Old Pasadena Food Tasting Tour

This tour allowed my brother and me a painless introduction to the food scene in Old Pasadena the morning after the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game. The tour guide was knowledgeable and friendly, the food was good, and I think it would have been difficult to pick up the things we learned on our own without staying in Pasadena much longer than we in fact did.

We took the tour on our last day in Pasadena. We had a great time and learned about some great places. We only wish we had taken the tour our first day so we could use the new knowledge as we explored the city. A bit pricey in my mind but would have saved us money in the long run knowing what places to visit.

It was a lovely way to be introduced to Old Pasadena's history, as well as the delightlful cuisine. I was concerned walking three hours may be a bit much for my parents, but the pace and location of tastings was perfectly planned, making for a comfortable morning walk. Do adhere to the dressing guidelines. Even in winter, sunglasses are a good idea.

I was pleased with this tour. The three hour time was perfect. I was very glad this tour consisted of family-owned restaurants and businesses. I loved walking through the alleys and discovering places easily missed if one wasn't walking. The tour guide was very adept at keeping to a schedule as the restaurants were obviously expecting us and we never had to wait for any of the food samplings. However, there was plenty of time in-between the stops to learn some well-known and little-known facts about the history of the area. As I'm a history buff this made the tour even more enjoyable. My friend and I are talking about doing the Farmers Market tour. I hope to see other areas of Southern California represented by Melting Pot Tours.

This was a comprehensive food tour of several "mom & Pop" restaurants in Old Town, Pasadena. Mike, our guide, was knowledgeagle in the history of Pasadena, buildings and sites in the area as he dispensed information bits along the several block walk of the tour. You get food samples at several restaurants from beef or chicken tortas at "Tortas Mexico", falafel at "Father Nature" to dim sum at "Equator". A bakery, tea shop, gelato and nepal food is also sampled along the way. Lots of fun and great places to return to at a later time for a full meal. We will take the tour they offer at Farmers Market in Los Angeles as well.

We took the Old Pasadena Food Tour on the 27th Dec. We had read so many good reviews of it being the top thing to do in LA. So why not try it. It is sort of good. We skipped breakfast when we where under the impression that it's going to be so much food that we don't need a lunch, Wrong, if you are a normal eater you do need to eat afterwards. I think we were unlucky with the guide. Can't remember his name but we had expected a food lover that passionately would talk about food. The most he said to us was...' I like Indian food too' Not impressive. He did try to make converstion but it was heavy and he felt very uninspired by us. The best part was to actually try different kind of foods and get a bit of history. The worst part was to have to stand if front of closed restaurants and hear the guide talk about the food inside. Being from overseas (England) and leaving the day after if was very boring. The icecream place (Tutti Gelati) that was supposed to be so highly rated served a very bland chocolate and orange tasting. Good quality ice-cream is silky smooth, this one was grainy. I would change this place if I was the Melting Pot Tour. A most disapointed part was also that no one came out from the restaurants to say hello (exept from one place, Equator), We didn't feel welcome at all. More in the way for other customers. The cake at the Aux Delices Bakery was nothing to speak about and it was very difficult to cut. The guide said that they always have trouble with it....so change the cake so we can have a nicely presented bite. The food it self was very good at all places but was nothing magical. We loved the Tibet Nepal and the Father Nature tasting but that is of course very individual. The tour took 3 hours, that was 1 1/2 hours to long for visitors with not so much time on there hands like us. Saying that, with another guide it would problably be much better. And please let the guests try the whole range from the chocolate shop. Why couldn't we try the ones on the right hand side? Where they not so good or were they to expensive for us try???? The question lingers in the air. Anni and Chris

The guide was very informative and friendly while keeping us moving so that we saw a lot of places. He knew about all the ins and outs, tiny alleys and local, family owned stores and restaurants. That made the trip very interesting. We've lived in SoCal our whole lives but weren't that familiar with Old Pasadena. We'll definitely go back there to eat and shop, especially at the places we sampled. Three hours of walking made us feel great, not guilty about all the food we were consuming!

I went this food tour with my friends and I highly recommend it. The food we tasted are just awesome. Meals, drinks and even icecreams are provided. They are all very good. The tour guide explains things really clearly and is very nice. I highly recommend this food tour if you're not very familiar with local evvironment or dining.

I really enjoyed the amount of historical information the tour guide provided on old town pasadena, and appreciated getting information about so many of the dining and drinking establishments. the amount and variety of food was just right. i think that the dessert presentation at aux delices was poor--the bakery should have provided small portions for each guest, rather than having the tour guide cut up the already small desserts. other than that, we moved at a nice clip and had a very positive experience (even with the rain!).

Mike, our tour guide, was well-informed on the history of Old Pasadena, and led us through alleys and down side streets that we had never noticed before (even though we'd visited the neighborhood many times in the past). The food establishments on the tour were varied, delicious and worth returning to -- and very generous with the samples of their signature dishes. Overall, it was a real bargain at $49 per person.