Good Golly Tamale

Every time my daughter goes to Knoxville, she comes back with frozen tamales from this place. Even when I prepared them from home, they were great, but I finally got to go to the actual restaurant and have their tamales, and OMG. What a difference! They were delicious and the best tamales I've ever had. They're made fresh with little wait time. The salsa's and all the sides are made in-house and pair perfectly. They ran out of the fermented cabbage and greens...those are on my list for next time. I highly recommend the poblano queso and the chicken tinga. The restaurant is located in Old City, which has the coolest vibe and other places I'm dying to visit. I'm about an hour and a half from Knoxville, but I will happily make the drive again and again for these tamales. What a gem!

I pre-ordered Good Golly Tamale for our Día de Muertos celebration. Upon arrival I was greeted warmly by the staff. My tamales were served up hot and steamy, and they gave me directions for bringing them home and enjoying them like they were fresh from the steamer. The atmosphere is super laid back, and dining in seems like a fun idea for the future. You can also take pre-packaged frozen tamales home for another day. No matter how you want your tamales, you can have them from Good Golly!

Tamales were very satisfying, tasty! Portions were very good Space was cozy and raw Wish the water glasses were larger think they were 8oz? Service was pretty slow and many people that came in after us(party of 2 ordered 4 tamales) got their food before we did. I would go here again. It was pretty good good and different than the norm. Overall 4*

Delicious tamales, they are open later now until 9pm. But it is kind of until they run out, when we got there at 7pm they had a limited menu, not a problem, just something to know. It is counter service.

My very favorite Knoxville eatery. The environment here is friendly, the food comes quick, and the tamales themselves are lovely. Great place to bring a friend for a quick hour-long chat, and you can't go wrong with the menu.

Hands down the best tamales I’ve ever had - that’s including a stint down in Texas in Austin. Have yet to have anything that comes close. When friends or family visit Knoxville, this is the first place I recommend. Get the Chicken Tinga paired with the Calabacitas and thank me later. Real Knoxville gem.

Fantastic spot! Everything is delicious- my faves are the Classic and the Vegan Soul. I recommend ordering the Full House option from the menu and pairing with their great drink selection. Also great to order a big variety of tamales for your next party or meeting.

GGT is a downtown delight. These folks aren't afraid to lean in to the flavor. We have been getting their frozen tamales to gift to friends/family around the holidays for years now. Everyone is always delighted to get them.

The best tamales I've had outside of Cali and New Mexico. Absolutely delicious! I especially like the vegan option. Service was excellent - great suggestions, quick food, ability to buy more to take home. Ambiance is serene and chill. I love their simple utensils set-up and clean-up. High quality, straight-forward, no nonsense great food!

Highly recommend. Bean and Cheese! Soooo good! Liked the Vegan Soul too. Kind and SUPER fast service. Cozy atmosphere. Cute neighborhood. Free parking under the bridge.

Employees were super kind and lovely and the tamale I had was the best I think I've ever had. Happy that they had Topo Chico too. The pretty plants and decor were also nice.

What a wonderful find...thanks to Yelp. Friends and searched a bit online and reviews for this place we're pretty good. It's street parking or use of the public pay lot down the street. If you use the public lot, pay up at the machine right away as they someone that goes around verifying that parked vehicles have paid. You can extend your parking by paying online. Now this place isn't anything fancy inside, but it works. One whole side is actually their refrigerated storage. You order at a walk up counter, but they bring your order to you. The staff we interacted with were all pretty nice. On this visit I tried the Chicken Tinga tamale (their best seller) and a Chorizo tamale, and a can of beer. There's a combo plate (comes with beans and rice) but they said it's filling and most just order two tamales a la carte or a single combo. I went a la carte. Now it took extra time for the Chorizo tamale. Chorizo is one of my favorite items and I'd never had a tamale like this before. So they served me the Chicken Tinga tamale first. It was pretty big and hot. The masa was alone had a good taste but as a whole with their salsa, this tamale was definitely better than expected. I actually thought that just one tamale a la carte would have been enough for me. But after a few minutes, the Chorizo tamale arrived. It too was very tasty. Paired with a beer out of the cooler, these tamales hit the spot! If you're a tamale fan, I recommend you give this place a try. Based on the numerous pick up orders I saw going out the door, I think the locals must agree.

Vegan soul tamale was rich with sweet potatoes and black eye peas. Pico was fresh and added just the right hint of spice. Great selection of beers, kombucha, and cider!

One of my go-to spots in town. LOVE all of the vegetarian tamales. The fall special butternut squash tamale is incredible - we buy them in bulk and keep in our freezer!

Well, it came highly recommended, but I'm not joining the fans unfortunately. Foremost, the young lady manning the order/pay counter clearly would prefer to have a different job :-/ and had minimal words and no smiles. Tamales were just okay. Needed more seasoning/flavor. I was glad to see the tamales were filled end to end . I ordered the Traditional (this one was a C-) and the Poblano Cheese (a solid B). If you wander through Asheville NC, visit the Tamaleria on Patton Ave - super casual hole-in-the-wall with great tamales.

Very cute place. You order at the counter, grab utensils, hot sauce and water, sit down and they will bring you food to the table. Service was very friendly and the food came out quickly. I got two vegan tamales: Calabacitas and Vegan Soul and both of them were delicious. Very good ratio of dough and filling and perfectly seasoned. I didn't even use much salsa that comes with them they had so much flavor. Husband got Curry Chicken and Chorizo and he liked them a lot too and he normally hates tamales! That really says a lot about the flavor and taste of these tamales. We also got a side of Curtido and it was good but nothing to write home about. Overall, were good meal!

I was told about this place at the Nourish Market. I'm from Cali so I definitely know authentic tamales, so I didn't have high expectations for a any sort of Mexican food in Tennessee. The vibe is kind of a hippie vibe when you walk in. In my head I thought, oh no is this a vegan joint. I ordered a queso Poblano and a classic. The masa is a different texture than normal tamales. Normal tamales are kind of compacted/dense. But here was more loose/fluffy. I didn't care much for the classic; was ok. Weird that there was ground beef in a tamale. But the queso pablano...... Aaaaaaaamazing! It had such a good flavor, I wanted to get more but I was already full. Ive already told 3 people to check this place out. $12.13 4 stars they had a different texture than the regular tamales that are usually compacted cornmeal. The queso poblano was amazing. The beef one was OK. I was kind of surprised to see ground beef in a tamale

Ridiculously good tamales. So good I immediately ordered a second round to go just after finishing my plate.

I love tamales! I was very excited to see a tamale restaurant in town! Located in downtown Knox, the location is perfect. Easy to stop in on a day when you're exploring the city! Has a very California, laid back ambiance that I enjoyed. One thing I really appreciated was the vegetarian and vegan options! Overall, I didn't care for the food. I requested a pork tamale, but the lady working said they didn't have any prepared that day. She said I could grab a frozen (or refrigerated) one and take it home to prepare, but I decided to go with something else. I chose a beef tamale and a queso and poblano tamale. The beef inside was not what I expected at all, which could have been my misunderstanding. I expected ground beef and if not ground beef then maybe diced steak, but what I received was such an odd shape, texture, and taste. It was more along the lines of chewy mini hot dog shaped beef. Thankfully I had ordered a poblano and queso tamale as well, it was flavorful, but again, not my favorite tamale. The rice and beans had an odd flavor as well. I'm not sure if it's a seasoning they use when cooking that I don't like, or if I went on an off day. The lady working the counter was very nice and helpful in explaining things since it was my first time there. I wanted to love this place, but something about the food fell flat. I really want to give them another try and I'll be sure to update my experience when I do! :)

I was so thrilled to find this place in Old Town Knoxville. Not only do I love good tamales, but I love the name of this place. My daughter and I didn't experiment very much during our visit, but had 2 classic tamales, a side of curtido, and a side of spanish rice. The sides were big enough for us to share, and they were good and fresh tasting. The curtido was a new dish to us, but after the first bite we decided we liked it. The masa on the tamales was so good and so authentic tasting. Have made my own tamales, I know what good masa is, and this fit the bill. The service was efficient, and the ambiance was interestingly eclectic. 2 tamales and 2 sides were around $20. Reasonable for these days. We left happy.

We drive 30 minutes just to eat there. They make probably the best tamales in Tennessee. They're always extremely friendly and get our food out within a few minutes. The vibe is very green and they're always playing enjoyable music.

The food is so good here that I would eat it today, Tamale, and even the day after. Oh, those beans, the human beans working here really know how to cook those beans. And the rice is so nice that I ordered it twice. The ricey is very nicey and not too spicey. But the star of my plate was that poblado cheese tamale, delicious. Nothing cheezy about that, Tamale. It was a genu-wine, mighty fine, Tamale. So for about 12 dollar this lunch made me hollar. I have a hunch that I'll be back here soon for lunch.

Excellent wholesome classic tamales, with new age spin. Tiny spot in old city, parking is a challenge, but dash in, pick up, get home and get WOWED.

Tamales are pretty great. Their collards taste like Bragg's amino/soy sauce and the curtido was chewy. Not a biggie on the sides being meh, but a shorter girl in glasses who worked there wanted to read me the riot act over the size of takeout containers. Super weird and off putting. Just felt like a projection of their day/whatever, and I'm not really here for it when I'm just trying to grab my lunch and go about my day w ease and not weird/unnecessary extra friction.

The bar for good tamales is high for this Texan, and frankly, I didn't know if Knoxville could deliver. But my reservations were thrown out the window on my recent order from Good Golly. Featuring an array of authentic flavors, including a number of killer vegetarian options, this spot does it right. We stopped in for a to-go order on our recent visit to Knoxville before leaving town, and I'm so glad we did. She went with the black bean and cheese, whereas I had the queso and poblano. Both were delicious and steamy, with the most tender sweet masa, served alongside a fresh red salsa. From the freezer case, we picked up a couple bags of their tamales calabacitas to hold us over until our next visit. I can't wait to visit and raid their freezer again soon for a taste of home all the way in the heart of Appalachia.

Had Vegan bean tamale. Tasty if a kitty it dry. Sides of black beans and rice, both good and plenty full. Would recommend.

I don't know how I ever drove through Knoxville and missed this, but I was glad I found it. It's in a stretch of what looks like the old part of town, with limited and paid parking, but notably free parking nearby under the bridge. When I dropped in, they were doing takeout only, despite having some nice looking seats set up in a pretty open store. I don't know enough about the policy environment around here to comment further, and this stuff all changes by the day anyway. There are some (but by no means all) vegetarian and vegan tamales. The website suggested a number of specials, but I saw no evidence of these on actually visiting the store. In any case, I was happy enough to try the basic vegetarian one (pepper and cheese) as well as a "vegan soul" which contained some sweet potatoes, black-eyed peas, and greens. It was a very American flavor combo, and very much "of the South". The included salsa was delicious. Signage indicates that their vegetarian tamales are rendered with vegetable oil, and they did seem a tad oily to me, but not enough to make me not want to eat them.

I tried the Vegan Soul on recommendation of the cashier. It was soooo good. The blue corn tamale is a first for me! The filling was flavorful and reminiscent of our favorite Deep South flavor.

Service + food + drinks + vibes = excellent dinner experience. Best place we've stopped in Tennessee :D

Absolutely love this place!! Great food and really nice people :) get there early, they sell out fast!!

This place is legit! The masa is soooooo moist. Each tamale is wrapped perfectly. Thin layer of masa, generous, flavorful meat. Best thing is that they sell frozen Tamales so you can take home. I've had tamale in Ca, TX, AZ, NM this is one of the best. Top 2 best tamales I've had! The restaurant smells like grandma's kitchen. The decorations and the plants makes the place so inviting. Service was great and many selection for non alcoholic and alcoholic drink. Stop by and try! You won't be disappointed.

In Old Town Knox around lunchtime and stumbled into Good Golly Tamale. Long line. Small menu. Big on flavor. Choose your tamale. Select your side. Pick drink out of cooler. And enjoy. We had the veggie pot pie, pork, and beef tamale. Pork and veggie pot pie were amazing. Beef was okay but a tad bit dry. Sides we had were rice, collard greens, and black beans. Beans and greens dynamite. Rice dry so would skip that and fill up on others. Place is small but adorable and the area is super fun. Make a stop for some great food soon!

Great vibe and ambiance! The food was fantastic and every option is gluten free. They have tons of drink choices and even vegetarian options. The service was also great!

Probably the best tamales you could have. Great atmosphere and terrific customer service. Will be coming back again and again.

Super deli tamales! Stopped here to pick up dinner while on a road trip south with my sister. I called ahead to place the order and get clarity on the menu (some items are listed under special/seasonal on the website). This spot is a fantastic option for groups with different diets (vegan, vegetarian, meat eaters). We ordered 2 vegan soul, 2 calabacitas, 1 queso poblano tamales and two sides - black soup beans and spanish style rice. Everything was sooooo good! Even the salsa on the side was splendid. We also got a kombucha upon arriving - they have a nice drink selection. There is free parking under the bridge (Old City Lot). The location seems nice and I love the interior decor - nice atmosphere, quiet, open for indoor dining, self serve water. I would definitely return here if I find myself in Knoxville again.

We lucked out in the parking but could see where it can be tricky. Sweet staff helped out with questions. The homemade salsa was wonderful to contrast with the flavor of the tamale. I got the chicken, chorizo and beef. Chicken was my favorite. They have two vegan offerings as well. The chorizo was spicy! But delicious. Lots of unusual offerings for drinks. No ice available. Highly recommended! And get the beans and cabbage side! Delicious!

Good golly, this place is total Yums!!! My sister and I stopped in for a bite after getting more wonderful haircuts over at Lox and I'm very pleasantly surprised!! Visiting from Miami I (apparently) passed up the tamales last time I was in town as we usually have them in plentiful amounts lol!! This time however, I have been lacking in my tamale game and, jumped at the chance to get in some good tamales!! Boy oh boy!! I couldn't be happier with that decision as this place makes AMAZE tamales!!!!!! My sister and I split 2, queso pablano and ... I don't remember the other but we had it on a platter and MAN it was a VERY healthy portioning of food and we couldn't even finish!! The pickled cabbage is AWESOMEMMMEEEEE - the pricing is fantastic, the product tastes fresh and it's a nice quick in and out or a long and linger if you prefer. The atmosphere is very adorable as well as casual comfortable as well. A definite must go to when I'm Knoxville!!

Really sweet character filled spot. We tried one of each available today for 4 adults to taste test. My favorites were the chicken curry, chorizo, chicken tinga, classic beef, and queso poblano. We weren't as big of fans of the seasonings in the lamb (I think this was fennel? I love fresh fennel but I don't know something about the flavor combo wasn't my jam) or calabacitas (must love oregano). I need to come back for curtido! So many of the seasonal flavors sound like perfection too so it looks like I'm going to need to frequent this place.

PLANT BASED TAMALE(S)!! They had 2 flavors of tamales today, YAY! The Vegan Soul and the calabacitas, would recommend both. Don't miss the curtido.

Looks are deceiving here - looks like hole in the wall hippie weirdness, but tamales were so good! Even the vegan tamales were delicious. Such unique options that Ive never seen offered in a tamal before. Like blue corn, how beautiful! And who would have guessed a side of collard greens would be so delicious?? Only thing I wouldn't recommend is the rice, we didn't care for that. Too many onions in it I think.

We happened upon this place while passing through Knoxville during lunch, and we've been talking/thinking about it ever since. Really incredible little gem with delicious food and beautiful ambiance. The tamales are amazing and I remember the beans also being really flavorful. We are planning a trip down South in a few months and I'm trying to figure out how we can plan to drive through Knoxville again...

They are ok. I'm not a soy-boy with a man bun, so some of the flavors aren't for me. They offer variety and are open during the day unlike many of the restaurants nearby.

Good Golly Tamale is sooooo Good oh so Tamale good. Choose your Tamale Select your side and get busy.

Great tamales not gonna lie, but it's pretty pricy, and honestly there's probably at least two or three Mexican places you could go to in town that would make you a tamale just as good if not better for cheaper. The old city is always good and always fun to hang out in, but it comes with that extra cost as I said!

The food is incredible and so reasonably priced. My favorite is the Chicken Tinga, and I love their salsa. I highly recommend and have brought numerous friends and family to try!

Well during uncertain times there are very few places in downtown Knoxville that are open but this one is true gem! When you walk in immediately your senses are invited with the spicy aroma that fills the air in the cute bohemian setting just welcoming you in. I have to admit I am not a big tamale eater it is not something I would normally go out of my way to get but during these times I want to support a locally owned business and I thought what better time to give them a try. There were kind and friendly and has about 5 selections on the menu today! I had the chicken and new pork cracklings. Man! Was I amazed at how fresh and how good and oh man the flavor was jumping ! I really want to thank you all for still servicing the community during the CV-19 pandemic and applaud you for great service ! Thank you for being here

DELICIOUS! I am gluten and dairy free, had Soo many options. Calabacitas was my favorite.

I love love love Good Golly Tamale! This is a great spot to dine in, the decor is unique and comfortable. As far as the tamales go, I haven't had one I didn't like! My favorite is the chicken curry and the butternut squash. On my last visit, I got the "full house" and was so tasty! With a tamale, beans, rice, and curtido. If you are a Coke or Pepsi lover, you won't find your drink here! BUT, they have a lot of great substitutes- beer, root beer, sparking water, and kombucha.

Good Golly that's a damn good tamale. I got the vegan soul, the veggie pot pie and the other vegetarian tamale that I forgot the name of cause I ate it so fast. 10/10 recommend.

If you haven't been here, you need to go! The food is simply amazing. All fresh ingredients prepared by the kindest souls. While you're there, grab a few for the freezer, you will not be disappointed. Jani

Tamales are one of my favorite foods so I had pretty high expectations. I'm used to the regular sized tamales where I eat 4-5, but these are double sized. I ordered two and a side of rice. Ended up having to save my rice for later. For being large, they were still perfectly cooked and weren't dried out. Pepper/poblano & cheese remains my go-to tamale, but their vegan would tamale was great as well. Probably one of the only places you can get black eyed peas, collards, and sweet potato in a tamale. If I'm ever in Knoxville again I would definitely come back.

I visited this awesome place when I first discovered Knoxville. Lovin the location, vibe, people, THE STAFF!!, and the tamales. They have quite an incredible selection of tamales; Vegan and non-Vegan. Also, their selections for craft beer, Kombucha, and other beverages fills up a few floor-to-ceiling coolers. Then I moved here permanently and came back to remember: YOU CAN BUY FROZEN TAMALES TO TAKE HOME FOR LATER!!! Just another wonderful fact about GOOD GOLLY TAMALE! Plenty of parking nearby (especially the HUGE lot under the freeway). The whole area is also a HAPPENING SCENE. But! Most important: THE TAMALES just ROCK!

Good Golly Tamale is right! These were absolutely delightful! We tried the Chicken Tinga, Chicken Curry, and Queso Poblano, and were super happy with all of them. The flavors were on point! They are also quite large, so one was plenty enough for us to eat. We even grabbed a couple of frozen ones to try at home later. The only thing I wasn't bonkers about was the banana pudding. It wasn't awful, just not my taste.

These tamales are the real deal! We are from California where there are all sorts of tamales and we're super impressed with the flavor and how moist the masa was. We would definitely recommend this place!

The tamales, rice, and beans were incredible. They all had a wonderful smokey flavor. We enjoyed some Mexican sodas and local kombucha. Such a great atmosphere with quick and friendly service. The fact that it is a dedicated, gluten free facility was the icing on the cake - so nice for my daughter with celiac disease to order anything she wanted. We will be back!

Really amazing Tamales and sides! Completely GF kitchen, and all sides are vegan. And the banana pudding. Let me just say it's unique and heavenly!

Very good tamales and ingredients are healthy. We make our own and these are very comparable. The staff is friendly and helpful with suggestions