Lower East Side Eats Food Tour

Badge of ExcellenceNew York City, USA

3 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Foodies experience the diverse flavors of New York City’s Lower East Side on this culinary walking tour. Join your guide to begin your stroll, where you can uncover the immigrant history of the neighborhood, and learn how diverse cultures contributed to the rich culinary world of the Lower East Side today. Highlights include the tastings at six different shops, restaurants, and cafés, where you sample everything from traditional Jewish delicacies and bagels to old-fashioned candies, donuts, and more.

Foodies discover the cuisine of the Lower East Side on this NYC tasting tour
Wander a downtown neighborhood packed with shops, galleries, and restaurants
Come hungry, since you enjoy several included tastings to replace lunch
Get a great value, with all tastings, bottled water, and area map included

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

Foodies get at least six tastings with this tour highlighting the culture and history of the Lower East Side.

Sample Menu

Main

Potato Knish

Delicious Potato Knish from the first knishery in the U.S.

Main

Rugelach

Traditional Rugelach from Russ & Daughters

Main

The Best Pastrami in the World

Katz's Deli since 1888. Enough said!

Main

Aranchini

Delectable Rice Ball from Aranchini Bros. in The Essex Street Market

Main

Chinese Dumplings

Made with Love by Hand

Main

The Pickle Guys

The name says it all

Main

Kossar's Bialys

Kossar's Bialys. A New York tradition with a smear of cream cheese

Dessert

The Doughnut Plant

Tres Leches or Blackout Doughnut. Yummy!

What's Included

6 food tastings (enough for lunch)
3-hour walking food tour with a discussion of neighborhood history and culture
Licensed New York City sightseeing guides

Transportation to and from the meeting location

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

205 E Houston St, New York, NY 10002, USA
We will be meeting at 205 East Houston Street (outside in front of Katz's Deli, in front of the sign that says "Known as the best since 1888." The sign is on the Ludlow Street side of Katz's. Katz's is on the corner of East Houston Street and Ludlow St. If your late, go inside Katz's

Start time

11:00 AM

End point

379 Grand St, New York, NY 10002, USA
Outside in front of The Doughnut Plant

What To Expect

Lower East Side

3 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Essex Street Market

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Orchard Street

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Katz's Delicatessen

25 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

The Pickle Guys

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps

Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate
Wear comfortable shoes
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers

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.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Frequently Asked Questions

The answers provided below are based on answers previously given by the tour provider to customers’ questions.

Q:Do you offer vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free options for the Lower East Side Eats Food Tour?

A:We do offer a full vegetarian option, however, guests with vegan or gluten-free diets are able to enjoy appx. 50% of the food offerings. Feel free to let us know of any dietary restrictions in the "Special Requirements" box at checkout.

Feb 2021

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

77 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 77 reviews

Stick to the food that is being promoted

Lorri_O, Oct 2023

Exploring the lower East side was very interesting. The places we visited were good. Although, I was expecting knishes and Chinese dumplings. That did not happen. Also, the tour guide was not as vibrant as other tour guides I have been with.

Mediocre tur

Rachel_S, Jul 2023

Very little Lower East side history was orovided. This is mostly just a food tour. We were hopimg for more historical information.

Lot's of tastings, but needed more cultural and historical information along the way....

Heather_M, Jul 2023

Our tour guide was on time and very nice. But, I was expecting a bit more history about the Lower East Side as we did the tour. I left feeling that I had the opportunity to try a bunch of different foods from different locations in the Lower East Side, but did not feel that I really got an appreciation for the people who came there from all walks of life and how they inpacted the community as a whold & the foods we tried on the tour.

Tasty Lower East Side

frank_e, May 2023

The food, the background stories of each of our stops, the knowledge of our tour guide, Adam and the variety of tastes along the way.

Response from Host, May 2023

Thank you so much for the glowing 5 star review of our Lower East Side food tour with Adam. Join us on our West Village food tour the next time you're in The City.

Great foodie experience!

Theresa_C, Apr 2023

Good food and nice people on the tour. Ross was very knowledgeable about the local area-great if you love food and history!

Delicious Food Tour

Lisa_B, Mar 2023

This was a great food tour! Ross was a wonderful tour guide. The food was so delicious and plentiful. My favorite was the pastrami from Katz’s deli!

Great tour

donna_m, Mar 2023

I have recommended this tour to everyone I have spoken to since I came home. This tour was great value for money. There was definitely enough food for lunch and all of it was delicious. The tour guide was great, provided loads of information and answered all the random questions the group asked.

Good time had by all!

Linda_W, Feb 2023

Enjoyed the tour. The guide was knowledge and personable and accommodated dietary needs. We had a lot of fun!

Highly recommended

Ann_L, Nov 2022

Many well sized tastings at both famous eateries and Mom and Pop holes in the wall. Adam was friendly and informative.

Loved this tour

Mona_S, Aug 2022

I truly enjoyed this tour. Our tour guide Jonathon was wonderful. He checked in the morning of the tour about food allergies and brought the experience to life in a colorful way. As I did this tour solo it was fun to meet other folks joining as well. Definitely recommend. Do not eat breakfast before.

Yum and fun

Kevin_G, Jul 2022

Brandon was great! Super friendly and knowledgeable. Good food on the stops and small groups would go again

Highly recommend Lower East Side food tour

gilvs, May 2022

John was an excellent tour guide, friendly and knowledgeable. He quickly learned our names and gelled the group together. Food samples were tasty and varied. Enjoyed learning about the history of the Lower East Side and he pointed out lots of things we would have missed otherwise. Will definitely do a food tour of a different area next time we are in New York

The food was amazing and...

Shanon_M, Mar 2022

The food was amazing and there were extra servings!Jonathon was an amazing and hospitable tour guide.

Truly fabulous tour! Adam is a great guide!

Shannon_M, Dec 2021

Our guide was Adam! A lifelong NYer, Adam brings humor and passion to this tour. He truly cares about his hometown and it clearly brings him joy to share it with visitors. We feel lucky that we got Adam to show us around and the food was delicious - especially Katz’s Deli and Essex Market. I’d recommend this to both tourists and people who love NY food and history. Thanks for a great day!

Culture as well as tastes!

Diane_P, Nov 2021

The pastrami at Katz's was the best food and Adam was the best guide! We love food tours because we learn so much about the culture as we enjoy tasting what's unique to the area. Who knew there was a redwood tree in Manhattan?!

Overall, Excellent choice!

Esther_K, Aug 2021

This tour was a phenomenal experience. The food was great and the historical explanation very informative. Our tour-guide, Jonathan, was charming, funny and knowledgeable.

Awesome

James_M, Feb 2020

Matt was great... very personable and knowledgeable. Great spots to visit.. Totally worth it... plenty of food!

Response from Host, Feb 2020

Hi James! We appreciate you taking the time to type up this up for us. Our Lower East Side Food Tour is quite the foodie adventure! Thanks!

Great Tour!

Scott R, Oct 2019

We enjoyed our small group tour through New York's Lower East Side. The food samplings were well-selected and of good quality and quantity. Shout out to our tour guide Alec for his insights and personal experiences which made the tour even more enjoyable.

Great tour!

Kelli_K, Jun 2018

Great tour and our guide Matt was awesome. Very friendly and knowledgeable! Will definitely refer our friends and family.

The tour started at Yonah Schimmel's...

Kenneth W, Sep 2016

The tour started at Yonah Schimmel's Knish bakery. A knish is a filled dumpling and the original version contained potato, real rib sticking food. Then we went to Russ and Daughters, a novel place since no one ever named their store after their female descendants. There we had pickled herring which made us think of our dads who both loved the stuff. Sweet morsels of rugelach took that sour taste right out of our mouths. Once we got inside Katz's Deli, we recognized it immediately. This was where the famous scene from IWhere Harry Met Sally/I was filmed, and Meg Ryan showed Billy Crystal what good acting was all about. Their pastrami sandwiches are towers of meat on rye and the walls are festooned with salamis. Signs urge you to, Senda salami to your boy in the Army, a tradition begun in World War II. Economy Candy has been open since the 1930's and was floor to ceiling with sweet stuff. Many long gone candies from our childhood are still for sale here like Mary Janes, candy dots glued on paper, candy necklaces and candy cigarettes. Surely no one can live without chocolate band-aids. We could smell The Pickle Guys long before we got to their establishment. In the days before refrigeration, pickling was a primary way to preserve vegetables. The traditional pickles are soaked in brine and brought tears to our eyes, they tasted so strong. At Kisser's Bialys we could have had bagels, a delicacy long associated with this part of the world, but their cousins, bialys were unfamiliar to us. Bagels are boiled in water before they are baked bialys are simply baked and don't have holes in the middle. Ours was filled with onions in the middle and much more delicious than a bagel. Wonder where I can find a bialy where we live. Our final stop was a much newer establishment. The owner started out making doughnuts at home and taking them to delis on his bike, but his novel flavors were so popular, soon everyone was coming to him.