• Welcome to The Tamale Spaceship

    The Tamale Spaceship has the honor of serving the Chicagoland area since 2011. We specialize in food catering, bar service, & street vending.

  • Cantina Libre is prepared to service your most significant event

    Our staff is prepared to responsibly serve your guests the coldest beverages of your choice. We work with alcohol beverage providers or straight with the customers to supply a satisfying drink menu. Please click on the button below to view our bar packages.

  • We specialize in wedding catering for couples that want the finest quality dishes

    Our company understands that your most meaningful moments require a considerate amount of detail and communication to execute your vision. We at The Tamale Spaceship provide our clients with ample options and recommendations to build a delicious menu & provide excelent service.

  • Great news! We provide delivery drop off service to the Chicagoland area

    Our delectable selection of fresh mexican food will surely satisfy your guests for any occasion. We have what you need to serve your guests from utensils, to disposable chafers at an additional costs. We are available to order through GrubHub, Ez-Cater, Fooda, or simply email us with the details of your requested order such as menu selections, quantity, at a minimum of $300, time and place.

The Tamale Spaceship: Crafting Authentic Mexican Cuisine Since 2011

The Tamale Spaceship launched in 2011 as a catering company, initially operating with both a food truck. Our food truck has traversed Chicago, introducing authentic Mexican street foods to a wide audience, while our restaurant catered to the vibrant community of Wicker Park. As pioneers, we proudly established ourselves as Chicago's first food truck, serving downtown Chicago extensively during our early years.

Our classic food truck menu embodies beloved street foods from Mexico, deeply rooted in the country’s culinary heritage. We prioritize vibrant, fresh ingredients that imbue our recipes with color and flavor. Each filling is marinated and seasoned meticulously, drawing inspiration from Manny’s lineage of taquero relatives. Our salsas are crafted with tradition in mind, perfectly complementing each taco and tamal to embody the essence of Mexican cuisine. We uphold a standard of sophistication and refinement in every dish we create, inviting you to experience Mexico through our menu.

Over time, our passion for catering grew, prompting us to specialize exclusively in this realm. In 2015, we made the difficult decision to close our Wicker Park location and relocated to the heart of Chicago, where we are immersed in our culture and surrounded by small Latino businesses dedicated to serving the Chicagoland area. Our menu is curated with authenticity and tradition at its core, utilizing locally sourced ingredients to craft our distinctive offerings.

Our expertise stems from our cultural heritage and extensive tenure in the hospitality industry. With experience managing prominent restaurant brands, our team has honed a deep understanding of all aspects of hospitality. We recognize that meticulous attention to detail in logistics, timing, and quality is essential to crafting memorable experiences. At The Tamale Spaceship, we pledge unwavering quality in every facet of our service to you and your guests.

We aspire for our exceptional service to be synonymous with Chicago, striving to help you host successful and enjoyable celebrations with your closest and cherished guests. We value your input in bringing your event vision to life, ensuring each party is tailored with a theme that enhances the occasion. Our team excels in creating tasteful and graceful presentations, and our greatest joy comes from your satisfaction.

  • Mexican food is older than the great cuisines of Europe, & often deeply complex, refined, subtle, & sophisticated.

    Anthony Bourdain

  • A true mole sauce, for instance, can take DAYS to make, a balance of freshly (always fresh) ingredients painstakingly prepared by hand.

    Anthony Bourdain

  • It could be, should be, one of the most exciting cuisines on the planet, if we paid attention.

    Anthony Bourdain

  • As much as we think we know & love it, we have barely scratched the surface of what Mexican food really is.

    Anthony Bourdain

Cantina Libre

Liquor Packages