I've been on a dozen or so food tours in my life and this was probably the worst one. I'm confused about all of the positive reviews, as this tour struck me as a complete tourist trap. Perhaps it is designed for yokels who don't know much about food (we were asked if we had ever had samosas...), but the experience completely disappointed in pretty much every way.
Price/Quantity: For what is likely the most expensive food tour I have been on ($90+), we received a tiny amount of food - no more than $30 worth: half of a small burrito (~$4-5), a small quesadilla-type thing (~$4-5), two (yes, 2) oysters or a small cup of New England clam chowder ($6), one samosa ($3-4) and a small cup of ice cream and a cookie (~$5). Spread out over three hours, it's not surprising I was still hungry afterward. Utterly underwhelming.
Organization - The tour had an odd pace to it and seemed disorganized. A few of the restaurants seemed surprised by our presence, particularly the oyster place where we waited 40 minutes to be served, mostly in silence. As we were just sitting at this and other stops, people started ordering drinks (drinks were not provided for $90...huh?). We would then have to wait for everyone to finish their drinks before moving to the next stop.
Tour Guide - The tour guide was nice enough, but made no effort to project her voice or otherwise ensure that everyone could hear what she was saying. We had a large group of 12 on the tour, but the guide didn't stop frequently and we had to fight to get to the front of the line to hear what she was saying as we walked (she would only slightly turn her head). The guide focused a lot on current developments in the area (for instance, murals), but offered little on the history of the area. And, during all that time waiting to be served, the guide only made brief small talk with the group, rather than trying to teach us about the Mission District, the restaurant we were in - anything beyond mere social pleasantries would have been an improvement.
Again, this tour may have have been designed for people who have never had a burrito, don't know what a samosa is and are just happy to take their loved ones for a trip off of the beaten path in San Francisco. But if you're even mildly serious about food, somewhat hungry and/or interested in local history, go elsewhere. This is a tourist trap.
Further questions:
* What exactly is so secret about this "secret" food tour?
* What is the logic behind serving New England clam chowder and visiting an Indian restaurant on a tour of the Mission District? None was explained to us. The stops and the food generally seemed random (i.e., this is what they could book).
* Why advertise "skipping the lines" when there were no lines to begin with and several of the places weren't even open?
Ответ от хоста
Oct 2019
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us and we're extremely disappointed to hear that your expectations were not met. We'd truly appreciate the opportunity to make it right. Please contact us directly.
Also, if I may, I'd like to address some of your concerns.
Pricing is based on the cost of the food, taxes, gratuity to the restaurants, and business expenses. Additionally in SF we pay a surcharge in order to provide restaurant workers insurance costs. You're paying for an enriching experience, food, and the guide's knowledge.
Our food tour is packed full of food and we almost never hear that someone leaves hungry. We have 5 different items from 6 different vendors throughout this tour. Some stops have larger portions than others. It's designed that way so you can have multiple styles of cuisine.
Again, I do hope you reach out and allow us the opportunity to make you happy.