These Are the Top 10 Food Tours in the U.S.

Food and travel are intrinsically linked, so one of the best ways to truly understand the flavors of a city is by getting a local’s insight into the culinary scene through a food tour. As part of the 2023 Viator Experience Awards, the experiences booking platform spotlighted the top 10 U.S. food tours of the year.

Topping the list is Miami Culinary Tours’ Little Havana Food and Walking Tour with a whopping 4,494 five-star reviews. The half-mile route stops at some of Magic City’s most renowned family-owned Cuban eateries. Guests will have the chance to taste treats like empanadas, flan ice cream, croquetas, and guava pastelitos from mainstays like Party Cake Bakery and El Pub. Along the way, there are also stops at the Havana Classic Cigar factory, Domino Park, and the Bay of Pigs Monument.

One traveler called it a “phenomenal food tour” with “nicely seasoned” empanadas and mango juice that tasted “like drinking nectar.” The 2.5-hour tour, which is offered daily, has also been awarded the Tripadvisor Traveler's Choice Award for the last 10 years in a row.

The runner-up is Food Tour Corporation’s Taste of Little Italy in San Diego, which is also one of Viator’s fastest-growing experiences this year. The 3.5-hour tour has earned 222 five-star reviews, with guests enjoying “learning about the history” and the “excellent” food. Reviewers especially loved that the guide was “so personable and connected with every participant” and the “food choices were unique and not ordinary.”

The other top tours represent the range of flavors from coast to coast, from California to Florida. Both Seattle and New Orleans had a strong presence, with two tours from each city making the top 10.

The complete list includes Seattle's Chef Guided Food Tour of Pike Place Market; New Orleans Food Walking Tour of the French Quarter; Feast of Saint Augustine Walking Tour in St. Augustine, Florida; Pike Place Market Food Tour; the New Orleans Cocktail and Food History Tour; Best Bites on The Las Vegas Strip: A Traveler's Guide to Sin City; Chicago in a Day: Food, History and Architecture Walking Tour; and Carlsbad Food Tour and Wine Tasting in California.

To come up with the Viator Experience Awards winners, the company looked at the average ratings, the share of bookings with a review, and the number of bookings on the platform during a one-year period.