Houston Tamales Factory

I have not been to this location, but my local Kroger Marketplace sells their tamales in the refrigerated section.
I try not to fall for the cutesy marketing (cute rice bag material encasing the dozen tamales), but I did and bought 3 dozen! It was $ 9.99 for a dozen tamales. I bought the chicken, spinach, and black bean.
Chicken: my husband and my favorite of the three. Very moist and flavorful and not greasy.
Spinach: my second favorite — it’s very moist and I think it’s mixed with cheese.
Black bean: it was a bit dry. if you’re going for a veggie option, go with the spinach.
I don’t know if I’d come to their actual location now since they sell it so close to my house at the grocery store. It was a nice surprise.

love this place. Mexican comfort food!

Friendly service, but that food was garbage. Ok, to be fair, their breakfast tacos are «decent». So here it goes:
Service — 5 stars
Breakfast — 3 stars
Tamales — 1
So I guess I should give it a 3, but I just can’t rate it that high.
Once again, the tamales are terrible.

3 stars for service, 2 stars for barely any vegetarian options=2 stars, rounded down for barely having any vegetarian options.
I had my eye on the Houston Tamales Factory for a while now and finally decided to hit them for lunch this week. Well, what a disappointment. I perused the reviews, checked the menu that Tracey L. so helpfully took a picture of (the website is still under construction), and planned on ordering the tamale plate (4 tamales with rice and beans) with 2 spinach, cheese, and corn and 2 jalapeño and cream cheese tamales.
Well, thwarted I was! The only vegetarian tamale options they offer on their menu are only available by the dozen with 24 hours notice. The friendly owner explained it had something to do with when spinach was tainted by that e-​coli outbreak, uhhhhh in 2006! So for safety’s sake, they allegedly won’t make ‘em till you order them. What about the cream cheese jalapeño option then? That recall was 2008, so we have something here.
Luckily, they have a «veggie» breakfast taco option which consisted of refried beans (cooked with lard or bacon, there was a distinct pork taste), shredded cheddar, tomatoes, and blah blah blah. I ordered two of these, without precognition of the refried beans preparation, but became quite annoyed when I bit into my taco and the flavor of smoky ham crossed my palate. My co-​worker and I decided to eat there and watch the world pass by at the HPD precinct across the street.
The tables are sticky.
The owner also warned us the salsa was hot. I looked forward to this and was again, disappointed. It was fresh and tomatoey, but quite mild.
So, carnivores looking for a cheap tamale fix with mild salsa downtown? This is your place.

Do you like tamales? Saving money? At the same time?
Bam! $ 1 Tamales (5 max) for lunch. And these aren’t your typical mediocre-​but-​bearable tamales, they truly kick butt, especially the beef and pork. Kinda greasy, but isn’t that part of the deal? They’re also served with some great salsa that should be sprinkled all over the tamales, and possibly eaten with a fork.
Go there.

A must try! Especially their salsa! My work bff and I ventured over to Houston Tamales Factory one morning after we stumbled upon it en route to Popeyes for lunch.
I tried their potato and egg breakfast taco and the chorizos and egg taco. Both were delish! What’s great about this place is, they actually blend the egg and meat together in the same consistency throughout the taco. Sounds crazy right? I KNOW! But it is one of the best breakfast tacos I’ve had.
And that salsa! Initially I didn’t even want it, but the owner (I assume is the owner) highly recommended it and gave me a huge container of it. Boy… am I glad I took it! Obviously the salsa was fresh and tasty! It complimented the tacos and its something you should not pass up when you’re there.

I grew up on my grandmothers homemade tamales, the same ones she sold to make a living during the 1930’s depression and never thought I would find any as good as hers again, I WAS WRONG! The owner is friendly and out going, but even he takes a backseat to his food! The best tamales I’ve had since I was a kid! If you like tamales this place is a must, don’t miss! A+++

I had the special with beef and pork tamales. The chicken flautas were good, the beef tamale was better. I am definitely going back for more pork tamales… very tasty. The price for the special combo plate (including rice, beans and drink) was very reasonable.
The only tamale choices were: beef, chicken, and pork.
The $ 1 tamale special now runs every day. I may have to hit that next time.
The fresh salsa was good, but not spicy enough for my taste. You get a big bowl of salsa with your meal.
Yes, the table was sticky (as a Unilocaler noted below), but I believe it is the varnish. Nice place to eat, and I had plenty of napkins.

«Home of the best tamales and barbacoa south of the border…» O RLY? South of the border you say, eh? I wasn’t aware the Canadians were making better tamales than here in Houston! But the sign, I am assured, is only a typo but it attracts attention, so it stays, says the owner.
I am big fan of this place — the tamales are wonderful, delicious and filling. And their freshly made salsa is muy bueno! Be careful however, as it usually is a bit on the spicier side of normal. But its so good, and makes a perfect addition to the tamales. They do have more on their menu, and I haven’t tried everything, including the barbacoa, but I plan to. But their tamales are so good, I usually just want those.
And on Tuesday’s, they are only $ 1 each (limit 5), so my Tuesdays have turned into Tamale Tuesdays. While it’s very good food, I don’t really see huge crowds here — maybe because most people just get it to go.
The owners are super friendly and if you’re a regular, they even know your name and what you want. And they LOVE Unilocal,so that’s another bonus right there.
So, if you’re craving some awesome tamales, come here — you won’t be disappointed, even IF you’re from Canada :)

Wow — best Tamales ever!!! For the taste, service and price this place is 5 Stars — for the long black hair in one of the Tamales (sorry minus 2 stars)!

There are high and lows to this place.
Highs:
Nice polite people wait on you… this is big!
Big tamales and tasty
Free drink on Tuesdays
Lows:
No vegetarian tamales as listed on menu
Out of beef tamales-​how often does this happen?
Sticky tables
Plastic fork and one napkin per person.
Now, everyone knows that unwrapping a tamale, you’re going to need a few more napkins than ONE.

Not sure what is gourmet about the tamales, but they are delicious. Food is good. Prices reasonable. The fresh salsa is great.

I had the lunch special which consisted of tamales, flautas, rice, and beans. The tamales were tasty and I liked the salsa it came with. I was not a fan of the flautas nor the rice. Next time I will stick with just the tamales.
I would also add that they should find a better location for this place. The entire time I was there not one single person walked in to order food which is very odd for lunch hour in downtown.

THEY ARE OPEN ON SATURDAYS, 10 – 2 UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!
I placed an order on the phone for 1 doz. cream cheese & jalapeño tamales and 1 doz. vegetable (spinach, cheese and corn) tamales.
I called, and the lady on the phone was SO VERY patient and helpful to my many questions and such!!! (I ordered 5 dozen tamales total, all different, but I am only reviewing what I ordered/​ate) I placed my order on Sat. and chose to pick up on Wed, as I didn’t need them until the next week.
While I was there picking up my tamales, I decided to have the Special of the Day «Framales», which was rice, beans, 2 flautas, 2 tamales, salsa and lettuce, tomato & sour cream. This was REALLY disappointing. While very hot and cooked to order, it overall reminded me of Casa Olé or Monterrey Tex-​Mex. :-(
Well, apparently there is a reason that the place is called Houston TAMALES Factory, as the veggie tamales AND the cream cheese w/​jalapeño both made me cry out «Oh LORD!!! Help my waistline!!!»
Yes, they are THAT good. Absolutely, no doubt, DELICIOUS.
(I wish that I hadn’t eaten lunch here, and I would have given them 5 stars, but now I just can’t do it – my meal was just too damned disappointing!!)

I don’t very often eat at the same place twice in the same day, but I was interested in the veggie tamales and I read in the review for the Heights location that they don’t have those every day. It turns out the veggie tamales are made-​to-​order and I was asked to pay for them in the morning when I ordered them. While I was there, I picked up breakfast tacos for the people that I work with. I thought the breakfast tacos were very good and they were very well received by my co-​workers. They have a veggie breakfast taco (in addition to potato and egg), too.
Went back at lunch with my co-​worker who is vegetarian and picked up a ‘framales’ plate (two tamales, two chicken flautas, beans and rice). Both my plate and the his veggie tamales I tried were excellent. Very good flavor in everything. The owner was telling me about the process for making the veggie tamales and while the service was a bit slow, you can tell by taste that they are using the time wisely to make a delicious, quality product.
The salsa is good, but didn’t blow me away. It’s spicy, but not hot by my standards, but has good flavor. It was a lot better on the breakfast tacos than with the flautas I had for lunch. Sour cream was included, though, which was great on the flautas.
While I was there I mentioned the Heights and she told me they have closed that location.
Super-​friendly people, great food.

Great food. we live around the corner and when we are in town, it is the place we hit for great breakfast tacos. friendly service. can be a bit slow (particularly when you are HUNGRY)! The ambience is kind of so so. needs a bit of an upgrade. breakfast tacos are very very good; salsa hot and perfect… refried beans are delicious, smoky and just the ticket…

I have been here twice now. Its not bad, not fantastic. I am kind of comparing it to Chilosos which is not far down the street. They both make similar foods.
The breakfast tacos here are decent. The salsa is very good. I had the Chorizo one morning and took it to work to eat. I think they pre-​make them fresh every morning, and wrap them up so its easy and quick for take away. I wouldn’t mind waiting for a fresh one to be made. The tortilla was a bit soggy from having being prepackaged. The ingredients were good though.
I also had lunch there one day. Pork Tamale plate. The tamales were very good. And the salsa went very well with them. Served with rice and beans and some lettuce and sour cream. It wasnt a bad cheap meal. I will come back to get ½ a dozen tamales to go for sure.
The ladies that I have met at the front were very inviting. I couldn’t have asked for better service. This isn’t a place to really dine in. More of a place to get take away.
For breakfast tacos, I choose Chilosos. Check out that review for more info.

The only drawbacks to HTF is that they are not open on Sundays and they do not open until 8 on the other six days of the week. I still manage to swing by at least once a week for my breakfast taco fix.
All of the breakfast tacos are under $ 2, and you really cannot go wrong with any of them. The tortillas are handmade and really stuffed with the filling of your choosing. Most times, I order the potato and egg. The potatoes taste more boiled than fried (I am not sure how they cook them), which is a good thing. I go for the chorizo and egg when I need hangover help, it really hits the spot! The vegetarian tacos are fantastic, but I have issues with eating a bean and veggie taco for breakfast.
The salsa is made in-​house and really has the right combination of tomato and heat. It also does not have an overpowering cilantro taste, as many of Houston’s in-​house salsas. It’s the perfect consistency for topping your breakfast taco.
As much as I love the tacos, I love the owner even more! The service is very quick, but I often arrive just as they are opening up and have to wait a couple of minutes for my taco. The owner (who works behind the counter) is talkative, but not chatty. Once, I only had a $ 100 bill and she did not have change, so she let me take my taco for free. I later returned to pay (as did my husband on a later date) and she refused to take my money. Good for her, now she always gets an extra tip in the jar from me, and I typically do not tip for counter service.
If you are in the neighborhood, walk your dog or stroller over for a quick breakfast. There are a couple of tables outside.

Visited this place on a whim during lunch today while returning from an interview. I ordered two dozen tamales to go and had an enjoyable conversation with the owner about his business while waiting for my order.
Bottom line: The tamales are delicious and priced reasonably. Their salsa is delicious and HOT. The restaurant is in the middle of The Heights, arguably the most interesting neighborhood in Houston.

I really like this place! The owners are really nice, the food is awesome (I think they have a great cook — growing up in Texas has given me a wealth of Mexican food knowledge and I have never had better vegetarian tamales) and the prices are reasonable.
Having used the Houston Tamales Factory for catering previously and hearing the rave reviews from my guests, I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to use them for their next party!