Tamales Madre

I swung by around 3 pm and they were almost sold out. Luckily, they had 2 tamales left. A bean one and the chocolate one. Both were delicious. The space is also unique and loved the vibe.

My friend and I took a cooking class here and to call this place a gem is an understatement - I second the review that says this place deserves a Michelin star. We visited from California and booked a class by reaching out over email to Regina, who was super responsive, helpful, and accommodating. When we arrived for our class, Mariana and Daisy went above and beyond to make us feel welcome and explain the process to us in English while teaching us multitudes about Mexican culture and tradition with tamales. Each recipe was so thoughtfully crafted and Mariana and Daisy were incredibly knowledgeable about the stories behind the ingredients and processes. I learned so much about the traditional cooking of tamales and the techniques. This is a process rooted in care, love, and attention, all of which were present at Tamales Madre. Physically, the space was beautifully decorated and conducive to cooking with a big island and a very open design. It was magical!! This experience was a capstone to a very special trip and the tamales themselves were divine, magic, the best I’ve ever had. At the end of our class, we met Ruben, the man who made these amazing recipes. I cannot recommend this experience highly enough, I will treasure the kindness I felt there, the knowledge of tradition I learned, and of course the delicious food forever.

I really enjoyed the bean and pecan tamales. The sauces were delicious! Very cool vibe - suggest you sit inside if you can at the big square table while they are preparing the food right on the other side of the table. Super friendly and welcoming staff as well.

It’s absolutely an awesome place, I know tamales are supposed to be cheap food in Mexico, at this place it’s around 100 pesos, but personally speaking, the design of the place, the taste of the salsa and tamales, all gave me a great experience there, if you don’t mind spending 100 pesos for tamales, I highly recommend this place. I would bring my friends who’s visiting Mexico City here.

Delicious tamales! I had the vegan mole one and the vegetarian huauzontle one. Both were super delicious. My husband also got the mole one and the chicken, and loved them both as well. The service was a little slow, but I would definitely go back.

Interestingly we loved the traditional corn drink (hot) more than their tamales, we ordered two and it was a great morning drink. Mediocre tamales but other things were not bad, vibe was nice. Good for a cozy breakfast.

A delicious and cozy spot in the neighborhood to try a variety of tamales. We came in when it was not very crowded and were seated right away. The tamales were prepared and served very quickly, so we didn't have to wait too long for our food. It's a fun experience to see the staff making the tamale dishes in front of you. The tamales themselves were fantastic - highly recommend the option with mole negro! This place is worth a visit if you're looking for a variation on authentic Mexican cuisine.

We went on a Tuesday morning around 10:30 and were seated immediately. They were unfortunately out of several things but probably our fault because we arrived later in the morning. Everything we did get was fantastic and we enjoyed the family style seating - had a nice conversation with our neighbors. We would definitely go back.

Cute hole-in-the-wall-esque place, with homemade tamales. Stopped by for a quick bite, but wish we were able to try more! I love the come-and-go concept of this place. Very efficient!

I really wanted to like this place, but unfortunately the tamales were barely edible to inedible. Not a happy Noche Buena meal. Although tamales made without lard were everywhere in the 80's, they're very difficult to find now and seem to only be found at specialty or vegan restaurants. These were just off in texture and taste, including the non vegetarian chicken ones. The salsas were just ok. They were also very expensive for very little food. The venue is clean and bright. The young man who attended to our order was friendly and polite. I feel badly leaving a negative review, but having had delicious vegetarian tamales in my family and for purchase, I just can't recommend these tamales.

Stopped here with my friend after I looked it up because I was craving a cafe de olla. It's a cute little spot. I loved the decor for the small space. Get there early if you want to sit inside. There is also seating outside. The service was great and so was the food. My friend and I both loved the coffee and the tamales. We ordered the chicken tamale and the huauzontle (veg) tamale (this was our favorite one). It was our favorite because the texture of the masa was super soft and the salsa was very flavorful. We wanted to stop by again on Monday before flying out, but it was closed. Will definitely visit this spot when I come back to Mexico City!

The tamales here are the best I have ever had and in one of the cutest cafes I have ever been to. I came in to try a couple of them with a cup of cafe de olla, which was outstanding. The cafe is so cute! There is one large square table and only a limited number of seats inside but there is a patio with more seating Luckily I was able to sit inside for the experience. The cafe de olla was prepared fresh while we were waiting for the tamales. The tamales showed up and I was taken aback by how beautiful they were! The tasted amazing too.

Tamales Madre features some of the best tasting and most creative tamales that I have ever tried. On a recent visit my wife and I ordered the Atole and three tamales. The Atole was a rich, warm and creamy corn based drink and it was perfect for our meal. The first tamale was the Pollo y Miltomate Tamale. This tamale was buttery with tangy green tomato sauce and tender chicken. The next was the Frijol y Hierba Santa Tamale. This tamale was heavenly soft with a rich tomato sauce. Finally, we had a dessert tamale: the Cacao Tamale. This tamale was like a super moist cake with rich lightly bitter chocolate and a perfect pairing of cool cream sauce. Overall, Tamales Madre is a must visit in Mexico City.

Cute little tamale spot. Great jungly patio and nice modern counter space inside. Service is very kind and friendly. Tamales are rich in flavors and have a ton of variety. The mole con platano is like a chocolate banana dessert with some complex flavors. The herby frijoles is almost like an Italian meal. Great spot for a snack and beer

I learned of this lovely establishment watching Pati Jinich. It was conveniently located only a few minutes from where I was staying and it was so good I came back twice within a few days! My friend and I came for breakfast and decided to enjoy eat inside at the huge table where they also prep for future delicious tamales. Most of these aren't your typical tamales. The menu isn't very long but the different flavors that are offered will make you have a good think before deciding. To ease our brains we asked the gentleman who was there to give us his recommendations. He quickly assessed that our English was much stronger than our Spanish game and for 2 people recommended the following: : frijol y hierba Santa (savory bean paste and a tomato caldillo) : huauzontle y pasila (blue corn masa filled with cheese with a pasilla chile sauce) : molé y platano macho (filled with and different nolés) We also tried : café de olla (coffee fused with cinnamon, piloncillo, anis seed and orange peel) The next time we came back we got another frijol y hierba santa tamale and : pollo y miltomate (chicken with a tangy green sauce) Not only was the presentation gorgeous but it the flavors were outstanding. If masa wasn't so filling I would have wanted a lot more! Do yourself a favor and stop by here if you're in CDMX. You won't be disappointed!

Loved the tamales I had these ones: Tres Frijol y hierba santa tamale Dos Cacao tamale Dos Huauzontle y pasila Uno pollo y miltomate And a guava tamale for desrt

This one room tamale parlor has the same vibe as an omakase sushi bar. The food is super thoughtful and original, and it's fun to watch the chef carefully prepare all the dishes. You can also get a great crash course on how to prepare mole, nopales, or whatever you're interested in. If you're hoping for a culinary adventure that pays off, this is the perfect place.

This place is beautiful. We came too close to closing to dine in but got to take in the space with some folks finishing their tamales, strangers who met each other over this shared experience at the communal table. The staff kindly explained the available tamale options, took my order, then patiently wrapped and labeled each tamale and sauce individually for takeout. We sat on the bench right outside and sampled a few tamales. Would have loved to try the mole but they were sold out! A fave was the walnut, my first sweet tamale! Huauzontle was kind of bland, don't think I appreciated this as much. Could have been end of day but I found the chicken a little dry, though the masa was obviously great and the green salsa even better.

Out of mole for the tamales. Weird entrance to a large central table. Hot inside. Left before eating felt uncomfortable due to heat from kitchen. Probably good food.

TLDR Price: $ Favorites: Frijol y Hierba Santa Tamale, Cafe de Olla In a word: Lively Tamales Madre serves a Mexican morning classic with a mother's love as you sit right at the kitchen counter. Chat with cheerful, young chefs as they steam tamales, stir sauces, and brew coffee fresh to order. The menu is small yet diverse, showing the full array of flavors tamales can take on. We sampled three varieties: huauzontle y pasilla (Aztec broccoli and chili), frijol y hierba santa (bean and herb), and mole y platano macho (mole and plantain). The huauzontle y pasilla was an intriguing bluish color with novel, local ingredients while the mole y platano macho showed a sweet interpretation. The frijol y hierba santa was our and the chefs' favorite with a lovely herbaceous flavor and a punchy acidic tomatillo sauce. Every dough, filling, and sauce was comforting to eat and packed with flavor. Don't miss the drinks, especially the delicious coffee infused with cinnamon, anise, and orange peel. This was the only spot we stopped by twice on our trip and we even gave a Yelp review IRL as a couple passed and we gave a thumbs up and nodded vigorously. Thankfully for them and us, they got the message.

I ordered the tamal with mole and a tamal with chicken topped with green sauce. The mole was great however the tamale was too dry for me. The pollo tamal was much better. Fluffier and tastier. Service: the opened 15 minutes later than posted. But waiter was courteous and quick.

Excellent tamales, especially if you're looking for a creative interpretation of tamales. Nice place tucked in a good neighborhood! Enjoy the love and the service is good. Ambience is perfect and you're sure to have a good time. Ideal for a date, time with friends or a family breakfast.

Exceptional tamales, cozy atmosphere, and friendly staff. A must-visit for delicious tamales and great service!"

YOU MUST COME HERE! I've never been a huge fan of tamales and after coming, I am a huge fan. First - the atmosphere. The restaurant is so cute and I love the open door concept. Everything is open and while small, they definitely found ways to utilize every inch of their space. We can watch them prepare our food in front of us. We grabbed lunch on a weekday at around 1:30pm and it was not busy. The food - AMAZING. I'm so happy my friends and I all shared so we can try 6 different tamales. They even have sweet tamales - SOLD. I will definitely come again!

Yeah, definitely best tamales I've ever had. Had the pollo, Huauzontle y Pasilla, and the especial. All were extremely good.

Amazing food. Charming environment. They were hand cleaning a fresh batch of wild mushrooms from the recent rains while cooking totally delicious tamales (the mushroom one was really good, unsurprisingly, but everything was super tasty).

These tamales were dry. I wish I had brought a bucket so I could have made sand castles out of them. In all seriousness the plating was great, the service was great, but the tamales really missed the mark.

A highlight on our trip. This is a tiny place. It is beautifully done and it feels like you are in someone's very clean kitchen. You watch them make tamales right in front of you. It felt so special. The tamales are absolutely delicious. We kept ordering more. It is a unique, special experience and we felt so fortunate to have stumbled across this wonderful gem.

Only stopped in for one tamale on my way out of the city and I knew this would be the first place I'd try again when I come back. Amazing artistry and taste at this charming little spot!

Very cute spot, minimal with big original tastes. We had also corn beer/lager. If you're not dying of hunger, one piece of tamales is enough for a person.

Simply amazing tamales of all types. The sauces for each tamale are wonderful. The mole was muy especial! Try the cafe de Olla! Wow!

Tamales Madre is fantastic. We got each of the seven tamales on the menu that day so that we could try them all and each one was interesting and special (there were three of us and we can eat a lot!). We happened to be lucky enough to sit next to a couple who are really into making their own tamales at home. They were knowledgeable about the various techniques that you can use and they added lots of interesting details about each of the tamales that we were trying. There are lots of variations on how you can prepare the masa and the tamales at Tamales Madre are a great way to pick up on the subtle differences. If you can sit at the table inside you can also see the tamales being made and all of the different masas on the wall. It's a great Mexican food experience. I will go every time I'm in CDMX at least once for sure! As others have said, the drinks are also really special. I had an atole with tecojote that was amazing.

This place is amazing!!! Anybody that has negative things to say about it is straight up wrong. Looking at you dry-tamales-Rick. We ordered a few tamales with the highlights being the mole with plátano macho and the bean tamal with hoja santa. The space is really quaint and cute and everyone is super nice. I wish I had been hungry enough to order one of each tamal! Definitely worth a visit.

My two friends and I had lunch at Tamales Madre yesterday. Due to inherent space restraints and COVID-19, only a few individuals can dine at a time. We were fortunate to sit at the counter, but, if all else fails, order tamales to go and enjoy them on a bench in the neighborhood. The tamales take time to prepare, but they are well worth the wait. We tried five different tamales and they were all delicious. I also recommend that you wash down your tamales with chocolate con leche.

I wasn't really a fan of tamales, but this place isn't your average tamale place. I ordered the tamale of the month made with "patitas" which is this special kind of mushrooms and it was delicious! I also tried the cacti salad, per the owner's recommendation and it was amazing! Finally, I tried my first "sweet" tamale made with cacao, quite yummy! The tamale portions are small, so depending how hungry you are you may want to make it a 4 course meal like I did. The layout of the restaurant is also quite unique, it's really small, but you get to sit in front of the chef while he prepares your meal / delivery / catering orders.

This place has incredible tamales! We picked some up before visiting the boats at Xochimilco and came back for more the same day because they were so good. The flavors are deep and complex, and most choices are vegetarian. The owner was really nice and chatted with us about techniques for making tamales. Do not miss it in Mexico city!

Tamales Madre was amazing! I love tamales and wanted to go to a tamales-specific restaurant while in CDMX. The interior is really inviting and beautiful and the whole staff prepares everything in front of you. It was also amazing that almost everything on the menu was vegetarian! There were ~4 savory tamales options and ~2 dessert options--the cacao tamales are particularly delicious. Everything was excellent and I highly recommend--whether you already love tamales or haven't had very many, it's an excellent choice!

Amazing tamales and super cool cozy place. The huazontle tamale is delicious. Highly recommend this place to everyone who visits Mexico City.