Old El Paso Tamales

This is the place you go if you want poor customer service, inconsistent food quality, and a menu where the items you actually want are probably not available. The seating is cheap, the soda machine looks like it hasn’t been updated in years, the flooring is worn out, and the tamale prices are the highest in Mesa, all decisions that start with the owner. That’s the wild part, the owner who has kids sets these prices and lets all these issues slide, while running a family business in a neighborhood where the average family is just trying to afford a dozen tamales for their kids. It’s not right. If you want to charge Scottsdale prices, then go open up shop in Scottsdale, Downtown Chandler, Downtown Tempe, Downtown Phoenix, or Glendale, places where that price tag actually matches the area. I make two times the average salary in the United States, and even I look at these prices and shake my head. This is the exact type of business I dont support. Supporting local spots is important to me, but price and value matter, especially in this neighborhood. When your product, service, and atmosphere don’t match the cost, that’s on ownership, period. If you want better tamales, better service, better pricing, and an actual neighborhood friendly vibe, go to Susie’s. Cheaper tamales, better food, better atmosphere, and you get chips and salsa.

Probably one of the best tamales I’ve ever had. Make sure you come early cause they do sell out quick and there is a line to get in.

If these are the best tamales in town, then I feel sorry for everyone living in this neighborhood. I’m for Texas and our tamales are PACKED with flavor. These lack flavor, the cheese in the chicken ones is practically gummy. Green salsa was good, sweet corn tamale okay and the pork was COMPLETELY season less. No taste at all, definitely NOT worth their prices. Atomsphere - just take it to go Service - slight language barrier between myself and cashier

The tamales were delicious! Unfortunately, they were out of pork as well as chicken and bean tamales for the next few days, so we had to adjust our order for six people. Despite that, everything we tried was great, and I’ll definitely be returning — the food is worth it!

Best tamales in Mesa. Give this place try. You won't be sorry. They have a good selection of 10/10 delicious tamales. My favorite was the shredded beef tamale.

Excellent food! Even something as simple as a bean burrito is so delicious from this restaurant. Their tamales are authentic and amazing. I highly recommend those as well!

Friendly service and in my opinion they make the best tamales! The pork and beef have wonderful flavor and are just a little bit spicy, perfect for my "can't handle spicy food" mouth! The meat is shredded and cooked to perfection! The portion size is perfect with plenty of meat, not small with hardly any meat like some restaurants. The sweet tamale is cream cheese and corn. The spicy hot tamales (for me anyway) are cheese with green chilies and the other is chicken. I'll be back often to get my tamale fix!

Oh my gosh!! Great tasting tamales similar like grandma made. My family is from Chihuahua so I can relate to the style cooking. Jennifer greeted you with a smile, recommenced what to order and served the food. I tried green Chile chicken, corn, red chile beef, green Chile with cheese, and sweet tamales. The owner came out and engaged in a conversation with me. Very nice place!! Highly recommend visiting Old El Paso Tamales!!

No need to wait for Christmas, they have tamales all year! Anytime I'm craving Tamales, this is where I go to! The tamales are my favorite! They are so moist, fresh and really filling! You can get half a dozen for $18 or they are $3.50 each. Today we ordered 6 chicken and 6 beef. The beef is my favorite because of the flavor and juiciness of the meat. The masa is made to perfection as well. If you ask they also have a mouthwatering green salsa which is so tasty! The restaurant is hidden in mesa, but there is a ton of parking. The restaurant has tables inside and has movies on which is kinda cute! its a nice atmosphere, it feels like you're eating tamales at home with family. The staff is always so friendly and helpful! We ended up getting a half dozen today and the beef was so tasty we ordered another 2!

I don't care how good your food is, you also pay for an experience when your exchanging your money for food. I will not go back here again, they mess up my order every-time i go here and they don't speak english and they don't want to fix it when you call them out because they don't understand english. It is a chore for tamales that are borderline good. Save your money and go to carolina's, garcia's or even ponchos in south phoenix. Don't wast your time here. Also the gal taking your order is rude.

If you are looking for some really good tamales then look no further and come here! I have tried the chicken ones, beef ones, and corn and they have all been really good. At times they will sell out so all selections might not be available if you arrive later in the day. The plaza its located in might seem a bit sketch at certain times of the day but nothing bad has ever happened to me. They have tables inside and you can order to go. I have only dealt with the gentleman that works there and he has always been friendly. I definitely recommend!

La señora que me atendió traía una jetota horrible desde que me empezó a ayudar, y luego ya llegando a casa me di cuenta que me dio los tamales mal, que no pedi. Muy mal experiencia y tamales ni tan siquiera buenos para su precio If you want mid, overpriced tamales and horrible customer service this is the place to go!

Someone at work brought these tamales in to share. These tamales are legit! The masa was soft and fluffy, and there was plenty of tender meat inside. We had the shredded red chile beef and it made for a tasty lunch. I'd definitely go here to order tamales from here if I had a craving.

to continue my review, I realized now that I was charged $36.89 for one dozen pork tamales! Menu says $1.75 each for pork tamales. See attached photo of the menu. Should've been around $22-$24 for its tax So now I was over charged and received poor service from the young female with glasses!!

I really like their tamales! I ordered their red chile pork and green chile and cheese tamales. The flavor of the red chile was good and if you get it while it's hot- the masa is soft. It will harden the more its kept in the fridge. The green chile cheese was good also, I do wish it had a little more filling but the taste was good. It can be challenging to find good tamales but this place has a great selection. I do have to warn, the prices can be pretty steep. Tamales go for practically $3 each. The store looked like it sold other items but when I went in, they said they no longer are selling their food plates and now it's mostly just tamales. I have heard this place does sell out and there is a big demand. Overall the tamales were really good and I didn't mind buying a dozen as that lasted me a while.

la verdad llevaba años comprando tamales en este local,pero ya han bajado de calidad y aparte ya subieron mucho de precio,no importa el precio pero la calidad?el pollo bien reseco y ya ni salsa verde traen,me han decepcionado,estaban muy ricos antes y yo los recomendaba mucho.

The best tamales ever. My favorite is the chicken . During the holidays you have to get there before they open or you won't get any.

Great service, awesome staff, and delicious tamales!! I love a good tamale, these are most definitely my favorite in the valley. Only thing I wish could magically be available anytime of day and not sold out by the afternoon is the sweet corn tamales.

This was my first time here and I will definitely be back. I normally don't buy tamales from restaurants, but really had been craving some. I've passed this restaurant many times and glad I finally decided to try it out. The young lady at the register was very nice and helpful. I ordered the pork tamales and the green chile and cheese tamales. The tamales are a good size, they don't skimp on the filling, and the masa is very moist. Based on the tamales I'm thinking the rest of the food they serve is just as good because the restaurant was packed. I'm glad I found this place and definitely recommend it. If you're in Mesa and craving tamales you need to try this place out.

I highly recommend Old El Paso. Tamales! These are the best tamales I've eaten since I left California! Anyone who loves tamales I highly recommend you get over there right away before we eat all of them.!!

They're ok tasting but too small and expensive and that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. What a difference a year makes. Hence why most of the positive reviews were from a year ago or longer. How do you charge 37$ for a dozen and not have salsa ‍

Price went up quality went down. Falls apart, doesn't even look like real beef or taste like beef.

The tamales are good and yes a little on the pricey sides. Better than Food City and Costco.

Best Tamales in Maricopa County! Made fresh daily, and delicious at every bite! Great location, no phone or online orders are taken. Old style, show up and order at the counter.

You can tell that everyday they make a fresh batch of Chicken, Beef, and Pork tamales. All of their tamales are packed with so much flavor and spice, making you want you order an extra dozen to go. If you make it in before the lunch rush, you'll find the staff is incredibly hospitable and personable. Highly recommend if you want an authentic, home style tamale taste.

The food is excellent and the service is fantastic. The best tamales in Arizona and in the valley!

Excellent service at the counter. I thought they only had beef, pork and sweet corn but she gave me a sample chicken to try. Everything was wonderful; will definitely be back. Also the car wash in the same business center is excellent :)

Disappointed I might not have been born and raised in the southwest however I love tamales. I am always searching for new tamale shops to add to my list of favorites. Today, was my first visit to Old El Paso Tamales. The restraunt is small, located in a small strip mall near Brown and Horne. The staff at Old El Paso Tamales are friendly and accomdating, and thats why I feel terriberible having to say the tamales just weren't very good. On this visit we ordered 6 red beef and 6 pork tamales and I was disappointed with both flavor of tamales. I think the most disappointing part of the tamales was the lack of meat. These tamales were almost all maza with a very scarce amount of meat and the meat was somewhat dry and overcooked and the maza lacked flavor. I was hoping for so much better after reading all the amazing reviews. Maybe, I caught Old El Paso on an off day. The pricing is very wallet friendly at a mere $20 a dozen. However, the tamales in my opinion just weren't good. I think I will stick to my old time favorite Tamale Shops in the future.

My boyfriend noticed this place when he was on his way home from the doctor's office. He asked me to go pick up some tamales while he was resting. I got 3 beef and 3 chicken. They were really good! I'm sure we will be going back soon to get more. They may not look great from the outside but they have plenty to look at on the inside.

My first trip here was picking up tamales for a family dinner, and maybe a little lunch snack too. I could see the huge steamers and the smell was amazing. I live in a vowel state that doesn't my have places like this. I could have eaten there every day! I was lucky there were leftovers so I could have a late night snack back at my hotel. Both the red and green tamales were fantastic. I can't wait to go back and visit again!

It was one of those weeks that I was REALLY craving tamales (I blame the winter lol) but my go-to place was closed and my other options were already out, so there I was on a hunt for good tamales. After a few people mentioned Old El Paso, I decided to give them a try. They are a bit far from me so I thought it was best to place the order in advance and I ordered the red beef and rajas con queso. When I got there, they were out of some of the red beef (even though I placed order in advance), and they gave me some chicken ones. I'm not thaaaaaaat picky so it was fine with me lol. I made some spicy chorizo and bacon beans as a side, and finally tried them! Flavor was good, but as many other reviews said it here: 30% meat 70% masa! It was worse on the chile one, that was almost all masa and manteca. In my opinion they have a decent flavor, all they need to do is better that ratio with the masa. Staff was nice, service was quick. I probably will stick to my go-to place but I don't regret giving them a try! And maybe I'm biased but to this day, los tamales de mi nana son los mejores ;)

Tamales are hit and miss very tight on the meat service is really slow and rude overpriced for the quality of tamale

My family have been coming here since I was very young. I remember the first time I tried their tamales. They were so delicious they blast my mouth with rich flavor. Now, the flavor is still there But... I wish the meat was there too. They decrease the amount of meat in the tamale which is the best part! I love the corn and red beef.

Delicious. We tried green Chile with meat. They were perfect. Not dry. Will definitely go back for more

This is a little while in the back corner of the wall kind of place. When we got there there was a line and tables filled. I was able to get a table enjoy our homemade tamale breakfast! Delicious!!! The menudo was tasty with lots of flavor. We were helped by Jazmin that was all smiles and very courteous. Will be back for more!

Ordered and paid for tamales a week prior to pick up date set a approximate time to pick up 10-11 am show up at 11:10 AlM and they sold my pre paid tamales to someone else and make me wait until they make more 45 minutes . Apparently if you don't show at your exact alloyed time you forfeit your reserved product . O

The tamales weren't cooked all the way and were still sold to us. They were all out of other flavors, only red available, opened them at home saw that the should've just closed the store since they didn't have any food ready to sell. Going back tomorrow to get a refund. The servers shouldve known witch ones were ready and with needed to steam longer. Just by grabbing them you can feel the mushy masa. 3rd bad experience here

Bombest tamales to date Love this place owners super friendly My wife loves her eggs a certain way And he went thru three tries to get em how she loves em We come from Gilbert just for there tamales Keep not they close at 3pm but well worth the drive

The tamales are excellent. I had an issue during the week of Christmas. I tried to pre order and was told, along with numerous others at the store that they did not take pre orders. So I got there on Thursday and got into line right before they were supposed to open, someone came out and announced that they were ONLY filling pre orders. No tamales and Lots of unhappy folks in that line.

Last 5 weekends I come for tamales and menudo.l and it was great. But today, Tamales had an odd taste And my special request for the menudo was denied and let me unsatisfied...

3 stars.... Food is great!!! BUT the service is terribly slow. Stand in line, order and it's 30-40 minutes. Not acceptable.

I have been coming here sporadically for the last 4 or 5 years. I know how to make tamales, but I only make them a few times a year and do not like them if they've been frozen too long. So, in the past, this has been a "go to" place a couple times a year when no one in the family has any fresh tamales. They used to be really good, but the last time and yesterday they were not great. When I first bought the tamales you could see shredded chicken, strips of green Chile, and they used to put cheese which I really liked. Now, the chicken looks like mush. There's no green Chile that I can see and they no longer do the cheese. The cheese is not a deal breaker, but the mushy meat instead of shredded meat is. The masa used to be flavorful, but now it tastes like lard only. I actually took a friend there for lunch about 6 months ago, and they were not good. I thought it was a fluke, so I went back yesterday and bought a dozen for a quick dinner at home with rice and beans. The tamales were so bland I had to make an enchilada sauce to cover them to add flavor. We only ate half the dozen and will toss the rest.

The most delicious tamales I've tried ! Bought two dozens all flavors it's a must try !!

I've been here many times since my first review. I love it all! Every variety of tamale is delicious. They're all my favorite. This is my to-go place for comfort food. The employees are polite and are quick to put together a small or large order.

I'm originally from El Paso. A friend from work told me about this place. I was so excited about getting some tamales that reminded me of home. I order 3 tamales to taste before I decide to order a couple of dozen for Christmas. I ordered red pork, chicken and green chili with cheese. I was disappointed - they were dry. Masa was thick and hardly any meat in the red pork. The red sauce didn't have much flavor. The rajas (chili) with cheese were dry - hardly any chili and I didn't see any cheese. The flavor was better than the other two maybe cause I like spicy. But was really missing the cheese. The chicken ones were dry as well . Nothing special of this one just plain shredded chicken. So thumbs down! I will not be ordering any from here for Christmas. I guess I'll just have to bring some tamales back to Az when I go back to El Paso in a couple of weeks. Sad to say these tamales do not represent EL Paso (EL Chuco) Texas!!

A bunch of us at work ordered tamales on Thursday and the last time we ordered they were really good and stuffed with lots of meat this time there was barely any meat at all. I will not be ordering tamales from them again.

The tamales are amazing! I do agree with what most others say, they are a little rude and the customer service is awful. I still go there and gave them five stars for the food.

The food is amazing but the wait and the lack of staff makes this place go down quickly. It would be better if they were quicker and had more employees.

Tamales are amazing! It gets pretty crowded early in the morning and the wait is long. But very well worth it. My boyfriend and I each ordered a bowl of menudo and a red beef tamale.. The taste is delicious! We even bought a dozen of tamales to take home. Very authentic, they are not greedy with tht filling and the masa is perfect..

I came to this place thinking it was another restaurant but decided to stay and I'm glad I did. I ordered a pork tamale and a green chili burrito. The burrito was a good size especially for the price and tasted very good. It had a nice kick to it and didn't need any sauce. On to the tamale which was the main event. One of the 2 most important parts of a tamale is the masa and this masa was very good and held together very well, the other important piece is the protein and this pork was not only a good amount but also very juicy. Overall this place was a great "mistake" and I'll definitely be back

Found this place years ago when I was living in Mesa. Since then I have lived in West Phoenix, South Phoenix and Scottsdale. And anytime I'm craving tamales you better believe I come back here. So if you love tamales this is a must try. I believe tamales are $1.75 ea or $20 a dozen.

Ugh! How I love this little hole in the wall place.. their tamales are all to die for in my opinion! I crave tamales the most around Christmas time but I always get those odd cravings throughout the year, and I love how this place makes their fresh daily! It's like heaven for me, tamales on demand so I don't have to wait til the end of the year to get my fix! But come early so they aren't out of what you want!!

This place is good but customer service is not optimal. Probably a 4 star for the food. Tamales are delicious and probably my #1 place to get when I'm in the mood for something fast and delicious. However as of late the consistency has not been the same. My favorite ones the chicken tamales, the difference between one tamal from the next is vast. Some had lots of shredded chicken while others had very little, this from the same batch (1 dozen that I ordered)...I don't like surprises with my food, consistency is a must. On the service level, the wait is excessive but that's impart to the inefficient process they have and telephone calls for pick up orders. Most people the go there and order to go, shop there exclusively to buy tamales. How about you speed up the process by adding a second register and a dedicated person for customers that are buying tamales only? You will get more of my business and others if I don't have to wait 15-25 minutes in a line of 5 people because the cashier is getting ready the order she just got in the phone while we are waiting in line...or they disappear in the back to prepare/pack food for orders...this is so inefficient and not customer service focus.

Red tamales are spot on. The green chicken were way too spicy for me. My favorite thing about this place is the menudo. I'm giving this place 5 stars for food. I usually pick up my food but the staff never seems friendly.

I was out delivering and got an order for this place and upon arrival I notice this line extended out the door. I think to myself "wow" this must be a great place for tamales. I get inside and have decided to order a dozen tamales for my family, I get home and quickly learn that they are not cooked all the way. I call them and return them with a promise from them that they will replace them. Three weeks later and they finally replaced them and they never once called me. I had to call them constantly to remind them. This is bad business. This was my first impression of them because I had never tried them before and I will never go back. This is bad business.

I had previously posted my disappointment with Old El Paso, however, today they have redeemed themselves! Really good today! The pork, beef, chicken and sweet tamales were all delicious! I'll be back again as long as they continue producing quality like this! Yummm!!

Only the best tamales ever! The corn and cheese are my all time favorite. I'm a customer for life and wish there was a location in Phoenix. When I visit here I try my best to get a dozen. If your ever on the far east side of Phoenix it's a must stop and eat it take out .