Good food! Great variety on a short time! Really enjoyed this tour, we would do another like this…read moreanytime!

This is my 3rd tour with Foods of NY. Food tours is something I always do when I visit a town and…read morethese tours are amongst my favorite. Tours are thoughtfully curated to provide a great experience and historical information as well as the best of the best food tastings.

You gotta eat, right? If you want to eat the best there is in Manhattan AND you want to learn…read morehistorical facts as you chow down, you're in for a treat! We planned a week-long trip in Manhattan and since this is our fourth trip to the city and we've done "the standard" tourist things, we wanted to do something different. Some friends told us that they'd heard about Famous Fat Dave's Food Tours on NPR and did indeed take the checkered cab tour a few years back and thoroughly enjoyed it. So, we contacted Dave prior to coming to the City and he promptly wrote back listing all of our options, including walking tours. We were not very good at pinning down a date, but Dave was very accommodating when we decided on a rather last-minute tour. We got our very own 3.5 hour walking tour, an east/west loop in lower Manhattan. Not only were we delighted with the variety of foods (began with "frozen" hot chocolate), but with the great history of the city that Dave imparted during our walking tour. (We walked down the block where Martin Scorsese grew up and heard about some of his antics as a youngster.) We are not picky eaters nor do we have any food allergies or sensitivities, but Dave was very careful to make sure what we ate was within our comfort zone. It was an utterly charming and gastronomic experience. Charming in that Dave is such a friendly, funny, and smart young fellow (and well-educated) who knows and is loved by the small shop owners that we visited, and gastronomic in that we got to experience fresh, local, and delicious delicacies that we'd never have known about. I think my favorite dish that I've never experienced was the salt-baked soft-shelled crab. OMG, fabulous taste and texture. As an aside, we were seated with a table of "working men" who were so welcoming and who wanted to share their lunches with us! If you're on the fence about booking a tour like this, do it!! It's worth every penny and you will not regret it. My advice, do it early into your trip to Manhattan as you'll want to go back to the places you visit for more food! Thank you Dave for the wonderful food tour!!!

Really excellent tour! I loved all the stops we made. It was cool getting to see the city from a…read moredifferent view as you don't often drive around NYC. We made stops at a lot of old school NY places. Loved the history behind each place! I liked that the tour wasn't set in stone and he came up with different restaurants along the way. Dave was really interesting to talk to and we got some different sides of NYC history. I can't recommend this tour enough and I'd definitely go on another!

This is the second time for me taking this tour. My first time was several years ago and I loved it…read moreso much that I knew if I came back on the New York Pass it was a must. I was happy to see he was still leading the tour and I was also happy to see that the stops had changed just because I wasn't sure it would be a unique experience the second time around and it was! Corey is still as delightful as ever. This is a person that I believe is living his passion of people and food. He's very knowledgeable and witty and the food stops are great! He really shows you how to eat well and cheap like a New Yorker and he has tons of great recommendations for you for the remainder of your stay if you are looking for that kind of valuable information. We hit up a few of them after the tour and really he was totally right about everything! In any case, 5 stars easy. No question.

My name is Mike Crockett. I am a tour operator and bring large groups to New York City all the…read moretime. We've been in business for 13 years. We use walking tour guides all the time to help our groups see the city. Last week I just got a report from my employee who hired Corey to take 67 people on a food tour in Queens. Corey was completely unprepared for the tour and had a hostile attitude with my clients. My employee described his attitude as "grumpy substitute teacher" vibes. He didn't tell any of the food vendors he used we were coming before hand. Half way through the tour half of the group went back to the hotel. Corey was cheap and rude to our clients. I am going to make sure we never use his services again and will likely tell other operators about the experience so they don't make the same mistake.

Great value! Tour and food are excellent! Matt Wade has a lot of passion for food and history and…read morecombines them both in an exciting and adventurous tour.

From the owner: NYC is more than meets the eye, and the best of this city is what exists in the not so obvious…read moreplaces. Immerse yourself in the culture of a neighborhood and learn what values those residents hold dear. What do they eat? Where did these neighborhoods come from? My team and I are going to help you find out. Your guide will offer access to a delicious variety of cuisine options as well as local knowledge and access that extends beyond what can be found in a Google search. And more than anything, this tour will be driven by our customary passion and enthusiasm.

I can't say enough good things about this entire experience. The tour we wanted was sold out,…read morebummer. Sent a message to see what was recommended as far as the availability of a wait list or moving tickets from walking to bus tour would be easy. Scott himself responded, almost immediately with his recommendations. Purchased the walking tour tickets, put ourselves on the wait list for the bus tour and watched emails like a hawk for the few days before our scheduled date. The pizza tour Gods smiled on us and the wait list opened up. I called to get our tickets moved and talked to Scott who handled the whole transfer quickly for me because once the wait list opens up it opens up for everyone on it. He was very helpful in scoring those seats for us and understood the urgency. LOL. That's ALL before we even got to our first meeting place. We met the tour and Scott at Keste in the Financial District. I had read in my research that the tour stops aren't planned ahead and I was skeptical, but you could see him figuring it out as he figured out his group for the day. One of the attendees had taken the tour a year prior, they played a game of guess the spot so he didn't repeat stops for her and the very large group of family that she brought with her on this tour. There was one request for a spot in Brooklyn but he couldn't make it happen due to their hours, not that he wouldn't have moved heaven and earth if he could have. We had a smaller than usual tour group because of timing and a LI RR strike and you could just see that this opened up other options for places to go. After Keste we were able to do two stops in the Bronx, one in East Harlem. There was even an ice cream, water ice store next door to the last pizzeria. So much thought went into this route. Scott was able to take this group to places he hadn't been to in quite some time due to the distance and size of the group. Back to Keste-- what tour guide takes his entire group and takes over the kitchen, helping himself to dough balls and creating pies as he discussed pizza history?? We saw the kitchen and oven in each establishment and each shop was welcoming and friendly. Scott is a wealth of knowledge and enjoyed sharing his story and the story of all of the stops we visited. Pizza is an absolute passion project for him. Highly recommend!

Five stars for Scott's Pizza Tours, and that's only because six is not an option Yelp provides…read more Imagine a man who has taken the idea of pizza, which most people treat as a thing you fold in half on a street corner, and decided it deserves a Rosetta Stone. That man is Scott. We met him at Keste in the Financial District, and before he said much of anything, I noticed something unusual. Several of the people on our tour had done it before. They were back for more. That seemed as telling as anything else. People do not go on vacation and repeat the same bus ride unless something extraordinary is waiting for them on the other end. Scott does not work from a script. He looks at the group, he looks at the day, and then he consults the secret weather system in his head. Out came our route. Four stops, starting at our meeting point in Manhattan's Financial District and three more scattered like wayward toppings on the city map. Queens. The Bronx. Harlem. Lucky us. Scott told us that combination hardly ever happens. To him it was chance. To the rest of us it was magic. The stops themselves were like chapters in a book. At Keste we learned about the precision of Neapolitan tradition. At Patsy's in Harlem we felt the weight of history, coal ovens burning with the same stubbornness they have for generations. At Mario's on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, an owner with stories longer than the line outside the door talked to us like we were old friends. At Philomena's in Queens, Scott was so at home that he even took a customer's order when the restaurant was swamped by our presence. Every stop had its secrets revealed. Oven temperatures. Dough hydration percentages. Family feuds. Bake times. Flour suppliers. How long a pizza can sit before the soul leaks out of it. Scott called over owners, opened kitchen doors, and invited us to peer inside the fiery mouths of the ovens like pilgrims gazing at sacred relics. Scott himself is difficult to explain without sounding untrustworthy. He is a human encyclopedia with a perfectly tuned sense of joy. He has a Rolodex in his brain that seems to contain the phone number of every pizza maker on earth. I mentioned Hamilton and he talks about Papa's and DeLorenzo's as if we were neighbors. Others mentioned Seattle and Las Vegas, and he told them where to eat, who to meet, and when to go. He casually suggested lowering the water percentage from 66 to 63 for another guest's home pizza dough, as if adjusting the tides. Then he mentioned that after our tour he would be home making 16 doughs for his guides, who were planning to test a new oven. I believed him. He also radiates decency. He runs Slice Out Hunger, a nonprofit that takes the love of pizza and turns it into meals for people who need them most. It is good to know a person can devote their life to melted cheese and still be entirely serious about kindness. This tour filled us with more than pizza. It gave us a sense of belonging. Everyone, from my ten year old to a pizza shop owner who happened to be along for the ride, was entertained and educated and full. Scott's Pizza Tours is not just about pizza, although the pizza is wonderful. It is about a man who has built a community, and who invites strangers to step inside it for a few hours. If you are a casual eater, a home chef, or someone who has already built your own pizzeria, this is for you. Five stars. The highest recommendation.

Had a great experience on a food tour of Chinatown and Little Italy. Our tour guide, Seth, was…read moreenthusiastic and very knowledgeable of the area. The food portions were generous and felt worth the cost. I'd definitely recommend this tour!

My husband and I booked the Little Italy and Chinatown food tour. The service with this company was…read morephenomenal. I wanted to change our tour day from Sunday to Saturday since we were able to get tickets to a show. I left a message and received a call back less than 10 minutes later. Ryan was fantastic and was able to switch our tour day. He confirmed via text and email. On the day of our tour, our tour guide Daria was lovely! She was very friendly, knowledgeable, and made the food tour so fun. And the food, oh, the food...dumplings, pork buns, sponge cake, tea, ravioli, pizza, and cannoli! Everything was so delicious! We also got to visit some popular spots, so there wasn't always space to sit, but these places definitely deserve their reputations. This tour was well worth the money and time.

True value for cost! We were only in NYC for 3 days and…read morewanted to see more than just tourists sites. Liz Young was prefect for our trip to Brooklyn/Williamsburg adventure. She is knowledgable about history, past and present. Her knowledge of the culinary scene of NYC and it boroughs was so interesting. What a great way to spend an afternoon in Brooklyn and it's many new and old culinary venues. We will do another tour(s) with Liz.

A couple months ago we had the pleasure of having Liz lead our small group of friends through some…read moreof the best parts of Chelsea Market and the surrounding areas. She met us outside with fresh baked muffins (delicious) and explained the history of the different buildings we visited. Much of the Meatpacking District was, at one time, the center of production for the National Biscuit Company (aka Nabisco - see, you've already learned something). She also had great connections with many vendors and I learned more about fine cheese than I ever expected. Excellent experience for out-of-towners or locals looking to explore the city and it's food in a different way. Would definitely tour with Liz again!

Had the pleasure of a FANTASTIC tour of lower Manhattan with Renee. She was extremely knowledgeable…read moreabout the Financial District and NYC and could not have been any more helpful. I recommend Free Tours by Foot and especially tours with Renee. Thank you so much Renee!

I am so glad I found this tour company! We did the Brooklyn bridge/DUMBO walking tour with Onel -…read morehe was phenomenal! This tour was one of the highlights of our trip to NYC. I can't wait for my next trip to take another walking tour with this tour company. Onel is knowledgeable, personable, engaging, humorous, thoughtful and kept us on time! He knew exactly where to stop for photo ops and gave us plenty of time for them - I appreciated the scheduled bathroom break at clean bathrooms and the stop for drinks/snacks at the most perfect grocery store that I wish was in my neighborhood. The tour ended at lunchtime in the perfect location with several food options as well as close to both the ferry and trains for the return commute to Manhattan. I highly recommend this walking tour with Onel as your guide - you won't regret it!

West Village Food Tour - June 16, 2023 A wonderful, 3-hour…read moretour. Informative and delicious! First of all, Josh in the office was more than helpful. I admit I made his job more difficult than necessary due to the multiple changes I needed to make. Josh was courteous and helpful and, in no way, did he give me impression of being bothered. Andrea was the tour guide for myself and two friends. Our tour group was small which I felt was a stroke of luck. Andrea sent an email to each of us the day before our tour which reminded us of the tour, our meeting spot and time. She also noted that the tour would begin promptly at the scheduled time. She also asked if we had any dietary restrictions, food allergies or questions. I replied to her email asking for suggestions for places to visit after our tour had concluded. She responded promptly and gave us some helpful suggestions. Andrea cheerfully met us at the predetermined time. After introductions, Andrea gave us a brief overview of what we were to see, answered our questions and confirmed that there were no food allergies she needed to be aware of. We stopped at Faicco's Italian Specialties where we sampled soppressata and rice balls, a.k.a. Arancini in front of Faicco's. Both were excellent. As we snacked, Andrea gave us a history of the place. Our next stop was Bleeker Street Pizza. Andrea gave us a brief history before going in. We ate slices of of Nona Maria pizza. Then the previous owner, Greg Greenwood, joined us. He gave us a detailed history of the restaurant, which his brother, Captain Douglas Greenwood, opened in 2004. Captain Greenwood tragically passed away from 9/11 illness and ownership passed to Greg, who recently sold the pizzeria, although he still works there on Fridays. The pizza was fantastic! I will definitely visit again. As we walked through the West Village, Andrea gave us more history of the neighborhood, which included a home that was only 9 feet wide and a former speakeasy!! Our third stop was Hudson Bagels. where we shared two delicious, traditional New York bagels with cream cheese. Our fourth stop was Galanga, a Thai restaurant. We each had a corn fritter and Chicken Satay. I loved the fritters but thought the chicken was a bit plain. The fifth restaurant was Mamoun's Falafel. My boring palate did not enjoy this treat, but the others did. Lastly we had a cupcake at Molly's Cupcakes, opened by a former school teacher and schoolhouse themed. We each ordered different cupcakes, all of which were yummy. We ended the tour at our original meeting place. Andrea was wonderful, personable and informative. I inquired about other tours Andrea gave so that I can book another tour with Andrea.

We went on the food tour of the Lower East Side with Adam of Sidewalk tours. It was awesome. This…read moretour takes you through all the cuisines of the various populations that have settled in the Lower East Side. We started at an amazing Yonah Schimmel's Knish Bakery. This bakery has been in this location since 1910. Yonah is fifth generation. We had a potato knish to die for and you can see why this bakery is still in business. Unfortunately, our guide Adam, as he went over the history of the Lower East Side, said that very soon this little knish shop may be pushed out due to the high rents and development that is taking over this neighborhood. We moved on to Katz deli- skipping the line- because we were on the tour :) and had pastrami. Pastrami is not really my thing, but even I can taste that the Katz Pastrami melts in your mouth. We also had rugula from Russ and Daughter's. The rugula was delicious. My sister said she could have eaten 10 more pieces. As we walked, Adam filed us in on the history of the area. Along the way, we stopped at Economy candy. This place has every old fashioned candy you could ever want as well as modern favorites. It is candy floor to ceiling and very fun. We then went to Essex market. I could have spent a whole day there. It has both prepared foods and many market stalls for fresh fruits and veggies, dairy meats, sweets, really everything you could want. If I lived in NYC, I would shop there every week. We stopped at Arinchini Brothers for orrincici (rice balls) which were fabulous. I wish I could have taken some home but they ship so I'll get them that way. We also stopped by Essex Olive and Spice where I bought two bottles of fig balsamic vinegar, which may be the best balsamic I have ever tasted and I have been to Italy, France and Croatia. The olive oil there was also special. I went back to Essex market after the tour and spent more time there. So much to eat and buy and so little time. Okay so moving on we stopped at North Dumpling to buy some of the best dumplings in the city. The pork dumplings were so flavorful. I was pretty stuffed by now but we moved on to the Pickle Guys where I tasted pickeled pineapple which I would have purchased if I had not had to put it in my luggage. Sounds gross, but trust me. It was awesome. We then stopped at Kossar's Bialys for what I had been waiting for and they did not disappoint. We had an everything bagel and a bialy and they were... well, NY perfect. You may think you have had a bagel, but if you haven't had a NYC bagel, you haven't tasted bagels. We moved on to the Doghnut Plant where they have a tres Leche donut, which they were out of, and a wonderful blueberry cake donut that was a nice ending to a wonderful food and culture tour. I highly recommend it.