There’s no denying that New York City is one of the most diverse cities in the world, so it’s no surprise that the metropolis also boasts one of the most diverse culinary scenes.
You’ll find specialties in each of its neighborhoods, with a variety of dishes, snacks, drinks, and cultural experiences. If you’d like to dive deep into the best of NYC’s food scene, we can’t think of a better way than to experience one of these top NYC food tours.
These unique, memorable gastronomic experiences are led by experienced guides who are experts in the history and culture surrounding them. Let’s jump right into it!
Best New York City Food Tours
| Chinatown and Little Italy Food Fest | New York City's Hell's Kitchen: Walking Food Tour | Best of Brooklyn Half-Day Food and Culture, Bus and Walking Tour | |
|---|---|---|---|
Best Chinatown & Little Italy Tour | Best Hell's Kitchen Food Tour | Best Brooklyn Food Tour | |
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| Departure: | 30 Mott St, New York, NY 10013 | Gyu-Kaku, 321 W 44th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues | 301-303 6th Ave, New York, NY 10014 |
| Start: | 10:30 AM | 12:30 PM | 11:00 AM |
| Duration: | 3 hours | 2 hours | 4.5 hours |
| Includes: | Food tasting, local guide, detailed itinerary, alcoholic beverages | Guide, food stops at 5 locations | Transport by bus, Licensed NYC sightseeing guide, multiple Food tastings |
Quick Answer: The 7 Best Rated NYC Food Tours For 2024
- Chinatown and Little Italy Food Fest
- New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen: Walking Food Tour
- Best of Brooklyn Half-Day Food and Culture, Bus and Walking Tour
- Food Tour of Greenwich Village
- New York’s West Village Food Tour
- New York City: Half-Day Pizza Tasting Bus Tour
- Half-Day Hell’s Kitchen Food Tour and Central Park Stroll
NYC Food Tour Reviews
1. Chinatown and Little Italy Food Fest
- Duration: 3 hours
- Departure: 30 Mott St, New York, NY 10013
- Departure Time: 10:30 AM
- Includes: Food tasting, Local guide, Detailed itinerary, Alcoholic Beverages
Chinatown is a vibrant, bustling neighborhood in Lower Manhattan that offers authentic Chinese cuisine and an amazing cultural experience. NYC’s Little Italy is a charming, historic neighborhood located nearby and known for its rich Italian influence and food.
With the Chinatown and Little Italy Food Fest Tour, you’ll be able to see them both the way they were meant to be.
It’s no secret that these are 2 of the top foodie neighborhoods in the Big Apple, which is really saying something if you know anything about the world-class food scene, here!
Checking them out on your own can be undeniably intimidating, and can be hard to know where to start. After all, you want to see taste the best that each one has to offer!
Meet up with your guide at the Silk Road Cafe, and head off through the once predominantly Italian immigrant epicenter. The neighborhood is bursting at the seams with amazing restaurants and trattorias offering pasta, pizza, cannoli, gelato, espresso, and other classic Italian dishes. While chowing down, enjoy notable landmarks like the Church of the Most Precious Blood!
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Next up is Chinatown, which is one of the biggest and most famous Chinatowns in the entire world. You’ll be all but transported right to China, with colorful storefronts, streets illuminated with red lanterns, traditional markets, and of course a myriad of restaurants, bakeries, and street vendors.
You’ll find everything from dim sum and noodles to roasted meats and fresh seafood. All the while, your local guide will lead the way to the best hidden gems as well as some of the most notable tourist hot spots.
Perfectly melding history with the culinary scene, you’ll experience a well-rounded tour enriched by funny stories, anecdotes, and lots of insider tips that only a local would know. Make sure to come hungry, because there’s a ton to try!
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
2. New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen: Walking Food Tour
- Duration: 2 hours
- Departure: Gyu-Kaku, 321 W 44th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues
- Departure Time: 12:30 PM
- Includes: Guide, food stops at 5 locations
Hell’s Kitchen may sound a bit intimidating by the name alone, but it’s one of the most high-spirited, diverse neighborhoods in the city. In fact, the historic spot boasts one of the best restaurant communities, from Peruvian and Brazilian to Uzbek and Thai.
While I definitely recommend spending some time there on your own, if you want the ultimate way through HK, you have to partake in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen: Walking Food Tour!
Having started in the mid-19th century by mostly Irish refugees from the Great Famine, Hell’s Kitchen had humble beginnings. After meeting up with your guide, they’ll take you all through the ins and outs of this neighborhood and tell you about the infamous location’s history.
Learn how it got its unique name and how it became the inspiration for the super-popular ‘West Side Story’ musical! Along the way, you’ll pay visits to some of the best Caribbean, Chinese, French, German, Mexican, Thai, Italian, etc. eateries in midtown!
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The Argentinian empanadas and custom-made donuts were some of the highlights for me, though the exotic curry puffs were super special, too!
Some visits are already very well-established restaurants while others are known for their unique history and relevance in local culture.
Our guide really made this tour as memorable as it was, intertwining fascinating tales and relating it back to the dishes we tried and the places we visited. My only possible “complaint” would be that it was so fun it just flew by in those couple of hours!
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
3. Best of Brooklyn Half-Day Food and Culture, Bus and Walking Tour
- Duration: 4.5 hours
- Departure: 301-303 6th Ave, New York, NY 10014
- Departure Time: 11:00 AM
- Includes: Transport by climate-controlled bus, Licensed NYC sightseeing guide, Luggage storage available upon request; your luggage is stowed at the rear of the bus, Multiple Food tastings
Brooklyn is easily one of the best places to live in the city, full of a rich art scene, beautiful waterfront views, and of course, fantastic food. In fact, you could spend your entire life in Brooklyn and likely always have a new eatery to discover.
With the Best of Brooklyn Half-Day Food and Culture, Bus and Walking Tour, you’ll take a journey from traditional ethnic locales to foodie hotspots.
This notoriously trendy borough has a more open, residential vibe to it with DUMBO being its most scenic neighborhood.
Today, you’ll get to try some sweet treats here and head through various other parts of Brooklyn like the iconic Williamsburg and Polish enclave of Greenpoint. Before anything else, though, you have to meet up with your licensed NYC sightseeing guide and hop on board your air-conditioned coach!
This makes it a much easier way to explore in a relatively short amount of time, as walking is going to take a whole lot longer.
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Your tour starts off at 11:00 am and lasts almost 5 hours which perfectly covers lunch and dinner so you won’t have to worry about eating too much at once. The first stop is in Williamsburg which is home to tons of ethnic spots, as well as the super Orthodox Hasidic Jewish community.
Next is Greenpoint, where you’ll get to try some incredibly authentic kielbasa and pierogis. Enjoy the gorgeous Prospect Park while chowing on a big slice of Neapoloitan Pizza for the ultimate NYC experience.
Then, in DUMBO you’ll get to try the Jacques Torres Bonbons at the chocolate factory for a delicious dessert.
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
4. Food Tour of Greenwich Village
- Duration: 2 hours
- Departure: Jackson Square Park, cross section of 8th Ave & 13th St.
- Departure Time: 12:30 PM
- Includes: Guide, food stops
Greenwich Village or just “the Village” is known for its incredible cultural history, brownstones, bohemian atmosphere, and intense art scene. In fact, Edgar Allan Poe, Jackson Pollock, Jack Kerouac, and Allen Ginsberg were just a few of the notable minds drawn to this neighborhood.
If you’d like to try its equally-rich culinary scene, don’t hesitate to sign up for the Food Tour of Greenwich Village!
What I love about Greenwich Village is how walkable, green, and friendly it feels. There’s so much history to this place, and with this 2-hour tour we were able to travel through so many different eras and feelings through food and eateries. This area started off with Dutch and English colonial roots, and you still see evidence of that today with certain food trends.
The guide took us through tons of place that tied into the history lessons offered, like legendary jazz clubs, independent bookshops, boutiques, cafes, and lots of artsy locales. They perfectly balanced the older and more historical places with the new and trendy, which are simultaneously worlds different but somehow the same.
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I do recommend bringing some comfortable walking shoes, as you’ll be doing a lot of walking (but this is one of the best places in NYC to do so).
One thing that many understandably worry about, is attending a food tour and having to eat until they’re uncomfortable. As this tour was so well-timed and planned, we ate and then walked around as we listened to our guide’s history stories and anecdotes.
It not only kept us interested and entertained, but made it so that we always had room and enthusiasm once we arrived to our next eatery.
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
5. New York’s West Village Food Tour
- Duration: 3 hours
- Departure: 201 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10012
- Departure Time: 11:00 AM
- Includes: Professional guide, 6 food tastings, lunch
Boasting charming, tree-lined streets, amazing historic architecture, vibrant art scene, and world-class dining, the West Village is understandably many visitors’ top destination.
On this tour, you’ll be able to experience multicultural flavors like never before, with a passionate and educated local foodie who knows this area like the back of their hand. The New York’s West Village Food Tour is some of the most fun I’ve had here, and in the City That Never Sleeps, that’s really saying something!
Start off by meeting your guide at the conveniently-located Bleecker Street right to the west of the incredible Greenwich Village (hey, why not try both tours?!). Starting at 11:00 am, I found it to be the perfect timing as I just skipped breakfast and ended up being full all day after the tour.
Once everyone has arrived, you’ll set out through this exquisite location on a fun little walking tour. You’ll stop at 6 reputable local eateries, starting things off right at the renowned Hudson Bagels for some of the most delicious baked goods and cream cheese around.
Sit back and enjoy the cool and beautiful Washington Square Park before passing by the Friends building, as well as Cafe Wha? – the former hangout spot of Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and others.
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Next up is Faicco’s Italian Specialties for tasty Aranchini before making your way to Molly’s Cupcakes and build your own!
Take some time to walk around and explore before arriving at Bleecker Street Pizza, which has been named the best pizza in New York for 2 years now, by Food Network. However, (in my opinion) the star of the show really is Mamoun’s falafel, which has been operating since 1971!
Not to mention, it has an unbeatable family vibe where you just feel like you’re in the presence of friends.
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
6. New York City: Half-Day Pizza Tasting Bus Tour
- Duration: 4.5 hours
- Departure: Keste Pizza & Vino
- Departure Time: 11:30 AM
- Includes: Course on the history of pizza, Pizza slices at 4 of the best pizzerias on the planet, Transportation by big yellow school bus, Guidance by a certified pizza enthusiast (and licensed tour guide)
If someone asks you where the best pizza in the world is offered, chances are you’re likely to answer “New York” instead of Italy. The thin, foldable crust is hand-tossed and stretched to perfection before the highest-quality ingredients are added.
On the New York City: Half-Day Pizza Tasting Bus Tour, you’ll learn anything you could ever want to known about this culturally-iconic pie!
Sure, you can find incredible and authentic New York pizza in just about every neighborhood in the city. However, this tour was so amazing to me not only from the actual food itself, but for the history lessons and people we were able to meet. Start off by boarding a big yellow bus and start learning about why the pizza here is so unique!
For example, local tap water affects the flavor and consistency thanks to its unique silt and mineral composition which changes the dough’s texture and overall taste.
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There are places all over the US that sell “NY pizza” and actually have NY tap water flown in to make it as authentic as possible! As it is such a competitive scene, great effort is put forth to ensure these pizzerias maintain the highest quality standards out there.
I love how each tour is unique, so you won’t always visit the same places each time. I mean, there is simply too much amazing pizza in New York to only focus on the same few. However, this tailored excursion will bring you to 4 different venues, including classic counters, oldest brick ovens, and much more.
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
7. Half-Day Hell’s Kitchen Food Tour and Central Park Stroll
- Duration: 4 hours
- Departure: 321 W 44th St, New York, NY 10036
- Departure Time: 12:30 PM
- Includes: 2 walking tours, food tastings, water, guide
I loved Hell’s Kitchen cuisine so much, I couldn’t leave off adding this second tour to this guide. No trip to New York City is complete without a visit to Central Park, and it’s much more enjoyable if you are snacking on something tasty while you stroll around!
In fact, the Half-Day Hell’s Kitchen Food Tour and Central Park Stroll is one of the best ways you could possibly spend an afternoon in the Big Apple.
This 4-hour tour perfectly combines eating delicious food and walking tours, so you’re learning and tasting as you go (the best way to learn, if you ask me). You’ll start off by meeting your guide in Hell’s Kitchen, where they’ll offer up interesting stories and anecdotes about the area.
Our first stop was an incredible Middle Eastern eatery, followed by some Latin American and Cajun dishes as we learned the cultural relevance of each.
I enjoyed this tour because it didn’t take us to only the Michelin-star-rated restaurants, but actually, those that are the most underrated. You’ll learn about the rich immigrant history here, gang life at the docks, and how local cuisine was affected by it all.
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It’s really interesting to see how everything started, and how they’re still vital parts of New York’s culture, today.
Follow all of that tastiness up with a fun-filled walk at the iconic Central Park. Clocking in at well over 800 acres, this green escape is the perfect retreat from the concrete jungle.
There are ponds, fountains, playgrounds, and plenty of quiet space to just take it all in while learning about its 150-year history.
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
FAQs About New York City Food Tours
Q: What foods is New York City famous for?
- Pizza: New York-style pizza is thin, crispy, and foldable, and it’s sold by the slice or by the pie. You can find pizza joints all over the city, but some of the most iconic ones are Lombardi’s, Joe’s, and Grimaldi’s12. You can top your pizza with anything you like, but the classic cheese and tomato sauce combo is hard to beat.
- Hot dogs: Nothing says New York like a hot dog from a street vendor or a stand. These hot dogs are usually boiled and served on a bun with mustard, sauerkraut, onions, ketchup, or relish. Some of the most famous places to get a hot dog are Gray’s Papaya, Nathan’s Famous, and Papaya King12.
- Bagels with lox: A bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon is a quintessential New York breakfast or brunch. The bagels are boiled and baked to create a chewy and dense texture, and the lox adds a salty and smoky flavor. You can also add capers, onions, tomatoes, or cucumbers for some extra crunch. Some of the best places to get bagels with lox are Russ & Daughters, Ess-a-Bagel, and Zabar’s12.
- Cheesecake. New York-style cheesecake is rich, creamy, and amazing! It’s made with cream cheese, eggs, sugar, and sour cream or heavy cream, and baked in a springform pan with a graham cracker crust. It’s usually served plain or with fruit toppings like strawberries or cherries. Some of the best places to get cheesecake are Junior’s, Eileen’s Special Cheesecake, and S&S Cheesecake23.
- Black and white cookies: These cake-like cookies are half-frosted with vanilla and chocolate icing, creating a striking contrast. They’re soft, moist, and sweet, and they’re often sold at bakeries and delis.
Q: Why does NYC has such good food?
- Diversity: NYC is a melting pot from people from all over the world. They bring their culinary expertise and influences with them. You can find authentic and fusion dishes from almost every country and region, from pizza and bagels to hot dogs and cheesecake12. You can also discover new and exciting flavors from emerging cuisines, such as Jamaican beef patties, soup dumplings, and spicy cumin lamb noodles34.
- Quality: NYC’s food is not only diverse, but also high-quality. The city has some of the best ingredients, chefs, and restaurants in the world. There are Michelin-starred restaurants, bakeries famous legendary eateries that have been serving customers for decades. There is some of the freshest seafood, produce and meat from local farms and markets.
- Creativity: NYC’s food is not only high-quality, but also creative. With the competition of so many restaurants, chefs are constantly coming up with new ideas. There are food trucks, pop-ups and themed restaurants that offer unique experiences. You can also try some of the most original and inventive dishes, such as cronuts, ramen burgers, sushi burritos, and rainbow bagels.
- Accessibility: NYC’s food is not only creative, but also accessible. You can find something you like no matter what your taste, budget, or dietary preference. You can find cheap and delicious street food, cozy and casual cafes, elegant and upscale restaurants and everything in between.
Q: Why should I do a NYC food tour?
History: You’ll learn about the history and culture of NYC through its food. A food tour is not just about eating, you can learn a lot about the city a the same time. You’ll discover how different cuisines and dishes came to be in NYC, and how they reflect the diversity and identity of the city. You’ll also hear stories and anecdotes from your guide, who is a local expert and a passionate foodie.
Variety: You’ll sample a variety of foods in one day. There is no better way to try different foods in one day without having to worry about planning. You’ll visit several places in different neighborhoods, and taste some of the most popular and representative foods of each area. You’ll also get to try some hidden gems and off-the-beaten-path spots that you might not find on your own.
Fun: You’ll have fun and meet new people. A food tour is a great way to spend half a day with your friends, family, or even solo. You’ll join a small group of fellow travelers who share your love for food and adventure. You’ll also interact with your guide and the local vendors, who will welcome you with warmth and hospitality. You’ll have a blast eating, chatting, and laughing along the way.
Tips: You’ll get tips and recommendations for your trip. A food tour is a great way to get insider tips and recommendations for your trip in NYC. You’ll also get a map and a list of the places you visited on the tour, so you can go back or explore more on your own.
Q: What is the best NYC food tour?
A: If you can afford to spend a little extra we recommend the Best of Brooklyn Half-Day Food and Culture, Bus and Walking Tour. With this tour you will go to some premium restaurants and try some of the finest food in NYC!
Q: What is the cheapest New York City food tour?
A: If you are on a budget we recommend the New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen: Walking Food Tour. This is a little shorter so you won’t get to try as many types of food but what you do is still awesome!
Foods Tasted
Tour Guides
Value
The Chinatown and Little Italy Food Fest is our Editors Choice for the best NYC food tour
