When a friend turns you down to grab a bite here, you can't help but feel sorry for them when you're basking in the glow of Tamale Heaven all by yourself with 3 tamales for $5.
I mean, who can beat that! One for dinner, one for lunch the next day and then an afternoon snack. A small family can feast on this incredible deal, especially since the tamales are the size of mini burritos.
TIP: The place is open until 7 so call ahead to see what varieties are left before you stop by.
Had a beef; jalapeño and cheese; and chicken mole tamale. All moist, flavorful and delicious. A nice variety to choose from and they will steam the tamales fresh once you order.
Why get a venti latte at Starbucks when you can have 3 tamales for $5?
I admire how the husband and wife team take much pride in their food and their customers.
OK so I saw all the five star reviews and had to stop here and try the Tamales myself.  well I cant disagree more on these tamales to me they were  far from the best in the city. If you are looking for the best I can recommend many others that are well worth it.  The size is not what turned me off but the flavoring of the tamales. Someone had already made the comment that the Jalapeno and Cheese remind them of nachos I couldn't agree more on this and even then I still enjoy nachos more then these tamales. Yes they are hot and yes they are fresh but that does not take care of the flavor on them.  Tamale guy you have nothing to worry about with this place.  If you are looking for something to compare this place to and are willing to take the trip you have to go to Chilo Y Chela Tamales at 4213 W North Ave They are also a restaurants specializing in just Tamales no Tacos there. I will guarantee you will change your mind once you try some really good tamales from there.  I also like one of the street vendors on Sacramento and Fullerton but you have to get to her before 8 AM as she sells out every morning her tamales are tasty and also spicy.
Review Source:I love me some tamales. I will try a tamale anywhere on my lifelong quest for the perfect tamale. I tried many here. Some came close, but there are inconsistencies in proportions that left me wanting. If all were like the green chili pork, overflowing with moist, flavorful and plentiful filling, I'd give them 5 stars. That was the one I tried in house and it compelled me to take home other flavors like red pork with cactus, ground beef chili (like bowl of chili, not chili peppers), chicken mole and others to share with the hubs. However, I would not order the ground beef one again, and sort of knew it was a risk when ordering. Give me shredded anything and I'm there. But this one was nothing special, and the mole was delicious but again inconsistent with ratio of masa to filling. Several of these were way too thick masa, albeit full of flavor and moist. I HATE a dry tamale and none of these were dry, I'm happy to report. I would definitely go back and order more, particularly the pork varieties. The flavors were delicious, the price point can't be beat and the family of employees were lovely- I'm especially talking about you, young Luis (hope I'm remembering your name right). He was the nicest young man and talkative and let me sample some fillings. I even told him they should raise prices (sorry Yelpers, but they are underpriced for the size, quality and being so labor intensive). Make no mistake, even with the inconsistencies, I'd still come back while in the area (or if i special ordered), and take the chance cuz they hit the mark on so many levels. I've tried nothing else here, so you are on your own there, but I'm really sorry I missed out on some of the beverages. Next time. :)
Review Source:Craving tamales and since I was too far from Chilo y Chela thought I'd stop by here. Tamales is larger than Chilo's and they have day to day specials like pineapple or sweet cheese but I thought it was a bit salty.
I tried the chicken with red sauce (not spicy), cheese & jalapeno and pork with green sauce (a bit spicy). It filled me up...I was hungry maybe it was a bad batch. Will try again and hopefully it's not too salty.
Just like everybody else says these are the best tamales.
I tried the cheese w/ jalapeno, ground beef with beans, and chicken in red sauce. The masa tastes great. You can tell they put a lot of lard in it because it's not dry at all. My favorite has to be the cheese one. The chicken with the red sauce could use some heat. I'm used to spicy tamales.
3 tamales for $5. That's enough for lunch & dinner!
Best tamales in the city period. I have been in search of the best tamales in the city that rival what I used to have when I lived in Mexico and now I have found them. Garibay offers straight up traditional tamales. Nothing fancy no special toppings, no cheese on top, no mole drenched on them, just great tasting tamales. The number one thing that makes a tamale is the masa and how moist that masa is then the quality of the ingredients and these tamales have it in spades. I had the squash and cheese tamale and the red pork tamale, both were fantastic. The tamale was moist and warm and they were very big. The pork tamale has very tasty pork with a red sauce. They are so big I barely ate two and the great thing about them is only paid 5 buck for both. Do yourself a favor and go here and get some tamales forget about all those overpriced fancy restaurant tamales these are the REAL deal.
Review Source:I love tamales, so I was hyped when I found this place. I've only had 3 of the flavors so far, but I"ve been delighted with all of them. The masa is moist and the fillings are yummy. Also can't beat the price of $1.75 per. My favorite part so far has been the youngsters who work the counter. They've both sold me on different flavors that I wasn't going to try initially, and I'm not an easy sale when it comes to food. I always appreciate good customer service, especially at food establishments. Can't wait to try more from this place.
Review Source:Others here have mentioned the size of these tamales. Yes. except for the corn husk wrapping, you could easily mistaken them for burritos because of their large size (about 3 x 1inch in cross section, and 4 inches long). That's a lot of food for one (if you go for the 3 for $5 deal). But the variety of fillings will tempt you to go for that. I enjoyed the chicken with red mole (one bite had a small bone in it) and the pork with nopales cactus (which is similar to cooked green pepper).
Review Source:Glad that this place openned up so close to my work! Â Will add it to the list! Â Since when can you get a delicios lunch for $4 and be totally full? Â Thank you, Tamales Garibay!
Got the chicken mole and the zuchini cheese tamales for lunch today - both excellent and huge! Â Â Chicken was just a little too dry, but such excellent flavor! Â Cannot wait to come back and try the others! Â
Very quick service for tamales, since they have them all steaming in front of you. Â Easy parking. Â What more do you need out of life?
Tamales Garibay is a success story! Â I paid Alicia, the owner, a visit after watching Steve Dolinsky, the Hungry Hound, review her establishment. Â Since March, I have been going back every payday. Â The tamales are 100% authentic. Tamales in many Mexican restaurants, I've noticed, are dry and flavorless, but not here! Â These are homemade, flavorful, moist, and tender. Â I loved the tamales dulces. Â In Mexico, tamal recipes are not only savory. Â Many tamales are made with interesting fruit flavors, such as strawberry and pineapple. Â Here, the sweet tamales are flavored with strawberries and the taste is absolutely amazing! Â I also liked the calabasa (zucchini) with authentic, Mexican cheese. Â Wow! Â How tasty. Â
Alicia also makes a delicious, refreshing limonada, made with cucumbers and lime. Â In Mexico, it is common to flavor water this way. Â I have never tasted any beverage this refreshing. Â It really hit the spot and quenched my thirst!
Tamales Garibay will make special-order tamales for those who have food allergies. Â Her mole sauce is made with almonds and chocolate, two ingredients that are common allergens. Â Alicia and her staff have been educated on the effects of food allergies and they are most gracious in providing a pleasant dining experience.
My fiancee and I stumbled upon this neighborhood gem on a Monday, after finding a couple other restaurants dark.
We stuck with the tamales, ordering the pork verde, chicken red, and the calavasa (squash) with cheese. The tamales were huge, well-stuffed, and the masa was moist and delicious. Each tamal was good, but the calavasa tamales were GREAT - so delicious and unique. We were there right before closing, and bought out the remaining 4 calavasa tamales for breakfast and lunch today.
The price is great for the amount of food you get; we will definitely be going back.
AWESOME tamales!! They're like mini-pillows!! Excellent tasting as well and cheap. Nice place to grab a cheap bite to eat. They have other things on the menu too. Will have to sample another time. Having been Mexican by marriage (was) for many years, I have been exposed to a LOT of authentic Mexican cuisine. These are the REAL deal!
Review Source:Great Tamales! They are huge!! so figure ordering one Garibay tamale for two typical sized tamales. So far, we've sampled the Squash (actually zucchini), Ground Meat, & Mole tamales. For veggie folks, the Squash ones are decent. I was hoping for more of a sweet squash taste, but they were definitely more on the zucchini/cheese savory end. My husband had the Ground Beef ones that seemed to have black beans as well and he loved them! My favorite so far is the Mole/Chicken tamal. I'm a bit of a mole elitist, and I think this is one of my favorite mole sauces around!
Seating there is limited to 13 unless you want to sit in a high chair (3). Not sure what they were thinking to paint the trim in grape purple. Definitely a take out place, unless you're in need of a quick bite to eat for lunch or an early dinner (they close at 7:00). They now have delivery as well! We'll definitely be going back for more and maybe ordering some for parties.
I pretty much go to Tamale Garibay like every day, so idk if that makes my opinion bias or if that just means their food is delicious. So I suppose I'll start with Alicia, Â the owner. Alicia is a good super sweet lady who got her tamale recipes handed down through the generations of her family.
Tamales: I'm a HUGE fan of the tamale Verde (pork w/green sauce). Usually I'll get it for breakfast and have them prepare it "Garibay style", which is with refried beans, sour cream, and crumbled cheese (usually I'll get mine sans beans). Then the cheese tamale with jalapeño is like the BEST, but I get heart burn so I'll pull the jalapeño out. There is just something about the cheese tamale's mesa that is like soooooo buttery and delicious.
Food: Steak Torta and smother it with Verde sauce, and you'll thank me later. The burritos are a little chinsey but burritos, in general, are more of an American thing than authentic. Oh and I really like the tacos there, either steak or chorizo with cilantro and onion, and lime and verde sauce on the side.
The idea to start up a tamale restaurant deserves 5 stars! Â But i am not going to review the on the idea but in the execution of the tamales. Â So here it goes:
Tried four tamales and was blown away with the taste of each one. Â Chicken, pork, queso, and pecan tamale were all executed very well. Â Only thing is that the masa was a little dry for my taste.
Cant beat it for the price and i see myself frequenting this place very often!
I had a delicious, filling, and inexpensive lunch here. What more could you want? The tamales were big, moist, and flavorful. The steak taco had high-quality meat and a freshly grilled taste. The place is small and clean, and the owner and her family are gracious and friendly. Â We will be back!
Review Source:This is the real deal. I can't believe someone complained about the price. Two of these babies were enough to fill me up. I can tell that this lady is on a mission and she takes her work seriously. Sure she might run out of some kinds (there are more than just three on any given day), but that's because she makes them fresh and doesn't let her supply linger for days on end. Can't say the same about other places or guys with coolers. If you don't like the ambience, take them home!
Review Source:We heard all the rave about this tamale spot. Here's what we experienced.
As you walk in it seems like a "hole-in-a-wall" spot, without much seating, the place isn't very neat, and there's random posters of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe on the ceiling. They have three varieties of tamales (beef, pork and chicken). Sometimes they run out out of your favorite kind. =[
I got a steak torta- such a usual Mexican restaurant staple item, yet this was different. The flavors were so authentic and refreshing- lots of fresh onion, cilantro and lime juice. Fantastic.
The tamales were actually good too- but not what I expected. Kind of expensive too- I think it was 3 for $5?
Sorry nope can't do! I hope people don't get offended this is how I feel and how it went down for me... I paid 14 bucks!!!
This place is clean dont get me wrong but the worst I ever had!!
First wrong I got ''Mendo" from a tamal place which i should've known was wrong. Â When they took the menudo from a little warmer!
I told the guy to go ahead and give me 3 tamales so I can try them...ehh
I live around the corner I got home and my menudo was not even warm no meat  but alot of bay leaves....So i dig in for the tamales they look very plump but all dough no meat (not a good tamal its hould have  50/50 to where u see the meat thru masa)... rajas con queso (reminded me of nachos you get at the movies..ughh), a jalapeño and weird cheese taste and they rest history...
I might give it a shot since once you get dissapointed at one thing evrything goes down hiil
Tamale Guy, you have some serious competition....
This place is awesome and a great addition to the neighborhood!
I have gone to Tamales Garibay twice now. Â I have only tried the tamales but I would like to try their other offerings as well. Â The first time I bought all 3 types: rojo, verde and cheese and jalapeno. Â This time I just had the verde. Â Both times it has been consistently fresh and tasty. Â The green and red salsa's that are given are the perfect complement to the tamales. Â I have met the owner, Alicia Romero, both times and she is friendly and knowledgeable. Â
I will definitely be back!
There is no better tamales on Chicago's north side than from this gem with the PURPLE exterior at the southeast  corner of Kedzie and Byron (one block south of Irving Park Rd.) where Alicia Romero makes the most out of this world tamales. Of course they have red and green but my favorite are the jalepeno and cheese. Nom-Nom-Nom-Nom!!!! Did I mention they are huge? They are! One is 1.75 and three for five bucks. Heaven on the cheap. Delicious. They also serve gigantic breakfasts for six bucks. They also have chilaquiles that are wonderful and the best enchiladas and mole I've ever had and I eat more Mexican food than any gringo on the north side.  The tacos, burritos and quesadillas will make you see what you're missing elsewhere. They also have fresh fruit for dessert. Check this place out. It's like sitting down for a meal in Tia's cocina and you can't miss it because its PURPLE!!!
Review Source:I've enjoyed many a tamale from a street vendor digging my food out of a plastic cooler. And I've always assumed this was as fresh a tamale as I would ever experience. Oh how wrong I've been.
At this new little place with a crazy purple exterior after ordering your tamales (green, red or jalapeno and cheese) they pull them directly from a boiling cauldron. Talk about fresh! The green sauce is both  a little citrus and a little spicy. The red is rich and smoky.
The tamales cost $5 for 3 but are huge. I tried one of each and all were great. They also have standard tacos/ burritos and the burrito I had was fine. But the tamales were boo-ya!
It's family run, down the street and fresh like a drunk boy with a popped collar and inappropriately high self esteem based on Axe body spray and a credit card payed by a family member under the impression he's taking his education seriously. And unlike the previously described douche bag, this place is worth your time.
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