Tamalex Restaurant

If you’re looking for authentic Honduran baleadas, these are them! ¡Muy rico! This place is laid back and not at all fancy but it’s like a quick trip to Central America and a great place to practice some Spanish!

Unlike any neighborhood Mexican/​Honduras place you have ever been. Has the comfortable family style dining atmosphere with the level of food that is humble and delicious. I have eaten here twice in the past month. First time I ordered lengua tacos-​very basic but if done properly is probably one of the most tender meats imaginable. It was absolutely amazing and very flavorful. The second time I had a plate of green enchiladas. The green sauce did not disappoint, it was tangy and spicy and the chicken enchiladas were also perfectly done. I love this lil place. My absolute favorite restaurant in philly.

Came here to accompany my mom the other day and to her the food was great but the waitress was not attentive. She came and left in the middle of the order… That to me was bad! Otherwise for her she liked it.

This place is the shiz.
Best El Salvadorian food I’ve had since I’ve gotten to Philly, and I’ve explored a whole bunch of Mexican/​Honduran/​El Salvadorian places all over Philly. It’s so good that I’ve been back 3 times in the past 3 weeks, and this place isn’t exactly close to my Grad Hospital abode.
Have started with my old standbys: burritos, tacos, etc, etc. Ginormous, flavorful, though the burritos for me are not quite up to par of Veracruzana/​Los Gallos. Wanting to break out of the usual, I’ve since gone for the baleadas (refried beans, cheese, avocado, egg), plantains w/​sour cream and cheese (best I’ve had since I left my favorite Cuban restaurant in Boston behind), pupusas (usually pork and cheese filling). Enchiladas are great as well.
Will report back once I try their stews that look amazing.
Everything is cheap and delicious. Diggin’ the awesome décor on the walls and the general neighborhood joint atmosphere. Soccer on the TV, Fanta in the fridge. What more could you ask for?

Mexican foodies=come here. It’s a total dive but authentic as could be. Verde sauce is off the chain. Their food is SPICY which I am ALL ABOUT. So don’t come in here with your bland tastebuds. Leave them at the door. Ariba!

Unassuming little corner Mexican/​El Salvadorian spot. Best pupusas I’ve ever had (make you sure you eat it with the provided slaw and sauce). The quesadilla was different than most people are used to, but great! Also delicious: gordita and the Mexican bread sandwich.
BYOB and super friendly staff. Most of the menu is fried, but that’s the charm, right?

I ordered here late one night while watching the fights. The chicken nachos and tacos really hit the spot, and not in a terrible, junk food way. They were prepared well, had quality ingredients, and delivered relatively late. I can only comment on the take out, but I would definitely order or visit again.

My wife and I order from this place two or three times a month due to it’s proximity to our house (right around the corner). I think the aspect I like most is the ability to order both Mexican and Salvadoran food from the same spot (seriously, get the al pastor torta and pork & cheese papusas at the same time, you won’t regret it).
The only reason they don’t get the full five stars is because the food’s not always ready when I go to pick it up and am required to wait an extra five to ten minutes while a creepy dude who’s always there I like to refer to as «the happy cowboy» stares at me (someone else has to have seen this guy besides me?).
Bottom line, check it out and you’ll have a great lazy night spot to add to your rotation of takeout spots!

The Torta Cubana was fantastic. I’ll admit though… my stomach wasn’t feeling the best afterwards — I’ll give them another try though. Not sure if that was me or the sandwhich. It was huge. Enough for two whole meals.
The salsa that comes with the chips (gratis) is actually pretty spicy… it’s verde and quite tasty.
The price was right! $ 8.50 and I was pleasantly stuffed with leftovers.

I found this place while searching for Honduran food, I read the reviews and we decided to try it out! I really loved the Honduran plate– tajadas con pollo. We got an order of Baliadas but they were not handmade tortillas, but they were great (just that would off been able to make them at home.) my husband got a chicken soup and he loved it! Everything was really good! The tajadas were a nice size and you will never be thirsty here bc they serve drink in a big container (which I loved!!) I had a really great lunch with my family, (I would just suggest fans or an AC because it was super hot!!)
We will definitely be back here!

After seeing all of the positive reviews, we thought this would be a great place for some Mexican food. Coming from Southern California, our standards are high and sometimes it’s difficult to find good Mexican food here. Sadly, this place didn’t measure up. Although it seemed like a cool neighborhood hole-​in-​the-​wall, we were clearly outsiders and treated as so. The waitress wasn’t friendly, our orders came out at different times, and the food wasn’t very tasty. The rice was plain and flavorless, the beans were watery, flavorless, and seemed old and reheated (Maybe from a can?). The price was reasonable, but I can’t say we’ll be back. The hunt continues for good Mexican food!

Tamalex is a hole in the wall Mexican/​Central American restaurant that dishes up economically priced tasty traditional food in south Philly. The tacos are always good, my favorite are the al pastor. I love the red salsa that comes with the free chips… it goes great on anything you order. Also, do yourself a favor and try the Honduran baleadas for breakfast, brunch… hell they are good anytime of the day! I would pass on the carnitas tacos as there was too much fat in the pork for my taste.

Que buena es la comida de este sitio soy un cliente regular me gusta la comida una ves pedi un burrito Y lo pedí sin pico de gallo pero el burrito me llegó con pico de gallo llame y me dijeron que lo regresara pero si tenía hambre. La siguiente vez que ordene le dije a la señorita que me contestó el teléfono que quería un burrito Y afortunadamente no me cobró 1000 gracias es por eso de lo del pico de gallo no le doy cinco estrellas pero si es buena comida me gusta gracias.

Stopped in for lunch one Summer day — seemed like a bustling spot for construction workers, families from the area either grabbing to go or hanging out for a bit. Sparse interior and Mexican music videos (large women singing, taking bubble baths) playing on the TV.
Went for the pupusas combo and it was fine — three huge guys and the flavor of these won’t blow you away but was a nice texture. Almost like a crisped up meat pancake I guess. Worth a try. Must say it took like 20 – 25 minutes for them to come out. It was busy but not THAT busy.
Also had a horchata which was of course delicioso but freakin’ HUGE. Like literally a bucket. You know those plastic cups you see in professional kitchens cooks keep sauces in/​drink from when it’s ungodly hot in there? Yeah, those. So good on ya if you’re into these kind of portions. Found the whole thing a bit expensive (~$ 13 total) to be honest but also that I couldn’t finish the pupusas or drink in one sitting so spun it into two meals. Maybe bring a few of your amigos if you go and do this place family style.

Quizás la razón es que hay una gran cantidad de inmigrantes Mexicanos viviendo en Philadelphia y naturalmente trajeron su comida a esta ciudad para compartir con el resto de la población. ¡Qué gusto me da!

Our first mexican restaurant choice was closed bc of electricity problems so we ended up here. It was a pleasant surprise. They started with tortilla chip which were nice a crispy.
I ordered the enchiladas with verde sauce which came in a large portion with rice and beans and it was SO DELICIOUS. I can’t remember how much but it was not expensive.
I would love to go back here and try something different.

As a Mexican, I can tell you that this place is as good as it gets! It’s almost impossible to have real authentic food outside the original countries, especially a country like México that has such diverse and ingredients found only there.
This place does a wonderful job at getting you so clouse to Mexico’s taste of home cooked food as well as street food, from south to north. Beware… portions are HUGE so order carefully and go with a BIG apetite.
I went there with a group of friends and had a lot of fun, as well as a lot of food. The fruit waters are amazing and like a mentioned: HUGE. Jamaica, melon, watermelon and rice water. Pork (carnitas) in a huarache, and is as big as your dish, topped with Cotija dried cheese and grilled cactus ($ 8.00). Delicious «gordita de tinga «braised adobo chicken with onion, tomato and spices with melted cheasee, all in this lightly pan fried gordita (a very thick tortilla) with lettuce, sour cream and tomato salsa ($ 4.00) Tacos: beef, pork in adobe, pork carnitas, suadero and many more. We also tried the Pozole ($ 14.00) and the baby pork ribs in mole served with rice and beans.
If you are Mexican, latin American or simply an adventurer eater, this is a must option in Philly.

I frequently order takeout from Tamalex, however; tonight I decided to eat in for the first time and I am beyond pleased. The staff is very friendly and the service is quick. I had the El Pastor tacos and my sister had the cheese Pupusas, both were delicious. We were thrilled about the Pupusas because they are rare very rare to come by.
The best part is how inexpensive the food is. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone in south Philly!

Best Mexican food I’ve had in philly. Best prices. That enchilada dish is just for $ 10. It’s hard to not eat here every day. Really.

Five stars based on price performance. The food is very, very good — far beyond cost. As others have said — extremely fresh and well prepared. We ordered delivery which took about 1 hr.
The enchilada verde was great. Spicy. On the side, rice, beans, avacado, and cheese made for a serious meal. The chicken burrito was equally good, but didn’t have the sides. Tacos al pastor were generously heaped with pork. The nachos w/​pork and guacamole were good.

Soooooo stoked to have this spot in walking distance. Everything here tastes so fresh and the portions are immense. I was feeling ambitious when I went here with a friend last week, so I ordered the bean pupusas (a rare find here in Philly) AND a veggie burrito. My friend got vegan tacos. I’ve gotta say, their vegetarian items are spot on. Even my gargantuan appetite was no match for two helpings of homemade chips and salsa, a burrito the size of my face, and a hefty helping of pupusas. I was not expecting to get such a large plate of pupusas! They could arguably be a main course even though I was picturing them in my head as appetizers. I wasn’t mad about it though. Who doesn’t love leftovers for lunch the next day?
The ingredients taste surprisingly fresh. If you love mushrooms, you will freak out when you eat their veggie tacos or burritos, because the mushrooms in both are plentiful and delicious. The pupusas had a great presentation, served with slaw and a unique dipping sauce.
Our waitress was nice and attentive with refilling our waters. Even though there was a slight language barrier, she was able to understand my friend’s vegan specifications perfectly.
It’s the kind of awesome little spot that makes me so happy that I live in the neighborhood.

This place is absolutely delicious and service is fantastic. Went with a large group (15 people) and the waiters were on top of everything. Each person was more than pleased with what they ordered.
We for horchata (rice milk with cinnamon and sugar) for the table to sip on while waiting for food. Very sweet. Almost a dessert drink. It was tasty.
The chips and salsa are great. The chips look homemade and are served warm. Salsa is flavorful and spicy but the horchata cools it down ;-)
For my entrée I got the huerchete al pastor which was a corn tortilla stuffed with refried beans. On top was cotija cheese, shredded pork, peppers and onions. Absolutely huge for $ 8. I tried and tried but could not finish. I wanted to keep eating because it was literally one of the best Mexican dishes I have ever had.
The Maduras (sweet plantains) are also delicious. Well cooked and served with a sweet cheese sauce.
Yum. Can’t wait to go back!

The Authentic Mexican Cuisine of de San Mateo Ozolco Puebla, «de la Cazuela a su Meza»