Melting Pot Food Tours

We appreciated learning about the history of Pasadena through such an engaging and first-hand experience. The stops at the olive oil and tea shops were equally informative. Well done!

What an amazing way to spend a few hours in Pasadena! Our group was in town for a convention and had evening flights out of LAX. We decided to try this walking tour of Old Pasadena since it was close to our convention hotel (Pasadena Hilton.) Our guide was a local man (Nick) who had lived in the Pasadena area his entire life. He was passionate about sharing his love of the city and its history with us, sharing architectural information and local business history. When they tell you not to eat before starting the tour, they're not kidding! We stopped at so many places, experiencing a myriad of different cultural foods. Some stops involved just a small sampling, while others were close to being a full-sized meal! We were absolutely stuffed by the end of the tour! Most of the business owners were friendly and informative. Bring a shopping bag, as there are several opportunities to purchase great locally-produced items. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes; the walk isn't long, but you are strolling around Old Pasadena for a few hours.

The tour started with a couple of restaurants that were nothing special. But as the tour went on, we were pleasantly surprised by the variety of local establishments we visited that we wouldn't have known about. We left satisfied but not stuffed, and with a real sense of Old Pasadena.

First I would like to commend our tour guide, Kendall, for the way she conducted the tour. Everything was organized and at the end we felt that we had truly experienced the flavors of the Latin food scene and culture. Our favorite tasting experience was one that surprised us and that is the dish we keep raving to others about, Don't wish to tell what that dish is because it would ruin the wonderful surprise that awaits you. If you are wondering, we definitely were filled by the end of the tour. Well done, Melting Pot!!

We enjoyed this tour...fun tastings and samplings of a variety family owned restaurants and locally owned businesses. Great variety of food..nice walk with Pasadena history sprinkled in. Good way to spend an afternoon.

everything was nice. Barbara was a great leader. food needed spice.

We really enjoyed hearing all about the Farmer's Market, its history and all about the food. Lisa was so informative both in the Market and when we were on 3rd St. The samples were generous and some in our group ate items they never thought they would and found that they liked the food, not that it was unusual. I would recommend this to anyone, whether local or on vacation. It was fantastic!! Thanks, Lisa, for being so wonderful to all of us.

Barbara was awesome as she told us bits of history about Pasadena while we ate at local eateries and establishments. All our hosts were wonderful and explained how they started, their concept and provided discounts on purchases. No pressure to buy anything, but you will. The uniqueness and quality of the products couldn't be passed. Great day, great walk, great food, great company. What a day!

The Farmers Market complex is big and can be overwhelming. THe tour which also includes nearby Third Street shops and restaurants helps you to appreciate the general layout, the options available, and gets you launched on further visiting which could easily occur over a couple of additional visits to the area. The food choices were yummy and the volume of just a taste from many sites is perfect so you can sample many things before you are obscenely full and can't eat another bite. We had a small group and were lucky because it meant we could hear everything that was said, had more than enough of everything to eat. Tour guide Summer Davis is a true pro and was very well informed, friendly, had lots of interesting tidbits. Great way to introduce yourself to the Farmers Market. It's truly a multicultural experience so everybody is going to find much they like and likely to find something they totally didn't know before the tour. What more could you want?!

Tour guide was friendly and informative. Tour moved at a great pace and had a lot of delicious foods to try.

The guide was knowledgeable, cheerful and enthusiastic about all the stops on the tour, as well as Old Pasadena and it's history. We were fully satiated by the time the tour was finished, and inspired to revisit some of the stops to buy some of their offerings afterward to take home.

Lucked out: tour led by owner of the tour company. Great fun seeing the different shops and stalls in the market. Would never have discovered all its charms on my own. Lots of great tastings, too. Highly recommended.

My husband and I decided to take a Melting Pot Food Tour at the last minute and it was a fantastic decision! Not only was the food scrumptious, but learning the history of Old Pasadena along with information about the restaurants was spectacular! As a tourist this information just can't be found! My favorite spot we stopped at on the tour was Bird Pick tea store. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the tea and the Jasmine Lemonade took my breath away. Of course the Peruvian food at Choza Mama was so comforting and how can one not like the chocolate at Mignon Chocolate. Lisa our tour guide was wonderful. It was great to hear the stories she told of the town and I felt like had an insiders view to Pasadena. Now when I come back, I will know exactly where to go to dine like a Queen. Thank you Lisa and Diane for creating such a fabulous offering in Southern California. If you are thinking of taking a tour, don't hesitate!

We had the pleasure of seeing a really interesting and historical part of LA, that many would never get to see. I have grown up in San Francisco, been to LA hundreds of time, and had kids go to school in LA, but never had the chance to explore the true Hispanic legacy that is present. We got to visit very cool places, learn the history, ride the metro, and taste some great Mexican/Hispanic food. We also got the opportunity to visit a Cafe run by the Homegirls, which had great food, and helps women get out of the gang lifestyle. What a powerful experience. Highly recommended.

This was a fun tour and different than other food walking tours I've taken. I've never been on the LA metro system before - by the looks of it I'd say not too many others take it either, it's quite clean. This tour didn't have as much shopping as I'd have liked. Kendall was great and is a joy to spend time with, I've had her on the Farmer's Market tour before. I enjoyed all of the stops but thought the last coffee shop could have been removed or something else put is its place. I'll be back to take the Pasadena tour with this outfit.