Artesano Tamaleria

Delicious! Well priced and a variety of tamales for omnivores, carnivores, vegetarians and vegans.

Delicious tamales but very small. A bit pricey for the size.

Delicious and affordable lunch. Had mushroom tamale and cactus. Can’t speak for the meat versions but these were great and I think Vegan. A little hidden in a quiet block but worth going to. Also female owned so go support her!

Do you like eating old and dry tamales? Then come on down! This place is an absolute disgrace to Mexican culture, the fact that it has artisan in the name is completely laughable. If you want to enjoy a real tamale find a lady on the street, she’ll have them fresh and ready. Not dried out and days old like you will receive here.

I have forgot to rate this place many times. Softest lightest least fattening tamales around. Very clean and very delicious. I love the mushroom tamale the chicken and the beans tamales The cactus one is good too but not my favorite

I decided to order tamales this year, since my daughter is vegan I came across artesano and decided to give them a try. I ordered online, I payed and got a receipt that my tamales would be ready at 1:18 pm that day, went to pick them up later ( I was running errands) but to my surprise they didn't have my order, the workers gave me a song and dance about it was for the next day not today, ( in Spanish the worker told the other worker " I told you that was theres " not knowing I understood what they were saying, so I had to return the next morning ( Christmas eve) to collect my tamales and still no apology even with the receipt staring them in the face. Hot home for my family get together, I had ordered some regular tamales also ( which they packed along with the vegan tamales, ) we sorted them out as best we could and my daughter ended up with an allergic reaction to the only tamale she got to enjoy that night!

I order online from here quite often. Maybe too often lol. But that's how good it is! Im vegan and really appreciate that Artesano Tamaleria offers the cactus and mushroom tamales. I can eat them everyday! I literally just ordered some via ubereats and saw a missed call and voicemail. I just assumed it would be to let me know something may have been out but instead it was a kind message of gratitude for being one of their "best customers" and that my tamales were on the way. What a wonderful business and people to support. Next time im in downtown, i will def make note to stop by and eat here in person:)

Came across this place while walking around. Everything was delicious!

Best vegan tamales ever!! Every year my family makes our family recipe tamales for Christmas and I, being vegan, have over the years learned how to make vegan versions of such tamales. Years and years of trials and errors. But this year, due to unfortunate circumstances, my family was unable to make our tamales but I would never dare go without tamales for Christmas! So the week of Christmas, the night before I was headed into LA, I ordered vegan tamales from here. Very nervous but desperate. Not only were they extremely informative and easy to order from, but their kindness went above and beyond! Then I tasted them. Holy frickin cow. That masa.. I don't know how they made it that amazing without lard. It was magical! And their sauce was something to respect! And trust me, if you're iffy about the other versions and flavors, just do yourself a favor and get at LEAST one of each. You won't regret it! The flavors are perfect! Family tamales or not next year, I'm getting these for Christmas again. I'm impressed.

Artesano Tamaleria is a cute cafe that serves up artisanal tamales that you won't find elsewhere. It's right around the corner from Sonoratown, so if you find yourself in this neck of the woods, this place is fantastic for a snack. They have a really good lunch special - for under $10 bucks, you have your choice of 2 tamales, rice + beans, and soda. With all things considered, I thought this was a steal. I chose the cochinita pibil which is slow cooked pork - the tamale is wrapped in a banana leaf, so the masa itself has a different texture. It's a smoother, slicker bite. I liked it a lot especially with the hot sauce and pickled onions. For my second tamale, I chose the queso panel which is fresh panel cheese and red salsa. The texture of the cheese was hard and not at all melty. Combined with the masa, it made for an interestingly salty bite which I didn't mind at all. The real gem was the rice and beans which were both marinated to perfection - the beans had a nice kick to them and the rice was well seasoned. Artesano Tamaleria is definitely worth checking out if you're into tamales.

Super unassuming shop from the outside, but a delicious, affordable and easy brunch after our trip to the LA Flower Market, which is just down the street. We had 4 tamales, each a different flavor. I would say my favorite are either of the 2 pork options (pibil or regular pork), closely followed by the cheese + green pepper. We had chicken as well, but I wished there was a bit more flavor in it. Nonetheless, you can tell the tamales are well-made and cooked well, not mealy or crumbly like some can be. We also ordered the rice and beans on the side. The beans were a sleeper with a bit of a kick, so I thoroughly enjoyed them, especially paired with the tamales. All in all, the food was very satisfying without feeling overly oily or salty (aka unhealthy), which I appreciated. Lastly, we had a watermelon agua fresca which we were able to swap out our soda in our combo for. It was so refreshing, very delicious! I'd definitely go back if I was in the area. Looking forward to it!

The masa was excellent so I had high hopes, I really wished there was more filling in the chicken tamales. I was scraping & searching for the pollo shreds. The pork tamales were good, but I did prefer the chicken so I was a little disappointed there was barely any mix.

I showed up on a Thursday morning right as they were opening (sorry, I hate being that person) so I hungout in my car for a while. First thing I noticed as I walked in was the presentation. It was a very nice, clean, and welcoming environment. The guy behind the counter was quiet and let me think about what I wanted for the next 10 minutes. No pressure. Just how I enjoy my service. Easygoing. I asked him for some recommendations and he gave some great ones. All the tamales there are top notch. Worth the trip to a busy area of LA. I heard they are pretty busy for Christmas, as are all the other great tamale places. Great tamales, great environment, great service. I recommend and will definitely be back. Thanks!

We have been looking for a place that makes vegan tamales because we have two members of our family with special dietary needs. (Pancreatitis and IBS.) We found this spot through one of the food delivery services, tried them before today and thought "GREAT! These are not bad for vegan tamales so we found our spot for fresh vegan tamales." We arrive today to pick up the tamales and when I walk into the shop, they are on a table. I open the bag a bit when I get to the car and realize the damn tamales are freaking cold. 20 minutes later, we get home and we realize they messed up our order. There was only 2 chicken tamales, even-though we ordered 1 dozen chicken tamales. And some of the tamales were warm and other la were cold. It's like they mixed old and fresh tamales. I'm fuming. The reason for ordering from this place was because we can't feed the child with IBS reheated food. Won't be ordering from here again.

Very good tasting tamales, but for the price, the portions are tiny. I was hoping for a good sized tamale for $3.50 but these are literally 3-4 bites. In East Los I am used to paying around $2-2.50 each and double the size. The chicken was terrible. Very bland and very little chicken if any at all. The pork, cheese and pibil were yummy. While it is pretty good, I will not be returning. Much better value options in the local area.

I was in the neighborhood waiting for my scissors to be sharpen from the corner place and I saw this hidden place. I saw the 'A' in the window, I saw the good reviews here. Being Mexican and always looking for "better"tamales than MOMs. I usually only eat tamales the week of Christmas and New Years and then I'm tired of seeing them. Well let me tell you.. OMG!! I ordered for pick up and got 2 of each of Pork, chicken, Panela, and I forgot the name of the last one with the banana leaf. So good..Picky critic Mom said the masa was flavorful and well mixed. She did say the pork Chile was a little dark for her taste ( I LIKED IT). All of them that I ordered were every good. ALTHOUGH the chicken did need a bit more salsa inside. But they did give me more salsa on the side. I WILL BE RETURNING. THANK YOU

Tamales Alberto gets a whole lot of attention in LA, but after being disappointed by two of their three locations over the past few months I was pleased to see newcomer Artesano Tamaleria really fill the tamale space in and around DTLA. Star 1: How were the service and atmosphere? Let's just get it out of the way early - Artesano Tamaleria's location is still on the up and up, so it's, shall we say, gritty. It'll get better inevitably, but location certainly is not the selling point here. Inside however, it's exceptionally well done, and the service is great. Star. Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost? $3.25 each for tamales is a perfectly reasonable price point, and it's worth pointing out that these are on the larger side portion wise. Star. Stars 3 and 4: How was the food? You've got solid tamales here, and in my mind the one downfall was that their non vegan tamale selection easily outpaced those catering to us carnivores. Everything about these was good from the corn to the filling, but I would have just loved to see a fiery jalapeno and steak iteration or something of the like. Single Star. Star 5: Would you be excited to go back? Definitely. Star.

I'm extremely picky when it comes to tamales this place definitely exceeded my expectations! Great friendly staff, great tamales, great price! You can't beat it!

I'm not a tamale person but these were tasty! There's paid parking across the street, which is super convenient when in this part of town.

These tamales are the best I've had. The texture of the tamale itself is incredible. Really soft and fresh The flavors are very unique like cactus and they taste great. The prices are affordable especially for handmade tamales. I also really respect that they don't use lard. So great for the consumer!

My office ordered this yesterday for lunch. Great rating from all of us! The tamales were fresh, well priced, delicious, and the choices were excellent. We are already discussing when we will order from here again.

Pibil tamale was very good esp when adding the pink pickles Chipotle bean okay. Could taste the chipotle but was very subtle. Chicken tamale just tasted like chicken. Didn't have a lot flavor no had to use all the salsa on this one. Overall they were light and mild flavored If that's okay you'll like this place.

best tamales in Los Angeles. Been coming here since they opened. one of the best lunch specials in the area too. the atmosphere is tranquil and quiet the owner is a super sweet lady who is always a joy to talk too. we love artesano! I always order the pibil tamales , pork, chicken, pineapple or panela. thank you for always providing quality food at an affordable price

Let's get something straight here. These tamales are not the hard-core, lard-heavy tamales you get on the corner from a lady selling them out of an ice cooler or shopping cart. Don't get me wrong I have absolutely no problem with that. Some of my favorite tamales come from "the streets". I can't detect any lard in these tamales. Why is this even an issue you ask? Because lard=fat=flavor and from what I understand, adds moisture to a tamale. And of course, if you are like me who grew up on mom's or Abuelita's tamales, you know what I'm talking about. Dry tamales are "No bueno." The drawback to tamales made with lard is that they are very heavy as they rest in your gut and of course not-so-good for the ol' ticker. The tamale masa at Artesano has more of a light and fluffy texture. That light texture and the absence of lard leads to a lighter meal. I had three of them (Chipotle/bean, pork, and chicken). Yet, I didn't walk away feeling too full and weighed down. The flavors come through but are very mellow. Their two current salsas are not hot (by my standards) but they do have a nice flavor to them. My favorite tamale is the chicken, then the chipotle/bean, then pork. From what I was told, the chipotle/bean is one of the most popular thus far. The restaurant itself is very clean with a newly renovated interior. It's bright and white simple decor makes it a pleasant place to eat and chat with friends. The restaurant probably seats about 12-14 people. If you work nearby, it's a good place for lunch. I didn't see anything else on the menu but tamales, soft drinks, and agua frescas. I had the watermelon flavor (agua fresca) which was good. Vegans and vegetarians will be happy to hear that they have options for them. Currently, there are two tamale choices for vegans (cactus and mushroom) and four for vegetarians (cactus, mushroom, beans, and panela cheese). I'll be back for more in the future. I like this place. I like the people, the concept, and the location. It all works.

vegetarians rejoice. lard-free tamales! i had the chipotle frijoles (bean) tamal and the hongo (mushroom) tamal. both were super flavorful. they're on the smaller side, but they're filling because...they're tamales. they have a combo which is two tamales and an agua fresca for $7.50. they have meat, vegetarian, vegan and dessert tamales. the space is cute - clean and bright with succulents. the staff take pride in their product. i will definitely be back! i hope they add beans and rice to their menu though.

I love a good tamale and Artesano Tamaleria did not disappoint. There is fairly limited seating maybe 8-10 people can dine in but given how quickly one can eat them I can understand it. Jorge was very professional and answered a lot of my questions so kudos for that. I got the chicken, mushroom and chipotle bean tamale. My personal favorite would have to be the mushroom with chicken coming in at second. The mushroom was perfectly seasoned and when mixed with the moist masa just made for a good bite that left me craving for more. I would recommend this place for tamale lovers in a heart beat well done guys ^^

Great new food spot in DTLA! A hidden gem on Santee St in the fashion district. It is on the bottom floor of the Maxfield Loft building and not the best parking but if you can find street parking it's great. Employees are super friendly and welcoming. I think we ate there on the first day they opened because they were having some technical issues with the register but was totally ok :) Interior was nice and clean and decorated very minimalist. They had a wide variety of Tamales with vegetarian options as well. Tasty tamales and for a good price too. We both ordered a couple and ate them right away, that's how delicious! I don't eat tamales often but this place is worth another trip for. Recommend anyone looking for a new place to eat downtown and something with amazing taste.

Talk about bringing tamales to the next level. When it comes to Mexican food, tamales were not necessarily on top of the list for me until I started eating here. But once I tried the tamales from Artesano, I became a regular. My go-tos are the mushroom, beans, and chicken. They all have a lot of filling (as opposed to other places where it's mostly the corn maza with very little filling inside) and they taste delicious every time. Plus I get to try creative flavors of aqua Fresca every time I stop by (which is pretty much every few days). They also have options for vegans and vegetarians and all the tamales are gluten free and lard free. It's pretty much heaven for all tamale aficionados and for anyone who's looking for a delicious and healthy meal. I just found out they also do catering so I plan on ordering quite a bit for my work events as well as for the family Christmas dinner.

I love tamales but often can't get many because i don't eat meat. I had so many vegan and vegetarian choices at Artesano Tamaleria! I tried the mushroom, green chili and cheese, and the nopales tamales. They were each so different and so wonderful! The masa was the perfect consistency, not too heavy or dry, and the blend of spices in each one was just perfect. You can taste the care that is put into each of these wonderful tamales. We will definitely be back, this place was rad. Thank you!

This place serves up some pretty good tamales if you happen to run into it. They're new here and they definitely are interesting with their tamale variations in flavors. They even have some vegan options here as well. For $10 you can get three tamales and that will definitely fill you up. Another cool place to come check out when you're in the Fashion District

Came here to finally try some vegan tamales with tomo for breakfast. I got the chipotle bean, cactus and red jackfruit. My favorite was between the cactus and red jackfruit. The chipotle bean needed more beans. The salsas on the side are delicious to top off with. Everything was bomb, but I think they do have to cook just a tiny bit longer and they would be perfect. Decent sized tamales for about $3 and some change, not bad. Definitely coming back here for some more. They have a mushroom one too but I felt like I ordered a lot already. I'm sure it's just a delicious as the others.

Some of the best tamales I have ever had and the lady working was extremely sweet and took awesome covid protocols! Watermelon Aqua Fresca is a MUST! Can't wait to come back

Pibil, Chipotle Beans, and Panela Cheese!!! Definitely worth a visit if you are a Tamale fan and still hungry from Sonoratown around the corner!

Artesano Tamaleria has some of the best tamales that I have had...ever. I have eaten tamales from all over Los Angeles and throughout Mexico. Artesano Tamaleria uses incredibly fresh and tender masa to make exquisite and wide ranging tamales. During Pandemic 2020, they set-up an easy to use online ordering service and had food ready prompt and timely and well packaged. We ordered a dozen tamales, which for less than $35 were an incredible deal. The only tamale that I would perhaps not order again was the chicken, but only because the other ones were so much better. It was delicious but somewhat bland, which made it an excellent vehicle for the delicious red and green salsas that accompanied the tamales. In my humble opinion, the mushroom tamale was the best and need not be adorned with anything. The soft and almost creamy masa enveloped plentiful, minced and meaty mushrooms that were obviously of the best quality. All of the flavor with none of the meat. Similarly, the red jackfruit would stand up to the best pork tamales that I have had. It was a flavor explosion with a perfect amount of seasoning. The pibil tamale had a more mild flavor, but it had very good quality meat and was served with pickled red onions that were a nice zing with the richer meat based tamale. The nopales tamale was a little on the bland side and tended to fall apart, but the green salsa really livened it up and made it scrumptious. I love the panela cheese, because the firmer cheese gave a lot of texture to the tamale. Another great tamale for the salsa - or guacamole if you happened to have any (I made some). The green chile and cheese was also excellent and had a more melty quality to the cheese. The bean has a generous stream down the middle and a nice smokey heat in the background. This one probably has the creamiest texture because of the meld of the masa and the beans. These are some of the freshest tamales that I have seen in Los Angeles that are prepared with quality ingredients and ingenuity so they do not have to rely on lard or other unhealthy tricks. They are perfection. And, I expect that parking is usually challenging on this little street, but dropping by for a pick-up during Pandemic 2020 is a breeze!

Sorry I really wanted to like them especially after paying so much money for one of the big tamale platters. They are not very tasty. For the price I would have expected better.

Wow. The tamales here are so good. Right downstairs from my apartment, love that I can walk there when I'm craving Mexican food (which is almost all the time) the tamales hit the spot. Definitely recommend

We stopped by during lunch on a Thursday and tried almost all the tamales we could. It wasn't that busy and sadly the couple in front of us ordered the last cheese and peppers tamale (it would have been 30 min before a fresh batch would come out). We had the following (in order of preferance) pibil, chicken, mushroom, pork, panela cheese, and chipotle beans. The mushroom tamale was the most deliciously surprising as I've never had a tamale like it before. It's a must try if you like mushrooms. The pork in the pibil was flavorful and rich. The chicken was lightly flavored and moist, a couple of these for lunch would do the trick. The panela cheese didn't knock my socks off and I'm not a huge chipotle beans fan (but my boyfriend is and loved it). The establishment is impeccably clean and the opposite of what I expected a tamaleria (especially one downtown) to be like. Everything looked brand new and I think I heard that it's been open about 5 months. Parking seems like it could be a problem, we just paid to park in one of those lots and then wandered around downtown afterwards, however I think there's street parking in front of and around the place. Sidenote: the green salsa is fabulous. If I could, I would have taken a handful home in my pockets.

Every time we've come, there's always a wide selection of tamales to choose from. The woman in front is honest about which ones are spicy, because I am weak. The extra sauce is spicy, so my husband eats that, and I still enjoy the tamales dry. We have ordered almost the entire menu and have not been disappointed by any of our choices. Although we must highlight the Pibil (it's a bit spicy but the taste is worth it), and the vegan ones: mushroom, panela, cactus, pineapple. Our toddler also enjoys the tamales, especially the chicken one. If you want a fresh tamale, this place is it. All they do is sell tamales, so you know they've perfected their recipes.

I highly recommend this place the tamales here were amazing and in a city where you can't get a tamale after 10am this place is open till 6pm. Reminds me of home!

This spot is such a gem, kept hearing about it and finally got to try it. The tamales are amazing, made with just the right amount of masa. The filling is moist and full of flavor. They are not oily at all.....

I ordered some chicken tamales and they were bomb!!!! They were nice and moist, not too dry which is something difficult to perfect when making tamales. The green and red salsa are pretty yummy no too spicy at all. 3 tamales cost me $10.50 and a Mexican coke cost me $2.00. All pretty reasonable. I look forward to trying the vegan tamales too!

Clean, quaint authentic tamale spot hidden in the middle of downtown. Delicious and the woman at the counter is always so friendly. There's no language barrier either if you're worried about that. Love this place. It's down the street from me and I like stopping in and grabbing tamales to go.

I pre ordered and froze these uncooked for a family party. We had lots of different dietary restrictions, but were able to find several tamale options that made all of my guests happy. The favorites were the mushroom vegan tamales, green chilies and cheese, and chicken with salsa verde. Everyone liked the food so much that I am getting ready to reorder again for their next visit. Also, it was very easy to have them all heating up when my guests were here, and ready to serve in Crock Pots. That way I could spend time with everyone and not have to run around the kitchen like I usually do.

We had a great visit to Artesano Tamaleria. The staff was friendly and the tamales were unique and traditional. We had chicken, frijol,pineapple, and pork. They were all super tasty! The horchata was homemade and fresh. I would come here again.

Very flavor. Pobil tamales are awesome. Same with Pineapple. Very clean inside. Hipster tamale joint

Different concept of Mexican Tamales!!! Grate taste and texture! My fav one is Cactus Tamal!!! you should try this place... very cozy and welcoming and eat Vegan tamales as a light breakfast!

Great tamales. With a hipster style!!! A must try for anyone in DTLA looking for good grub.

The Mushroom tamales are soooooooo good. They're apparently and gluten free AND lard free (yes, even the meat tamales). Try their Pibil tamales and other meat items if that's your jam! Check out their site for the full menu! I had a good experience ordering through their site (plus it helps this local business.)

The masa is the tamale is really soft and moist. The agua fresca is just the right amount of sweet and the decor is very chic--the street seems run down so it is quite the oasis. It is worth going and the tamales hold up really well so it is also good to take home and microwave for later too.

I read a lot of good reviews on Artesano Tamaleria. I ordered 12 online of various fillings, pork, chicken, cheese. First, the good. The nice woman who answers the phone was patient and very helpful. They deliver to the Valley on Fridays, came on time, very courteous driver. Masa is really delicious. Green and red sauces even better. Now the bads, which is pretty much everything else. I don't know if they are just too busy and/or decided to make the most possible profit, but the fillings, all, we lacking in amount and flavor, and we were extremely disappointed overall. Ordering 12 of a variety cost $3.25 each (way overpriced for what we received), plus $10.00 delivery charge, plus tax, so each ran about $4.75 each. I'd gladly pay that amount for well-made tamales, but these fell very short. Miniscule amount of cheese, and only 2 of the 4 contained a tiny sliver of green pepper, chicken too little and absolutely bland, both porks better, but still deficient in amount. Sorry, but won't be ordering from here again.

Just around the corner from my favorite taco joint (Sonoratown) on 8th Strteet in DTLA is an amazing little tamaleria at 819 Santee Street called ARTESANO TAMALERIA!!!!! What a find....and there was NO waiting in line! The owner, Jorge sent me home with a complimentary tamale and I swear, it was the best tasting tamale I've ever had! No lard at this tamaleria! The tamales were so delicious, light and FRESH!!!! Give it a try! www.artesanotamaleria.com. Call in for carry out: 213-947-3140!!!!

I ordered online one day ahead. Then I pulled up in the restaurant's pickup loading zone right outside their door and popped my trunk open. I called them to let them know I had arrived and they came out (with masks and gloves) and put the food in the open trunk of my car. It was a very easy and socially-distanced process. We tried some of every vegan and vegetarian tamale they offer, both cheese options and the mushroom, cactus, bean, and jackfruit. It is really hard to choose the best, everyone LOVED these tamales! The staff was so helpful in advising me exactly how to heat up the tamales since I purchased them early in the day to be reheated for my family birthday dinner party that evening (they come wrapped in wax paper and you can use a steamer, oven, or microwave while introducing steam with a small pan of water sitting in the oven or wrapping in a wet towel in the microwave). They even called me back to make sure I didn't have any additional questions before they closed up for the day. That was so considerate. These tamales are the perfect takeout food to serve later because they turned out perfectly when reheated. Also, they label the tamales so that you know which is which when you get home (they write on the boxes and/or put stickers on the individually wrapped tamales). I will definitely be back to Artesano Tamaleria. It was well worth the drive from the Westside!

Best and light tamales in LA. With a variety of flavors you can go from classics Chile verde and cochinita (maya style seasoned pulled pork) to unique cactus tamal (my favorite) and explore the diversity of Mexican tamales.

Sadly, I don't understand the hype. Yes it's a gorgeous and sunny space in a dreary and seedy part of DTLA. Yes I love supporting home-grown small businesses in a city of restaurant empire goliaths. But the food still needs to be good. As the LA Times noted in their review, the texture of the masa is so crumbly and downright dry. The flavor of the fillings is not bad - the pork was flavorful, and I liked the cheese options. But for me the masa is where it's at in a tamale and it was so lacking. Maybe it was because I came at the end of the day and the tamales had been sitting in the steamer all day? Either way, it's a better bet walking a few blocks north to Sonoratown if you're in this part of DTLA and craving Mexican food.

Honestly the best Tamales you'll ever taste! You can tell the tamales are made with love! The tamales are evenly made with equal amount of masa and filing! Your getting your money's worth when you purchase your tamales! Try the cactus, chipotle beans, and chicken. They are all great, but those are my favorite

This place has amazing tamales. They are gourmet, and not your run-of-the-mill Mexican tamale. Their chicken and pork tamales are loaded with meat and the masa is moist and not too heavy ...you're not choking from the masa when you eat it, like other Mexican tamales. The best part is that they serve them with salsa- these delicious green and red salsas that add depth to the tamale experience. And the salsas are not spicy- they add moisture and a depth to the taste. Really this has been very well thought through by the owners. You can tell these are very high quality tamales. I order the 20 pack, because it's hard for me to get to them. I freeze some, and share some with extended family. I would highly recommend. Wish they had a more central location to suburbs of Los Angeles as I live in Pasadena and would prefer to pick them up more locally. But honestly, it's worth the drive into downtown.

Went in for a chicken tamale and it was delicious! I don't eat too much spicy and it was just right. The masa was very good and moist, it tasted fresh. The chicken with green sauce was very juicy as well. I look forward to trying more flavors :)