Tamales Chiapaneco

I’ve been running into a guy that says he used to cook here. He sells Tamales out of a cooler around Golden Hill. Still really good, but I can’t always find him…

This place use to make the best Tamales in town. My family went back this Christmas to try and place an order for Christmas only to find out they closed down.
They reminded me soo much of my grandmas homemade ones.

Ugh! I kinda wanted to keep this place mine and my family’s little secret. So I’ve never actually been to this restaurant but this is the place where we order our tamales for birthday parties and Christmas.
I have to give my uncle Sergio all the credit for finding this place. For many years my grandma and my aunts would gather in a kitchen very early in the morning and start making tamales on Christmas Eve. I remember being very little and having to separate the corn leaves or whatever you call them. Everyone contributes.
Last Christmas everyone knew they were going to be busy and my grandma would be flying in from her trip the night before. She wasn’t gonna be wanting to make tamales so my uncle suggested Tamales Chiapanecos. We ordered 100 tamales. Yup we have a large family!
OMG! They were so freakin good! Not too much masa (dough) and packed in w/​meat! We keep them in coolers to keep them nice and hot and they stay hot for HOURS!!! Their carne roja tamal is so good. Shredded red beef so nice and juicy. The pork tamal is also good! The come really close to grandmas awesome tamales. The dulce tamal w/​pineapple is just ok. You can’t beat my grandmas Tamal dulce w/​pineapple and raisens! Oh so good. My family is all really thin but do you think we ever have tamales left over? Heck no! Never when we order them from here! We’re seriously had friends argue about how many tamales they ate while someone else ate more than they did! I can’t wait for this Christmas.
If your gonna place a Christmas order make sure you place your order with them at least a week before! They get busy!!!

Great? Maybe not but good.
Been here a few times for work. My boss swears these are the best in San Diego. My sister and I both agree they’re good but not something we will go out of our way for. One hint, if you want dulce (or sweet) you have to ask for it. They don’t advertise them for some reason but usually they have a stash in the back. The people there are very friendly and helpful. If you plan to make a big order, call ahead. As far as prices are concerned, they’re about standard.

A serious hole in the wall… but their tamales are quite good.
They are big, but not big on masa… they’re big on their fillings.
Very tasty, as well as their hot salsa.
Can’t go wrong with this place. They serve other standard mexican entrees, but their speciality is Tamales.