Tamale Boy Dekum — Restaurant in Portland

Dude! This place is LEGIT! I'm a lover of Mexican food, but I'm not really a snob about it either. I've been here a few times and each thing I order from the menu has impressed me! I'm a little sad that I have discovered the awesomeness of Tamale Boy food during the cold and rainy winter months. This place has a great patio which they do have heated and covered during the colder months. That being said, I can't wait to get some quality patio time in come summer.

I've sampled the vegetarian tamales and the cauliflower which were both very tasty. Right now I'm OBSESSED with their shrimp burrito! The thing comes covered with a white wine sauce that I swear I could guzzle by the gallon! Even thinking back on this now makes me tempted to drive down there and order another one to go. A few weeks ago I took my cousin and her husband here for dinner. I was a little worried as they live in Los Angeles; a mecca of tasty Mexican food. They ended up being so impressed by Tamale Boy they suggested it would be okay for us to go back again during their visit. Score!

This place has it all: Tasty Mexican grub, Margaritas, and a fab patio! If that isn't enough, it is also located night next to Hi-Wheel fizzy wine bar. You can order your Tamale Boy and eat it next door while enjoying...

overall the location is super cute and the carne asada tacos aren’t bad and very loaded. we did come a little later around 8, so they didn’t have/ran out of the chicken tamales we wanted so we had to switch our order. my partner has a lot of food restrictions so we were looking forward to the chicken. instead decided to get chicken tacos and the amarillo tamale. sadly highly disappointed. i’m a tamale gal, my aunt makes the best tamales so i may have high standards. we took our food to go, the size of the tamale is great, but the banana leaf and pickled onions made my tamale wet/a little slimy, the meat inside was a lot of fat and there wasn’t much going for it other than it was a bigger tamale and full of meat, i’m used to potatoes and carrots maybe some jalpeno, something with the beef. the flavor wasn’t really for me and neither was the smell (my have been the banana leaf and pickled onions combo). the chicken tacos were the most disappointing, we asked for no onion and i guess that means just a tortilla with a slab of chicken on it. we payed over $30 to come home eat one carne asada taco and then make ourselves cheese quesadillas. i tried a few bites of the tamale but couldn’t get over how moist the outside is. tried a few bites of the chicken and decided it wasn’t...

This place is practically the perfect pandemic restaurant. BIG outdoor patio, easy/delicious/family friendly menu and really good margaritas. It was one of the few places with reliable (good air circulation!) outdoor dining in winter, too. But the food would bring us back even if there wasn't a pandemic going on. Creative and tasty, with just the right amount of spice - you can find reliable standby dishes like burrito bowls and, of course, tamales alongside creative specials and seasonal creations. And they make great guacamole. The ONLY reason I'm taking off a star: their menu is organized in a way that makes it hard to know how much food you'll be getting. A dish like shrimp tacos - which is three light little tacos - sits next to a burrito bowl, which is enough for two almost. A plate of roast veggies, which makes a nice side, is next to a tamale that could feed a family. A little reorganization on the menu would make for less disappointing surprises when the food arrives! Also, they really should make those...