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

Sun 17 Nov

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Starting at $85.00

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Sun 17 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)

April C

May 2018

Before booking our culinary tour, I read all these amazing reviews and couldn't wait! My friend and I were hoping to try some different things for possible lunch/dinner options later in the week. Unfortunately, we didn't get the guide everyone was raving about. We got Angela, and it was just awful. She is a terrible story-teller and interjects way too much personal stuff into the mix. We went to 3 restaurants and then Kaminsky's for dessert. By the time we got to the 3rd restaurant, I was having trouble staying awake, no exaggeration. She talked way too much, except at Kaminsky's, which was nice, because we finally started chatting among the other tourist in our group. I wish she had talked briefly at each restaurant and then allowed us time to actually talk among ourselves. The food at the restaurants wasn't that great. We sampled 3 really small things from each restaurant. One restaurant sent out a burnt pork roll, hummus, and a 1-inch piece of corn on the cob. Another restaurant did a flaming oyster, so if you don't like oysters, that's disappointing. I was not impressive with the food at all; nothing I ate made me want to go back to the restaurant later for a meal. My friend and I could not WAIT for this tour to be over. If it hadn't been so expensive, we would have left the group after the second restaurant. Hopefully if you do decide to do this tour, you won't get Angela. If you do, drink some coffee to stay awake! It was very obvious with the other tourist that they didn't care much for her story telling too. At one point during the tour, between the 1st and 2nd restaurants, we stood outside on a street corner for a good 20 minutes getting a history lesson. Normally this would be interesting to me, but we'd already done several other tours for historical purposes and were rather annoyed because we were under the impression it was a CULINARY tour. During the street-corner rambling, quite a few people in our group ventured off to take pictures or just played on their phones, so I am pretty confident we weren't the only ones that were disappointed with the tour.

Emiliz R

May 2018

Okay, so this tour is worth it because you eat an ample amount, get a variety of foods to eat, the tour guides 'Hoon Calhoun' pace was accommodating, and our guides did tell us some some funny and interesting history and stories, just enough to be charming. I gave this tour 4 stars instead of 5 for a couple reasons. So our tour guide was informative but I also felt he stayed with one table for more time than the rest. I think he could have been better with making sure he spoke to everybody. I came for the food so it didn't bother me overmuch but I did notice it and other tour guides have made more of an effort to include everyone in the conversation. Perhaps he was tired. 'Hoon Calhoun' was our tour guide, yep, that's what he called himself. He was very Southern, funny, and knowledgeable. He was quite a character. Now, on the most important part....the food. We went to Eli's Table first to have Chicken and Waffles (YUM), shrimp and grits, and sweet potato pancakes. All three of these meals were a proper portion size and delicious. My FAVORITE was the shrimp and grits and I'm going to let you in on a little secret I have never liked grits. I have tried grits in Philly, my home city, and found its consistency and flavor to be off putting so I was apprehensive to try shrimp with grits but 'Eli's table' knocked it out of the park, just delicious and savory. After that we went to three other restaurants so you are looking to have around four meals which I think is the right amount for a food tour. I can not remember the names of the other restaurants but some of the food we had was cheese fritters, corn bread, fried okra, oysters, fried green tomatoes, and we topped it off with desert which was a pecan and fudge dessert. Some of the food were not my cup of tea, but we all have different tastes so that is bound to happen. I did notice that in the place that we had the oysters and fried okra which was the most fancy more people did leave food on their plates. The pecan and fudge dessert was good, but I have honestly had better dessert in Philly. It was apparently the most requested dessert at the restaurant we attended and it was good...don't misunderstand me, but it was not marvelous. The best dishes were in my opinion from the first and second restaurants we visited which comprised of the chicken and waffles, sweet potato pancakes, shrimp and grits, cheese fritters, pulled pork sandwich, and buttery corn bread. If you can attend this tour go for it, it was fun and most of the food was scrumptious. Also, for all of Hoon Calhoun's faults I think he was the picture of Southern and a special type of charming. You'll see what I mean if you meet him. I will also say that this was my mom's favorite tour and we went to around six tours.

Kelly S

May 2018

If you go on a food tour make sure you get Hoon Calhoun. Wonderful guide with more knowledge about Charleston than other locals. He grew up in the area, knows all the chefs in town, carriage drivers and locals in the market. Hoon has a great sense of humor and can tell a story like no other. He keeps you laughing and engages all those in the party. We had an amazing time learning about the Low Country cuisine and the rich history of Charleston.

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Downtown Charleston Food Tour

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