Tambo Cafe

As an avid consumer of most Peruvian food, and having had more than my fair share of disappointing places, I was intrigued when I found out about Tambor Cafe, a sister property to the more senior, and well established Panca Peruvian restaurant, located a couple of doors down in the same small shopping center, in the beach city of Oceanside, CA. Having tried the most delicious Peruvian pastries, and savory creations, some of which were made by outstanding family members, like aunt Toto’s Chocolate Cake, Lemon Pie made with Peruvian lemons, which look like limes do here, with plenty of condensed milk and fresh eggs, etc., and Alfajores crispy on the outside with Manjar Blanco (called Dulce de Leche these days?, but hardly the same final product), I stepped into Tambo Cafe, nice catchy name, to buy what they offered to the tune of $105? Yes, it added up fast enough. Bought: 3 Dulce de Leches. Very popular these days, different countries version. Did not knew that Peru had its own version, but then again, I am talking many years back when I enjoyed their masterful creations. This one was tasty enough, certainly valued high, but our family gave it thumbs up, little size or not. Must be said they did not travel well, but tasty anyhow. 4 Stars. 2 Chocolate Cake, with dulce de leche inside, and chocolate fudge all around it. Another expensive winner, where very soon it was gone. 4 Stars. 4 Green Tamales, at $4 a pop, these ones made with corn husks, and greenish in color, with an agreeable taste, but overall rather petite. Being so close to Mexico, and also having tried authentic Peruvian Tamales elsewhere, these were good to finish, but not great. 3.5 Stars. 4 Tamales made with Banana Leaf, $4.50 each. Same case as the others, decently enough, steep priced, but in true fairness must be said that is what one would pay in a Peruvian restaurant by default. Being who we are, we kind of regretted buying $16 for the corn wrapped, and $18 for these, we concluded that more sweet would have pleased the crowd more. 3.5 Stars. Empanadas a total of 6, at $3.50 each. Another costly bad option, as we tried all the varieties except the veggie. Let’s just say that Empanadas competition is fierce in a radius of 60 miles, and these were nowhere near the top. 2.5 Stars. Alfajores, $3.50 each? We had eaten alfajores at Panca, but these were a tad smaller and considerably more fluffier, with a fair amount of dulce de leche. Some like fluffier, kind of the dough and sugar exploding in the mouth, others a little more crispy. 3.5 Stars. Service was friendly at the hands of wonderful Alec? She was patient and helpful throughout. Yes, expensive, but now a days, unless one is buying from the dollar menu, better be ready to pay an average of $5 combined. 3.5-4 Stars.

Amazing coffee!!! Had the special tres leches latte and the quality was definitely there even beyond my expectations... Surprisingly the sweets and sandwiches were also really tasty, all made from scratch and tasted like from my beloved country Perú! Finally a Peruvian place I enjoyed in San Diego. Will come back and try their restaurant next door as well "Panca". You can taste the passion and love!

I, literally, stopped in here on a whim. It was a Sunday morning; before 9:30am and I really had no expectations from this cafe. I only stopped in because I saw that they do “Peruvian” style food from their sign. I walked in to a friendly greetings and an abundance of visual choices on their display. I, almost instantly, requested “pasteles”. This is a Hispanic dish that I’m familiar with and I wanted to taste their variation of it. I had two and one was the ‘Pastel de Poro’ and the other ‘Pastel de Acelga’. Meats, cheeses, breads and love. I tasted a combination of attention to flavors of a culture, often times, thought of as “lost”. I also enjoyed the reggae music that played in the background, the super-clean bathroom and the native-artistic decoration of this establishment. Sure, the seating could have been a tad more comfortable. But that’s forgivable considering the taste and quality of the food. Highly Recommend!

Excellent service and tasty food. I tried the beef Empanada with egg and onion..awesome! For desert I had a Cocaditas a real homemade coconut delight! I highly recommend Tambo! John