Downtown Charleston Food Tour in Charleston booking from $85.00

Downtown Charleston Food Tour

Overview

The 2.5-hour Downtown Charleston Culinary Tour visits four different food establishments and combines elements of a historical tour with a culinary adventure! Learn about Charleston's history as you enjoy tastings of traditional favorites and contemporary innovations, all of which highlight the cuisine of locally-owned restaurants. Insight into Lowcountry cuisine accompanies the broad range of samples on your food tour. This is our original tour around the French Quarter and City Market and focuses on the traditional flavors of the region.

City: Charleston

Mon 18 Nov

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Starting at $85.00

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Mon 18 Nov

Starting at $85.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

All pre-selected food tastings at 4 Charleston restaurants (meal for most)

2.5-Hour Downtown Charleston Culinary Walking Food Tour

City-Certified Tour Guide providing narration about Charleston's history and food

Additional Info

Public transportation options are available nearby
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
DIETARY RESTRICTIONS must be communicated directly to Charleston Culinary Tours (843-259-2966) at least *36 hours* before your scheduled tour in order to be accommodated.
Vegan, dairy/lactose, & soy restrictions cannot be adequately accommodated. Guests with multiple allergies should contact Charleston Culinary Tours prior to booking to confirm accommodation.
We cannot assume responsibility for those with severe allergies.
We make every effort to provide a full meal for all guests, however, substitutions for dietary restrictions may not be 1-for-1 with regular tour offerings.
We recommend weather-appropriate attire and comfortable walking shoes.
Tours operate rain or shine, hot or cold. In the rare cases of EXTREME weather (e.g. Hurricane!), we will notify all guests as soon as a decision to cancel has been made.
Not recommended for those under 8 years of age.
Not recommended for travelers with severe dietary needs
DIETARY RESTRICTIONS must be communicated in advance directly to Charleston Culinary Tours (843.259.2966 or [email protected])
DIETARY RESTRICTIONS cannot be accommodated without advance notice (at least 36 hours prior to tour time)
We cannot accommodate vegan, dairy/lactose, or soy restrictions
Hand sanitiser available to travellers and staff
Regularly sanitised high-traffic areas
Gear/equipment sanitised between use
Guides required to regularly wash hands
Contactless payments for gratuities and add-ons

What To Expect

Charleston

After meeting your foodie guide at the first restaurant location in downtown Charleston, you will begin your walking tour and visit 3-4 restaurants, where you'll sample dishes at each, and then a final stop for dessert. Each visit lasts 20 to 30 minutes, and you'll be seated to rest your legs. For most people, the amount of food served is enough for a meal. As you enjoy walking through this historical section of the city, listen to stories about Charleston's culture and cuisine from your guide, who points out landmarks along your route. This wonderful experience will end within walking distance of your starting point. *Please advise about Allergies in the ( Special Requirements section) during check out! *Dietary restrictions need to be communicated at least 24 hours in advance to be accommodated *Unfortunately we can not accommodate Vegan, Dairy Free or Soy Free diets

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (792)

Sushila N

Sep 2018

We enjoyed our Charleston Culinary tour. We went to four different restaurants, Eli’s table was our favorite but they were all worth a visit. Alcohol is not included in the tour, just soft drinks. Our guide was entertaining and covered the history of Charleston. There was enough food so we did not need dinner. We rang ahead of time and they kindly managed having me as a vegetarian. The tour took about 2.5 hours and was worth doing. A great way to start your visit in Charleston as it orients you to the city and gives you ideas of places to visit.

Response from Host

Oct 2018

Thanks for the informative review Sushila! We couldn't agree more that a Charleston Culinary Tour is a great way to begin a visit to the Holy City. As we are always looking to improve, we would love if you reached out to us and let us know how we could have made this a 5-star experience for you. Happy to hear that you enjoyed the tour overall and hope to host you again next time you are in town!

Kristin D

Sep 2018

Excellent food and the best tour guide. Dustin was friendly and knowledgeable. Was a fun and delicious afternoon!

Response from Host

Sep 2018

Thank you for the kind words about our Downtown Charleston Culinary Tour Kristin! We are certainly lucky to have Dustin as one of our guides. Glad y'all enjoyed his tour and had a tasty time!

Denise P

Aug 2018

If I were to rate our tour guide alone she deserves 5 plus stars. Dale was excellent. She did a great job explaining the history of Downtown Charleston. She knew her history well and after learning a little about Charleston I started to love it even more. I rated it minus 2 stars because the service was horrible at most places and I didn't care for a couple of the dishes. Eli's table was my favorite stop. They served shrimp and grits, chicken and waffles and a sweet potato pancake. All were delicious. Service was good. He explained each item and was good about refilling water. Our second stop was Craftsmen Kitchen & Tap House. They served Mexican street corn, sweet potato slice and a Mediterranean salad. The corn was my favorite. Corn was crispy and the sauces were delicious. I also liked the Mediterranean salad. They also sell over 300 beers. I ordered the local flight, which was refreshing. Service was good. She explained each dish, refilled our waters and also gave us water to go. Third stop was Low Country Bistro. They served she crab and jambalaya. The she crab was horrible. Didn't taste anything like crab. It almost tasted like warm pudding. No flavor. On the other hand, the jambalaya was amazing. I absolutely loved it. My favorite dish out of everything I tried. Service was awful. No one explained the dishes to us. No one cared to bother refilling waters. Kind of just served us the food and walked away. At one point our guide asked how the jambalaya was made and they didn't know. Our last stop for dessert was Cumberland Smokehouse. Why they would chose a BBQ joint for dessert is beside me. It was the worst spot for me personally. Was not impressed with the service or the dessert. It's kind of an embarrassment that they would even call what they served us banana pudding with homemade vanilla wafers. The dessert did not even taste like banana. The wafers were stale and didn't taste homemade. I really enjoyed our tour guide. If it wasn't for her (Dale) and her knowledge of the city this experience would have been a disaster. My personal opinion as for the restaurants that are selected for this tour, maybe try to endorse restaurants that actually give a crap about customer service. It would have been a lot better if we were welcomed. I didn't feel comfortable at my last two stops. Felt more like a burden. Bad business.

Response from Host

Aug 2018

Thanks for the feedback Denise. We are happy to hear that you had such a wonderful time with Dale and that the 1st half of your tour went so well, but of course disappointed to hear that the rest of the tour did not seem to meet our expectations. In regards to service, thank you for reaching out and informing us of this issue. Our tour guides LOVE to talk about food and sometimes, as you pointed out, this can result in the server yielding the floor for the guide to do their thing. After developing a daily relationship with some of the serving staff over the years, we perhaps have become too self-sufficient on the tour and will reevaluate the tour guide/server relationship. We have reached out the establishments mentioned, as well as communicating with our guides and other partner restaurants about ways to best integrate exceptional table service alongside a thorough narrative, so that the service is exemplified rather than overshadowed. We're so glad that you enjoyed most of the dishes on your tour, but sorry to hear that the she crab soup and banana pudding were not to your liking. In regards to the soup, we include it on the tour because, not only did She Crab Soup originate here and is now a staple of our cuisine, but the recipe at Lowcountry Bistro (originated at sister restaurant 82 Queen) has won the local vote for Best She Crab Soup every year since 2010. It is generally well-received, but, like Boiled Peanuts, it is a unique dish and may not be to everyone's taste, regardless of whether or not they are trying the best. As to the banana pudding, there may have been some miscommunication about the dish, which could have effected the tasting experience. It is a homemade banana pudding (a Southern classic that comes from our British and Caribbean influences that is particularly popular at BBQ events), with slices of banana, traditional Nilla Wafers, and an added twist of Krispy Kreme donut pieces. How off-putting the texture must have been to be expecting wafer but actually eating donut instead! We are sorry that these 2 dishes and some of the service made this a near-disastrous experience for you, but thank you again for taking the time to provide feedback as we are always looking for ways to improve.

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Downtown Charleston Food Tour

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