Foods of New York Tours

We loved this tour! Our guide, Susan, was very informative about the neighborhood and restaurants/food. The food samplings were delicious and the walking tour was perfect - not too long or strenuous. We are excited for our next visit to NYC to do another of your tours!

I live in New York and I have a large spare bedroom. That means I have a lot of visitors. We're always looking for things to do that we don't get sick of but are still "touristy". This past group of visitors ages ranged from 18-78. We decided to do the Original Greenwich Tour last minute. We needed one extra spot in the group and the staff happily accommodated us. Everyone loved the tour. There are tons of positives so I will list the things to be concerned about. I wouldn't call them negatives. -It is 3 hours of walking and standing on cement. There is 20 minutes of sitting half way through but there are no benches or seats on the streets of the Village. By the end of the tour the (very active) 78 year old was ready to sit down. -On weekends the area is very crowded with locals. Locals who hate tourists blocking their sidewalks and gawking at their grocery shopping.The guides do a great job of trying to contain the group but you will get yelled at on the street if you don't pay attention to what you are blocking. Also, the shops and restaurants are very small so it isn't enjoyable when your overcrowded in a small room. - If you don't like trying new food, do not go on the tour. There was a group of women who hated everything we tried and didn't like the cultural landmarks that were covered. The Village isn't Times Square so don't expect burgers and fries. That being said, the tour description was exactly what we had to eat. I am a picky eater and liked everything we had. No pate or sweet breads were served. Just slightly more gourmet then some people are used to. -Since it is a small group if you are with grumpy people, people who can't walk, or people who whine, it will effect the mood of the whole group. -Young children would be very bored on this tour -If you are hard of hearing you will have to stay close to the guide since it is outside Overall, book in advance, go on a weekday, wear comfy shoes, and have a good attitude. Also, bring a big tote because you will want to take advantage of your tour discounts after the tour is over. You can stop back in the shops like O&CO, Murray's Cheese Shop, and Milk & Cookies to use a great discount. The history that is covered at the end of the tour is very interesting so pay attention to that as well!

Perhaps my issue is the advertising of this tour. I thought it was going to be food, exercise, and some interesting history. It was a pop culture/historical tour with a LOT of lecturing. While our tour guide was friendly and energetic, she talked for a most of the 3 hours, at one point for 40 minutes straight with no food :(. I lost interest halfway through the tour. Frankly, I don't care that Lady Gaga worked at one of the restaurants or what the drink specials are during happy hour. Only if you live in the area, or frequent it often, could this tour be useful. There were endless advertising plugs for all the local restaurants. My guess is the restaurants in the area PAY to have their places showcased, which got me aggravated- like I paid to watch a long, boring commercial. For anyone else, you don't get enough food nor is it soooo historically interesting to be worth $50. Save your money, walk around the area, eat at any place that strikes your fancy. Or, take one of the FREE tours given which we bumped into. I think their shirts said "freetoursofnyc" - why pay? Finally- the food. I'm a small girl and those tasting did not equal a lunch. In 3 hours we had 1/2 a slice of pizza, olive oil on a small piece of bread, a rice ball, a slice of salimi, a decent sized cookie, 3 cubes of cheese, an olive, a small cannoli, and the sit down "meal" consisted of a date wrapped in bacon, a small stuffed mushroom, and a sliver of an artichoke. With the walking and the time between snacks, I was starving when we were done. Ha, at the 2nd to last place people attacked the free samples!

can't follow the guide....I really hope he can speak more slowly... and the food...I'm not sure if other tourists like it or not...but as Chinese, my mom, my boyfriend, and I just don't like it...sorry...

The tour of Chelsea was very informative and delicious. Our guide was enthusiastic and knew her material. The tour supplied ample food and treats. I wish the cupcake wasn't the first stop though. It is hard to eat a big sweet treat first thing and then continue on to more real food. I loved the lobster bisque at the Lobster store and the oxtail pasta at the last restaurant. Well worth the time and money.

The tour was great for delicious food, history of area, opportunity to learn excellent restaurants for return visit. And cheap as substitutes for lunch and maybe dinner too!!

Well, guilt free because it is a walking tour. The food was amazing and yes we were completely stuffed by the end of the tour. If you are a drive thru diva you will honestly enjoy revisiting REAL food! I loved the mix of tastings and history lesson of the area. New York is an amazing city and it was nice to have a tour that allowed us to truly get to know a neighborhood. My husband really enjoyed it too and it was a fun & interesting date for our 6th anniversary. I felt like a real grownup tasting food that didn't involve juice boxes and spiderman gummies.We will for sure include another food tour on our next trip to NY. Enjoy!

My husband and I wanted to take a scheduled tour of the village to learn more about the area and Food and Culture Tour sounded right up our alley. My overall reaction is an 8 out of 10. Leader was a sweetheart and knowledgable about the area and food - New York Pizza in particular. Food was just about right for a lunch type sampling, although I thought the tasting were rather small. These tours need to be careful not to become an advertising campaigne for the resturants and food shops. Almost felt like a little too much promotion of the business going on instead of information about the food and history of the establishment. Would have liked a little bit more info about the history of the area and past and present well know artists that roamed/roam the area. Not a word mentioned about NYU and I was somewhat surprised the college connection to the village didn't come up. Overall, time well spent for the money and we would both recommend it, but would also supplement with a little more research of the area before going on another similar tour.

History seemed to take a front page to this tour.. Food was more of a secondary, but overall the tour was wonderful.

Bob Gelber, our guide, was so enthusiatic! Enjoyed learning the history of Chelsea Maerket as well as all the delicious food tastings. Will recommend to friends.

I thought that our tour was wonderful and the food was greatly varied which I enjoyed because you didn't know what you were going to get next. I also thought our tour guide (Heather) was very easy to listen to and I absorbed the information. All of the food was top-notch and we also had a mini but interesting history lesson. I was afraid I would get bored by the history but it was very interesting and I enjoyed every aspect of the tour. I would definately go on another food tour! (mind you I am 13 years old) Lovely overall! (:

The Greenwich Village tour was like stepping away from the commercial busyness of the city & going to a a small village. Going in tiny specialty shops with wonderful tastings made us feel like we were at home. This was a small window looking at the lives of native New Yorkers

Each summer a group of us like to tour a section on NYC; this year we selected the Chelsea Market Tour since I'd heard some very postive comments about it from some friends. Since, we are a group of 18 women, it was important to find a date that had all 16 spots open and to plan far in advance so most could attend. At the end of May, we decided on July 29th, and were able to get 15 friends to sign up. I can happily say that the feedback was very enthusiastic - everyone really enjoyed the tour! Foods of NY does an excellent job offering a variety of stores and restaurants and mixes in some truly great selections - soup, cupcakes, fresh rolls, and Italian delicacies are just some of the tastings. Add some unique settings and historical details about the surrounding area, a stroll along the High Line and you have one very enjoyable day We are already discussing which of the tours we'd like to do next summer.

What a wonderful time my friends and I had during our tour of the Chelsea Market and the Meatpacking District! We sampled a variety of scrumptious treats while learning the background of the market and the history of the area. Our friendly tour guide was filled with interesting info and the 3 hours flew by. I recommend this tour.

The tour was very informative and the food was great. Our guid was great! We went back the follow night and ate at two of the restaurants on the tour.