Tamaleria Azteca
Mexican restaurant · Santa Fe ·
Hefty, savory tamales with fluffy masa, pork filling, and salsa
Hefty, savory tamales with fluffy masa, pork filling, and salsa
"This little North Oakland takeout window has been home to what are arguably the Bay Area’s most consistently delicious tamales going back well over a decade now to back when the place was called “Tamaleria Unicos de Cuernavaca.” Second-generation owner Sergio Gomez still turns out the fluffiest, most flavorful tamales in the city, thanks in part to a liberal use of lard in the masa. Azteca’s pork tamal is almost unrivaled in its deliciousness (especially when drizzled with some of the tamaleria’s good red salsa), except perhaps by the sweet corn tamales, which make for a delightful dessert." - Dianne de Guzman
"At Tamaleria Azteca in the Santa Fe neighborhood of Oakland, this spot has been in business for almost 30 years, and you can expect hefty tamales with firm masa, available in chicken, pork, beef, cheese, corn, and vegetable — with the last two options being the ones not made with lard. Go with the pork, juicy and succulent, not just because they often run out of the vegetable and cheese options." - Annelies Zijderveld
"In North Oakland I love the takeout-window tamales at Tamaleria Azteca, where Sergio Gomez has been hawking these corn-husk–wrapped beauties for more than a decade (the spot used to be run by his mother as Tamaleria Unicos de Cuernavaca). The standout is the masa — perhaps the fluffiest and most savory I’ve had, thanks to a liberal use of lard — and the pork tamal is almost unrivaled, especially when drizzled with Azteca’s good red salsa that comes in a little plastic baggy. My colleague Elazar Sontag is partial to the “special,” in which the tamal of your choice is topped with an abundance of lettuce and sour cream and served with a side of rice and beans. For the holidays they’re taking orders ($35 for a dozen) with a deadline to order by December 20 for pickup on the 24th or 25th, and if you order enough you can request off-menu options like their much-praised (but rarely offered) sweet pineapple tamales." - Luke Tsai
"At a North Oakland tamale window Tamaleria Azteca expects to sell 7,000 tamales for Christmas Eve and Day; the business has operated in one form or another for the last 25 years and is most recently owned by Sergio Gomez, a fourth-generation tamale maker who bought it in 2003. He says his kids don’t want to continue in his footsteps, so “you should get [his tamales] while you can.”" - Eve Batey
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