Our story begins in the 1930’s in Little Mexico, Dallas, where Celia Leal was born and raised. One of eight children, her mother, Elena Portugal, taught her and her sisters the authentic recipes passed on from her hometown of Michoacán, Mexico. Her parents and older sister, Elvira, founded two iconic Dallas restaurants. Good food and an entrepreneurial spirit are in the Leal family blood. 

Fast forward to 2004, Celia’s son, Raul Jr. partnered with his brother-in-law, Edward “Eddie” Rendon, to form the Dallas Tamales Café.

Raul worked for the family business, the Dallas Tortilla and Tamale Factory, since graduating from high school and he wanted to take all he had learned to form his own restaurant. Eddie had a long career in restaurant management, specializing in rehabilitating failing restaurants. They were perfect partners, bringing their own unique set of knowledge and skills to the table. 

Relying on Celia’s recipes, they have worked hard to create quality and authentic Tex-Mex food since day one. Our award winning tamales are handmade from scratch onsite with quality ingredient and absolutely no fillers. 

Dallas Tamales Café works consistently to build our reputation as DFW’s go-to place for authentic tamales, great customer service, and a family-friendly atmosphere.