Sheesh, Riverside-ians -- I'm jealous that not only do you have a dedicated empanada shop, you have a dedicated tamale shop! A tamale shop with lots of vegetarian options on the menu, which never happens at suburban Mexican places!
Since we'd just eaten at the aforementioned empanadUS, we only had room for one tamale each. My mushroom tamale was filled with fresh portobello mushrooms. It was surprisingly spicy and so very delicious paired with the chilled green salsa they give you. For some reason, I don't see mushroom on the online menu, so it may be a special, but they definitely also have cheese, bean, spinach, broccoli, and special-order mole tamales.
I loved that they displayed fine art on the walls -- wouldn't have expected that! The owner was friendly and happy to chat with us.
We ordered 18 tamales from this place on a Friday night shortly before they closed. We ordered a dozen of chicken tamales and half dozen pork tamales. Since it was quite a wait (they close at 7pm, so they prefer you have takeouts when you arrive 640pm and after) they gave us an extra salsa for free. When we got home to eat them, they were tasty. My husband and I like the pork tamales more than the chicken ones. Although his co worker makes it better. It was hard to compare to her homemade recipe. Anyway this is a good place to order lots of tamales. They said they make theirs fresh everyday.
Review Source:This is a place I've been searching for, for years! A tamale place where you don't have to go to a guy in the back alley!! They also have elotes!
I tried their pork and pork tamale. Hands down, the pork tamale was good. They also have a cheese, bean, corn, crab etc.
I guess it's pretty new so they have a $5 minimum on credit cards. They prefer cash.
I went during lunch so I ordered to go but it looks like a nice place to sit down. Â
The only con about this place is it's at an intersection that is hard to get in and out of depending on which way you're coming from. If you are going east on Cermak, it is hard to get in but easy if you are going west and hard to get out of if you are heading back east if that makes any sense.
El Milagro has always been my go-to place for tamales but Tamale Hut Cafe gives them a serious run for their money. Â As others have pointed out, these are not traditional tamales. Â With ingredients like broccoli and crab though, they obviously aren't trying to be traditional.
These are more of a refined, gourmet tamale. Â The white corn masa is moist and the fillings are made with good quality ingredients. Â Both the spinach and mushroom tamales I had were very tasty and fresh. Â The blueberry/strawberry sweet tamale though was kinda dried out and somewhat bland.
You can find cheaper tamales elsewhere but those often contain more corn than filling and aren't as good as Tamale Hut's. Â Definitely worth it for the quality you get here.
We stopped in here before our visit to the zoo and it was dead. It also was 10 am and I can only assume not many people are looking for tamales that early. The guy working, Joe I believe was his name, was a friend of the owners and extremely nice. He gave us the background of the business, let us know the specials and explained the different tamales. The tamales were delicious. They have traditional and non-traditional tamales (such as spinach or portobello mushroom tamales). The non-traditional are good but the traditional tamales were the best. Joe even gave us a sample of the tinga chicken, and it was to die for!
They sample artwork of different artists on the wall each month, which I loved, and he said they also do some type of open mic nights. While this place may not be your traditional tamale, Mexican food type place, it's absolutely delicious and the atmosphere was super laid back. We'll be back for sure.
I was in Maywood seeing the Dr. and after words I was going to take the train to the city for lunch and a drink. Darn it I missed the train by 20 minutes, but wait  out comes my phone and my trusty yelp app to the rescue.
I looked at near by restaurants and this one ranked pretty high and it was only 1/2 a mile a away, I am not very happy with its corner location being in a busy intersection makes it very difficult to get to, but once I walked in I was treated with a clean restaurant and very nice server behind the counter.
I ordered a tinga and two tamales one chicken and one mushroom, firts I attacked the chicken tamale it was good nothing special, then the mushroom tamale and I was hooked, it was awesome I could not set it down I just went after it! The tinga was pretty good as well but I would of gladly traded it for a mushroom tamale. The food comes out served in a straw type of basket with food handling paper inserted it's almost like a bowl which is awesome so you can scrap up any extra tamale goodness that might of dropped.
I cam really close to give this lace 5 stars, I just wish they had some more spice and heat in the food it's really good but they just did not have that extra punch to make incredible.
Hat was a great evening. My friend Chris invited us fir reading. He was a featured reader. Ut was our first time in Tamale Hut Cafe.  This place us awesome the tamales were great fresh, soft, and tasty. The artwork on the walls make that place a real art spot in the neighborhood.  We will come  back next month.
The tamales were five times better than tamales in our favorite  Chicago place.
Eh, ok. Â I couldn't say whether these tamales would be considered authentic or not, but I will say I've had better. Â Came out of the steamer holding tray fairly soggy. Â The masa was pretty bland. Â I tried a chicken & a pork. Â The pork had a little more flavor, but not much. Â The side that came with the combo, (the owner recommended the tinga (?)- kind of a shredded chicken on tortilla chips) was very good. Â
Being the only diner at the noon hour was a little suprising, given the good reviews for this place.
The food is good, but the owner is a pain. He loves to skimp on the salsa. I think that you should get one container (they are small) of salsa per tamale. He doesn't see it this way. Sometimes, he'll charge you for extra salsa. Other times, he'll give to you, but is clearly annoyed by the request. The tamales are small and cost more than $2, so adequate salsa is the least he can do.
Review Source:I had a Living Social deal for the five meal punch card.
I went in one day last month and the super friendly guy behind the counter told me I could get more then one meal at a time. Â I chose not to do that and had just one meal. Â It was ok.
I went back recently to use up the rest of the punch card and the owner was giving me a hard time about using up my deal. Â Even though it stated on the Living Social website that you could.
I ordered 3 cheese tamales and 1 mushroom tamale. Â I wanted corn as my sides but of course he was out of corn at 2:00 (they close at 7:00) and offered me tinga. Â I told him no since I do not eat meat. Â
I get home and my 3 cheese tamales were actually meat. Â I actually believe he did this on purpose. Â
The place was dead and I find it hard to believe he just made a "mistake!"
I can get better tamales from the freezer section at Trader Joe's.
So in Berwyn Elote carts are NOT ALLOWED to roam the town and feed us Elote cart goodness. So that being said no tamales. Â
I ended up buying their Groupon (yeah i know) because i LOVED the place before. They have such a variety of tamales, from mushroom, to spinach and of course the regular pork etc.
Try it out.
This place must be just a lunch joint because it closes at 7 p.m. every evening. Â And the place is empty too at 6 p.m. Â For a family of 8, 2 adults and 2 little kids, we figured 8 would be sufficient. But, greedy as we usually are, we ordered 14. Â 8 savory and 4 sweet. Â And we ate them ALL!! Â Of course, not so smart later, as they kind of expand fivefold in your belly. Â
But, they are good. Â I'll rank them in order of best to just ok:
mushroom--very very tasty
crab
both sweet ones-coconut/pineapple and strawberry/blueberry
pork
spinach
chicken - kind of dry
Did not have a chance to get the chicken tinga. Â I didn't even know about it. Â I should have read the reviews prior. Oh well. Â I guess I'll have to go back.
Ok, so I may have judged a little too fast. When I walked into this place it was dead. I walked in at 6:15, they closed at 7 that day. Only the girl at the cashier was all that was left in there. I decided that we shouldn't stay for dinner, thinking that because no one was in there it would be bad. So we ordered some tinga and tamales to go.
When I got home, the tinga wasn't all that but the tamales were very good! It was kind of disappointing that they ran out of crab tamales because I really wanted to try them. I got queso, pork and chicken tamales. I will make a trip back out to try the tamales when they're fresh.
The chicken tinga which was the first thing I got after reading reviews was  juicy and spicy.  Only problem I had though was that it wasn't filling.  You'll get a half-styrofoam container full of the stewed chicken + spices with some chips on the side for about $6.  Tamales run at around $2 per, and there's a few options of sides like the corn done mexican style with chili, mayo, and cheese.
Worth it? Â Kind of- the price is a bit on the high side for the portions you get for a fast-food joint but for anyone craving a tamale- worth checking out.
If you cannot tell what they primarily sell at this establishment, then you are not very bright. Â If you don't like tamales, maybe you don't want to come here, but they do sell a couple other things you may enjoy. Â Overall, I think they have a good variety of tamales that are tasty. Â They knock the price down a little bit for orders of half dozen and dozen tamales.
Review Source:tinga...Tinga..TINGA!! Â Love the tamales, but would marry the tinga. Â I love this place and have introduced many people to it - all who are now major fans (my 12 year old brother begs to go there). Â My mom, who said she didn't like tamales, found out she actually loves them...but only when they are well-made like at Tamale Hut. Â Plus the owner is super nice and helpful whenever I've stopped in and when I needed help catering a meeting.
Review Source:The only problem with this place is that the only food item they offer are tamales. Â Sure I guess you can have a cup of soup as well but its hard to bring friends with you if they don't like tamales. Â The tamales are fantastic though! Â Great home cooked flavor and a lot of different choices. Â A+ for quality
Review Source:There's no confusion in the name of this place -- they have a ton of different tamales to choose from. Â I agree with the other reviewer. Â I'm not sure why this place is always empty because the food is great! Â I've tried the chicken, pork, and spinach tamales and LOOOOVED them. Â My husband had the crab and chicken and agreed. Â They are extremely flavorful and fresh. Â Also the chicken tinga and corn on the cobb is great. Â I'm hungry just thinking about it. Â The service is fast and you can dine in or take it home. Â The price is reasonalbe also. Â We got 2 tamales each and shared a chicken tinga and were stuffed. Â We'll definitely be back. Â Hopefully people go here, I'd hate to see it close down.
Review Source:Terrific tamales here. Â As a native Texan, it can be hard to find good ones in the Chicago area. Â They have: Pork, Chicken, Cheese, Spinach, Broccoli, Crab, Mushroom, Sweet (Dulce) and Bean tamales at roughly just over $2 a piece or by the 1/2 dozen or dozen for a little less. Â I love that they open early enough (7:30) to get them for breakfast at a Buy 2 tamales get one free special. Â You can also get chorizo with egg in the morning. Â While I didn't get to sample it, they do have Albondigas which is a Mexican meatball soup that is really hard to find in the Chicagoland. Â The owner also let me sample the Chicken Tinga. Â It was really quite good. They have a nice variety of Mexican beverages and popsicles. Â Overall a very good experience and I'll be back for more.
Review Source:Quick and easy and very tasty. Nice local business, terrific food.
I'm a vegetarian and had a terrific lunch. Broccoli tamales were a nice enough surprise to see on the menu and man, were they good.
Owner was also super nice. He gave my boyfriend some of the chicken tinga to try with his tamales and it looked (and was reported as) delicious as well.
Tamale Hut is pretty much just that -- Tamales, and LOTS of them! Â I've tried a few and they were all solid. Â I'm from So Cal so I know what I'm talking about when I say these have more filling than standard, $5/dozen tamales, so while expensive, you're paying for a higher quality tamale.
I'm not a huge tamale fan to begin with, but what keeps me coming here is the CHICKEN TINGA. Â LOVE IT. Â Excellent flavor, just enough kick to not be too spicy, and good sized portion (half order is enough for me).
Inside is very clean, modern, and the owner displays a local photographer's work on the wall -- very cool. Â He is also a super sweet guy and honestly, every time I am there, whoever is working is just so nice.
Why 3 stars? Â Because tamales aren't really my thing and I'm a broke medical student. Â Otherwise, it's good, and for the area, there's not a whole lot else that is even close in quality!
It's crazy to me that it's always empty in there... so go support them if you want a solid lunch, but be prepared to drop about $2/tamale or $6-10 for the tinga.
Close to my house and work. Â Nice atmosphere and free Wi-Fi. Â To those that say you can get better on 26th street, that's nice but that would be a special trip not a quick, tasty and inexpensive option. Â Â Yes they're $2 a tamale, but they said 2 to fill and I agree. Â My bf and I got a half-dozen to split (they get cheaper the more you order), and I absolutely could not finish the 3rd one.
Review Source:On a whim, husband and I decided to stop by for lunch. What a great choice! Jose (the owner) has different types of tamales (chicken, spinach, crab, pork, beef, etc.). Â You can tamales by dozen or 1/2 dozen, just call first.
The tamales are fresh and moist. The corn is flavorful and can be served on the cob or off the cob. The chicken tinga was moist and came with sour cream and cheese on top, served over a bed of chips.
The food is filling, prices are reasonable, and we'll definitely be back!
I think this place is great! The food is super fresh and great quality! The lunch specials are so filling and you get a great variety of foods to try. I think I dreamt of chicken tinga for a week after my visit to the tamale hut cafe! Staff is friendly.
Also great - paletas year round! Real Coca-cola from Mexico!
Can you say Tamales with a Twist?? Â
Alright, so I agree with Grace....sort of. Â I grew up in Little Village and I can testify that you will find better tasting tamales at a cheaper price on 26th St. But can I just say that you will NEVER find spinach tamales on 26th St? I have concluded that this is why you're paying more than $2 per tamale. They're like "specialty tamales" LOL. The spinach tamale is what stood out for me and the tinga is also really good. Â A 1/2 order of the tinga is more than enough for 2 people.
I'd like to give props to the owners for being courageous enough to gamble with a place like this. He was telling me that they've been open for about 4 yrs now. Â That's pretty good considering the gamble, and the economy.
Although it seems like they don't get swarms of customers, probably ever, they had an interesting idea. Â
I will probably go back for the tinga or the spinach tamales. No rush.
Super friendly place. I've eaten here about 6 times in the last few weeks (I won't review the Loyola University Hospital cafeteria I've been avoiding ;-), and have been figuring out my favorites on the menu. I like the cheese tamale the most - I think it has pasilla pepper in it, great with the green sauce. The sweet corn, and chicken and pork tamales are also great, but then I've tried them all and have liked each one. The chili is a treat also. The corn on the side is overcooked, I'd skip that, and the flan is ok but just store bought. A couple tamales, side of chili, and a jarritos on the lunch special makes a very reasonable and filling lunch (and it's gluten-free as well!!!)
Review Source:We're going here?????????
This ran through my head as I followed my parent's car into the strip mall parking lot. My mom was itching to try it after one of her girlfriends raved about it.
We were fortunate it was empty when we arrived because we weren't quite sure what to do. Jaime, the owner, was patient and friendly, he helped steer us in the right direction. Jaime told us there was a "buy 2, get 1 free" tamale sale going on so here's what we got for $18:
2 spinach tamales
1 crab tamale
1 chicken tamale
1/2 order of tinga
2 egg/chorizo tacos
drinks
The tamales were fantastic. I rarely eat them since most aren't veggie friendly, but they had several options for vegetarians or pescatarians - crab, cheese, mushroom, broccoli or bean tamales. I had a spinach and a crab, both were quite tasty. I would've like to have tried cheese, but there weren't any ready when we got there. My parent's enjoyed theirs so much they decided to take a dozen home. As Jaime bagged the order he explained how long they're good in the fridge and the proper way to reheat them.
My dad was jazzed that he was able to get breakfast tacos even though we came after breakfast ended. I assume they were good, he cleaned his plate and I didn't hear any complaints.
My parents also split a 1/2 order of tinga, which they said was excellent. I'm glad Jaime told them it would feed 1-2 people because it was huge. Tinga is shredded chicken breast sauteed with chipotle sauce, onion, tomato, and pepper, served over tortilla chips, and topped with sour cream. We had never even heard of the dish before visiting the place.
Be forewarned the menu is almost exclusively tamales and tinga. They have several varieties of tamales including 2 different sweet ones.
Bottom line: The place is really cute, they even have live music on occasion. The location isn't optimal, but I think the tamales are worth coming back for.
I love their tamales! The owner is very nice, but the price! I guess you get what you pay for. The variety of tamales provide an option for everyone, but the price. Did I mention the price? Sorry, but I lived in Humboldt Park for a while and I know tamales should not cost that much.
I will return, but the location is less than ideal.
Wow- why all strikes and gutters on this place? I just had to check it out for myself, so I shared about a dozen tamales with a coworker. I had chicken (solid), cheese (excellent), bean (blah) and spinach (darn good. She also had the coconut (which she said was awesome). So what's the problem? For six tamales, which was a sufficient quantity for lunch, and tax, my tab came $13.80!!!! I mean WTF? Where I live tamales are six for five bucks, but more than two dollars each? Are you serious? Although they do offer bulk discounts, that only knocks about 20 cents off each tamale.
In sum, better than average tamales for sure, but you better be willing to pay for it. If  you are going to pay for it, I'd love to try the more adventurous tamales (if I had to do it all over again!!) including coconut and mole (apparently only available by special request and at the beginning of the month).
Yummy Tamales!!! Â Not your average "tamale from a cooler" tamales. If you want that, hang out at a bar and you can get them. Â These are more refined and better made than most tamales out there. Â If you want to try something made with love, these are it. Â My favorite are the pork and cheese tamales, just thinking about them makes me hungry. Â The only complaint I have is that there aren't more places like this in my neighborhood. Â Instead we have "Trash Tacos" and Picante, not a good choice for a tamale lover. Â If you're complaining about the price, than you should just stick to Taco Bell. Â These tamales are a step above.
Review Source:Growing up in Los Angeles, CA and being accustomed to eating authentic Mexican cuisine, including home made tamales for breakfast at least twice a week, I thought I would never find great tasting authentic tamales made from scratch here in the Chicagoland area until I found THC. Â These are the real deal made fresh from scratch daily. Â I believe the family's uncle Tony, 84 years old, has been making them for over 40 years using his family recipe. Â My favorites are the pork and chicken, but the other selections are terrific as well. Â If you think the tamales are out of this world just wait until you try the "Tinga"! Â
But if you prefer to eat the tamales from Jay's Beef or other hotdog and Italian Beef establishments you are truly missing out.
As the proprietor likes to emphasize, Tamale Hut isn't a taco place, they specialize in tamales. Â The menu is limited to a variety of tamales, frijoles rancheros, and drinks such as atole de guayaba and champurrado. Â Currently, they also have elotes, or Mexican-style corn on the cob. Â Their tamales are delicious (better filling-to-masa ratio than traditional tamales), so is their champurrado, and they have specials for breakfast (they open at 6:30), and lunch. Â They have coffee and tea available, Mexican and American pop in bottles and cans, and paletas (Mexican popsicles) for dessert. Â The dining area is spacious and comfortable, and the owners provide space for artists to display their work. Â The pendant lights above the counter are shaded by tall, narrow, blue Corralejo tequila bottles, very cute. Â They're located in a little strip mall, so parking's available.
Review Source:
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