamales. This year 2022 I'm very disappointed. Very dry and over cooked. Not sure where they went wrong in the process but I could've gone to north gate and would've been better. I'm sorry won't be back 2023 :( read more

Great place to get tamales, they are delicious. Right now for covid they have a order window and a pick up window. Very convenient. I placed my order for tamales for Christmas and I also got some extra and I love them read more

They have the best food in town! Everything I've tried so far has been perfect. The chilaquiles are my go to. The service is great.

Bought 1/2 a dozen and was hoping to get into one but came back an empty bag. The family enjoyed them, said they tasted good. Another thing is they can't find tamales de elote anywhere, and thankfully i found them here. read more

Tamales Guadalajara - Tamales Price Info - Mexican Near Me - Downey, California

Good tamales all the time, you can call ahead to order always fresh made won't disappoint.

Íbamos en busca de carne en su jugo y lo encontramos. Rico la carne en su jugo y también avía otros platos que se miraban deliciosos. Las aguas frescas estaban ricas también nada de imitación. Tiene que llegar y probar la comida. Deliciosa! read more

I was driving by Telegraph Road and saw huge tamales sign. It caught my attention and had to make a stop. I have ordered 3 breakfast special burritos and 3 sweet corn tamales to eat with my coworkers. Breakfast special burritos was $2.99 and this is really good price if it tasted good. Well, honestly, I didn't have too much of expectations but at least ingredients in burrito should be fully cooked. Egg and cheese was alright but potato wasn't cooked fully.. so I had to take out all the potatoes. This made my small burrito even smaller.. Tamales was alright. It is not the best tasting tamales but at least I can eat it. read more

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Great tamales and great Fast friendly service ! Ask for some over medium eggs and extra sauce to compliment your Tamale breakfast ! read more

This place was incredible. I had a large pozole that was so good and tasty, just needed cilantro. Overall very tasty! read more

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Get there early if you want tamales because they will sell out. I usually buy by the dozen and bring them into work for the staff and they are always a hit. read more

Great tamales here! They let us order some about 30 minutes prior to closing on Christmas Eve which was nice! You can only order 1/2 dozen or full dozen of one kind. You can't mix like 2 beef, 2 pork, etc it has to be 1/2 dozen pork, 1/2 dozen chicken etc. I found that out after the lady was kinda rude about it. She didn't explain it well so she was getting frustrated when I kept telling her Im ordering a dozen, but wanted to pick different kinds within the dozen. She didn't explain that you can't mix them so she was getting mad I didn't understand and at the end I said oh so you can't mix for a 1/2 dozen she said oh no, no mix. Besides that it was easy and fast and let me tell you the tamales are so delicious! We found our new tamale spot and will be back for more. We ordered the chicken and pork, pork is spicy, but I love spicy food so I was in heaven. The flavors are very good and they have a decent amount of meat. Could be filled a little more and slightly bigger, but hey I guess I'll just have to order more next time. I'd say try this place next time I'm sure you're going to love the taste of these tamales! read more

Wrong hours got there at 1:30 pm and they yell were closed so rude ! They got the door open all the way and windows looks open to me ain't my fault with an open sign read more

Good food! authentic Mexican food. Good mom and pop restaurant! Yummy food! Clean place! read more

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Closed at 5 week days 2 pm weekends, not 8 pm drove a bit of a way to get some tamales and didn't even get to try them.