Gold Coast & Old Town Food Tour

I went with a group of girlfriends and had an awesome time. Our guide was Ariana, and she's pretty much the reason we had such a great time. She gave us tons of fun facts about the architecture and inside stories on the stores we toured. She kept things very interesting for us. The amount of time we had in each store was limited, which is understandable, but we weren't able to make any purchases on the tour. That's the only thing I would change, everything else was great! Thanks:)

We had such a great time. Good food, good info, great tour guide! The only bad thing was that we wanted to buy things and because it would take too much time they wouldn't let us. It would be nice if the stores put together small sample packs, worth $5 or $10, we could have bought quickly upon leaving. If we were notified to bring $5 or $10 bills in for that reason I would have come stacked with them! I really can't complain, everything was great. Highly recommended for tourists and locals!

What a great tour! Very well organized and we had an extremely personable guide. Particularly enjoyed the presentations at the tea and spice shops. A tasty way to explore the city - more food than I'd normally eat for lunch.

I took the Near North Food Tour on a beautiful Saturday in a group of 8 girls and we all had a ball. The number one part of our tour was Arianna, our tour guide. She was very nice, VERY knowledgeable, and kept us interested throughout the tour. Trust me when I say I am the kid who never listened during field trips in school, but Arianna made it interesting! The architecture and stories were just as good as the food. I liked the balance of substantial food (reuben at Ashkinaz deli, chocolate at the Fudge Pot, pizza at our final stop, Bacino's) vs. smaller and less filling stops in between (spices, oils, iced tea). We were always satisfied, but not full until we ate our pizza at the last stop, which was perfect. This is not a "pig out" tour by any means... it is what it says it is, a walking tasting tour. But with the bonus of very cool architecture, excercise, scenery, and conversation. I think my only suggestion for improvement would be some sort of shopping option. I know its not feasible and takes too much time, but if there were some sort of pre-determined items we could buy that would have been cool. The coupons were nice and I have already ordered Christmas gifts from a couple of the stops, but I think they should all be available online, since we can't shop and some people can't stay downtown afterwards (ahem, Oil Tree... I would have bought if I could use my coupon online). Other than that minor complaint, it was a wonderful experience, and I have already told several other friends they have to go. Thanks Arianna! They are LUCKY to have you!

I went with a group of 8 girlfriends. We had a great time. The food was excellent and the order in which it went was great. Our tour guide was very informative not only on the food we were tasting and the stores but also with Chicago history and architectural facts. The only thing I would change is to allow us shopping time. I wanted to make purchases at several of the stops but was not allowed the time. I can say I will go back to the stores again to make purchases or even make them online but I am not sure I will really do that. I would have, however, made a purchase the day of the tour for sure. Overall it was a great time. I recommend this to all!

We were a foodie group and absolutely loved it. My favorite was the education, not only about the food, but the insider information about Chicago. Great activity to enjoy with friends and family.

My best frind and I did this for our birthdays. We had a great time on this walking tour. It was educational and interactive all in one. Our guide had so much knowledge of the area. By the time the tour was over we were full from all the sampling at the different stores. After the tour was over we walked back to some of the stores and did some shopping and used the coupons that the tour guide gave us. I would highly recommend this tour!!!!!

Going on this tour exceeded my expectations from Jen our tour guide who kept things going at a nice pace, answered our questions and gave us great information on neighborhoods we would not normally see. The food stops were marvelous and we picked up some great information not only on foods and spices and beverages but also on the neighborhoods we were in. This a great tour to take and walk along and try out different foods but the group we were with was just awesome and we made some new friends. We all agree we can not wait to go back and take the other food tour.

I would highly recommend this food tour to foodies and non foodies alike! We loved the variety of stops and the interesting people we met. Our guide Nicki was fantastic, friendly and chock full of relevant facts. I learned so much about tea, spices and oils and we went back shopping to all the establishments on this tour for shopping. Also loved the walking aspect of the tour-also great to end the tour at a pizza place where there was a bar for afterwards!

The tour was absolutely amazing! We went into some shops that I would never have even thought to go in! Our tour guide was very informative and fun! My sisters and I walked back and went to several of the stores on the tour to shop! It was great!