The Tamale Place

Best place to eat in Greenwood. Second best place in Indianapolis, original location is slightly better.

I have been a devoted fan of the Tamale
Place since 2005 when it was just a take out kitchen on Rockville Rd. And
lynhurst in Indy. It was close to my office and I went once a week. Then I retired to brown county and it was too far to go. I was so thrilled when they opened up on south 31 close to greenwood. My wife and I go when ever we are up in greenwood. L love the red hot sauce,
The spicy red tamales and my favorite is the pork taco. This is a great reasonably
Price place.
I GIVE IT 5+stars

Hot spicy tamales — but bland dining experience.
Get here early to have a full selection of all the tamales they serve. Available tamales are on an LED screen with the number they have available. I always get the chicken verde tamale meal. I love the authenticity of their black beans and salsa. And I can’t turn down their pumpkin tamale for dessert.

I’m not sure how to describe the staff. We’ve been 3 times and like the food quite a bit… but the staff always seem pissed that we showed up. The hid in the back one of the times for about 3 minutes, like they hoped we’d leave. They’re open until 9, but if you show up at 8:30 (like we have twice), they act put out like I’m ruining they’re night. Fix this, your food is great.

I go to this place just for the vegetarian tamales. They are worth the trip when you can find them. The last four times I have visited, however, they have been out. When that improves, I will change my review. Also, some of the people at the Greenwood location are rude. That is no way to encourage return customers. You guys were doing so well last year.. What happened?

I have been excited to try this place for quite a while, but was definitely disappointed by my visit. I saw the DDD episode and couldn’t wait to try some of the items I saw on the show. Here’s a hint. Don’t look at the menu before you go. They only actually had maybe half of what is on the menu.
OK, so I went with a chicken chipotle tamale combo which came with black beans and chips and salsa and a drink. At over $ 9 that seemed a bit high, but I figured I’d see what I got for the money. What I got was big disappointment.
The tamale wasn’t bad, nothing that wowed me. but fairly tasty. The beans were just bland, boiled beans without flavor. The chips were just meh, but that salsa… what was that?! I ordered hot. I could visibly see multiple ingredients although there was a somewhat brown hue, but it had no flavor. It tasted like watery tomato, that’s it
Nope. Wouldn’t go back. If you want good tamales in Indy, make friends with a local Mexican family and get them to make some for you. Guy Fieri, you totally let me down on this one.

I love this place! My first time going to a The Tamale Place was at the Indy Market and I fell in love with there tacos and tamale. I dont know why people are giving this place such low reviews, I know it sucks that what is on the menu is not available, but thats why theres a digital one. I was too a but confuse but I was able to pick what I was doing by other Unilocal reviewers. We ordered 3 tamales and 2 tacos with everything on it to go. The tamales were in a clear bag and it was heavy! I didnt mind they didnt have what I wanted as long as it was a tamale. We ordered pork chipotle, chicken verde, and shredded beef. I loved all 3! It was flavorful, big and more than enough fillings. I threw salsa on there and tapatio and it was great! The tacos were wonderful too. We did one steak and one pork and it was yummy!!! I cant wait to go back and try other flavors. There really is a lot of variety of food to choose from even if that tamale flavor you want is not available.

First time coming to this Greenwood location. The wait was minimal and there were plenty of tamale choices even after the lunch crowd.
Took one of each to go. Included the apple pecan, which I was skeptical about however it went well with the pork chops and slaw dinner last night.
Crew seemed a bit non — chalant and not as friendly as location in Avon. They seemed a bit bored actually.

Stopped in later in the evening. Didn’t realize that they offer «day old» tamales at half price. Took 5 of the «veggie with green sauce» home and boy, were they a hit!

Very confused by this place. Came in right after they opened, looked at the menu and tried to order. Was told they didn’t have anything that I was ordering, all they had was what was on this little electronic screen. So what is the point of the menu? Was not able to get anything since they didn’t have any vegetarian options (I mean, they did on the menu but I was told that since it wasn’t on the electronic screen they didn’t actually have it?)
I left very confused and sad that I didn’t get to try any tamales!

The original location on Rockville road is much better! I don’t know why the two locations differ so greatly but the tamales here are bland, everything seems rushed and not worth getting up early to get there before things are sold out. I do recommend the Tamale Place but I prefer the original location any day!

Another great lunch! The shop is bigger than we expected and the décor is sort of ‘cantina’, with wooden picnic benches and some contemporary lighting along with some industrial touches. The menu for tamales is displayed on a digital screen and does not necessarily include all of the tamales on the main menu. The tamales are prepared over a 24 hour period so the day’s list reflects what they have available. I had a veggie tamale ($ 3.59) in green sauce, which was a little bland until I added some hot sauce (27 cents extra.) It, then, was really good and tasted authentic. My taste buds require a little heat, so maybe others would not need the sauce. My wife had two steak and egg tacos ($ 5.98), which she said were great. Clean restrooms, too. We will definitely return and try the nachos, black beans and rice, etc.

Not the bad, but not good. The staff at this location does not care and it shows in their food and service. Sad because I love the one on the west side. Booo!

When they initially came to the south side they couldn’t be beaten, but the last few times I have been here, it’s not been very good. There is no selection, and the tamales they do have are so dry they crumble and/​or stick to the husk. Also, the music is so loud you can’t hear the people you came in with. It’s a big disappointment, especially since they started so strong.

Back after being home in San Diego for a year. Had the Chicken Chipotle taco and Fish Taco both spicy with everything. Small but packed full of flavor.
My wife had the Pork in Roasted Red Sauce tamale and Chicken Oaxacan Mole Tamale. She said the Pork was a little salty, but she loved the Mole.
Still Wish they had beer!
We were there a little after 10 AM so the place was deserted and service was super fast.
Stark Industrial ambiance so eat and GO!

Best pork taco ever… this place rocks… inexpensive and delicious. The staff is super nice and helpful.

So it sort of has the signage of a chain, and I guess at this point it is one (an Indy chain-​let), but the interior has got that spartan industrial chic thing going, a la Chipotle, that everyone seems so crazy about.
The whole delivery is fun and flavorful, making this a great outlet for Indy’s southern frontier. Hope it lasts down there! Puccini’s Smiling Teeth came and went in about 5 minutes; Yats has held together wonderfully; the verdict isn’t out on Tamale Place.
Either way, the tamales are rock solid. From what I hear, they’re a bit zestier at the flagship location, but they aren’t embarrassing themselves by their southern incarnation. And if the tamales aren’t your thing, the tortas have more than enough flavor and punch. I would love to wash it all down with a glass of horchata, which they don’t yet seem to have. But the Jarritos drinks gives it an added cool factor, and if that’s some Mexican coke in bottles, well then…¡te adoro! (And I don’t even drink Coke. But it’s the thought that counts.)

OMG these are the best tamales I have ever had. I also like that they have sweet tamales which I have never seen anywhere else before. My only complaint is that they are a little pricy at $ 9 for 1 tamale some rice and a drink… oh and chips and salsa (that you get for free at any other Mexican restaurant)

After reading Unilocal reviews for the Tamale Place in Indy we were very excited to try something new! Unfortunately the Indy location closes at 5pm on Sunday’s so we decided to drive over to greenwood.
We arrived and the parking lot/​restaurant were empty. When I saw that I was a bit disappointed… and began to wonder…
We order 3 Tamales… pork, chicken and veggie. We also order guacamole and chips. For about $ 18 that’s not a bad deal. They have a screen displaying the amount of each type of tamale they have left so I guess they make them all at the beginning of the day… and they sit in warmers/​steamers for several hours… depending on when you arrive. Perhaps I’m wrong and they make more throughout the day but keep a close eye on quantity so as not to be wasteful. which I can respect.
The tamales were okay… the amount of filling was small while the corn mash was the main ingredient. Conveniently enough they have a TV playing the DDD episode on a loop… so we watched to see what those tamales looked like and sure enough there was a ton of filling and not as much corn… oh the perks of being a tv personality.
The chips and guacamole were great though. I’m not sure how long this location has been open but we won’t be coming back. I’d like to try the original location though!

Meh… I was so looking forward to trying but was underwhelmed. Service was what one would expect from a fast food joint. The tamales were just ok I had a pork one and chicken one I forget the names probably due to the uninspiring blandness of it. Mind you I have had worse but they were just forgettable, and those who have had good tamales know that once you have had a great one you are forever searching for another, don’t look for it here. Salsa not good and cheese dip was ok, the chips were deep fried there i suspect what one would expect from a more authentic joint which was a good switch from the normal fare. Probably wouldn’t return.