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The Award-Winning PRIVATE Food Tour of Bologna: 6 or 10 Tastings

Name: The Award-Winning PRIVATE Food Tour of Bologna: 6 or 10 Tastings
Brand: Withlocals
SKU: 24380P1056
Price: 101.36 USD
Rating: 4.5 (269 reviews)

Bologna, Italy

Bolognas Favourite PRIVATE Food Tour with 10 Tastings

From $101.36

Price varies by group size

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

3 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Overview

Language barriers can make it tricky to know the best things to order at Bologna restaurants, but with this private food tour, eliminate menu guesswork and enjoy the company of a private foodie guide. Visit a variety of different eateries, and sample 10 local specialties along the way—from savory to sweet, and even local drinks. Potential bites include tortellini fritti and formaggio bianco (local cheese).

Avoid the crowds and have a guide to yourself on this private food tour
A great way to discover authentic local delicacies in Bologna
Plenty of variety—try ten different food and drink tastings

What's Included

Private Personalized Tour
6 or 10 food & drinks tastings of high quality local products - depends on the option you book
Vegetarian alternatives - please message your host to advise of any dietary requirements
Sustainable carbon neutral experience (B-Corp)
PRIVATE multilingual local foodie guide

Hotel pickup and drop off
Entrance tickets to the attractions - we will visit them from the outside

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting points

Select a meeting point

Type to search

End point

Bologna, Metropolitan City of Bologna, Italy

What To Expect

Piazza Maggiore

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Quadrilatero

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Piazza del Nettuno

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate

Private tour: only you & your local guide
Includes city highlights in between food stops
Alternatives offered for those with dietary restrictions
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

AnaMaria_R

Marco is very friendly and know truly typical spots in Bologna. You can definitely taste the difference in products and he will accommodate if you have special requirements. If you are looking for a very authentic experience we would highly recommend to book with Marco.

Reviews

4.5

269 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 269 reviews

Great food tour!

Sherry_G, Mar 2024

Guiseppe was knowledgeable, friendly and fun! We had a lovely time and learned a lot. He was an expert guide of the city and Bologna’s wonderful food. Thank you!

Bologna with a heart

Jeff_B, Feb 2024

I, and we, would take this tour again if only to see Giuseppe....not just informative but nice and sharing of his knowledge. The places and foods we enjoyed were all good to very good. Next time we're in Bologna, we will tour again. Fantastico

Perfect way to see Bologna

Steve_B, Jan 2024

Had a very pleasant experience. Marco was great to spend a few hours with, and the food was splendid.

Exceptional

Joseph_B, Jan 2024

Giuseppe was very knowledgeable and just a perfect guide for this food tour. I have already recommended him to friends.

Highly recommended

Evan_S, Nov 2023

A fabulous experience. Marco is an excellent ambassador of all things delicious in Bologna. He introduced me to terrific spots that I returned to on my own and gave me access to places far off of any guidebook but worth visiting, especially with a recognizable local like the 6 foot 7 inch Marco, who has had a very interesting professional life. The personali attention and valuable knowledge shared are worthy of my highest recommendation.

fun experience

Michael_W, Oct 2023

Marco is the kind of guy everyone knows. Everywhere we went people were saluting him and the food vendors all knew him and took care of all of us. The food portions weren't big but the quality was spot on.

Good guide but wildly overpriced

Robert_M, Oct 2023

Guide was good but this is wildly overpriced. The food samples were disappointing overall. The tastings of parmigiano reggiano cheese and of balsamic vinegar were very high quality but also tiny. The sandwich and pasta tastings were more filling but mediocre at best. Our guide, Jason, was a native English speaker and had lots of interesting stuff to share, including about Bologna’s history. . But for nearly $400 for three people for a 3-hour tour, I felt at the end that it was basically a rip-off for unsuspecting tourists.

Response from Host, Oct 2023

Dear guest, Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on your Bologna food tour experience. We appreciate your kind words about our guide, Jason, and his informative insights into Bologna's history. We're sorry to hear that you found the food samples disappointing in relation to the cost of the tour. We continuously strive to offer an excellent balance of quality and value for our guests. Your feedback will be used to reevaluate our offerings to ensure a more satisfying experience for future guests. We value your perspective and hope to have another opportunity to exceed your expectations in the future. Best regards, Withlocals team

Fun good tour

Kyle_W, Sep 2023

We had a very nice time. Food was good. We learned some new things and our guide was very nice. Would recommend

I Want a Refund

Myra_A, Sep 2023

Perhaps the visit to the cheese shop. The experience was very disappointing and not value for money. It was disorganised, unhygienic and certainly not 'Award Winning ' as advertised. The tortellini making consisted of us standing outside a pasta shop, rolling one, and being invited to eat it raw which we all declined. We were then offered a small variety of dishes meant to be hot but tepid. Two of us had to share a plate. The host appeared to be in a hurry and made us feel he couldn't get away quick enough.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

Dear guest, We are genuinely sorry to hear about your disappointing experience during the private Bologna food tour. Your feedback is crucial, and we appreciate you bringing these concerns to our attention. We sincerely apologize for any disorganization and unhygienic conditions you encountered. This falls short of the standards we strive to maintain. Your comments about the tortellini making and the overall experience are concerning, and we will thoroughly investigate the situation to prevent such issues in the future. To assist us in this investigation and to provide you with proper feedback, could you please send your booking ID to info@withlocals.com? This will enable us to identify the specifics of your tour and address your concerns more effectively. Once again, we apologize for any inconvenience caused, and we appreciate your cooperation in helping us improve our services. If there are specific details you would like us to address or if you have further feedback, please feel free to share. Best regards, Withlocals team

Terrific Tasting Tour

Robert_V, Sep 2023

We thoroughly enjoyed our tasting tour in Bologna with Marco. He took his time explaining each specific food, telling us it’s origin and how it is made and why it is so special. Everything was delicious, from the tortellini to the gelato. We had never been to Bologna and it was nice to get a taste of the lifestyle and history too. Bravo Marco!

Top knock

Sharon_G, Sep 2023

Luca was soo kind to us when my husband started feeling bad. We enjoyed all the historical facts he share beyond the food tasting.

Paolo gave us a nice taste of Bologna cuisine and history

Michael_D, Sep 2023

Paolo was great! It really was a nice taste of Bologna and he was also very knowledgeable about the history of the city and the cuisine. Would highly recommend

Relaxed, foodie afternoon fun.

Toby_L, Aug 2023

Wonderful, informative afternoon with Giuseppe. We are a family with 2 teenage boys. We visited the market and tasted wood fire cooked chicken, ragu, slow roasted onion, local wine, aged pamigiano, mortadella, prosciutto di Parma and sausage. Then onto the Quadrilato for pasta, more wine, a knockout espresso and finally gelato. Giuseppe was a warm, genial host. This was like a fun day out with a favourite uncle, we loved it. Grazi Giuseppe. The Limbricks, Hitchin.

Easygoing and simple tour

Annabel_C, Aug 2023

We spent a half day in Bologna for a food tour. The food was simple, quintessential Bolognese cuisine. Our local guide Giuseppe was friendly in a grandpa-like manner, and exuded a passion for food. While the food options were not exceptional or mind-blowing, the overall experience was still enjoyable and certainly relaxing.

Spectacular tour and wonderful food!

Brandon_G, Aug 2023

This was truly an amazing experience. The tour guide was spectacular. Even though the holiday, Assumptions of Mary, was going on and caused a lot of business to be closed/closed early he made it a wonderful experience with not only amazing food, but also with some very interesting history of Bologna. The tour guide made it truly a treat and showed so much excitement to guide me through the wonderful city and trying new food experiences.

A lovely lazy food tasting tour that got us to explore more of the city than any of our precious dozen visits

Aidan_H, Aug 2023

Our guide, Guiseppe for sure. He mixed his knowledge of his city with his food expertise. Strolling around over the lunchtime period 11-13, was a delight. We all got on with our guide and liked all the tastes Bologna had to offer with this particular tour (10 tastes). I would do this again, for sure. (for Guiseppe's wife - he didn't eat any food 😊)

This was a complete sham!

Rich_F, Jul 2023

We had the misfortune of having Frederick assigned as our tour guide. Was supposed to be a three hour experience and it lasted under two hours. All we did was walk to a wine bar, not a restaurant, where we were served microwaved lasagna and a meat tray that can be found anywhere in Italy. Our guide (I use that term very loosely) was more interested in presenting us with his independent tour options since he sought to monetize this experience for his own gain down the road. "How about I take you on a private tour in my car?" Yeah, no thanks, shyster. The guy did not even have the courtesy to walk us back to our meeting point, simply pointed in the general direction and wished us luck. We paid $315 for the equivalent of maybe $30 of food. The tour company, With Locals, cared less when we vocalized our discontent. Viator seemed equally apathetic.

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Dear Rich, Thank you for sharing your feedback about your recent food tour experience in Bologna. We sincerely apologize for the disappointing and unsatisfactory experience you had during the tour. This is certainly not the level of service we aim to provide, and we want to investigate the matter further to understand what happened and to take appropriate action. To assist us in conducting a thorough investigation, we kindly request your booking ID or any other relevant details related to your reservation. This information will help us identify the specific tour and guide, allowing us to address your concerns promptly and effectively. Could you please contact us directly at info@withlocals.com and provide your booking ID? Thank you in advance! We understand the frustration you must have felt with the tour's duration and the quality of the food and service provided. Your comments regarding the guide's behavior and focus on personal gain are taken seriously, and we deeply regret that this behavior was displayed during your tour. At our company, we strive to provide our guests with an authentic and memorable experience, and we take pride in the professionalism and dedication of our guides. It is evident that we fell short of meeting these standards during your tour, and we apologize for the lack of courtesy and consideration shown. Regarding the pricing, we acknowledge your concerns, and we will review the tour's inclusions and value to ensure they align with the expectations of our guests. If it is confirmed that the tour did not meet the advertised standards, appropriate measures will be taken, including providing compensation, if necessary. Your feedback is invaluable to us as it helps us identify areas for improvement. We want to assure you that we take such matters seriously and will be addressing your comments with the respective guide and team members involved. Once again, we sincerely apologize for the disappointment and inconvenience you experienced during the tour. Our team is committed to resolving this matter to your satisfaction and to preventing similar incidents in the future. Please provide us with your booking details, and we will begin the investigation process immediately. Rest assured, your concerns are being taken seriously, and we appreciate your patience as we work to address them. Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention, and we look forward to resolving this issue and regaining your trust in our services. Kind regards, Withlocals team

Excellent tour to familiarise yourself with Bologna and EAT!

Mike_W, Jul 2023

Luca was super knowledgeable and went out of his way to entertain us with a good mix of history, insight and funny stories. He was a master tour guide!

Not great value for the cost.

Michael_L, Jul 2023

Tour was supposed to be 6 tastings and we only received 5 in total. Very small portions 2 snacks and 2 glasses of wine plus gelato. Gelato was very good but rest of tour lacked substance and cultural references. Guide was also not very engaging.

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Dear Michael, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback about your recent food experience in Bologna. We genuinely appreciate your input, as it helps us to continuously improve the quality of our tours and services. Firstly, please accept our sincere apologies for any disappointment you experienced during the tour. We deeply regret that your expectations were not fully met, and we would like to address your concerns promptly. To assist us in conducting a thorough investigation and to ensure we can make appropriate improvements, we kindly request you provide us with your booking ID by contacting us at info@withlocals.com. The booking ID will help us identify your specific tour details and enable us to offer the best resolution possible. Regarding the issue you raised, we are genuinely sorry to learn that you received only 5 tastings instead of the promised 6. We understand the importance of living up to our commitments and providing an enriching cultural experience through our tours. Moreover, we regret that the portions provided during the tour were not up to your expectations, and we apologize for any lack of substance and cultural references during the guide's commentary. Your feedback about the guide's engagement is also duly noted, and we understand the significance of having an enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide to enhance the tour experience. Rest assured, we take your concerns seriously, and we will be investigating the matter thoroughly with our team to prevent such occurrences in the future. Once again, we deeply apologize for falling short of your expectations on this occasion, and we are committed to making necessary improvements to ensure a delightful experience for all our guests. Thank you for bringing these issues to our attention. We look forward to your response with the booking ID so that we may proceed with the investigation and offer you a suitable resolution. Kind regards, Withlocals team

The Food Tour was a very...

Suzanne_S, Jul 2023

The Food Tour was a very enjoyable time!! Guiseppe was a fantastic tour guide. Highly recommend this tour!

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