Seattle Food Tours

Holy moly - the amount of food we had on this tour! Loved everything about this and learning about establishments I've been passing by/thru for years. Part of the same staycation as the underground tour - made for a perfect weekend.

"Expectations- it's about comparison"

Now we have never been on a food tour before but some of our friends had been on one to Pikes Market but the tour our friends took turns out was not the one they thought they had tried last year and recommended to us. An honest mistake but was this a foretelling of what was to come?

This walking food tour focused on Pike's Market and pretty much stayed in the area between Union all the way to Lenora St.. As you stroll through this historic waterfront area, our guide Jerry gave us many nuggets of trivia and information regarding the area both past and present. A highpoint of this tour (and the many competing tours in Seattle) is the food sampling from various shops in the market. From asian teas to samosas, from crumpets to chowder, from smoked salmon to pickle juice, from salmon burgers to gelato and more- this tour does give you a chance to sample the many edible delights of Pike's Market, and many are special samples you can only get on the tour.

This tour offering was especially long, about 2.5 hours long. I understand most tours run about 1.5 hours long. I can't really say how this tour compares with others being offered but I would compare the samples being offered ( they can differ) and go with the one that has the goodies you'd like to try.

We enjoyed this tour, our guide Jerry was a friendly, affable type of guy that made our "intimate" group of four enjoy our experience. The kicker for us was that we were able to use a group-on coupon so we only paid $29 per person instead of the usual $44.

Because this is probably one of those kind of tours you would only go to once, I suggest you read the reviews (on Yelp of course) of the various companies, see if there are any discount coupons to be had, and make your choice. This company is one that should be kept in the mix as a possible choice.

Ticket: $59 plus tax and fees per person for Belltown. $39 for Pike Place. I went on the Belltown tour.

It is confusing how long the duration of the tour is,

On its website, it says 4pm to 6:45pm,

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/seattle-food-tours-seattle?select=nnXOhm9RVnVRjrmRYK9EaA#8YQUm89OZ0rq43hvct_Hmw

In its email confirmation, it says 3 hours,

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/seattle-food-tours-seattle?select=nnXOhm9RVnVRjrmRYK9EaA#iFxNOcg2SeevLmuOL24phQ

On the actual day, the tour guide concluded the tour at around 6:25pm.

My tour guide was Jill. At local 360, everyone introduced ourselves, and she briefly said Local 360 uses local ingredients and elaborated on that for a minute. Then she went on saying "I apologize in advance but I will be checking my phone throughout the tour because I really want to know about the score." I have nothing against it, but I thought I paid to come learn more about local food culture in Seattle, not football. Then she went on and on about the Seahawks for 3 - 5 minutes. She stopped talking about football until our salad was served. That was not how I imagined to start the FOOD tour. Her voice was really quiet so it was extremely difficult to hear her during the entire tour. I realized that at Local 360 when I was just two seats from her and I couldn't hear most of what she had to say. I had to ask her to repeat things.

Here is marinated beet salad with fresh chevre from local 360 (4:05pm to 4:30pm):

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/local-360-seattle-2?select=mp2R1jEVXy9kyrT3es8HiA#L623Z7Zoal-493zF2O_wCg

What was also confusing was that at Local 360, I was going to order its oyster from its HH menu as an add-on. Then my waiter told me that I didn't have to order it because I would be able to sample it as part of the food tour deal. Obviously, the waiter was wrong since salad was the only course from this stop. I don't know why my waiter was misinformed.

Second stop was at Rob roy (4:35 - 4:55pm),

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/rob-roy-seattle?select=v_Q1IbNHytwDcyk4LiihoA#GwTiMueVWxCFP3vEP5kocg

To put it politely, my drink was interesting. To put it honestly, my drink was terrible and gross. I forgot the name of this cocktail. I think it's flavored with ginger beer or something. I read other reviews for this food tour and seems like some people don't like the cocktail here either.

"A superb craft cocktail and demonstration" for this stop was not really true. Because there was no demonstration and the drink was all ready to serve when we got there. I really think they should replace this stop with other bars and there are SO many excellent bars in Belltown. Jill asked me how was the drink and I told her I was not impressed. I don't remember her talking much about this bar or its history.

Next stop was Shiro's (5pm - 5:10pm),

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/shiros-seattle?select=Z_OMkmenLWOjKBwz6xhJWg#NCUbG57p5KH9X-GV7uIdow

We had to be on time and they served us before their opening at 5:30pm so we only had 10 minutes to eat and learn a bit about this restaurant. Each person got two pieces of sushi to sample (they brought out 2 plates of sushi for 11 people). The sushi was really good. The put wasabi inside sushi so you don't have to do it on your own. Very unique.

The stop after was Branzino (5:15 - 6pm),

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/branzino-seattle-3?select=zn5wV0Dr8KSEFdCHVQ3SZw#HRiNRPi71unXyKYKIqNzRw

They also served a glass of red wine for everyone. This was something like pappardelle pasta but apparently the restaurant served this dish as a special to our tour and they don't offer this particular dish on its regular menu. Jill talked a bit about Top Chef here and the restaurant background. Fortunately I sat next to her and was able to hear what she had to say.

Last stop was at Spur (6pm - 6:25pm but you can stay longer if you want),

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/spur-gastropub-seattle?select=6RFyIBZMdxZdIfoyBwlMAQ#tvaglE9HG5t2DHENWgSiEg

To put it politely, the ice cream tasted unique. To put it honestly, it tasted REALLY weird.

Jill went around and told us be sure to write reviews for them. I knew at that time, this review would be difficult to write.

In addition, most of the places were really cold and I had to keep my jacket on the whole time. But that is not what the tour could control. So don't leave your jacket in your car, bring it with you.

This is a good tour if you want to impress your first date with the "expensive" price tag. I say "expensive" because $59 is pretty pricey for Seattle, not so much for LA or NYC. Otherwise, I would say save your money and take your date to a Tom Douglas restaurant.

I didn't have high expectations but I feel like I still know very little about each restaurant. I did learn a lot more about Seahawks from my food tour guide.

Leslie was a great tour guide. Not only did she take the effort to learn everyone's name, but also was entertaining. Her tone is loud enough for everyone to hear and she tells stories that are informative. Several of the local people on the tour said that they learned new facts about Pike Place.

Another great part of the tour was the food. For the price you pay, you get solid portions of food. It's not like you are getting crumbs or stale food, you are getting a quarter of a salmon sandwich, a nice portion of clam chowder and other delicious items. After the tour I even visited the Greek yogurt spot from tour which made for a delicious breakfast the next morning.

I would recommend this tour to history buffs and foodies. Not only did I learn all new facts about the city and Pike, but we saw alllllll of the area.

I went on a food tour during a trip to NYC and thought it'd be fun to go on one when I got back, so my friend and I booked the Belltown Food Tour.

We had a great time! Leslie (I think), our tour guide, was friendly, informative, and a fun person to learn from and talk to. Not only did she describe the restaurants we visited, but also made recommendations on items to try the next time we came back, as well as recommendations for other restaurants in the area. Throughout the tour, we got little snippets of Belltown history (don't worry, no spoilers here); and it was really fun to look at the neighborhood through a "tourist's" eyes.

We had a group of about 10 people and we were able to meet everyone and get a chance to know each other.

Our tour consisted of stops at:

Local 360 (our meeting place; you can actually meet your group inside the restaurant) -- beet salad and oysters
Rob Roy -- Tom Collins cocktail
Shiro's -- two pieces of tuna nigiri
Branzino -- clams
Black Bottle -- ricotta cheesecake and chocolate mousse

We were told that menu items change seasonally, so you can probably get something different during each booking.

I can honestly say that I'm excited to go back and try each of these restaurants on my own, now that I'm a bit more familiar with them. And I'd love to book another one of the tours they offer.

***The ONLY reason I didn't give this place/tour 5 stars, was solely because of the customer service I dealt with while booking the tour. We got a Groupon deal and originally booked for some time in January. I received a message while at work a couple of hours before the tour (which I didn't have a chance to listen to until I got to the meeting place). The message started off by saying, "I see you booked with a Groupon..." They were informing me that no one else had booked that day/time and they couldn't accommodate a tour with just two people, so they wanted to cancel the tour.

First of all, purchasing a tour through Groupon should not alter the level of service. I don't even know why the method of payment had to be mentioned. I'm not sure whether the message was just worded poorly or whether they actually meant that less money paid = less service, but I found that to be rude.

Secondly, it's difficult to understand why they waited a couple of hours before the actual tour to cancel. Clearly, a personal phone is difficult to check while at work, and when I called back, the employee sounded annoyed that I hadn't responded sooner. ***

I love taking food tours when I travel and this was one of my favourites! I have tj apologize in advance though... We took the tour in early August and I am just now reviewing and do not remember the amazing tour guides name. She was fantastic though! It was like being shown around by a friend rather than a tour guide!

We did the Tastes of Pike's Place tour. It started with an easy location to meet and fresh baked mini doughnuts. She began by giving us some history about Pike's Place and about the spots we were going to. We had only looked around the market for a little while before and I had absolutely no idea how big it was! I was so impressed by the restaurants and shops we visited. Especially since they all were local, natural and/or family owned. The day was warm but we were provided with water bottles and shade when needed.

Our group was small which was nice, about 10 people and the price of the tour was great considering how much information we learned and the food we ate. My favourite stop was the truffle shop where we sampled many different kinds of oils and salts. My fiancé loved the gelato. Our lovely guide even recommended a restaurant for us to celebrate our recent engagement at that night - Branzinos in Belltown.

I highly recommend this tour and look forward to taking one in another neighbourhood on our next visit. Make sure you come hungry!

The Taste Pike Place Food Tour was the highlight of our trip for sure. Jerry was an amazing guide and went above and beyond to share the history of the market, give us the best experiences possible, and accommodate our gluten free restrictions.

The tour was about 3 hours long and started at one end of the market, wound through it, and finished on the other end. We ate almost to the point of exploding - but the food was so amazing and such high quality. We had biscuits, gelato, samosas, tea, yogurt, smoked salmon, tacos al pastor, truffle oil samples, bavarian sausages, pickles, salad, salmon burgers, and I'm sure I even forgot something.

It is the way to do the Market for sure - so rich in history and we are so glad we had a local to give us the insider tour!

Over Labor Day weekend my wife and I booked the Taste of Pike's place food tour. Jerry was a phenomenal tour guide and even made a few improv adjustments to the tour due to the interests of our group.

After seeing other food tours, complete with announcers with a headset and small speaker to accommodate hearing the size of the group, I couldn't have been more impressed with our tour, which was comprised of six people total!

We tried at least 10 different foods and were completely stuffed by the end of the tour while learning some great history about the market vendors and the city!

My wife and I will be purchasing more tickets to give to our family in the Seattle area for Christmas presents. I'm sure all of the tour guides are great but we are going to tell them to book specifically with Jerry!

Side Note:
A few people in our tour group had dairy and vegitarian dietary restrictions and Jerry was easily able to ensure that they were accomodated as well.

A++, would go again! =)

I always thought I was ready to walk the extra mile for the perfect lunch. This weekend I had a chance to do precisely that. Good friends of ours invited us to join them on a food tour of the famous Pike Place Market. We didn't need much time to think. We already knew that the company would be great, and what can be wrong with lunch with good friends? Naturally, when it comes to Seattle one must take the weather into account, and needless to say, the long term weather forecast is as good as a crystal ball. All you can do is hope.

Well, hope worked and Saturday May 2nd was a picture perfect day, temperatures in the high 60s, not a single cloud in the sky. We put all five kids together in one place, with a very responsible teenager to watch them, and we headed to Seattle.

We met the group, and the great guide Leslie Law, at the Vital Tea Leaf, a traditional Chinese tea shop with free tea tastings, and explanations. Leslie started to tell us all things we never knew. She kept doing that throughout the tour, in the wonderful way only an actress could.

Right above the small brewery, Leslie handed us small doughnuts from the Daily Dozen, a one-of-a-kind doughnut shop. Fresh, flavorful. We then had small cups of Gelato, I never had pear ice cream. I myself took the lemon flavor. I swear to God, it was alive. It woke up in my mouth and bit my tongue - delicious. Then we went to the dried stuff shop. Apples, pears, pineapples, blueberries, raisins, that's all common (and delicious). But try beets, and even better - okra. I would never eat okra, but as it turns out, with the slimy goo gone, it was actually quite good...

We had the best taco ever at the Mexican restaurant, the most interesting pickles, and the first taste of raw truffles. We had the world champion of clam chowder - yes everyone, the world's best clam chowder is Seattleite, it's not Bostonian, not Rhode Islander.

And of course we had a bite of Chef Tom Douglas, not literally of course, but that salmon burger had the simplicity of raw fish along with the sophistication of Seattle. It was delicious indeed.
As I said, we walked the extra mile for the perfect lunch. It had all the ingredients necessary: a beautiful day, great company, and outstanding tour guide (thank Leslie Law), and some excellent, exquisite, flavorful food.

Merav and Sefi, thanks so much for the invitation. Leslie Law, may you lead unsuspecting tourists to what can very well become one of their best lunches ever!

I've lived in Seattle for over 15 years and I'm a regular visitor to the market. We had some first time visitors to the city and we booked this tour, my only regret is not doing this sooner! Jerry was a fantastic tour guide, loaded with knowledge of the market and very entertaining. The tour covered the history, architecture, personalities and of course the food. It was very fluid, we meandered about and didn't follow a rigid structure. We had plenty of time to interact with the businesses we wanted to get more in depth info from. I was impressed with his knowledge of not only the origins of the market (Onion Riots) but current history of businesses that are in operation or sadly closed.

10/10, I will be doing this tour again.