The Tamale Factory — Restaurant in Riverside

I have been a loyal customer at Tamale Factory for the four and a half years I have worked in downtown Riverside, but I will never eat here again!

I have been going to Tamale Factory about 1-3 times a month, and I always go back and forth between getting a couple of tacos, a carne asada burrito, and my old stand-by: a bean and cheese with lettuce. Well, about a month ago, I ordered my usual b&c burrito with lettuce, and was informed that I would be charged the price of a vegetarian burrito. A vegetarian burrito comes with the beans and cheese, plus rice, guacamole, onions, cilantro, tomato, lettuce, sour cream.... And costs $3 more!

I thought that couldn't be right. After all, I wasn't asking for anything but a little lettuce. So, I went in to talk to the owner. She was completely unwilling to even consider another option! I told her I'd even be willing to pay $1 extra for some damn lettuce, and she still said I'd be charged the full price of a vegetarian burrito!

Well, you know what? There are three more Mexican food joints in walking distance that never think of charging me for LETTUCE of all things. I liked the convenience and ambiance of the Tamale Factory, but it's obvious they don't care one whit about customer service. I have ordered food from that restaurant 1-3 times a month for the last four years, but they will never receive another dime from me OR any of the friends I...

Finally made it down to The Tamale Factory to have a typical Mexican meal of tamales for the Christmas season. Being a single senior, I was very much looking forward to this meal. However, to my disappointment, the restaurant was not serving its usual fare. It chose to sell batches of tamales, only...no sit down meals..none of which meets the needs of a sole person in search of a comforting holiday meal. New Years Eve...Decided to give The Tamale Factory a second try. I even called in to assure the regular menu portions were being served. Response, yes, but only pork tamales available...and closing at 2 pm. Well, sabotaged again, I arrived at 1:30 planning on getting a to go meal, and doors were locked with no sign of life inside. Guess their business is thriving, so no need to keep regular hours. Okay, 3rd time was a charm...got the pork tamale meal. I chose the black beans & Spanish rice, with red sauce on my tamale. Their variety of sauces and beans allows you to customize to your individual taste. Plus, you can choose to top the tamale with onion, cilantro, and sour cream drizzle. I found the entire meal tasty & pleasing. The tamale was anemic, meat-wise. There was more masa than filling. Overall, each item complimented the other, and it would have only been more gratifying, had the Tamale contained...

Horrific. Horrible. Terrible Catering. We tried to host a company party for 30 people. We spoke to Naomi on the phone 3 times. We asked for 3 entrees, 1 desert, chips and salsa, beans and rice. Delivery and Buffet set-up. $400 later they made us unload the car and ran away, never set-up the buffet, no chips, no sour cream, no beans, no rice. Didn't allow us to check the order. Nothing is labeled. The chicken casserole is barely cooked, the broccoli is half soggy and half raw. We asked for assorted tamales, no idea what type we have as they are all lumped together. No plates, no napkins, no utensils, no serving spoons or tongs. Not worth a penny, and a horrible waste of money and time.

12/21/17 10:36am Naomi called me and threatened me to take this review down. She said "You have 5 minutes to take that review down or you will regret it!" I hung up on her. Now (10:50am to 11am) someone named Aaron has called me three times this morning, verbally harassing me at work and stating that he is a lawyer for the Tamale Factory Corporate Headquarters. I'll let you know if they continue to harass and...