El Tambo Grill

El Tambo Grill is a very casual Peruvian cafe/takeout spot in west Kendall that serves traditional Peruvian fare. It’s probably most well known for its Peruvian roast chicken and it’s some of the best chicken that I have ever had. It’s moist, juicy and very flavorful. I have also tried their Tiradito and the presentation and taste were first rate. Where El Tambo Grill does fall short is on atmosphere and pricing. It is a bare bones place, that is probably more suitable for take-out than dining in, although you can certainly dine in. And the prices are about the same as more upscale Peruvian restaurants like Cvi.Che.105, Aromas del Peru and Pisco y Nazca. So, not a place where you go to impress someone, or for a date. But definitely somewhere to go for great Peruvian chicken and other Peruvian fare, if atmosphere and price are not your primary concern.

This has been one of my favorite places to eat Peruvian food at an affordable price. During the weekend, I was craving Peruvian food and decided to come here to pick up some. My go to entree is lomo saltado. This time I ordered it with arroz chaufa and it was very good. The lomo saltado was tender and juicy. It hit the spot. I also had the ceviche mixto and it was very good. It had a decent amount of seafood. The food did take a bit longer to be ready but it was fresh, so I did not mind waiting. The restaurant did a good job packing the sauces that come with each plate. The ambiance here is always good. I always enjoy eating here.

We always come for the ceviche de pescado and arroz chaufa de mariscos. The yuca is crispy and moist, definitely a must get. The portions of side is a bit skimpy, but the arroz is large and ceviche is standard. The workers are nice and despite a language barrier the service is pretty good. Food is not as good as previous years, but will leave you stuffed and satisfied. Outside, the speakers play a very high pitched bird sound that can be uncomfortable. Otherwise atmosphere is decent.

Nothing fancy to look at but the food was delicious! We ordered take out and only waited about 20min for the order to be prepared.

Peruvian food is great, always. However, the pricing is deceiving at this restaurant. Pricing can go up on a daily basis and unnecessarily. Inflation here is at its finest. You are also not allowed to place an order over the phone and pick up and pay with cash. They do this, to charge the credit card surcharge purposely, because trust me, Peruvian food is not going to be ordered for no reason (too good to not come through and pick up). Chicken sizes are small bird sizes, for pricing you expect a nice plumped chicken. As prices rise, the sizing of the food becomes smaller as well. I ordered a soup which would come in quart sized plastic containers, but now they changed to half the size containers at same price, claiming this has been always the size, which is a lie. Lastly, they have a newsletter subscription to stay "in the know" and get discounts/promotions or specials like for your birthday, and I have been enrolled 2-3 years, if not longer, and to this day, I have yet to receive at least a complimentary cup of ice. Since price is consistently changing, they do not display menu prices on their website nor do they have a menu available to take home because of course it would be an big expense to print menus since they are continuously changing pricing.

My aunts told me this was a great peruvian restaurant and seeing the long crowds, it seemed true but unfortunately it was only average in quality. They do have a great variety of items and pricing seemed fair but i have had better peruvian food in Miami (which i have also reviewed). Just like reviewing pizza with a basic cheese slice, i tried a common dish that most Peruvian restaurants served which is a simple “lomo saltado”. The steak should be well seasoned and stir fried but this place had their steak tips drowning in sauce like it was beef stew. The texture of the meat was also similar to beef stew so it seemed boiled instead of stir fried. Their seafood platter was delicious which is definitely better than any peruvian restaurants i have tried before so there are some inconsistencies in how food is prepared. This is my first time here so I don’t know if this is their usual quality or a personnel issue cause some restaurants leave their best chefs for the heavy dinner times. I might try this place again if in the area but I won’t seek it out.

We visited this Peruvian restaurant, and I must say, it was an extraordinary experience. The vibrant flavors of traditional Peruvian cuisine were expertly showcased in every dish. From the ceviche bursting with freshness to the tender and flavorful lomo saltado, the culinary journey was exceptional. The restaurant truly captures the essence of Peruvian culture through its delectable offerings.

We were served the wrong order and when it was addressed we were treated with unprofessional behavior and lack of accountability. Management was dismissive, gave no apology and showed poor organization. Instead of trying to improve the situation, the staff seemed indifferent, which left me and my husband feeling completely undervalued as customers.

Advertising fraud and bad customer service. Yelp page advertise the price of rotisserie Chicken for $12.97 and they charge you $24.49 when you order over the phone. Of course, cashier does not provide the charged amount over the phone. What a disgrace since their chicken is pretty good. I am to wonder how many people they have scammed and how is possible that yelp/grubhub allows it.

Cashier asked how I wanted my burger, I said well done, because you should always cook ground beef well to ensure you don't give your customers E. coli!!!!! Burger came out VERY undercooked. I ate half of it before I noticed. Completely unsafe and also not what I ordered. Mind you, this was not a cheap burger, $15 without a drink. Ended up paying $21 w/ drink and tip. The fries did not have salt either. The restaurant inside was clean and FOH staff was nice, but whats the point of asking me how I want the burger done if you don't cook it like that?!

As a Peruvian, this is my favorite restaurant to go to. I recommend it to everyone as well. There aren't any waiters. You order at the front and sit where you'd like. Tends to get really busy during the weekends. Fast moving restaurant and food comes about pretty quickly. I tend to get the same plates as they are my favorite. The chicken is the plate I tell everyone to try. Seems like an ordinary chicken, but the flavor is the best!! Decent amount of tables and chairs but could get packed. First come first serve on tables.

I LOVE El Tambo Grill! To kick things off, the food felt like a DREAM when i ate it. Better than food from a lot of restaurants ive been to hands down. The service is great. It was clean and the girls and boys bathrooms are very clean. The food was SO quick to come! It took like 3 minutes for the food to come. I dont know how but it was still good and warm (just like i said from the beginning.) I would come to this place if you are really hungry. Magnificent. 5 stars.

This was the 2nd time I give this place another try, and I was pleasantly disappointed again. My arroz chifa smelled rancid. El arroz chifa tenia un olor rancio.

los cuartos de pollo parecen palomas de lo peq que son y cuando le reclamas, el mismo dueño te dice que si no te gusta te devuelven tu dinero... parece que se olvidó de tomar clases de servicio al cliente...

Best ceviche I've had in a while. So fresh and tasty! The service is excellent. The waiters are very attentive, and will bring anything out quickly. The owner even stopped by my table to ask how everything was. Will definitely be coming back!

Mala experiencia! Muy decepcionada!!! Llevamos años visitando este lugar. Ha bajado muchisimo la calidad del servicio y de la comida. Los empleados y Manager poco capacitados, cuando nos quejamos, no tuvieron tacto o manejo de la situation. el Manager callado y los meseros respondiendo sin amabilidad o empatia. Incluso alegaron que no los pagaban lo suficiente. La comida tambien ha bajado mucho en calidad y cobran por todo y ademas no te llevan el servicio a la mesa.

I love their chicken on the grill. Polo a la brasa is delicious. Passion fruit juice is delicious. Definitely my favorite spot. Highly recommend.

Our favorite Peruvian food spot - no nonsense place, possibly underrated buy looking at the sheer number of people coming in and lining up to order tells you this is a keeper! favorites: ceviche and chupe de camarón. order a side of papa a la huancaina soda and you got yourself a great dinner that never ever disappoints. ceviche is always fresh (we have ordered this 4x and the quality is always excellent). chuleta de camarón is so hearty - the creamy goodness of the soup balances well with the fresh shrimp/fish. remember to order this when cold weather sets in. it makes you feel safe, warm and nourished. papa a la huancaina hits the spot on simplicity and flavor. the sauce is sensational. the menu is extensive and would be good to come back a few more times to enjoy the other dishes. bring friends and family to share the food around. ambience: subdued lighting but great music complements the energy of the place. the servers people that serve here are efficient and attentive. we like the background music and wall decor (colorful art). my wife wants to celebrate her birthday here - she thinks the food and great atmosphere are perfect for a small party. **pro tip: order small portions of multiple dishes to try.

I really like the food from this place but I have to comment that they have gone to an extreme being absolutely ridiculous with their sauces. I purchased an order of beans and their signature potatoes (boiled) with their huaincaina sauce. The attendant packaged my food and I asked him for picante (spicy green sauce) they make. Normally I don't have to ask for it, but today the attendant told me I hade to pay for a half ounce cup of green spicy sauce. WTF is that. I find this totally ridiculous. When you go to any restaurant, hot sauce and spicy sauces are usually provided when requested at no additional cost. I will probably never go there again! Plus these 2 items were super expensive. Paid over $10 for the boiled potatoes (which are not even an entire potatoes! And for a cup and a half of beans, almost $5. What is this world coming to???

The Food is good. The Staff is nice. The Place is kept relatively clean. Prices are about average.

I come here at least once a week for lunch and sometimes for dinner. The food is good. I've always enjoyed their chicken and fish. Ive never had a bad experience with their food. However their service has been a little out of hand as of late. First please prepare yourself to fight for the sauces that they owe you. With the chicken meals you usually get 2 sauces. Once they forgot to give them to me and I went up to the counter to ask for the missing sauces and they acted like I was a liar and that they gave them the sauces. I had to ask the guy to come from behind the counter and walk him over to my table for him to witness his mistake. They treat their sauces like gold and don't want to hand them out to anyone without paying for them. They truly are ridiculous about it. Second when ordering a to go order, any order over $15 you have to give them your credit card information over the phone. To me I think that is one of the most unsecured ways to handle your customers orders. As if we aren't going to pick up your order after. Everything there is over $15 so that's basically every order you have to give whoever it is that is taking your order your credit card info. If it's going to be a rule at least make it for big orders not for every meal. Finally this is a noisy restaurant with obnoxious music. They always have it blaring to the point that you can't even have conversations with the people you go with. If the food wasn't that good I definitely wouldn't go. They definitely need to think of their customers more and management has to reconsider some of their ridiculous rules.

My friend Luis introduced me to this spot and now my mom and I are hooked! Their lunch specials are a must. The portions are big and it comes with a drink. My go to are the Jalea mixta, arroz con pollo, ceviche, and the chupe! All of it delicious! And super fast service.

My friend had never had seafood chaufa so I stopped and bought two large ones one for him to take home and one for me to take home to the family I called him the next day to apologize cause mine was horrible. I had to throw it away and apparently he was embarrassed. He told me that his he didn't want to tell me, but it happened the same thing the rice was gooey wet no flavor at all I will never come back to this place. I do not recommend this place to anybody. Good way to throw 59 bucks down trash.

It's Mother's Day and I ordered my mother dinner here. I just got my delivery order which was missing an item and they blamed the delivery driver. Once I received the item almost an hour later I was missing the sauce that came with it , like a .50 cent sauce was hard to add. The manager was absolutely unhelpful and told me all they can do is give me a credit for the missing sauce. I've been working in hospitality for over 10 years and I've never heard of such terrible customer service.

I truly have no idea how this place is rated at a three... By far the best rotisserie chicken I have ever had Not just a Miami! Everything from the price to the flavor in the additional two sides you can't beat it! So if you take anything from this post it's that whole rotisserie chicken The end. FYI make sure you get the salad dressing for dipping!

Ceviche was good and a good portion. The beef on the Lomo Salteado was overcooked and dried, small portion.

Very disappointed service from the manager . He had me waiting for more than 5 minutes to place my order because he could not take it ... I had to wait for another employee while standing in front of him instead of taking one minute to take it . He did not even bother to call someone to be faster . The place was not even busy at the time of my visit . I was the only one in line .

food was delicious and the amount was great! i ordered the chaufa rice with chicken and it had a nice little kick of spicy

Efficiency is at a 0 in this place. Don't come here unless you have 45-60 minutes to wait for your food. I'm serious. We went on a Sunday. My mother decided it would be a good idea to call while we were on the way there prior to arriving. We called at 3:01pm, so our order was placed around 3:05pm really. We got there at 3:20ish sat down, gave them until 3:30 for us to go up and ask for our order. It wasn't ready. Ok... meanwhile there is just a hoard of people by the registers. This is the type of place that you don't get a server to your table. You order the food at the front and get a table and wait. 3:40 rolls by and we are getting impatient and hungry. My mother goes up a second time and the food is still not ready. By the way, we ordered a Jalea with a side of rice, side of beans, side of fries. 3:50 and they call our name to give us the sides. When I tell you the fries were cold and soggy. They were disgusting. The container was completely wet inside. See pic. I can't make this up. It wasn't until 4:10pm that the jalea came out and my mother said it was bland and unseasoned. She must've stood up 4-5 times to check if the food was ready. Music was obnoxiously loud.... I wouldn't come here ever again unfortunately. To end on a positive note, My rice and beans were good. Little salty but good and they do have plexiglass dividers between tables and outdoor seating.

Please STOP asking for tips on the final bill when you already added 18% on the original bill. Customers beware that on the final bill ( after you paid) the restaurant highlights in yellow the tip line for you to leave more tips. If you do7pay attention to the bill you're basically leaving 36% percent tip. Tambo please stop doing this fraudulent practice.

I used to love this place but the food is not the same it's no the same taste or the cook is new . The chicken had like feathers and the fries were soggy

We live close to Tambo Grill and have ordered food several times, however after too many disappointments with this establishments we have decided enough is enough. They have the worst customer services I have ever seen in Miami. This past week we ordered the following dishes to pick up, the pollo (chicken) a la brasa with French fries, seafood chifa, and a fish ceviche. Once the employee took the order he advised that he needed our credit card as a guarantee that we will pick up the food, and promised the credit card will not be charge until we pick up the food. After we provided the credit card information we went to pick our order, however when we arrived the employee told us they couldn't complete our order because the credit card was declined. I became furious and I told them why did you lie and say you won't charge the card and then do it anyway. He was not sorry for the mistake nor misleading, he just replied that it's not his problem. If it wasn't for the time and our hunger I would of walked away, but we decided to cave in one last time. I like mentioned we ordered the chicken with French fries, overall it ok a little better then KFC but not the best tasting chicken neither. The French fries are good but they put zero salt, for me the perfect batch of fries need at least a touch of salt. The fish ceviche is good and the portions are satisfying. The best dish here is the seafood chifa, with good chunks of calamari, shrimp, and mussels. Unfortunately, I will not tolerate the bad services for a few good dishes.

I've been coming to this place for a long while, before so many Peruvian restaurants pop up all over Miami. Every time I checked in, I was like, how come the rating is so low?? Granted, it's not the best Peruvian in Miami, but for the price to quality ratio, it's pretty good. Especially if you go with one of their specials. They also have a rather extensive menu. We enjoy their jalea mixto, rotisserie chicken, chupa de camarones... the only one I don't care for is the aji de gallina - too much potato and too little chicken with a sauce that's too thick. I've never had bad service, the staff is always nice and patient enough to explain the menu. The only issue is, since you order at the counter like a fast casual restaurant, you expect your food to come out quick. But it doesn't. In fact, because they do so much take out business, I'd say the wait can at times be longer than at normal sit down restaurants. Especially as there's no free munchies and appetizers do not come ahead of main dishes, it makes the wait feels torturously long. If you are not braced for the wait, you may want to go elsewhere.

An elder lady was with her granddaughter that could not be more than 2 years old. The little girl was crying and the grand mother dropped her soda and the manager told the elder lady she had to pay for another soda. This man has zero empathy and is a disgrace to this world. I was not the one affected by this, it happened to the lady in-front of me. Never eating here again. That man deserves to be fired. He literally told that lady "oh well buy another one" in spanish.

Delicious local spot. Not fancy just good food great for takeout and family outings. Literally been my go to place for roasted chicken

Beware!!!! False advertising on their menu!!! They say it's has not been updated since 2015. Prices are $5-6 more than what is priced on the menu. The wait is for ever long ... they can care less if to wait!!

I've been here a few times. I was quickly reminded why not to come back. the service is horrendous. We had to repeat our order to the girl who was taking the order. My Patience was quickly tested when the girl was trying to figure out a credit card error from another order then proceed to take a phone call and orders on the phone to then come back to my order. in short we will never return to this place or recommend this place. wait time for the food is also horrendous.

My auntie suggested this spot because she's a fan of their chicken and rice. I am one who loves Peruvian food so I was sold on trying it. I really enjoyed their ceviche mixto, it was mildly spicy just how I asked and the seafood was fresh. I also enjoyed their rice (arroz chaufa). I wasn't too crazy about their chicken and the green sauce that is a signature with Peruvian food wasn't my fav either. They have it set up so you're sort of your own waiter. You're expected to order the food at the counter and pick it up to bring to the table. At the end of your meal staff comes to pick up the dishes and tidy the table. Can't say I'm a big fan of the set up but I left sated. Definitely gets the job done

Went to have lunch with my best friend. We ordered the ceviche with fish and shrimp, unfortunately when receiving the ceviche it was old and extremely fishy, tasted horrible!! The shrimp were dirty and not cleaned properly still full of veins, we asked to speak with the manager and when speaking with the manager he advised us that he could not provide a refund for the plate OR change the plate for something else. Terrible service, will never come back!

Every time I come I get charged %8 in taxes. I have called the manager but he denied it, he's name is Garcia. I was suppost to pay $0.75 in taxes but they charged me $0.85 instead. I know is a small amount but it adds up at the end of the day. Just a heads up.

It's a great place for peruvian food. We go every week, the food quality is great the price is good compare with other peruvian restaurant. Highly recommended.

I've been coming here for years and I don't think this place has changed much. I haven't been here in a while because I'm plant based now and don't eat chicken, but my mom wanted to buy some to take to some family members. I ate the fries, yuca fries and some of my mom's Leche de Tigre without the fish chunks, just the juice with the onions and cancha, and like always delish. The chicha is pretty good also, and my mom got the Maracuya drink, which I thought was a little too sweet. But if you like Peruvian food, you should definitely check this place out.

Food, service and the environment is great. That's pretty much it. The place is lowkey a great place to eat at.

Best chicken in Kendall ever since I can remember. This place has been around for YEARS! And it's still so delicious

If you're looking for some good Peruvian food, at a decent price, this is the place to go to! Not all Peruvian restaurants have rotisserie chicken so I'd recommend trying that out if you havent before. The jalea is really good here too! (Fried seafood medley). Great place to come with a bunch of friends, family, or even a date if you want to introduce her/him to some food she's/he's never had before. Peruvian has never steered me wrong haha All in all this place is pretty fast with the orders, you can also request carry out and they'll prep the food up without you being there. There are multiple of this "tambo grill" and they're all great. Personally, since there is no waiter system, I'd like it if the cashier had some more of a service vibe instead solely taking my order. What if I'm not familiar with peruvian food? First time? I'm not sure if anybody has ever felt this way here but everytime I go here, asking for recommendations doesn't usually workout the way I expect like if it was a normal restaurant with a waiter. Other than that small detail, this is place is solid and doing it right.

WORSE SERVICE!!!! Keep coming to this place because the the food is really good but there no concept to try satisfy the customer, especially and the absolute worst is the manager CARLOS who clearly HATES his job because he's always mistreating, ignoring and making rude comments.

Um. This place left me in shock. But I'll still try to be objective somewhat. This has place has two locations so I'll be sticking to the one by Kendall 117st. To start it not highly decorated it's just a straight to the point kind of restaurant. You order at the cashier and then pick up when the number is called. There are dividers between each table for COVID precautions. I can't say much about the food because I didn't get to try any. So here's the reason for my one star. The menu was a little overwhelming and confusing for me. I just knew my wife wanted arroz chaufa and wanted to get a combo meal that had that. I saw one that said chicken and this rice so I ordered it. I payed and went to the table with my wife to wait it out. While we were watching we noticed two things. First, the receipt displayed a completely different price than what my card was actually charged. Second, the order was for a full chicken. When we saw how big it was we knew there was no way we would eat it all. So when I got called up I saw the chicken wasn't ready so I told them if we could get half a chicken instead. Mind you, I didn't ask for a refund or anything. I just wanted less chicken. Somehow it became a big commotion that I didn't want the whole chicken. They said I had to do it at the register and kept explaining to me it couldn't be done to take the chicken. I told them no because frankly we wouldn't eat it later on so I didn't want to waste food. As I'm explaining this one worker goes to the register and brings back the manager Pedro. Pedro didn't ask what was wrong or anything just said we can't do it. To which my wife responded that she didn't want the whole chicken and since the chicken wasn't even out of the oven yet that it shouldn't be a problem. Pedro then proceeded to tell us we had to stop playing games and wasting his time for no reason. I'm sorry Pedro isn't handling customers the whole point of your job? I've been in the service industry for 12 years and I have never seen someone behave so condescending over something that would have even made them more money. Still, Pedro goes to the register and tells the lady to charge us another 1/2 chicken over what we payed for. That's when my wife immediately said you know what just give me my money back. He continues to tell us we are basically being children and that we can't go on wasting their time. The whole time I was quiet because I couldn't process this level of unprofessionalism. We got our refund receipt and as we were leaving he basically was cursing us out from behind the counter. By the amount of one star reviews I can tell the owner doesn't care. So I'll say this to the customer who reads it and thinks about it. Just don't. They really are rude and will charge your card wrong. If you want good Peruvian food go to El Chalan. 15 minutes away WAY better service and food. Save yourself the headache of having to write a review like this one. Good day

This place is fantastic as far as their rotisserie chicken goes. It's really juicy and moist. The churrasquito was way too over cooked but the seasoning was in point. If you get there before 3:00 you get some great deals. When we were there it was crowded and when we left people were waiting for tables and coming in for pickup. So glad we finally tried it. I'll go back again

If I could give this place 0 stars I would. I went to have lunch with my family and we ordered 2 lomo saltados along with some other items. We only got 1 lomo saltado and they told us that the other one was coming out shortly. We waited for over 45 minutes while checking in frequently and still being told it was coming out soon. My entire family ate and we were still waiting for the other lomo saltado to come out. We soon realized that they had given our lomo saltado to the people that were sitting next to us. Food kept coming out of the kitchen and still no lomo saltado. The entire restaurant was now full and everyone was eating except me. I approached the manager and told her about the situation. She apologized and told me that there was nothing they could do and we had to wait for it. Needless to say, i asked for a refund and they were still giving us the run around. I even spoke to the owner and nothing was done. The customer service in the place is terrible. They're so quick to charge you but don't compensate when they do something wrong. I will definitely be taking my business elsewhere.

The restaurant is a good Peruvian one and offer variety of perciban dishes with reasonable price. It's always busy so if you do not want to stay waiting in the line just order it on phone and pick it up.

They sell the best chicken, their chicken it's 5 stars They lose points with the service being slow. And with the diminishing quality of other plates they sell. Like the Jalea Mixta, it used to be one of the best in the area but now it's mostly calamari, they only put like 2-3 shrimps a couple of pieces of fish and 10000 calamaris. They should raise their prices instead of decreasing the quality Update: service it's worse everyday. If I find another restaurant that sells good chicken I'm not returning. Had an issue with Liliana the manager, she was extremely rude, her boss was there and I asked to talk to the boss and she refused to call her. Sad that they allow a rude person to mistreat customers that have been coming for years

Awesome good, awesome and efficient service! Been coming here for years. It's gotten better with age!

I visited this tambo grill on Sunday around dinner time, it was packed as it usually is but that's a good sign. I was ordering my food to go and asked for some recommendations the cashier was kind and patient and named a few of his favs. but I stuck to my usual which is El pollo a la brasa y Lomito Saltado. I waited like 15 mins to get my food, the staff kept apologizing for it taking so long but honestly for the type of food I thought they got it to me rather quickly. Both dishes were delicious as usual and fresh and hot! They gave us the perfect amount of sauces for our food as well which is included in the meal! If you go anywhere else you get changed 2-3$ for the yellow and picante sauce. I highly recommend this restaurant! Im not sure why they have so many bad reviews as my experiences in El tambo grill have been excellent!

Rotisserie chicken 8s very good with yellow sauce and salad dressing...I order.shrimos gumbo. .reasonable price still a lot even the small order. Service is good more like fast food restaurant.

Food is good but poor service. They will charge you extra for a piece of lemon or an extra dipping sauce. Just ridiculous... Won't be visiting again

Tener mucho cuidado cobra lo que quieren. Los empleados se equivocan en tomar la orden e igual le toca a uno pagar. Se habla con el manager y resuelve nada por que justifica la negligencia y trampa de los empleados. Son unos estafadores. Ademas cobran el credit card fee Ladrones!!!!!!!

The ceviche mixto was very good. I ordered my food and I had it ready to pick up in 20 minutes. People were very friendly from the beginning. The only small downfall is the parking. It's a small shopping center across from BJ's.