I've seen some videos here and there, and it seems that guided foodie tours in Europe have grown in popularity.
Are they worth it in your experience? Are there different types? Why spend the money instead of just going to restaurants/markets/etc on your own?
Thanks!
Hi Hank, my husband & I love food tours! We were in Spain a few weeks ago and did another excellent one in Sevilla. Last June was an excellent one in London’s East End. If I suggest adding one to our itinerary while I’m planning, my husband always says an enthusiastic “yes”! Even the time we were in NYC, I had reserved one for us. We liked it so well that we signed up for another one with the same company for the next day. The company had a variety of choices for neighborhoods they covered.
What we like is first, that we have the chance to try several local foods in one “meal”. And when we’re traveling, we want local foods, not Americanized local foods, etc. Also, the stories and info the guide shares are very interesting! Since the info is stored in my brain with an associated food (using multiple senses), it is much easier to remember! Most of them have been a fun group experience with people interacting and an interesting or entertaining guide.
When I am traveling solo, they’re even a better activity for me because it gives me the chance to try more food than I could as one person ordering a meal. For the cost, I think of it as an activity+dinner, so it’s usually worth it for me/us.
While researching, there are a lot of so-so ones out there. I try to find out what foods are included in the tour and whether it’s minor stuff I could just purchase myself from bakeries, etc. I don’t choose ones that center on a market; I prefer ones that go to several small restaurants /bars and we have some food at each location.
Where are you thinking about doing one?
I absolutely found them worth it.We have done food tours in Lisbon, Porto, and Vienna and the value was worth it, along with their guidance of where to eat while in town.
We love them! We try and do them on the first day or so of a trip so that we can return to a restaurant if we want. I found my absolutely favorite restaurant in Reykjavik from a food tour, and we have returned on every trip. I like that you get a real variety of food as well as learn about the local food scene/ city/culture.
If you really want to experience the local specialties with a local guide and meet the small producers who, often for many generations, proudly carry on their traditions. We have done food tours in Bologna/Parma/Moderna, Iceland, Paris, and Copenhagen. We enjoyed meeting and learning the history from locals, and really felt more connected to where we were visiting. We have done both walking tours and small van tours and enjoyed both. Taking a food tour shows you are really interested in their products and may help many small producers from going "industriale".
Such enthusiasm! Nice to hear it :)
We took Secret Food Tour in Paris and Walks of Italy Tour in Florence and both were well worth the money. Our then-college-age daughter said the Food Tour was her favorite thing in Paris.
I've done nearly a dozen, and there were only one or 2 that were just ok, the rest were a really fun time with a local who knows the best places, and shares lots of local non-food info.
I like to do a food tour for my first dinner in a new city. Instead of going to one restaurant, I get to sample the best choices at 5 or 6.
Hank, one of the biggest benefits in taking food tours (several in Italy and France, plus Morocco) has been to learn which restaurants/markets/etc., instead of just going on our own. Guides have always provided their additional personal recommendations, besides the places on the tour, and all have been exceptionally good. Compared with planning and organizing an on-your-own tour, including making reservations, getting the timing right, potentially dealing with language issues, and figuring transportation (especially in rural Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna) make the price of an organized tour very reasonable.
My experience is similar to others, since I travel solo a food tour is a great way to get out and try a variety of local foods without getting a full sit down meal. Definitely ask for opinions about companies (here or in other forums) as quality varies.
I usually eyeball what is offered in terms of food and geographic area to see if it ticks the boxes for my travel style and budget. For example in Iceland, reviews noted that the tour oriented you to sites in the historic center of Reykjavik which was helpful because I did the tour my first day there. The food included interesting Icelandic items that I wouldn't go to a restaurant to eat (e.g. fermented shark) but I still wanted to try. And though fairly expensive, it penciled out for me because food prices in Reykjavik are high and I didn't have time to eat a lot of meals on a short visit. In Istanbul the street food tour covered an area of the city I wasn't going to visit with my RS tour and included a ferry ride across the Bosphorus, and though not advertised ended up being a cultural/historical tour as well.
You asked about the types of tours - there are plenty. There are street food tours that you are walking to a number of different places to sample food but not eat a full meal (usually you're stuffed at the end, so it's like a full meal equivalent). There are also food tours that settle in one place and do a similar tasting scheme but you don't move around. You can also go to a local person's home and have a home cooked meal either privately or with a group (see EatWith, for example). I've also done tours that took you shopping in markets and then you participate in cooking a variety of dishes or watch a chef cook/explain dishes. Those are some of my favorites because you can replicate the food when you get home.
I did a food tour in Reykjavík and absolutely enjoyed it, and I'd scheduled it for the evening of the day I arrived in Iceland. I figured it would be a great way to get a feel for the layout of the city and to get an introduction to the food from someone who knows. Also got out of my introverted comfort zone with a small group of people.
As many times as I've been to London, I'd like to do a food tour there. I just haven't found the right one yet. And thinking of doing one in Manchester.
We are also highly in favor of food tours. Have done them in Porto (as part of a RS tour), Athens, Sorrento and New Orleans. You get local dishes (usually enough for a meal), food history and local history all rolled into one tour. Some include wine/beer, some just give you an option to buy your own beverage. We are now making a food tour a regular part of our travel experiences.
We did Eating Europe in both Lisbon and the Trastevere in Rome. Only you know what’s “worth it” for you but we thoroughly enjoyed both tours. Besides being introduced to the local foods, we got a history of the neighborhoods we visited. In Rome, our group sat and ate delicious fried artichokes served by the owner while people were lined up in order to eat at this popular restaurant that didn’t take reservations.
I love food tours. I have done four with Eating Europe so far: Rome 1, London 1, Paris 2. And will be doing three this year: Venice, Florence and Rome. As a solo traveler, food tours are a great way to share a meal, eat local food, meet people and see a neighborhood I may not visit otherwise.
@VAP, my husband & I participated in The London East End Food Tour with Eating Europe. We both highly recommend it! It was a feast, beginning in the Spitalfield Market - our new favorite open market! Our guide, David, was very knowledgeable with a dry sense of humor, and he shared so much history & ethnic culture along with sharing six tasty restaurants with us over 3 1/2 hours. My husband & I both felt it went fast, which is always a sign of a great food tour!
It depends on where you come from. You come from the USA, so obviously
you aren't used to good food.
Oh boy .... categorically untrue, but let's just leave it be. Suffice to say true enough USA has some enduring anti-aesthetic aspects to food culture. Max Weber observed this in 1904 in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. But we also have various, large, and robust diasporas, many of which imported fantastic food traditions and benefitted from greater wealth and better ingredients. USA is a huge country with on the whole deep and varied and remarkable good culinary culture and tradition.
As many have mentioned, the food tour in Reykjavik is excellent. We have done it twice.
A family member owns a big food tour company in Puerto Vallarta, so that was fun being able to do the tour and with them as our guide. I especially liked that they knew what street foods were safe to eat, where I wouldn't venture that on my own.
We have done several others in various cities, and they have all been so good.
I also heartily recommend food tours for all the stated reasons. You do have to be a person that enjoys food and trying different things and doesn’t just eat for fuel. (I’m told those people do exist but can’t quite imagine it.)
You learn more about where you are visiting than a restaurant meal can tell you. I travel solo so it’s really fun for me to have a bit of a break from solitary experiences sometimes.
Well, we probably wouldn’t have eaten a spleen sandwich in Palermo if not for our food tour. As long as we didn’t think about its origins, it was rather tasty and supposedly part of the local food culture. It seems like you can book high end food, street food, full meals or tapas/cicchetti, depending on what you’re looking for. We’ve enjoyed the fun and energy of all the guides we’ve had, so we routinely book them now as part of our travels.
Where's the best place to vet and book food tours? I assume there's a lot of guides with hats in the ring, some probably great, some probably not so great ....
Lyndash food tours sound like an especially great fit for solo travel - next time I'm traveling alone I'll think about doing one :)
Where's the best place to vet and book food tours? I assume there's a
lot of guides with hats in the ring, some probably great, some
probably not so great ....
I would always book directly with the company, as changes and cancellations do happen. Especially when solo, they may not be willing to take only you if you're the only tour participant, but that decision doesn't get made until pretty close to the tour date. For vetting it will depend of course on where you're going, but a few places I would check:
We generally just read a few reviews (Trip Advisor, Google, etc) and find one that gets decent reviews, is a walking tour, and had the meet-up point nearby.
We used Culinary Backstreets in New Orleans, and they cover other cities internationally as well. Secret Food Tours is another company that does food tours all over and gets good reviews although I have not done one with them (yet).
I believe the food tour we did in Porto was Taste Porto (it was included in the RS tour).
In Athens, we used Athens Walks Gourmet Food Tour.
In Sorrento, Sorrento Food Tours.
Where's the best place to vet and book food tours? I assume there's a
lot of guides with hats in the ring, some probably great, some
probably not so great ....
They are an extension of the culture, so what culture interests you?
