If you’ve been on TikTok recently, you’ve probably stumbled across The Tamale Man. The tamale restaurant, which seems to have taken over everyone’s FYP, has seen a surge in success off the back of it’s fame, with many customers deciding to visit the eatery after watching viral videos about it over on TikTok.
That’s what inspired Ethiopia, who goes by @_ethiopialove_ on the app, to try out the tamale for herself. But as Ethiopia explained in her TikTok, which has now amassed 610,000 views, that she was left sorely disappointed by the experience — even going as far as branding the restaurant a “scam.”
“I blame the TikTok gods for showing me the video because I fell for it,” she explained, adding that the San Diego restaurant is the “biggest scam [she] ever went to.” According to Ethiopia, the restaurant was so busy that she had to wait in line for 90 minutes before they could even take her order.
But when she, her husband, and her son tried to order, Ethiopia claims it took the owner “10-15 minutes” to get her husband’s order right, and even when he served them their food, he still got her husband’s order wrong. “It took forever, mind you, it takes forever because he’s one man. And he wants to be the face of everything,” she added. “But he needs help. Like, you are intentionally keeping this line […] Y’all, I swear to God, the line did not have to be that long […] he just needed someone on the register.”
Ethiopia and The Tamale Man didn’t respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comments via Instagram direct message.
After her meal, Ethiopia says things got worse. Not only did she get sick, vomiting twenty minutes after leaving the restaurant, but she also alleges that the owner changed her final bill from $37 to $60.
“I went on Yelp and I found a list of people that have the same complaint as me: a list of people who say you told them one price and you charge them something else,” she said. “So guess what? I’ve screenshotted it all, and it’s all going to the bank once this transaction posts […] It’s all getting submitted to my bank, because you got me messed up. I didn’t give you $60 I gave you $37. And I shouldn’t even gave you that it’s because I waited so long.”
“I always take my receipt,” one commenter said. “They can go back and add a tip later. I’ve had it happen at other places!”
“Girl!!! I’m literally screaming because my husband and I dealt with the same thing,” another person said.