Los Tamales Poblanos

Love their chips & salsa when they’re here in Monterey at our farmers market in Tuesday’s. Haven’t been to the restaurant but hope to in the near future.

Went there today at noon. The young man said they weren’t open. Said they worked at Farmers Market. They need to post their hours.

Tried it once, after trying a half dozen times when They were supposed to be open but they were always closed. The last time we actually caught them open and the place was odd. The menu was definitely extremely downsized. Almost to the point that you wonder why they don’t just do a taco truck. Good tamale but that’s about it…

I saw that this place has some great reviews so I have tried going by multiple times. They are never open when they say they are open. I went by at 1:00 and the lady said they were closing earlier. I tried again a few weeks later and the door was locked. When I called to ask when they were open they said till 8:00 but the door was locked at 7:00. Every time I call and ask how late they are open or if they are open I never get a clear answer. The food may be great but I have not had the chance to try it.

I really wanted to try this place but every time I come they close. (Tried 3 times) I just drove by at 7pm and by the time I parked at 7:05 they were closed. There hours claim they are open till 8pm and on the weekends. Definitely not true. Every time I’ve been here there’s been people inside btw.
Bad management. I won’t be back.

Actually have not been to the restaurant, but know Oceano well from my years at CalPoly. The reason for the Post is that Miguel (Owner I presume) was at the Carmel Valley Farmers Market this last weekend. My wife and I got there late just as they were closing down. Miguel offered us some incredible tastes of his numerous salsa creations. We were hooked! We went to purchase, finding he only took cash and we were (RARELY!) out of cash… it has been a very fun weekend. The Solution: Miguel said to take what we liked and send him a check! REALLY? That trust and «salesmanship» will get Miguel a visit to his obviously popular restaurant and I will send him that check… with a tip!
Cheers and Gracias Amigo!
David and Val

Great food. Owners are very nice and attentive. The nachos and burrito were excellent. Food was very fresh. Glad we decided to stop by this wonderful little restaurant.

Great little family run place. We had a large group, including four children. I was able to sample several varieties of tamales, tacos and a quesadilla since we all ordered differently. I liked everything except the quesadilla and the chips. The chips were too thick and hard; they tasted a bit old. The tamales were great. The masa was not over powering like in most places. The sauces all tasted fresh and homemade. The rice and beans were very good as well. They have bottled sodas and beers available to drink. I loved the family feel. Two little boys were in the corner watching youtube videos while they waited for a ride home from their relative. Their mother and father were in the back cooking everything up for us to enjoy.

I stopped by this spot due to convenience of being near the Melodrama and because of the ratings. I ordered 3 tacos, pollo, Asada, and pastor. I had originally requested the chicken taco with the hot salsa and the two others with medium to try them out. My order came out flip-​flopped on the sauces, but that was not a disappointment as the chicken taco was probably the best prepared chicken taco I have ever eaten. The tender perfectly seasoned chicken and pieces of tomato along with the large strip of green chili was divine. The Asada was a little tough and felt like it may have been reheated from the lunch rush (I came in at 3:15pm) but it was a mediocre taco. The pastor taco was pretty good, it had several pieces of pineapple which was nice as I usually wish that it was included in more abundance by other establishments. The meat had a little kick and combined with the hot red salsa made this one the spiciest of the trio.
Downs: I was disappointed that the tortillas were packaged and not fresh. The chips would have been better warm and really allowed me to enjoy the great tasting salsa appetizer.
All in all I would say the food here is above a lot of other restaurants and comes close to Juanita’s.
Environment: When I went in, it was just me in the restaurant aside from the two ladies running it and one of their kids playing around in the booths. The kid didn’t bother me, although I was a little jealous when he was looking at his phone and yelled «Mamaaa, taco» and his mom brought him a taco.
Service: I was greeted warmly and had great customer service. It really felt like I sat down in their home and was offered a great meal by loving people.

Dined in here for lunch. The enchiladas were very good and flavorful! The women and man working really made me feel at home. The service and food was awesome. I even saw the women who was working run out a tamale to a homeless man. That was heart warming!

After reading the reviews and my folks wanted to take us to an early dinner and our usual sushi spot didn’t open until 5pm I suggested this spot since we were staying in Oceano.
We arrived around 4pm and as we expected it was empty. We were greeted by a woman who seated us and a young man came out with some awkward menus and took our drink orders. I asked for a Coke and my husband ordered a lemonade, the folks opted for water.
The menus were a little confusing but we muddled through them and our server was a help, then he told us he actually was the cook. After figuring out the menus better he left to get our drinks, returning with my bottle of Coke, a bottle of water and no lemonade, but said it would be right out, but brought us out the most amazing basket of chips and their salsa to die for.
So he took our order. I opted for the jalapeño cheese tamale, that came with black beans and rice. Hubby went for a tongue burrito, mom decided on two chili Colorado tamales also with the sides and dad got the chicken enchiladas with the sides. Then he came out with the lemonade only to our surprise to find out it was a pitcher of fresh squeezed lemonade, my husband was in heaven!
The restaurant was very clean and simple and had white table cloths with fresh flowers. Had a row of booths and a good amount of tables.
Our food was out in a timely manner and Oh my gosh we were blown away at the presentation of the food as if it was done by someone who had been to culinary school. It was very beautiful and that’s only the start.
The tamales were probably the best I’ve ever had and I was raised in LA. The masa was light, the ingredients were plentiful and flavorful. Their rice and beans were so tasty!
My husband said that his burrito was fantastic and it was huge! My mom said her tamales were so full of meat too. Dad’s enchiladas were stuffed with chicken and he had 3 on his plate.
All I can say is you have to eat here! Authentic Mexican food that is made here and done right. Probably the best I’ve had in a long time!

The food here is excellent, great location we’ll keep coming back! My kids love the food, friendly people, great service, I recommend it.

Wow. The food is wonderful. I had the tacos. Two will fill a normal person. They are like three street tacos in one. My son raved about the Asada burrito. My wife had the ugly chili and said the sauce was heavenly. There is not a better place in five cities. This is how Mexican should be.: :The salsa is the best I’ve ever had: I even bought a quart of it to go!

The waiter was very friendly and the service was great. The owner even came out to see how we were doing. Me and my husband tried all 4 tamales… chicken, pork, jalapeño & cheese and oaxacan. All of them were delicious, but our favorite was the jalapeño & cheese. Also, the rice had so much flavor. Will definitely be coming back again.

We had a variety of tamales; pork, jalapeño, mole poblano. The filling was spicy and moist. The masa on the tamales was fluffy and flavorful. They had great salsas. Everything including the beans & rice served with the tamales tasted authentic.

I can’t submit a review without adding stars so I’m giving the benefit of the doubt. They were really attentive while they were getting ready to open up. I was looking for soup and they have apparently recently changed their menu. She explained they make tamales, tacos and burritos. Just thought that was worth passing along since I went there based on info I found on here to begin with.

Cute little mexican spot on front st. They haven’t been opened for long but I’m sure they’ll be here for years to come.
I brought my mom for a lunch date & the owners greeted us nicely, made us feel at home!
Yummy hand made tortillas
Being born & raised in Los Angeles I’ve had my share of authentic Carne asasda tacos & it doesn’t get any better. The asada was very tender!
Chips & salsa are on the house
Not sure if there is parking behind but we had no problem finding a spot in the front.

There is a new contender in the Five Cities area for best Tacos! Homemade tortillas. Homemade salsa. Homemade chips. I had the red and green sauce (pork) tacos. Both excellent but if I had to pick one I would go with the red as it was a bit more spicy. The beef was also flavorful. It had a smokey flavor. All served with garnish and onions. My lunch mate ordered the Chili Relleno which was served with rice and beans. She loved it!

The Tamales are really good… I had a Jalapeño and a Oxaca Tamale. The Oxaca was the best, it’s wrapped in a banana leaf with Chicken Mole sauce!!!

So happy to see this place finally open up! Today we grabbed dinner there. The service was great! They gave us some really good salsa and guac with great chips as soon as we were seated. We ordered the chile relleno combo, two jalapeño tamales, and a taco de asada. The tamales are pretty thick– we actually ended up taking one home. The taco de asada was very good. They even make their own tortillas! I’m excited to go back and try other things on the menu.
ps: Not 100% sure the address listed is correct. It’s right on Highway 1.