Near North Food Tasting & Cultural Walking Tour

We had an amazing time and it was so worth ou money and exceeded our expectations! Highly recommend it for foodies, those who want to explore and see the real Chicago!

This tour is great for anyone who wants to see more than typical big city tourist sites. Our guide Jennifer was well-informed and interesting, and she led us on a fairly lengthy walk while sharing history, architectural notes, and just tidbits of info that made us feel that we got to know Chicago a bit better than we did (and we've been there a dozen times). Take note that while food/drink is part of this tour, it's not really a "foodie" tour. I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get more of a behind the scenes look at the stops on the tour and was hugely disappointed that we weren't allowed to make purchases during the tour (you are expected to return to your favorites on your own time so as not to hold up the group's progress). The stop at Old Town Oil was nearly worth the price of admission, but I was so bummed out that I had to walk back there the next day to make some purchases (and trust me, you will want to). I never would have believed that tasting various combinations of oil and aged balsamic vinegar could be so fun and so tasty. I'd recommend the tour if you want to see a different part of town and get some exercise, but don't expect a ton of food or much time at each of the stops. It's a bit pricey for what you get, but I did enjoy it.

Jen was our tour guide and she did a fantastic job. We learned so much about the history, architecture and culture of the Chicago neighborhoods. We loved going into the local shops and hearing about their products. We took lots of pictures and have lots of stories to tell. We would recommend this tour to anyone visiting Chicago. The best part was re-tracing our steps and going back to our favorite stores and buying their products. It was a great day and we were all exhausted when we got back to our hotel.

I came back recommending it to everyone I talked to. Guide was enthusiastic but not annoyingly so!

This tour is definitely a must do while in Chicago! My girlfriends and i took the Near North tour last weekend and had a blast. I've been to Chicago several times, but never seen the city like this. Our tour guide, Jessie, was very knowledgeable about the city, the food, and the architecture. I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Chicago.

Our group was an eclectic mix of family ranging in age from 26 to 66, and everyone absolutely loved this tour! One in the group lives in Chicago and another lived in Chicago for several years and both of them were even blown away! The rest of us have been coming to Chicago annually for about 20 years, and this is by far one of the best activities we have found. Our tour guide, Ariana, was phenomenal! She made the tour fun, exciting, and very educational. I would highly recommend this event! We are already planning to go on the Wicker Park tour the next time we are in Chicago!

This tour genuinely exceeded my expectations!!!! I give it 100 stars out of 4!!! I was impressed by the tour guide's knowledge, passion, and enthusiasm, willingness to answer questions, openness to recommend other restaurants in Chicago, and she spoke really well!! The places we went to and the streets we walked were fantastic!!!! I loved every stop we made, and wish there was more food! Although at the end, the pizza was very filling so I guess the proportions were just right. I learned quite a bit about tea, spices, oils, and the residential areas....it was truly a worthwhile tour and I have already started recommending it to my friends, co-workers and family!!

This tour greatly surpassed our expectations. We would recommend it to anyone with the greatest of pleasure.

We had a blast on this tour. Our enthusiastic leader was Jen. She was fun and personable and well informed. The food we tasted was great. The olive oil and balsamic vinegar shop was great fun. We experimented with all kinds of oil and vinegar mixtures and tasted each one. I liked the fact that the tour went along at the pace of the group. We were not rushed through and we did not waste time either. The tour did go longer than the 3 hours, so just plan for that to avoid any problems. I would strongly recommend this tour if you are in Chicago.

We loved this tour. Nikki was our guide and we can't reccomend her enough. All of the food we tried was delicious on the northside tour. We can't wait to come back and try the Bucktown/Wicker Park tour next visit to Chicago. We've told all our friends about the tour and how they need to sign up. I plan on ordering a ton of stuff from the spice house and the olive oil store for christmas presents for my family. This is a must if you're new to chicago and love food.