The Tamale Factory

The Tamale Factory is hands down the best place to get tamales in Riverside! The owners are incredibly welcoming, and Jesse, in particular, makes every visit feel special—he’s friendly, knowledgeable, and just a great person to chat with. If you haven’t tried their sweet corn tamale with green sauce, you’re seriously missing out. It’s my go-to every time! And don’t leave without getting their cilantro avocado sauce—it’s the perfect complement to any dish. One of the coolest things about this place is the event space above the restaurant. If you get the chance, book a spot on the balcony during the Festival of Lights—the atmosphere and view are absolutely stunning. Whether you’re a local or visiting, this is a must-visit spot in Riverside. One of my favorite restaurants.

I ordered the cheese tamale. Tasted like it was freshly made with good ingredients. It was a little lukewarm, which could’ve been because of the 2-3 minutes I waited for my partner; I like my food to be very hot generally. Loved the green salsa! I was able to discuss what was gluten free with the employee and found that the beans were a good side dish. I smashed the food before I could take a pic, but I’d say it was visually appealing. Also love the Mexican decor/ the art.

My husband and I came here last night with our baby for my bday and we were impressed! I loved the pork and chicken tamales with rice and beans and he loved the carnival plate. The only bad thing was there was no place to sit and no changing table top change my baby's diaper, but besides that the food was good quality and you have got prices and a good old school atmosphere. The line was long, but went really fast!

It was a quiet Saturday morning, the food was good, the price was fair, and the ambience was okay. I would definitely eat there again, but it's not as bougie as other places. But then again the price point was better than most places open at that time.

I loved that they had generously filled tamales. The pork tamale was bland (green sauce -top tier- is necessary) to me but the corn tamale was delicious. The rice needssss beans to go with it because otherwise it's tasteless. The "fresh baked cookies" tasted bad and were hard as rock once cooled. Horchata was top tier.

The tamales tasted good, but they were 95% masa. The chilaquiles were good. Would have liked more scrambled egg on top. The huevos rancheros were okay. Not crazy about the hash browns they serve. That’s not Mexican. The pozole was great! Overall it was good, but it’s not at the level of Manuel’s El Tepeyac. That is the gold standard for me.

First time I’ve ever stopped at this place was today and I’ll definitely would stop again. The tamales were amazing and the flavor was unique and fantastic. My wife and I just had the tamales with all the food there look great and the service was fantastic too.

Decided to stop for brunch and ordered the 2 tamale plate with rice and beans. Husband order green chilaquiles that came with potatoes and beans. The chilaquiles was basically a layered casserole of tortillas and you had a choice of red or green sauce. I selected the pork and sweet corn tamale. The pork tamale was tender pork and the masa was pretty soft. The corn tamale was sweet and tasted good but the masa was not as soft as the pork tamale. Loved the spinach pineapple Aqua Fresca and the service was great. I don’t think I would come again since you have to pay for parking on mission street. The food was good but not great.

My family really loves this place. We always have a great time and love, love, love the food. They make the best Industrial grade mass produced tamales on assembly lines in commercial factory facilities that blow black plumes of exhaust clouds into the air in South East Asia. Just the way abuela made hers before Stage 9 covid took her too early. Children are hired to work the tamale equipment because they will accept less in wages (.01 per day according to Reuters). And The Tamale Factory passes that savings onto us the customers. Would give 10 stars if I could.

I look forward to tamales in December. The Tamale Factory caught my eye on a recent trip to the Mission Inn. Yes, we can have them year 'round. They make them from scratch daily. Red chili with Pork meat is the original flavor, but they make green chili stuffed with cheese and meatless, which is my favorite. They are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Menu highlights are: Huevos Rancheros (mild red sauce), Omelets, Breakfast Burritos (bacon, chorizo, scrambled eggs, potatoes, beans and cheese). Lunch and dinner offers soups, salads and combos (tacos, enchiladas, and chili rellenos). They do offer catering for your private events. There is a banquet hall on the second floor with a balcony. Reservations are not required, come hungry and don't forget to tell'em that Rosemary sent ya!!

Stumbled upon this place while staying at the Mission Inn for a conference looking for lunch. This place has potential; but fell flat. You order at the counter, chips/salsa are not included. It's similar to Chipotle where you can see them prepare the order. There's inside and outside seating and they service alcohol. My food was very salty. I had a salad w/chicken; so it must've been the chicken. I didn't say anything until my colleague mentioned hers was a bit salty too. The consensus was all of our food was salty; from the tortilla soup, the quesadilla, to the salad. I'm not sure where parking is when visiting.

Can't believe I've never been here before. Stopped by with a friend from work during lunch a while back. We were helped right away and I got the Fiesta Nachos with chicken. When you order, you go down the line to choose what you want on your entree like a " Chipotle" but better! I also got their blackberry empanada which are made in the morning and it was the perfect dessert after my lunch. To drink, I had the Spinach Pineapple agua fresca and it was sweet and very refreshing. My friend had the Fiesta Salad with chicken and also loved it. I definitely want to come back and try out their breakfast next time. Their website says breakfast is until 11:30am which is nice compared to other places that stop it around 10:30am. The staff was friendly and the place has an hacienda style look to it with outside seating. If you don't want to pay for parking, you can park across the street at the Food Lab parking structure for free for 90 minutes and walk over.

This place is so amazingly good. The owner is so kind and helpful. I had the chicken taquitos and had zero complaints. Crispy and filling!! The place is also clean. Will come back.

My family and I love this restaurant. Simple menu, fresh food bursting with flavor. The tamales are fabulous.

Probably one of the best tasting tamales I have ever had. The service was also excellent and the inside of the restaurant is very nice. They also have outside seating. We left with a dozen tamales to have at home. We will be returning.

Always good. Fresh, delicious tamales (good meat to masa ratio, they don't cheap out)...generous size too! Great homemade sides made from top shelf ingredients. Expect to spend $20 a person per meal....not the cheapest but not the cheapest quality either. The staff is always cool and down to earth. Horchata is homemade and delicious. Comfortable setting, a little piece of heaven in downtown.

I absolutely love coming to the tamale factory whenever I find myself in downtown Riverside early in the day. Parking: you have to be ambitious to find parking around DTR. Last time I came, it took over 20 minutes. There's very limited space close to the restaurant and they are all sought after. Selection: while I mainly come for tamales, there's a bunch of other amazing dishes like the Menudo. I love the cocktails they make from their aguas frescas! This time around I got pork tamales, my only complaint is more meat to mass ratio! Other than that the sauce is amazing and they dress the tamales up so nice with extra toppings!

The tamales are not good! And it's way too pricey! Will not be coming back! Did not have a pleasant experience!!

The tamales are really good but don't have a heart attack at the prices for a dozen. I'm aware things go up and if I am prepared for it it's fine but at Christmas time paid 50.00 a dozen for get tamales for my family. The web site still has the old pricing on it. So minus my heart attack and my mom wish for them I bit the bullet and paid the price for the sweet and pork tamales. I just hope they fix it soon.

I've been wanting come here for the longest time! Their hours never matched my schedule so it has been difficult to get here. I ordered a cheese tamale with beans and rice, but my voice must be too soft because I was given a vegetarian tamale a la carte! No worries though. It's delicious!

Went in randomly because I saw the tamale sign and wanted to see if they were the small skinny ones like in Texas. Ended up getting cheese nachos and added chile verde sauce and carnitas. The lady at the register said the meat was really good and she wasn't kidding. They were bomb af. The sauce covered just enough to not make the chips soggy and had good spice with mild heat. The meat was tender with the perfect amount of fat. There wasn't too much cheese and the chips stayed crispy for the most part. It came on a dinner sized paper plate (which was interesting). There was a good amount, not too much and not skimpy. Restaurant was clean, employees were nice. Pleasant place to have a meal :) Never looked at the tamales because I was happy with what I got and forgot.

I absolutely love this little location! It's in the heart of downtown Riverside near the mission inn. I've been coming here for a few years so this review is way overdue! We talk to the owners anytime we come in. They are so kind and sweet! This is family owned and has been in business for 30 years and 3 generations in. Food taste like it's made with love! I'll continue to visit. Always check the hours because they do close early on some days. Nothing has been bad yet, always delicious and flavorful!!

Expensive everything is an add on to the price listed. They got rid of the tortilla soup.

Food was really tasty and the restaurant had a nice atmosphere and was clean. Staff was friendly and professional. It's a little pricey but the portions are generous. I enjoyed it and would go back.

Beyond delicious. We had tamale plates in the restaurant. Over the top good. Magic beans. Gorgeous rice. Green sauce is the best. Chips crispy. The freshest guacamole. Spinach pineapple agua fresca was so refreshing. The room is spotless and comfortable. The people are so so nice. This is a delight whenever we come through Riverside.

Picked up lunch to go from here the other day when I had jury duty. Was immediately greeted by one employee upon entering and she assisted with my order. There is ample seating inside and outside; you order at the buffet-style counter and your food is plated to order, and you receive your food at the end of the counter when pay. There is a small charge when you use a card. I opted for a 1 tamale (vegetarian sweet corn) plate that included rice and choice of black or refried beans. Tamale was also topped with choice of sauce (verde, ranchero or rojo) as well as onions, cilantro and crema. Plating was beautiful, but sadly my meal was bland. The tamale was ok but consisted mostly of masa, and the toppings definitely were needed for flavor, as well as hot sauce (which I wish I had).

Excelente lugar, magnífica atención con un ambiente familiar... Hay que regresar a comer... mientras tanto... VENGAN UDS. Lo van a disfrutar

I thought the tamales were just okay. They had three options: pork, chicken, and a vegetarian one. I got the plate with two tamales (pork & chicken), rice and beans. After tax it came out to about $20 which is pretty pricey in my opinion. The tamales didn't have that much meat and were mostly masa. I did like that you can add salsa, crema, cilantro and onions on top. It definitely made everything taste better. I'd say there are much better places in the area to get tamales.

Hard Pass! This place is Not good. Do not recommend. Food was bland, tamales were dry and hard. Texture was off and gross really. Pricing was way too expensive $15 bucks for a single tamale with a small scoop of rice and beans. The beans were okay but it's hard to mess that up and considering the name of the establishment and the price it was a HUGH MISS. If you're wanting this type of cuisine go to an authentic joint as there's plenty of them in Riverside.

This little restaurant next to the Mission Inn is excellent. We had the quesadilla (cheese) and the soft chicken taco plate. They both tasted delicious. The reason for the five stars is the friendliness and kindness of the staff behind the counter. They were all great. If you're in downtown Riverside and get a craving for Mexican food, make sure you check out this restaurant. You'll be happy you did!

The food that I've had is good. I've taken family there and they have liked it as well. Servers behind the counter are friendly and helpful. I love their decor.

I thought this place was great! I loved the way the tamales had three sauces to choose from. Plus they added creama, cheese and cilantro. The black beans were excellent (someone told me so were the pinto beans which were the other choice). The chips and salsa were really good too - thick crispy chips with a choice of salsa. Fast in that you order in line and pay at the end. Highly recommend.

I wasn't a fan of the cheese tamales, but I also should've noticed it said sweet corn, since I don't like the sweet taste. Rice and beans were really good and I had a taste of their chili verde which was great. Everything else looked good and worth trying still.

The food here is fabulous. The drinks are so tasty too. You will absolutely love this place. The service is great. The guy that works there is so nice and helpful. The cook is great. The ambience is small and cozy romantic. Try this place you won't be disappointed.

First time in riverside downtown area and tried this place with my family. It was a decent spot with fresh quality food. Service was ok. Spacious dining space with indoor outdoor seating.

Don't know what I liked better the tacos or the tamales both were excellent. First time there.

We've been wanting to try this place forever and today we finally had the chance to do so. The place is very clean with such a relaxing vibe and the staff was extremely helpful. My fiancé ordered huevos rancheros and I had the verde chilaquiles with pineapple spinach agua fresca. We also ordered chips and salsa, the chips were so good. Not your typical chips and salsa. Let me tell you, the food was DELICIOUS! My eggs were perfectly cooked and the potatoes had such a great flavor. This immediately reminded me of being a kid and the breakfasts that my grandmother used to make. We both cleaned our plates, that's how perfect our breakfast was because that never happens with us. We ordered chips & salsa to go, two more aguas frescas and of course we couldn't leave without a tamale. We chatted with the owner on our way out, she made us feel like we were old friends. We'll be back VERY soon!

Order menu is basic and small... but their food and salsas are packed with authentic Mexican flavors. We ordered the chicken tamales, with the green salsa, a salad and a chimichanga. Personally don't eat pork but the folks we came with said the carnitas were delicious. cute on the inside, the staff was kind and welcoming. They made several recommendations made sure we tried their house salsa (glad we did... spicy but delicious) Glad to have stumbled across this little yet delicious authentic Mexican restaurant!

It's been years since I've been here. We were in the area to go to another restaurant, sadly it was closed. We kept walking up Main Street in downtown and saw the Tamale Factory doors open. We walked in and noticed the clean and inviting atmosphere. I like how you can see all the food almost buffet style. We ordered chilaquiles, tamales, flan and a berry empanada. EVERYTHING was so good! Cooked to perfection. We had chicken and carne asada on the chilaquiles and it was seasoned and cooked nicely. The sauces are not spicy, at least to me, but had great flavor, both red and green. The service was great, they were patient while I was trying to decide what I wanted and made recommendations. We will be back for more tamales and to try the burritos. Worth every bite! Also wanted to mention that the food didn't feel heavy or greasy, which is a nice change from your typical Mexican food. Typical beans (black and pinto) and rice were also cooked perfectly. If you're in the area at the right time and are craving some good, quality Mexican food, try it out. Make sure to see their hours as they are not open all day or everyday.

Be advised that the website is not current and has not been updated in 6 years. Drove to their location only to find out that none of the prices are even remotely close to being current. I was told they don't have access to the website. I was in route to pick up a few dozen tamales at $26 a dozen, I arrive and find out they are $48 a dozen. You would think that in a 6 year span that would be corrected, but it's not. Huge inconvenience.

We are here for the first time the other week and these were incredible tamales! The service was awesome and we ended up taking home 1/2 dozen of tamales after we finished eating

Amazing authentic food! Service was fast and friendly during a busy holiday season in Riverside! Highly recommend!

While coming from a nice morning walk, my friend and I usually walk downtown to Molino's to have coffee and our usual Açaí bowl. But this time we were caught off guard with the aroma of Chile sauce, it smelled great. The Tamale Factory is beautifully decorated and very clean from the outside and inside as well. Really cute restaurant. However things changed when we asked about the menu. No tamales just yet, okay we will try the breakfast specials. Yikes !! I ordered green sour sauce huevos rancheros with an egg , potatoes and beans, this had absolutely no flavor at all . To top this off I received burnt coffee it was disgusting, Omggg . My friend orderer chilequilles , beans and potatoes along with a latte . She said it was not tasty at all, she couldn't even finish it. When the service never asks how the food was or even say bye and hope to see you back soon, this should be a warning. So the drive home with our stomach's gurgling was not what we were expecting. Never again.

Cute place, nice staff, clean. The chilaquiles are delicious! Very much like my grandmother used to make when I was a kid. The salsas they have are very tasty. They also cater.

Good customer service. Food is comfortably good. Tamales pretty gpod a little heavy on the Masa. Good size Tamales tasty. Generous porions. Would definitely go back.

Food good, Service good, the Ambiance was a bit empty but it's seems to be a TakeOut place.

It's crazy that we came by because we brought our special needs clients to explore downtown riverside and the owner was talking bad about our special needs clients! It's crazy, I will never come by and spend money here food is not that good with their white wash white so call Mexican food. Tamales are dry, the caldo de res was bland, never again.

They just randomly decide not to open when you already have to cater to their unrealistic hours... Just change your hours! No one thinks this is "cool" i have no idea what possessed you to have such dog hours!!!!

A long-time presence on the Main Street pedestrian section across from the Mission Inn, I remember when they rebuilt the multi-level structure but never could find the right time to try them. This may have been because they close early and I'm seldom downtown until the evening typically. Beautiful inside, the affect of natural light is wonderful and they have both a patio outside and upstairs. I popped in for breakfast one morning and tried something generic in the sense that breakfast burritos are more than common in SOCAL, nevertheless, it's a neutral place to start. I selected the wet-style and chose the chili verde sauce. Inside was eggs, potatoes, cheese, and chorizo. It didn't tack too long and appeared well made. I forgot that I don't like sour cream but it was mostly cosmetic and didn't distract from the meal, luckily. I guess I'll need to try tamales or something next time because while good, the burrito didn't inspire me to go back, at least for that. Why? For one thing the green sauce lacked some quintessential flavor that's the hallmark of such sauces. Neither spicy nor exceptionally savory, it was just wet and green. Inside the chorizo seemed to disappear, as in there's a color that suggested it was in there but no tell-tale greasy leaks or chunks to contrast the potatoes or eggs. Not bad, not great. As stated above, I'll go back to try something different at some point but it's not a priority presently.

They used to be pretty decent. The last few years, service has declined dramatically. Around the holidays, they rarely have orders prepared properly. Do not order your Christmas tamales from here.

What a gem! I had the fiesta salad which was made to order in front of me. I then saw they had cocktails. I'm a mezcal fan so the bartender whipped me up a fabulous drink to go with my salad. Loved the atmosphere, food and the people working there were very nice. I'm taking tamales home to try. I will be coming back

I'm so happy I finally came here!! I ordered the combo El Rey, two tamales of your choice, rice and beans. It is very authentic and I'm picky. It is very nice inside and the service was great. They also serve beer and I believe other alcoholic drinks as well. I'm ready to come back and try the other different dishes they offer.

We were first timers here and then repeat customers the very next day. The ppl are polite and very nice. Restaurant is clean and decorated nicely. We got the tamales, bean tostada, grilled chicken salad, roasted pepper quesadilla, horchata and jamaica (not all at once ). The freshness and taste of all dishes were 10/10. They also had fresh oregano and red pepper dishes by the register which we heavily used. Everything had such great flavor and we will be returning. Thank you so much for a wonderful experience.

Great tamales and the sauce they put on top of the tamales are delicious. I wish they sell tamales individually to go. We went twice and they told us we have to buy the plate meal with rice and beans to get the tamales.

I drove an hour to try The Tamale Factory on November 20, 2023, I checked the hours on Yelp and their website, both said that it was open on Mondays until 2pm. When I arrived at 10:30am it was closed. What a bummer & a waste of gas! I went to Tio's Tacos down the street & enjoyed their delicious huevos rancheros even though my heart was set on a tamale.

I've been craving a chorizo breakfast burrito and walked over to the Tamale Factory to try theirs out. It was DELICIOUS. Everything is made from scratch and tasted fresh. I've gone before for their tamales and loved those too. The staff and owner are always very kind and friendly when I go. One of my favorite places to eat in downtown Riverside.

The name says it all, these tamales need a lot more flavor and their Salsas no flavor at all, they do offer you fresh abanderó chiles at the cashier, their black beans were good, but the Tamal with cheese and slices of Chiles, not good, it was on the sweet side. I feel this place is more for tourists that don't know real Mexican tamales.