The Tamale Place

I first heard about the Tamale Place on Triple D on Food Network. It is as authentic as they come! My sister, who lives in Mexico, even loves their tamales as she said it’s hard to come by good ones in actual Mexico! (It could just be the state she lives in, but still, the point stands!)
My personal favorite is the hot & spicy pork which really delivers with the heat! My friends like the chicken with red or green sauce. I highly recommend getting a tamale and a dessert tamale to go with it! The apple/​pecan tamale is like a warm piece of apple pie but not quite as sweet. Very good! The combo plate gives you a TON of food so choose wisely! You get a tamale, chips & salsa, and rice or black beans. The beans are pretty standard, but the salsa can’t be beat! I always pick the hot version which has flavors of charred peppers and roasted tomatoes in it. Really top notch as far as salsas go!
Be sure to get in early during the weekdays as it’s super crowded by lunch, and the selection dwindles with each passing minute! They have a running digital display of how many of various flavors remain.
A friend recently got the torta and said it was just okay. Meaning — stick with the tamales! It’s what made them famous. I get over here whenever I can which isn’t as much as I’d like. Fortunately, they have a location on the southside (Greenwood) in case that’s closer for you!

My real review is a 3.5. The fact that they make all their tamales from fresh masa in house and export them to other restaurants and super markets says something. We tried the queso poblano tamale, the pork verde tamale, and a spicy chipolte tamale. They were all absolutely wonderful, melts in your mouth has that fresh white color that fresh masa has, not the overly yellow color you see when tamales are not fresh. Some of the tamales come in banana leaves which adds extra flavor. For the tamales, I would give a 5 out of 5.
We also tried their nachos and steak tacos. First the good, the corn tortilla was fresh and wonderful, which should not surprise anyone since they make it in house. Where, I was disappointed was in their carne asada and salsa. The carne asada was not cooked in a char coal grill, always a no no in my opinion. The charcoal grill is what gives carne asada that classic Mexican flavor. Their nachos were just average, the queso blanco was nice, but, I was not a fan of the black beans they used to top the nachos. The salsa was black in color and had a strong smoke flavor, that, I think could be toned down. So for the tamales a 5 out of 5, for the nachos and tacos a 2.5 out of 5.

It seems to me that with the new branding, The Tamale Place has really taken off.
Driving into parking lot, I had low expectations the first time I went. At the corner of Rockville and Lyndhurst, this fine little tamale getaway is easily the best thing on this side of town. Now, they’ve increased marketing efforts, dressed up the outside with a Seahawks green window covers to make their shop pop against the other inhabitants of the strip mall. Hopefully you can find parking nearby or else you’ll be parking by the grocery store and walking a bit.
Once you’ve entered, you’re in tamale valhalla. Don’t bother yourself with a torte or other sandwich because it’s not the Torte Place. Go for the name sake. There’s a monitor that displays all the tamales they have for the day, so choose off of that menu (it’s easy to see what’s popular, too). I recommend the chicken and green sauce, my best friend prefers the pork in red sauce. Nothing here is very spicy, so if you’d like a little kick get the spicy sauce with your chips and maybe the spicy chipotle chicken tamale. You’ll also get your choice of a fountain drink or glass bottle. I go for the glass bottle Coca-​Cola. You should too.
Seating gets a little hectic, as they often run out of tables. It’s full of park benches and patio furniture spaced so tightly together that you’ll have to rub your hips up against anyone you try to squeeze by. That’s probably my least favorite thing about this place.
Your order will come in a styrofoam box. Open the box, unwrap the tamale, and enjoy the goodness. The outside is soft and delicious, with a punch of sweet flavor inside. The chips here are my favorite tortilla chips I’ve ever had, and the salsa is amazing.
Oh, and you should keep the salsa and rice containers, they make great fridge storage containers.
If I had the money, I’d eat here every day. ⁵⁄₅ for sure for food quality alone.

Delicious food! The only downside (which isn’t really a downside) is how busy it always is. It can be hard to find a table. Maybe it’s a better takeout spot instead.

The Tacos.
OMG
During lent I eat fish taco’s like 400 times and it’s ok because they are AMAZING.
And the Cuban Nachos. My kids fight over them.
We love the tamale place and you can too!

I was shopping at Kohl’s and pulled up Unilocal to find a lunch spot. I was so excited to see I was closely to The Tamale Place! I have been meaning to try this out — everyone’s been talking about it.
When I walked in I was impressed — great open kitchen where you can see the tamale production. There’s a digital display showing how many of each tamale is available — cute!
I was honest with the cashier and explains I had never been there before, nor bad I ever had a tamale. She helped me choose 3 (although that was too much and I took home half of each) that were more on the healthy side (no cheese) and a sweet one to compare.
I’ll gladly be returning!

I had been dying to eat at The Tamale Place for months (literally) before I actually made it there, so to say I had high expectations would be an understatement. I joined the lunch crowd around 12:00 on a Friday afternoon. Luckily, I made it there when there was just a small line as opposed to the giant line that formed behind me. The line moved quickly and efficiently. When I got to the front to order, I had some questions seeing as it was my first time at a tamale restaurant of any sort. I identified myself as a newbie, but the employee taking orders was visibly irritated by my questions (How many tamales do people normally order? Which is most popular?)
I ended up ordering the black bean and cheese, poblano chilies and cheese, and the recession (pork in red sauce) to go because there were no seats left inside. I figured I could eat my tamales in the car. I learned the hard way that if you want to eat in the car (or take it back to work with you) that it is best to order it «for here» where it comes in a styrofoam container. Your tamales are packaged in a plastic bag if you order to go. Not really a big deal, but it’s good to know ahead of time.
Finally, I enjoyed eating the tamales, but The Tamale Place was not added to my «Indianapolis Favorites» list. I found all three tamales a bit bland. I’ll definitely add some sort of sauce to my order next time I try it out.

I was passing thru on my way back from Chicago and remembered this place from Triple D so I decides to stop by and try it out. The staff wasn’t very friendly during the lunch crowd and I felt kind of rushed even though I told them it was my 1^st time. Nobody was behind me in line though. I tried the recession pork tamale and the spicy pork tamale. I actually thought the recession was spot on. Very moist and meaty. I love being able to use those two adjectives in the same sentence. Lol. I thought the spicy pork was very good also. I also tried a small cheese dip and chips. They were a dollar less if you purchased them separately instead of ordering the nachos with cheese. I did enjoy this place and will return in the future.

This is the place you have to go to when in Indianapolis. Just make the decision now that either after you arrive, or when you are heading back to the airport, that you detour here at least once when visiting the city.
I’m a huge fan of tamales, and this place knows what it is doing. Everything is made fresh, and when one particular flavor is gone, it is gone. They have an electronic board that keeps a running tally of availability of each flavor they have that day, to avoid embarrassment of asking for something they don’t have. Pricing here is very affordable, and the quantity and sizes of the tamales are more than fair.
My only regret is that I couldn’t come back to visit before I left here. Get here early, as they do run out of the popular tamales early, and come hungry, you will want to try at least two.

I’m not really sure why this place is so high.
It’s ok.
Not great. There are way better and more authentic places in Indy.
But it’s «safe».
Tamale was good though. Nachos were… eh.

I absolutely love this place. The tamales here so huge, delicious, and not that expensive. My favorites are the spicy tamales, but I have tried a little bit of everything. If you want a shot at the best tamales you will have to come early because they do sell out fast!
They have som sweet tamales (pumpkin and chocolate) which I haven’t been able to find anywhere else, and they are amazing. I also tried that tacos here (beef and pork) and I thought they were pretty good, but defiantly the tamales are what to get. The lines move fast and the service is good, even during the lunch rush!
I always recommend this place If someone is looking for good Mexican food.

This place is awesome. Not much to say about it other than that. The whole shop is run by a group of white women who make some of the best damn tamales I’ve ever had, if not the best period. I’ve lived 30 minutes from the mexican border my whole life and still never had tamales this good until I found this place. Every time I went to and from school at IU i would stop here on my way to or from the airport and pick up a big bag of tamales. They keep very well. I like the spicy ones and the ones wrapped in banana leaves the best.
Two tips:
1. Call when they open to reserve the best kinds cuz they run out of the best ones quickly
2. Always check the cold tamale list for super discounted tamales that didn’t sell the day before. They reheat quite wonderfully.

The food is good. The staff is really friendly. I wish they had a salsa bar. Every time I’ve eaten a tamale I wanted to douse it in salsa.

[Cue that embarrassing moment when you realize that you’ve never reviewed one of your FAVORITE Indy restaurants…]
I’ve been a long-​time fan of The Tamale Place. **In fact, I cried when I heard that DD&D-bag from Food Network was going to visit The Tamale Place a few years back. I was SURE it was going to be ruined by the masses who follow that peroxided atrocity.**
Thankfully, while they seem busier (good for them) they are still reliable & excellent. I wonder if it’s not almost time to move to an even bigger westside location (although their kitchen set-​up seems awfully sweet), because sometimes you have to throw elbows to get a table. The outdoor seating helps in the warmer months.
Our preference is to go for early lunch (like at 11:00am), or late lunch/​early dinner. There normally seems to be an ample selection of tamales at those times.
Now, service in this place cracks me up. Normally a «you’re an idiot» demeanor from service staff would take off stars on one of my reviews… but I’ve come to expect it, I don’t mind it here, & it kind of makes me laugh now. The surliness of the staff got worse after the DD&D-bag visited. But I expect it, therefore it’s ok.
On to the tamales. They have a menu board for what they have available, and how many are left of each variety. I love the «sell it till it’s gone» philosophy, and I love that it forces me to swap up my order a bit each time. There is also something gratifying about knowing when you got the LAST of something… i.e. guy behind me who also wanted chipotle chicken? SorryNotSorry Dude [does that make me mean?]. If you scope out their menu in advance of visiting, you may not get what you want in the tamale arena. My favorite tamales? Recession pork (classic pork tamale), Chipotle Chicken, Chipotle Beef, Pork in Roasted Red Sauce (banana leaf), or the Hot & Spicy Pork (depending on the day, it might literally melt your face off… in a delicious fashion).
I’ve had most of their «sweet tamale’s» too… and while I think they are interesting to try, I would go back for a savory tamale instead.
Recently, due a tamale shortage & a later visit… I was «forced» to explore the tacos. OMG– don’t miss the tacos. They are made to order, the tortillas are amazing, the meat is hot & freshly grilled, and they come topped with melted cheese, cilantro & onion. I can’t imagine a visit without a taco now too.
Roll on into The Tamale Place… you won’t regret it.

A little gem on the west side of Indy! My bf raves about this place so I decided to tag along with him today. I ordered a pork taco and ½ steak and egg torta, chips with mild salsa.
Let’s just say this is my new fave taco joint! The pork was marinated to perfection and with a little Sausalito… it was divine. The best taco I’ve ever had! The torta sandwich had a little too much bread for me but it was delicious none the less. Friendly service and quaint dining area make a great experience! Oh… and everything is made in house… including the tortilla chips!!!

Should you go to The Tamale Place?
The answer is YYYAAAASSS!
Tamales just may be my favorite Mexican food, so when I found out there was a whole restaurant dedicated to them (and some other Mexican items as well), I knew I had to find my way there. I have ventured there twice.
There’s a menu at the top of the counter where you place your order (you pay at a different one down the line), and next to it is a screen showing how many of each type of tamale remains. There are a myriad of tamales… beef, chicken, pork… Red sauce, green sauce, chipotle… Even chocolate and pumpkin!
My first time I had two tamales– spicy chipotle chicken (just enough spice– Goldilocks perfect) and beef with red sauce (I think). Both were absolutely delicious. The meat was so tender and juicy. The spices and flavors were so on point. My mouth is watering thinking about it… Anyway, the tamales are large, so two were plenty! I should have saved half of the second, but it was so delicious I couldn’t help myself…
The second time there I had the tamale combo (one tamale, rice or black beans, and chips with salsa for only $ 9!!). I had the pork with red sauce in banana leaf wrapping. So good! The banana leaf flavor was definitely noticeable. I had plenty of chips/​salsa and black beans left. It is awesome because everything is already packaged in to go containers, so you can easily cart your leftovers home.
My coworkers have gotten both the nachos (so much topping the chips are hidden!) and tacos (West coast style… you know, without the salsa and sour cream, etc.) and those are apparently as delicious as the tamales. I think they may also carry tostadas, but I could be wrong.
The one thing that is a bit of a downer is that the place is small, so be prepared to take your stuff home to eat or become friends with some fellow tamale fanatics. Usually you can find a seat somewhere. This is mainly a problem just during the lunch rush.
Also, the trash cans are literally trash cans. Like, Oscar the Grouch silver trash cans. Sure, it is kind of kitschy and cute. You have to lift the lid to throw your trash away, so that’s a bit unappealing. Disclaimer: Me and my coworkers are microbiologists so that might not bother others as much. ;)
Overall, you MUST go here. The tamales are waiting for you!

I don’t even really want to write this review because I don’t want more people knowing about this place so I can have all the tamales to myself.
But since the word is already out and they are amazing, I figured I owed it to them to write it.
Thanks to this place, I now know that I love tamales. I mean, I am obsessed. If I could eat these every day I would.
So far, I have tried a random variety of tamales. All of them have been delicious. I really like the one that comes in the banana leaf, can’t think of the exact type off the top of my head.
We have gotten tamales to go and have eaten tamales in the restaurant. They really do reheat well, thanks for that tip Brittany S. We may or may not get extra to go each time now… here is my tip, the cold ones are cheaper and you can just throw them right into your freezer for later. The staff will give you tips for reheating.
One thing to note is that there is never a guarantee of what will be in stock but they update numbers constantly. If you really want specific tamales, call ahead and place an order, I would recommend giving them at least a days notice.
We also once got some nachos to split and thankfully took Wanda M.‘s tip and did the half size, she is totally right, it is plenty for two! Another tip? The dessert ones are delicious as well especially the pumpkin, wowsa. I mean, it was practically life changing.
So go and enjoy this wonderful place but don’t enjoy it too much, leave some for me!

Authentic tamales in a strip mall, you say??? Heck yeah!
Love finding these little places, and giving them my business. On our continuing college tour, my daughter and I made our way to the West side of Indy to track down this little joint. Guys running the place were totally cool and gave me the low down on how they ended up here.
We started with an order of white cheese dip served with homemade chips… can you say «addictive»? We then split several different kinds of tacos and tamales (whatever was served fresh on the menu that day). We had chorizo, chicken, and beef (I think?). Each one had excellent flavor, but the kicker on the tacos was the addition of cilantro… brought all the flavors together with that kick of freshness at the end. Mmm, mmm, good!!!
Will definitely try and make it back next time through town. Thanks guys!

Stopped for lunch around 12:30. Had no idea this was a DDD. By luck there were plenty of tamale variations for out party of four. I think we took the last spicy green chicken in banana leaf. I had no idea the size, and thinking they are standard sized, ordered two for me. Yikes! They are enormous! Ate one! Hubby had a taco as well, it was STUFFED. Everything was so flavorful! The mild salsa and chips were delish! Would def go back, too bad we live in Chicago!

Just moved to the area and caught the Tamale Place on DDD the week before the move.
It does not disappoint. We had some great tamales in SF regularly from Tamale Lady; these are absolutely in the same league. I got a pork tamale with red sauce combo, which came with chips and spicy fresh salsa. The tamale was huge and delicious! The chips and salsa were fantastic. The beans were fine.
With this being our first visit, and not anticipating such a massive tamale, I also ordered a taco, which was equivalently tasty. I can’t wait for our next visit.