Isaac

The tamales were outstanding. We ordered 6 tamales to go; beef, chicken, pork, one green and one red of each. This allowed us to taste a variety and we were impressed. The masa was soft and the fillings so tasty. We especially liked the green beef tamales, but they were all very good. I need to go back soon.

Daniel Cheung

A cozy spot for a lunch break. Grab a quick grub, have some friends or your family. This restaurant is a place to visit for some home cooked meal. The smell is so attracting when you walked by it's entrance and the meal is satisfying.

Stacey Frisbey

Kid friendly, nice staffsolid variety of Tamales, low prices and an AMAZING chocolate tamale. We came an hour before closing and they had sold out of a few flavors including the dessert one. There was only one lady on staff and she kindly volunteered to steam one of each, although she did mention that it would take 30-45 minutes. The place is sparse and little chilly, which will be great for summer. It had at least one high chair and the middle table looked just right for wheelchair height but I'm not 100% sure. I didn't get a chance to check the bathrooms because kids were acting up. Good the family plan. The red pork was easily everyone's favorites while the green chicken was not bad but not as popular. My kids kept pressing the darn service bell but the nice girl running the counter let them play with it. Later when one of them made a break for freedom out the front door she was fine with us closing the front door. There were two hot sauces, green and red. Both were too strong for my husband but he's from Midwest stock so it can't be helped. The drinks were water and a small fridge of glass bottle soft drinks. The prices were very fair but the place was kind of...sparse and the tamales were solid but nothing out of the ordinary. I was prepared to give this 4 stars until dessert. Currently on the menu is a Chocolate tamale. Get it. I have never seen one before but basically it tasted like a heavenly chocolate molten lava cake. Just divine. To think we wouldn't have gotten it if they hadn't have volunteered to steam us up some! It's sure to sweep a bunch of awards at next year's Escondido Tamale Festival.

Luis P.

Everybody and their cousin advertises the sale of Tamales. Fast foods, Restaurants, Street Vendors, online and who knows where else, but the fact of the matter boils down to this question: who makes a superior Tamal, not just a half aceptable version, that most likely than not, lacks skills, finesse, quality ingredients, etc. With this pressing desire in mind, I started another serious search for that elusive, hard to find, quality Tamal. Started with Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, all of those Counties, and cities in between. Search engines seemed to comply, and some Tamale places appeared promising, but drive that far just to satisfy a Tamales craving? Enter Tamales Jovita in Vista, CA. 40+ miles from Menifee, 5 Stars from 50 reviewers on Yelp, enough to consider this the next place to buy, so I did today, on a mild and pleasant 15 freeway drive, arriving a couple of minutes before opening time. Yes, I can be quite compulsive when it comes to preferred food. The team, Cecilia and Jovita, daughter and mother, looked good together. Nothing nicer than a small business ran by sober, well mannered, and without a doubt, a step above than previous Tamales purchased. 30 Tamales purchased, did not want to run out in case they were as good as fellow reviewers had stated, Beans and Rice largest offered containers, Red Salsa as well. Pork, Chicken, in red and green variety, Cheese with Jalapeño, or some kind of chili 🌶. Grand total $80 plus, but felt it was a fair deal, specially after returning home, gathering the hungry troops, and tasting them to the delightful Oh Ah, mouthful endorsements of my tribal members. Moist, superior dough, and even though I would have been happier with about 30% more chili/raja in the particular kind, the votes were unanimous: a winner tamal. They certainly deserve the positive recognition that brought me to their place, reviews not exaggerated, just honest, very easy to devour Tamales. Gasoline had climbed up to $4.20+ a gallon, but how many times have I purchased below average, mediocre tamales? Too many to remember, that is for sure. Here wising both ladies, Jovita and Cecilia, Happy Tides, and hey!, keep up the good work! For the best in a long time 4.5 Stars!

Jeff Bishop

I had the rajas with cheese and red chicken tamales with beans and rice. The flavors were so authentic and satisfying, like something you would get only in Mexico. I loved both the red and green salsas! Cecilia the owner was really sweet and told me about how they can make a large order of tamales for parties. I definitely want to do that for Christmas for my family.

E M

1st time here..loved that they are right in the heart of Downtown Escondido. We Orderd a Cheese Quesadilla to go for my toddler and got complementary sample of 3 tamales. The Cheese Quesadilla was huge!!! And loaded with cheese. So chunky and dense that she saved the left over for the next day! The Tamales were pretty good came out super hot, we waited to eat them at home. They were perfect! Bringing sweet memories of my moms cooking!!! We had 1 of each, green & red chicken, and Rajas..they all we amazing ! She was so sweet to give us a sample, she has won our business for decades to come! They were delicious. Will definatelly get their 100 count for our next family gathering!

Frank Duarte

This place has great tamales. So fresh and many flavors to choose from. We enjoyed our lunch so much, we took more home for dinner.

We pick up a dozen often, they are all delicious!

This place is really cool! Very simple. Tamales. Good Tamales!

Seriously the best tamales in Escondido! Great customer service

Ordered a mixed dozen of green pork and green chicken. Delicious!

Used to despise tamales, tried some at the Carlsbad outlet, changed my mind.

If you haven't tried them, definitely worth the stop

Very clean ad safe! Always excellent food.

Best tamales ever. Very nice people

Very delicious and authentic tamales!

Very good tamales worth the drive

The best variety. Great flavors.

Delicious! Kind people run this store

Yummy

Loved em. The red are the BEST

Really good custumer service and the food is really good.... 😊

Amazing tamales! I love the cheese and jalapeno tamales! The masa was moist and not dry AT ALL! I can't wait to go back!

Great affordable food with a killer chicken burrito. Customer service is really friendly, and service is quick

We love Tamales Jovita. They are so fresh and the salsa is so good. Great family and group packages, too.

Ordered the green pork and green chicken tamales. Both were spot on. Excellent tamales!

The rice and beans were perfect. If your looking for an authentic chicken tamale this doesn't miss the mark .

I asked if they could be ordered hot or cold. Very helpful. Great tamales

Everything tasted amazing. Rice and beans were honestly some of the best I have ever had. Must eat here!

We ate there the other day and it was actually pretty good I definitely recommend it and plan to go back soon

THE best tamales, love the meat to Masa ratio. Highly recommend.

Tamales Jovita's are the best. Thank you so much Ceci, best tamales and service in town. Please support small business😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

Delicious and fresh tamales. It's a small place & very clean & Jovita is very nice

Everything was so flavorful, so fresh! I can't wait to come back. Seriously, do yourself a favor and try this place!

Nice selection of great tasting tamales. Convenient spot at Grand and Maple.

They have amazing tamales but also great enchiladas!

It reminds me of the Tamales when I lived in New Mexico! There so good. Highly recommended!

Best tamales and rice. I will be going back real soon. Thank you all for being open

Best tamales ever. The place is very clean and service is great.

Nice small place and nice customer service. The food was good and fresh, I will come back for more.

Love the green chicken tamales! Wasn't open for dine-in when I visited.

These tamales are the best in San Diego!

Just discoved this place. The tamales are great and the ladies working there are very nice.

Tamales and pozole are some of the best if not the best tasting in all of NorthCounty #Escondido😤😤😤🤙🏼🤙🏼🌯🌯

Love the tamales there! So delicious! I buy often they are authentic so yummy my favorite green chicken and rajas con queso

Tbh, idk how long this shop has been here, but I honestly wish I had visited sooner. The shop looked and gave a family-friendly vibe. It reminded me a lot of my parents' pueblo back in Mexico, which instantly had my hopes up for the food. Menu is simple but very tasty and flavorful. I went with their 2 tamale plate (you can choose from a variety of 6-8 different tamale options). I chose their chicken tamale with green salsa and their pork tamale in red salsa/mole. The tamales were cooked really well, and the pork tamale was not overexcessively greasy. They were soft to each cute, while each bite was full of amazing flavor. Their tamales were really good that I ordered a dozen tamales to go to share with the family. I found their frijoles to be just as good, and the rice was fair to say. They gave a side of two salsas along with their dine-in order (green and red, note: red is more spicy). Overall, it was an enjoyable meal. I liked that they had a list of FAQ by the front to help answer some questions such as what type of tamales that they offer, what ingredients are found in their tamales, are substitutions available, and so forth. Will be coming for more tamales this summer!

The food was excellent and priced very well. We had Tamales Jovita cater for our wedding event and everybody loved the food. They’re not usually open on Sunday but they worked hard and was open for us to make our day special! Definitely check this place out if you’re looking for great food!

The Tamales here are amazing!! I really liked the Red Pork, the Red Beef, the Rojas and Cheese and the Green Chicken. Didn't care for the Chocolate one. These are also good broken up in some scrambled eggs the next morning if you have leftovers. Highly recommend this place!!

I was there the other day to satisfy a "tamale craving"! Got the Rajas with cheese + some green salsa. Very yummy, and pleased to enjoy a tamale that was not dry as I've experienced at other places.

I'm Sold... The tamales I had were excellent and the rice and beans were on point.. Pa la raza, si se te antoja..aqui vale la pena

Surprisingly delicious! At first I thought that this place was going to be average because it doesn't have too many tables and it's kind of small but WOW so far it's been the best tamales I've ever tried. Delicious.

Worth waiting for. Place order before arrive to ensure you get type you want. Strawberry, Pineapple & Raisen tamales worth the wait. Chicken with green chili is hot. Red Pork tamales are great too. Beans were perfect not to salty. Rice fluffy & moist.

Quaint location. Nice inside. Chicken, beef, pork in red or green and cheese, strawberry and ? Pineapple flavor. We had the savory tamales. Delicious! The taste and consistency was spot on. Not salty, not greasy, not overwhelmed by masa, moist and flavorful, just right as Goldilocks would say. And they do travel well for eating at home.

5 stars for their young woman that works in the morning she's a doll. Love the green tamales but i wasn't impressed with the red Tamales. The tamales were pretty small and could have been more cooked

The prices are great, the food is amazing! Absolutely love the tamales, rice and beans are delicious too.

Have been trying to find a place that makes a decent tamale. Bought a dozen of each (pork, chicken and beef). We were not disappointed. And she let ne know that she delivers to Temecula on Thursdays.

I mean this in the best possible way, but its that kind of perfect tamale you remember only ever finding that one time you were in the grocery parking lot from a lady selling them out of a cooler from the back of her van. Only its a store on Grand that you can order them from all the time now. Definitely the best I've had consistently in Escondido.

Best place to go to get delicious tamales 😋 I go here all the time and never disappointed. Also need to order at least 3-4 weeks advance to make sure you have some for the holidays.

Hands-down the best tamales I've ever had. Super flavorful and moist; they did not crumble or fall apart. Highly recommend to anyone who loves tamales!

These tamales are fantastic! The best I have ever had, they have great flavor and are tender. Queso con Rajas are the best. Piña have chunks of pineapple! Soooo delicious! Try them all!

The BEST Tamales I’ve ever tasted! Absolute 🔥 Fire🔥 I recommend it if you come to Escondido this is the place to eat!!!! And the enchiladas to die for I’m very please. 🩷EBT IS ACCEPTED TOO!!!!!😊👏👏👏👏👏

We tried their green chicken and beef tamales at the Escondido Tamale Festival this past weekend. Hands down...best ratio of meat to masa AND full of flavor! Worth the ride to Escondido...we'll be ordering for the holidays!

Best tamales I have had in a long time. The beans and rice are great also. The red salsa is to die for. Texting my order was easy. Very friendly staff.

Best tamales around. We love coming here, but get there early in the day so they don’t run out of your favorite kind. Popular spot!!

Their tamales are cooked to perfection every time! They do have some vegetarian options as well :) i would post a picture of my food but I ate it all

Absolutely delicious tamales and enchiladas. I’ve eaten here more than a dozen times and I’ve never had a bad experience. Clean with friendly staff too. Nothing bad to say about this place.

I’ve been looking for homemade just like my mom used to make… Definitely taste homemade! Not dry at all and the green salsa is great too.

I highly recommend Tamales Jovita for its fresh, flavorful tamales and enchiladas - especially my favorite - mole chicken enchiladas. My go-to for fresh, authentic Mexican food.

So good! I could literally eat these tamales for lunch and dinner..... everyday! Honestly the best tamales I’ve ever had and I’ve had lots of tamales growing up in San Diego.

Just tried this place and oh my, is it ever delicious homemade fresh food! We had both Chicken with green sauce and Beef with red, and both we so tasty!!! We will definitely be back!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

We just tried them for the first time yesterday. By far the best tamales I’ve ever had (except the ones my family makes of course… don’t @ me y’all!) Their red salsa is definitely something you should ask for, absolutely amazing!! It’s amazing flavor and great spice level, though some (wimpy) friends were a little shocked by the heat. Beans and rice were on point, especially their beans, yum! We tried most of what they had available, pork red sauce was the fan favorite. Will be back VERY soon.

Pretty much just tamales here, and they are excellent. Biggest complaint with tamales bought commercially (vs homemade) is they are almost always heavy on masa and light on filling. No such problem here. Bought two as a taste test, was pleased, and took a dozen frozen ones home with me. Will be back once those frozen ones are gone. Happy I was recommended to Tamales Jovita to be able to have homemade quality tamales year round.

I love this place sm! Tamales are always fresh and moist and you can satisfy your hunger for under $10. I hope they last a long long time. Must tries: beef red & dress

Awesome, Most Delicious tamales! I ordered 2 dozen day after Christmas ... they were being made and they stayed open so I could pick them up!! These are the BEST tamales!! My new 'Go-To' ...🤗

Excellent tamales and service. We’ve had beef, pork, queso con rajas and all are great but my favorite are the pollo verde. A must try in Escondido for sure!

I really like their tamales! My favorite ones are the rajas with cheese and the chicken green tamales! I would definitely come again.

courtland kusmierz

Awesome, Most Delicious tamales! I ordered 2 dozen day after Christmas ... they were being made and they stayed open so I could pick them up!! These are the BEST tamales!! My new 'Go-To' ...🤗

Matt Thompson

Excellent tamales and service. We’ve had beef, pork, queso con rajas and all are great but my favorite are the pollo verde. A must try in Escondido for sure!

Joceline Funes

I really like their tamales! My favorite ones are the rajas with cheese and the chicken green tamales! I would definitely come again.

Ona Marie Carroll

Just tried this place and oh my, is it ever delicious homemade fresh food! We had both Chicken with green sauce and Beef with red, and both we so tasty!!! We will definitely be back!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

LaVi SeedStar

Love the tamales there! So delicious! I buy often they are authentic so yummy my favorite green chicken and rajas con queso

sonya vargas

I love this place sm! Tamales are always fresh and moist and you can satisfy your hunger for under $10. I hope they last a long long time. Must tries: beef red & dress

LittleRed

We just tried them for the first time yesterday. By far the best tamales I’ve ever had (except the ones my family makes of course… don’t @ me y’all!) Their red salsa is definitely something you should ask for, absolutely amazing!! It’s amazing flavor and great spice level, though some (wimpy) friends were a little shocked by the heat. Beans and rice were on point, especially their beans, yum! We tried most of what they had available, pork red sauce was the fan favorite. Will be back VERY soon.

Justin Joseph

Pretty much just tamales here, and they are excellent. Biggest complaint with tamales bought commercially (vs homemade) is they are almost always heavy on masa and light on filling. No such problem here. Bought two as a taste test, was pleased, and took a dozen frozen ones home with me. Will be back once those frozen ones are gone. Happy I was recommended to Tamales Jovita to be able to have homemade quality tamales year round.

I have been looking for great Tamales from long as not only I really like Tamales but it also brings back old memories from my childhood specially if it was in another country 1000's of miles away from Mexico. While growing up my mom and her mom use to prepare something very similar to Tamales that is a specialty of eastern India and we call it "Gojha". Gojha is made up of wheat flour dough and heavily stuffed with fresh yellow chickpea paste flavored/mixed with Indian spices, rolled into fine thin muslin cloth and thoroughly steam cooked. Definitely tasted great when fresh steam hot but heavenly when eaten next morning with tea. I have been seriously looking for great tasting Tamales from long specially chicken and vegetarian one as most of the time it's pork Tamales which I don't eat. As we moved to SD, Jovita's Tamales a family run (Mom and Daughter) restaurant in Escondido was introduced to me by one of my Spanish colleague with high recommendation. So no time wasting we showed up at Jovitas Tamales and got family pack which comes with 12 Tamales + rice + beans costing around 29$-30$. Definitely a great bargain for fresh home cooked food. It's a small restaurant with inside as well as outside seating. They were warm and welcoming. You can get the sense of home cooked and family run eatery as soon as you enter. Of the 12 steaming hot Tamales we got 6 Vegetarian (cheese + bell pepper stuffed) and 6 chicken Tamales (3 red sauce + 3 green sauce) rolled in corn husk. It was just awesome and we were taken aback with the taste and freshness. Both chicken and vegetarian Tamales were delicious specially the Vegie one awesome. Texture was perfect thought they can better up the chicken. Nothing much to select for rice/beans but definitely Tamales were outstanding. Don't miss their red hot sauce. It surpassed all my expectations bringing back old memories. My family who have never tried or know Tamales/Gojha were impressed too. We will keep going at Jovitas Tamales for long and glad we found them. Mostly my search for delicious, fresh chicken/vegetarian Tamales ends at present at Jovitas'. Thanks to Mom and Daughter for bringing this family cooking to us. Cheers!

Rajeev Shrimali

I have been looking for great Tamales from long as not only I really like Tamales but it also brings back old memories from my childhood specially if it was in another country 1000's of miles away from Mexico. While growing up my mom and her mom use to prepare something very similar to Tamales that is a specialty of eastern India and we call it "Gojha". Gojha is made up of wheat flour dough and heavily stuffed with fresh yellow chickpea paste flavored/mixed with Indian spices, rolled into fine thin muslin cloth and thoroughly steam cooked. Definitely tasted great when fresh steam hot but heavenly when eaten next morning with tea. I have been seriously looking for great tasting Tamales from long specially chicken and vegetarian one as most of the time it's pork Tamales which I don't eat. As we moved to SD, Jovita's Tamales a family run (Mom and Daughter) restaurant in Escondido was introduced to me by one of my Spanish colleague with high recommendation. So no time wasting we showed up at Jovitas Tamales and got family pack which comes with 12 Tamales + rice + beans costing around 29$-30$. Definitely a great bargain for fresh home cooked food. It's a small restaurant with inside as well as outside seating. They were warm and welcoming. You can get the sense of home cooked and family run eatery as soon as you enter. Of the 12 steaming hot Tamales we got 6 Vegetarian (cheese + bell pepper stuffed) and 6 chicken Tamales (3 red sauce + 3 green sauce) rolled in corn husk. It was just awesome and we were taken aback with the taste and freshness. Both chicken and vegetarian Tamales were delicious specially the Vegie one awesome. Texture was perfect thought they can better up the chicken. Nothing much to select for rice/beans but definitely Tamales were outstanding. Don't miss their red hot sauce. It surpassed all my expectations bringing back old memories. My family who have never tried or know Tamales/Gojha were impressed too. We will keep going at Jovitas Tamales for long and glad we found them. Mostly my search for delicious, fresh chicken/vegetarian Tamales ends at present at Jovitas'. Thanks to Mom and Daughter for bringing this family cooking to us. Cheers!

Good but tiniest bits of meat so cannot taste it

What can I say EXCELLENT TAMALES! Highly recommend for take out

Very yummy tamales at a good price!

Almost got 5 stars. Definitely deserves a try.

Great place good tamales and spicy salsa. Family likes going there, My 8yr old son loves the chicken tamales.

Great place for breakfast or lunch. Simply, very good tamales, nice variety and hot sauces.

Delicious! Omg! Yasss... I was soo happy the green pork and green chicken tamales tasted sooo great!

Homemade tamales so yummy!!! A great lunch to dine in or on the go.

No frills but tamales are excellent.

Oh man. This place has good reviews and I hate to be that guy that leaves a bad review. But my experience wasn't good. Tamales were good and salsa was good also. The place has nice decor and employees are nice. They get 5 starts there. It was just that I ordered a plate to eat there and got one of those cheap disposable foam plates with divisions and cheap plastic utensils. It really felt like I went to a kids party. I’m aware most restaurants use disposable plates and utensils but this is downtown man, it’s supposed to be a nice dining experience. Maybe they were getting ready to close?

The types of tamales they have is limited to what they have at the time you come into the shop. With that said, there is a chance the type you want may be out of stock right then. This place only has tamales, and tamale plates. Drinks consist of bottled water, canned sodas, and Mexican sodas. There is also a pitcher of water if you don't want to buy a bottle of water. The hot sauce bar has two choices, red and green. Both are the standard home made variety you would find in any taco shop. The shop and dining area is relatively small. Though the shop space is a lot larger than it appears. Seems to be well maintained, and clean. Over all, with all that said, when wanting tamales, I would come back again.

I asked for green pork and chicken. The masa tasted great, not too sweet and not too salty. The green salsa was just right but if u want a little more picante they have extra for you.

Erika :D

I asked for green pork and chicken. The masa tasted great, not too sweet and not too salty. The green salsa was just right but if u want a little more picante they have extra for you.

Located across the street from The Grand Tea Room. Parking is along the street. I heard good things about their tamales and to expect long lines and sold out flavors. We got there at 3pm on a Saturday. Only one flavor was sold out (chicken red). We got a dozen for $23.99 (2 chicken green, 2 pork green, 2 pork red, 2 pork green, 1 strawberry raisin, 1 pineapple). It was piping hot. Got home and I tried a bit of every thing. I have to say, their masa is really good, moist, sweet corn flavor. However their fillings were not to my expectation. It was very bland and lacked flavor. Had to dunk salsa. If I had to choose then the beef red was the decent one out of all. The fillings were also chopped so fine that it all melts in your mouth. I was expecting shredded beef or chunks of pork. My non meat option would be corn but they didn’t have that flavor. They had strawberry raisin and pineapple. The pineapple was so good! It was more of a dessert because it brought the sweetness out then you get chunks of pineapple not purée like the meat. The strawberry raisin was okay. I love that the masa turned pink!

My Le

Located across the street from The Grand Tea Room. Parking is along the street. I heard good things about their tamales and to expect long lines and sold out flavors. We got there at 3pm on a Saturday. Only one flavor was sold out (chicken red). We got a dozen for $23.99 (2 chicken green, 2 pork green, 2 pork red, 2 pork green, 1 strawberry raisin, 1 pineapple). It was piping hot. Got home and I tried a bit of every thing. I have to say, their masa is really good, moist, sweet corn flavor. However their fillings were not to my expectation. It was very bland and lacked flavor. Had to dunk salsa. If I had to choose then the beef red was the decent one out of all. The fillings were also chopped so fine that it all melts in your mouth. I was expecting shredded beef or chunks of pork. My non meat option would be corn but they didn’t have that flavor. They had strawberry raisin and pineapple. The pineapple was so good! It was more of a dessert because it brought the sweetness out then you get chunks of pineapple not purée like the meat. The strawberry raisin was okay. I love that the masa turned pink!

Was looking for the best tamales in Escondido, they were just ok.

The tamales were ok . They do have nice selection to choose from and they are always fresh.

Tamales Jovita got off on the right foot. The chicken, pork and beef all good. Masa not too thick nor dry. Unfortunately unable to try any of the "sweet" ones as they ran out but will be back to get more tamales regardless. Parking is on the street in old downtown Escondido.

the masa is alright but the filling is so bland. virtually no sauce and could barely tell there was any meat in it at all. definitely not worth the money

The tamales were terrible didn't like them at all very expensive never will come back that will settle my problem.

My bad review is due to the customer service, the tamales are very good but too small and there are no sides if you eat in. It is a good option to order in bulk and eat them at home.

Zonia De La Torre

My bad review is due to the customer service, the tamales are very good but too small and there are no sides if you eat in. It is a good option to order in bulk and eat them at home.

My first time visiting this place. My usual place I get tamales were out. So I gave it a try. For the price I expected better. Tamales were small and did not stand out to me.

Just stop by, I could heard ladies talking in the back, I tried to get their attention, they never came out. I could easily grab some tamales myself and they would never notice. Awful service.