Our tour guide was knowledgeable, friendly and put us at our ease. The tour was well-organized and we enjoyed most of the food. However, as newcomers to Savannah, I expected tastes of Southern cuisine. I guess I was mistaken as the food was billed as multicultural rather than unique to Savannah. The tour started off on a high note - shrimp and grits - but went downhill from there. The next stop was a British place where we had delicious sausage rolls topped by honey or mustard. It was delicious but not what I expected. Next we entered the Prohibition Museum where everyone was given a champagne shot and a tasting dish of various tapas. Not bad but I wasn't sure what the connection to Savannah was. Next we went back to British pub fare and were served tiny Shephard's Pies. Now, I love Shephard Pie but I didn't need to go on a food tour to know what a Shephard's pie is- you can get it in any pub outside of Savannah. The next thing we got was the worst - one large, rather bland Italian meatball with some sauce. Along with the Shephard's pie, these are common, everyday foods that most Americans have eaten before. I learned nothing new from eating it except to learn that yes, Savannah, like most major cities, has a reasonably sized Italian American population. The last stop was a honey store. Since honey is a major Savannah culinary product, this was OK but the samples offered felt like they were normally complimentary, not something we had to pay for.
For the price we paid, I'm disappointed. The fact that admission to the Prohibition Museum was included wasn't bad, but we couldn't stay too long, and besides, this was supposed to be a food tour. I was hoping we'd get to try samples of candied pralines, peach cobbler, hopping john, etc. Even a variation on the grits would have been welcome. I guess the tour operators were trying to distinguish themselves from what would be served in most local restaurants.
I also got the feeling that the choice of places to visit seemed determined by how much the owners of those places paid to be included in the tour, not because the food was particularly representative of Savannah or of high quality. During the tour, we learned that the Meatball place has been around only since 2019. How much of Savannah history could it be a part of if it just opened three years ago? It seemed it was there just to advertise.
I've taken other food tours that were much better and varied. If I want a Shepard's pie, a meatball, and honey, I could have stayed at home.
Ответ от хоста
Jul 2022
Thank you for your feedback. As we do have tours dedicated to the cliche food items of the south, we will work on clearing up the language so guests such as yourself will find the tour that best fits their expectations. The tour that you took (First Squares Food Tour) is designed to showcase how distinctive our food culture is from the rest of the south . . . not how similar it is.
Additionally, I want to make it absolutely clear that no restaurant pays us to be on the tour. On the contrary, every food tasting is paid for as part of the ticket price.
Thank you for giving us a chance to address some of your criticisms in your anonymous review.