The best housemade, fresh guacamole - rivaled the fresh guac made at our table in Mexico! Genuinely loved it. Great housemade chips, too. This was the only item we tried as an afternoon snack. Ordered at the counter and she brought the food out to us at our booth. Not overly friendly, not rude either. Helpful with questions when we ordered. Just about every table was dirty when we came in, but I think they're just a small, family-run business with only one girl working the front with great food, making them busy and stretched thin with help. We'll for sure come back to try more next time we're in town. read more

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I recently visited Goshen and had to stop here. These are some of the best Tamales I've had in Indiana. The food is amazing and full of flavor. The service was outstanding and quick. This is a good spot to visit when the family is craving some good mexican food. My friends and I had great time eating and catching up. Great atmosphere! read more

Universal Tamal - Lunch special - Mexican Near Me - Goshen, Indiana

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Loved this place! All of the food was phenomenal and made with extra love. The service was quick and the atmosphere was clean comfortable. I highly recommend Universal Tamal and will be going back soon read more

This is an amazing place would recommend because kevin and mayte are great servers and the food good. read more

Universal Tamal - churro - Mexican Near Me - Goshen, Indiana

Service from Kevin is 100/10 he's an amazing worker and has the best service. The food is amazing read more

Universal Tamal - Kevin - Mexican Near Me - Goshen, Indiana

Love this place! My favorite menu item so far has been the al pastor tacos and rice. My kids love the chicken and rice and the queso. My teenage had the steak tacos and said it was the best Mexican food they've ever had. read more

Universal Tamal is SO GOOD my favorite item from the men is a Burrito with steak and cheese. The service was great. They were kind to us and was fast with food. There were lots of people there but they were great. read more

Tamales are the highlight at this joint. Very tasty and authentic! Prices are very affordable.

The food was great. The seasoning was great. The tortilla is amazing. The water is cold and customer service is great.

Great food and service, they deserve the good rating . There's moderate noise from the kitchen which is to be expected as they craft the quality food, but other than that, there's still no trouble having a conversation at your table during a night out. Hidden gem, I recommend. ALSO, you get a (1 time) free dessert for leaving a positive google review :) read more

I got some tacos and tamales to go from here last week. It was pretty good. I'd come back and get more if I was closer :). The cashier was very pleasant. I got the steak tacos.. pork tacos and another one. The tamales I got were pork and then cheese and jalapeños. read more

Food is great! Love their tacos and their gorditas. The birria is amazing too! They are pretty fast and friendly!

I've only ever had the tamales because that's all I need to have from there to be happy in life. Pork, chicken....they're all good. read more

We visit Universal Tamal every time we're in Goshen. Their tamales are the best around! We've always had good service. Sometimes, the wait is a little long, I think, depending on how full the restaurant is. The ambiance seems good, we usually pick up a dozen tamales to go. This place seems more authentic than many other restaurants that serve Mexican food. read more

Universal tamal is a top notch find for great tasting Mexican food in a town that is full of Mexican restaurants. The chorizo tacos and Mexican coke are what keep me coming back but the low prices are also very nice. The homemade flavors make this downtown restaurant one that is worth visiting over and over. read more

This tiny hole in the wall is a true asset to downtown Goshen. The staff is friendly and fast, the prices are dirt cheap, and the food is authentic, fresh and great tasting. My wife had never had their tamales, so we stopped in a tad late at 2:30, they were sold out, but more were to be ready in 20 minutes or so. That was ok we were on our bikes and after five miles and no breakfast we were hangry, so we tried something else. We had chicken tacos, a steak torta.. both with beans and rice, and chips n' salsa. The beans and the rice were outstanding! My wife mentioned the chicken tacos were the beat she has had. They used grilled chicken, and not some slow cooker shredded chicken garbage we have grown to expect. My torta was good, the steak was good, but I should have stuck with cow tongue, because I imagine it is amazing like everything else. We had water but they have the usual Mexican favorites along with glass bottle cokes. Our entire meal was 12 bucks, you just can't go wrong here. read more

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Probably the best torta I've had in my entire life. Great little restaurant to stop in for a quick bite to eat.

Great location great service personable experience Every time I come here I always order a steak torta with everything on it with a glass bottled coke Owners a great people and very kind Will gladly keep coming back to this restaurant and will definitely recommend to everyone Not to mention their great prices and large selection of food read more

Large portions, right amount of heat and cilantro, best salsa we have had in a long time! Found them on Yelp and glad that we did! Greg really like the mexican sausage and my wet burrito was most excellent! Guacamole was a bit warm, but the chips were very good! I will take pictures next time. Definitely one of our new favorites, in our new city! read more

This is the best *authentic* Mexican I've had in a while! Not a lot of joints sell Tortas, and these were the best I've had outside Chicago. The staff is comprised of most if not all family members, and they are all very friendly. You get a lot of bang for your buck here, but the only negative would be that they do not have fountain drinks. They only sell $1 bottled soft drinks. If you're craving Mexican, this is the place to go! read more

Universal Tamal - Steak (Asada) Torta! A delicious Mexican sandwich w/ lettuce, melted cheese, avocado, and mayo. You can't get Tortas everywhere! - Mexican Near Me - Goshen, Indiana

Probably my least favorite place for Mexican. Don't get the chicharrones. Save your money & grab a 99 cent bag of pork rinds & boil them until soggy, then throw it into a pita & put catsup on it. You'd think that they'd try to make up for it with service but my waitress dropped the ball on that one too. Everyone has a bad day, I guess but really didn't feel that it was worth $50 to watch the s#!+ show unfold. The 'Sweet Tamales' are basically corn meal with sugar & food coloring. Again just go to Walmart & buy pink & yellow Play-Doh & try to down that with a fork. read more

thee best place for tamales with an awesome family who runs it! Get there early because they sell out quick!

This place is authentic Mexican... awesome!! If you like the real deal, don't skip this place.

Amusing side anecdote: When my mom suggested Universal Tamal for lunch this weekend, my husband, who enjoys Mexican food quite a lot, seemed a bit wary of the tamale idea itself but indicated he would enjoy a taco or similar. Imagine my amusement when, as we enjoyed our food, he admitted that he'd thought you were supposed to eat the corn husk, too, hence his apprehension. (And my husband's a really smart guy, which made it all the more entertaining.) Anyway. This is a smallish, no-frills sort of place. Its main decorations are the bright menu, with large color photos, hung on the wall. (They will also give you a menu to look at.) It's got table service or to go; our waitress was quite friendly. There's not much on the tables besides napkins. The food, however, is quite delicious. The limited menu makes me miss San Marcos a bit, but I don't think San Marcos ever specialized in tamales. Here, you have your pick of multiple flavors of tamales, including a sweet one, plus tacos/gorditas, a few tortas, burritos, etc. We were given a basket of crispy, fresh tortilla chips with delicious homemade salsa. I had two chicken tamales with salsa verde; the salsa had great flavor and a decent amount of heat. The masa was great. I am no tamale expert, but these really hit the spot. We also shared some flan for dessert, which had a wonderful flavor, though the texture was not quite as smooth as some I've had. All in all, friendly service, excellent prices and wonderful food make this a welcome new Mexican joint on Main Street Goshen. I hope it sticks around so we can come back when we visit. :) read more

It was very chaotic in there and hard to get service on a Friday night. Had to ask 5 different people for things and did not have attentive service from one dedicated server. The guacamole was delicious! The tamale was tiny and had almost no filling. The chorizo taco was also delicious, but the carne asada and ground beef tacos were somewhat flavorless. I wouldn't rush back. read more

Great place! Very nice staff, fluent in English. Tamales are amazing, and salsa is bomb too. The building is jenky and smells a bit like a pool hall, but the food is awesome. Love their horchata too! read more

Universal Tamal - Ahhh.. This is heaven in a corn husk. - Mexican Near Me - Goshen, Indiana

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These guys are always helping out the community selling tamales for various fundraisers and they are always great. The food is great and there are some really unique items on the menu to go along with the standard fare expected. The staff is what sets this place apart, they are fantastic. read more

We love to go for breakfast on the weekends then carryout their fantastic tamales. Great location, friendly staff, and good food; highly recommend it. read more

This place rocks. Up with the times taking orders on iPods getting it right back to the kitchen. Food comes out hot and timely. The kid who waited on us was cool and knew the menu. Good is cheap and awesome!! Chips and salsa were fresh. Great place to come for some authentic Mexican food. Couldn't finish my $5 burrito because the $1.25 tacos were so good. read more

Universal Tamal - Couldn't finish my burrito because the tacos were so good!! - Mexican Near Me - Goshen, Indiana

Have tried this place several times and I'm giving up.I ordered carryout in person and they still messed up my order. The steak had tough fatty pieces on my burrito. The chicken tamales were good but overall not worth anymore visits. read more

Great tacos good specials. Authentic Mexican food. Quick and friendly service. A must stop. The skeak tacos were very good.

Amazing food and friendly waitress. Only thing that would've made the experience better would've been some beer with my tamales! Delicious chips and Pico. read more

Best Mexican style option in the area. Great authentic tacos and salsa. Tortas are big, tasty and satisfying. The staff is very nice - family owned. Try the tacos and grilled onions and jalapeño. It's our baseline and goto place for Mexican. read more

I've only had carryout, but these tamales are bangin'. No idea when I'll ever be in Goshen, but the delectable masa treats might be worth the drive. read more

Best tamales ever! I love their tamales & the variety of them. They don't just have pork like some other places do, which is helpful to my kids who enjoy different kinds & I just don't have the time or energy to make my own anymore. The only downside about this place is I once ordered their Taco Norteño & asked for just the beans & cheese & no meat. I feel they should have adjusted the price of the taco seeing as it was meatless. It originally comes with meat, cheese & beans. Seeing as I don't eat meat I ordered without the meat. Please have a cheaper price for meatless tacos or add a meatless bean & cheese Taco Norteño to the menu. read more

A relative newcomer to Goshen, Universal Tamal is a must-visit for a quality tamale or five. It's a small operation with a relatively small menu; once they were even out of one of the flavors of tamales, but I always leave satisfied. My favorite is the "Super Tamales." Just make sure you try at least one sweet tamale if you've never had one before. They're quite a treat. read more

I thought it was pretty authentic I really enjoyed it also wished that it had fountain drinks the waitress was friendly I had the Barbacoa platter with 2 bottles of Jarritos didn't give it 5 stars because of no fountain drinks I recommend this restaurant for anyone wanting authentic Mexican food. read more

Universal Tamal - Barbacoa platter with beans and rice - Mexican Near Me - Goshen, Indiana

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I love tamales. And hands down Universal Tamal has the best I've ever eaten. The choices are great. When I'm looking for a treat I go pick up a pack of 6 chicken and a pack of 6 pork tamales to go. Be sure to get some red and green salsa. I have to try really hard to only eat a few they're that good. read more

If you like finding locally owned "hole-in-wall" restaurants with great food, this will be your kind of place! It's family run with fresh-made food. The salsa is homemade and very good. But the absolute best is the tamales! We love the pork, the pepper and cheese, and the chicken. This has become one of our favorite spots to bring friends and family because the tamales never disappoint! read more

It's so hard to find tamales in this area (if your white), these tamales are amazing. They must be running an abuelita tamale making sweatshop in the back. Their tacos are also very good, this is very traditional Mexican food, and foods not found on the menus of your average Mexican restaurant in Northern Indiana. We ordered a dozen tamales to take home. We made tamales and scrambled eggs for breakfast. So awesome! I gave four stars because so far it's just the tamales and the tacos that have been good, the burritos are so-so. read more