Tamale Boy Happy Valley

Got the enchiladas. They were basically tiny street tacos with the smallest amount of meat in them. At least street tacos come with 2 tortillas and more meat. The sauce was okay. Not much flavor. I paid $15 for them. No side came with it and chips and salsa cost about $8. The dish was garnished with an orchid flower. Feel like the flower cost more than all the actual food on the plate. Go to a real Mexican restaurant.

Sadly Tamale Boy seems to have steadily gone downhill over the years. My vegan tamale was about 95% chopped carrot and extremely soggy. It also suffered from a lack of seasoning, making it very bland. I dumped beans and salsa on it and that was the best part of the meal. There also seem to now be many less vegan options than in the past. My partner’s sope was so soggy he couldn’t even cut it to eat it. For the price, there are currently many better options unfortunately…. Mis Tacones comes to mind immediately!!! Updated from previous review on 2024-12-18

Got the cauliflower and potato Al pastor burrito. Delish and filling!

Staff was very friendly.

Tamales were delicious. Large portions.

We ate the queso fundido while we were there, and took the leftovers home. It heats up very nicely on the stovetop at home.

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Queso Fundido Con Chorizo, Tamale Frito Tinga de Pollo GF

This place was absolutely delicious. Had the Veggie Tamale which was HUGE. Def recommend.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Everything is delicious ??

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

the best Mexican EVERRRR. Whoever made my food tonight absolutely slayed. Steak and shrimp tacos were to die for, love this place.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Tacos

Food is good but customer service is not. Used to get the burrito Del Mar and get steak in it instead of shrimp, they won’t do it anymore with not really an explanation as to why. I even offered to pay for the steak and to just not put the shrimp in it and they wouldn’t do that either! They said the burrito HAD to have shrimp and I wasn’t allowed to ask them to not put it in. Makes ZERO sense.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 1

Great food and quick service. They messed up on our order and quickly caught it and brought us the correct thing with out us even mentioning it

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The service was friendly and quick! The server recommended the brussels sprouts and they were so delicious:)

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I hired Tamale Boy to cater an event for us. The food was delicious! It was ready and hot for our event and everyone raved about how good it was. It was also very affordable and they were quick to respond to emails. (The chips and salsa in the photo were purchased from an outside source).

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I had to edit my response after this horrible esablishments response to my review. By far the worst food I have ever eaten. I took 2 bites. The del Mar burrito was the worst wet burrito I have ever had. No flavor except the clam chowder that was poured all over it. It was like vomit! Disgusting garbage. The smell alone made me gag!! What ever you are cooking up you should just stop. I will come in and cause a scene if you keep coming food.

Atmosphere: 1

Recommended dishes: Chips

Fantastic tamales and burritos.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Had the Brussel sprouts very good and well cooked added some habanero sauce. I will be back here for more.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Bruselas Fritas Vegan GF

I've always really enjoyed eating at Tamale Boy's Portland locations. While in the area, I stopped by the Happy Valley location for the first time for dine in. I noticed a big difference in my experience here as the salsas (which are usually left out for you to bring to your table in Portland), were kept behind the counter and rationed off into three of the tiniest plastic containers. Despite this being a completely unnecessary consumption of single use plastics, I felt like I was unable to fully enjoy my meal and use the amount of salsa I want... (I promise I don't always drown my food in salsa).Considering I chose to dine in to utilize the very tasty salsas as I've done at TB's Portland locations countless of times, this was a bit disappointing. Additionally, the usual veggies for the burrito were served on the side for some reason instead of included into the wrapped burrito. A bit odd but not the end of the world.Overall, I left feeling a bit disappointed considering I've only ever had incredible experiences at their Portland locations but the food is overall pretty great and reasonably priced!

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 4