Greenville History Tours

Our Activity Group from the Newcomer Club in Seneca thoroughly enjoyed the entire tour. It was great fun to hear the remarks from the chefs, tour actual kitchens, learn about the history of the buildings and the businesses, and literally feast on delicious and creative dishes. John has done a fine job organizing this tour. He was a very good host and leader.

The tour was a nice afternoon outing and the price was reasonable. Liked the guide and his information on the history of Greenville but felt the food experience was lacking and not up to par. Desert at the Lazy Goat was excellent but the rest needs improvement.

The first stop, the slaw with pulled pork and fried green tomato. The sous chef, had a wonderful outgoing character. Her cooking demonstration with an old burned pan did not impress me at all, or encourage me to enjoy the dish. The other stops were all very nice, and excellent cuisine samples. One point, the' tipping the guide' note should be on the ticket. We only saw the tipping advise after we got home on the handout paper, which nobody had time to read walking around in the dark. We surely will recommend the tour.

It is a great chance to sample dishes at the five restaurants included on the tour. You meet the chefs and learn a little background about them and their restaurants. You are given some idea about what goes into the preparation of uniques dishes, where they buy their ingredients and all their efforts to please the customer. With just the right amount of Greenville history thrown in, it was a very enjoyable and delicious event.

enjoyed the tour, recommend John Nolan and his tours. will go back when John starts his new southern culinary tour!

Historical perspectives were enlightening and interesting...promoting a return visit to downtown. Restaurants were not all prepared to "professionally" present themselves. Good opportunity to sample downtown restaurants (offerings and ambiance) and history. Our group was 21 people. Would be much more effective with smaller groups, 8 persons max.

The portions were much to small. It was apparent that there was no coordination between the restaurants. The first and second restaurant, Soby's on the Side and Soby's, plates looked the same - meat, asparagus and potato but I will say Soby's on the Side dish was delicious. The third restaurant was not prepared with their set up - no forks, knives or napkins. The fourth restaurant, The Lazy Goat, had a wonderful dessert and was the high light of the tour. The cost of $88 + $10 tip for the guide would have gotten us a great meal at any of the restaurants downtown.

Food was wonderful. Chefs were informative and welcoming. Two restaurants served similar entrees. It would be nice if each restaurant served something entirely different. The walking history tour added a lot to the experience. Very, very enjoyable.

This was a great way to experience Greenville, SC and it's restaurant scene. The 3 hr. tour included walking to 5 restaurants where we met with the chefs and tasted a creation, (along with an appropriately chosen beverage), while they explained a bit about their philosophy of their menu choices and cooking. We were greeted warmly and received as honored guests in each restaurant. Between restaurants our guide gave a history of Greenville and explained some of the archetectural elements on the buildings in town. We came away impressed with the uniqueness and enthusiasm of each chef and the love of their profession. What a great afternoon for the four of us on our annual girls weekend getaway.

I would highly recommend this tour to anyone new to the area or having guests from out of town. I intend to go on the tour again with other friends.

We have just moved from California to Greenville. This was birthday gift for my husband who loves to cook and loves to eat.I believe it is the best gift I have every given him. (other than some very expensive pots and pans). I am not a "foodie" but I completely enjoyed the evening too. Each chef was charming, informative and provided a delicious signature dish. Each dish offers a special alcoholic beverage, as well as, non alcoholic beverage for for minors and teetotalers. We took an evening tour and the weather was perfect as we leisurely strolled from one delightful restaurant to the next. It was completely organized...no waiting to be seated. We will definitely return to each of these restaurants again and again. John, our guide, has a wealth of knowledge of the history of Greenville and an obvious delight in working with the Chefs and sharing the rich history of a town that is filled with potential. There were 9 in our group of mixed ages and interests. Anyone, who comes to Greenville and takes this tour will not be disappointed. Thank you John or being such a creative guy and putting together a tour that supports all! We will keep an eye out for your new tours in the future.

Every aspect of this outing was entertaining and enjoyable except for the very small portions of food that were served. It was a lovely evening in downtown Greenville. Our tour guide was pleasant, personable, and knowledgable. Our walking tour to five downtown restaurants provided three hours of relaxing entertainment. The time we spent with the restaurant chef's and staff was informative. Most people in my group were expecting to be be served dinner comprised of five courses of food, one course served at each restaurant. This was, in fact, a culinary tour "At the Chef's Table" that was conducted at the normal dinner time between the hours of 6:00pm and 9:00pm. All of the food that was served was very tasty but we were not served dinner sized portions of food. The meal began with a delicious salad that would fit on the palm of your hand. The entree, or meat portion of the meal that was served at our last stop, could have been served on a tablespoon---no kidding! The sum total of food that was offered to me was about equal to a good sized appetizer from an average menu. Everyone did receive a large, wrapped brownie to take home. That was nice touch and much appreciated. It was delicious. Those of us who had not had dinner prior to this event left hungry. But then why would we eat supper before going on a scheduled dinner time "culinary tour"? If it had not been so late we would have stopped for a fast food meal on the way home. I have since researched this tour with the Better Business Bureau and TripAdvisor. The BBB had no complaints listed and comments on TripAdvisor included descriptions such as "generous portions" and "don't go on this tour if you are on a diet". Some of the descriptions made it sound like I had been on a different tour. Maybe our experience was unique. My wife and I spent $96.68 and that included a ten dollar tip for the tour guide. What we got was an enjoyable and entertaining evening but we did not get the dinner that we had anticipated.

We had never been a culinary tour before, but they will be on our "must do" list when visiting future cities that offer them. Great way to learn about a new place AND enjoy sampling new flavors. All the chefs were generous with their time and each displayed much passion for their profession. We'd go again!

The evening was just great! The various chefs and restaurant managers could not have been more inviting; the food was delicious; and we had a lot of fun. We've even talked about doing it again on the different night of the week! I highly recommend it.

John does a great job of leading the group, adding some Greenville history, and hosting. All the restaurants were great and the visits from the chefs very interesting.