Chinatown Culinary Walking Tour

Badge of ExcellenceSan Francisco, USA

3 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Chinatown Food & History Walking Tour - Small Group

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Overview

Stroll the narrow streets and back alleys of San Francisco's Chinatown on this walking tour with a small group. Soak up the local ambiance when you explore on foot, and browse specialty herbs and produce at local grocers. A variety of tastings add up to a full lunch, including tea, fortune cookies, dim sum, and other treats. Listen to guided commentary and ask plenty of questions as you explore.

Walking tour lets you get to know Chinatown intimately
Guide takes you off the beaten path
Traditional Chinese lunch included
Small group of just 15 people or fewer

What's Included

Lunch

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

400 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94108, USA
At the corner of Bush and Grant Streets, in front of the Chinatown (Dragon) Gate.

End point

650 Jackson St, San Francisco, CA 94133, USA

What To Expect

Dragon's Gate (Pass By)

Chinatown (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Most travelers can participate
ATTENTION: Each Youth or Child registration requires an Adult registration
We are not able to accommodate nut allergies
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 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 a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

386 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 386 reviews

Great food walking of Chinatown

Thomas_B, Apr 2024

Had a wonderful 3 hour culinary walking tour of Chinatown. Guide, Scott, was knowledge and interesting. Best was the Dim Sum and Peking Duck.

Great Chinatown Tour!

Eva_W, Apr 2024

Andre is a great guide and tried to cover as much as he could in the 3 hours! I am a native of SF and still learned so much. Enjoyed eating Dim Sum at the first Dim Sum house in the USA. Learning about teas at a tea store, fortune cookie making and historical information! Well worth the price! Thank you!

Great!

Maureen_B, Apr 2024

We really enjoyed hearing about the history of Chinatown. That evening, we shared some of the stories with locals who have been in SF for decades, and they were surprised to hear them. Sean (sp?) was a fantastic guide and storyteller.

We had an amazing...

Tracy_L, Apr 2024

We had an amazing experience with Brian and learned a lot! He is super funny and kind! Would recommend.

Great day.

Lisa_S, Apr 2024

Scott was an informative and fun guide to spend an afternoon in San Francisco with. The information provided enlightened our Chinatown tour. The food was tasty and the community welcomed travelers.

Cool dad jokes

Roimata_T, Apr 2024

We had Brian who was very personable with a “dad” sense of humour that we found hilarious (although not from our exterior reaction). He’s very Knowledgeable about history of the area adding a personal perspective to a lot of the historic events. The food was delish and I loved the tea tasting and banter between Brian and our host there. Bought my favourite whit Jasmin tea that I’m really hoping I can take back into NZ. Very enjoyable - thank you :)

Great tour

Kenneth_B, Apr 2024

Great tour, Scott the tour guide was amazing. His stories and knowledge brought china town to life for us. The restaurants and shops we visited were very enjoyable. After the tour we visited several of the locations again and spent more time.

Fun

Jeff_B, Apr 2024

Tour was incredible. We learned so much and had a great time. Our God was fantastic. The gentleman who let us around, really loved his work and was a pleasure to work with.

Very entertaining trip in Chinatown

Joyce_K, Apr 2024

We were on a trip of Chinatown with Scott. There were four of us. Even though we live nearby, Scott told us many interesting historical facts that made the trip more enjoyable. Scott gave us many insights into neighborhoods in SF. The food was great but the tea tutorial really captured the spirit of Chinatown. May taught us that we were doing tea all wrong all these years. What a revelation!

Disapointing end to an enjoyable tour

Lachlan_B, Apr 2024

A really disappointing end to an enjoyable tour. My wife has a severe peanut allergy and we informed the tour company and our guide of this ahead of the food tour. Our guide assured that none of the stops would have peanuts except for one sauce at a restaurant. We still double checked at each stop just to make sure. When we got to the final stop which was the largest meal, our guide assured us again that ‘to her knowledge’ nothing contained peanuts before leaving us to start another tour. As the food was served we double checked with a waiter who told us that everything served was cooked in peanut oil. This was incredibly disappointing as despite all the forewarning and reminders at each stop, our guide did not actually bother to check or talk to the restaurant that she was in constant contact with all day. This could have had severe consequences if we took the guide at her word. It’s not a problem if food has peanuts in it, but being told that there are none when there actually is very dangerous and disappointing.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

I apologize for your experience. As stated in the waivers that your wife and you individually approved prior to the tour, we are not able to accommodate nut allergies. Each of you checked a box in the waiver, that states “Unfortunately, we are not able to accommodate nut allergies on the tour.” Additionally, this is also stated on the listing for this tour on Viator. The guide recommended that you did not go on the tour, as while the guide can check about peanuts in food, they cannot guarantee that cross contamination or a misunderstanding will not occur in the kitchens. In this case, there was a language difficulty concerning the type of oil that it was cooked in. As our other reviews indicate, we try to provide the best experience for our guests, and I apologize that we did not do so in your case. Could you contact us at 415-665-0480, message us through Viator or email me at tmedin@sffoodtour.com, so we can get some information about your experience, have the chance to rectify it and ensure that it does not occur again?

An interesting and entertaining tour of a famous part of SF

Dorothee_B, Mar 2024

Our guide Brian was very entertaining and knowledgeable. We learned a lot about the history of Chinatown while also enjoying delicious food.

Interesting, Fun, and Delicious in SF!

Jonathan_B, Mar 2024

Had a great time exploring Chinatown with our guide Brian! Brian is a funny and knowledgeable local who has a great balance of history and humor to make this tour in enjoyable for both adults and our 11 and 13 yo kids. And the food was amazing too!

Nice way to explore Chinatown, heavy on history, light on.

Tara_O, Mar 2024

Exploring Chinatown through this tour was a nice way to see the neighborhood . This tour was heavy on history and a bit light on the culinary side. The final stop at the Teahouse was the standout moment of the tour, particularly Uncle's captivating presence. Overall, it was a good tour, but could have been an hour shorter.

Food and fun

CHINA_J, Mar 2024

Had a wonderful time with Scott as our guide. He’s very knowledgeable about the history of not only Chinatown but of San Francisco and a plethora of history. The food and tea tastings were fantastic! Definitely had a great walk!

Nice Tour

Audrey_C, Mar 2024

Great walk, food and lots of information provided by Brian. I encourage anyone interested in visiting or learning more about Chinatown to participate.

Great experience!

Judith_B, Mar 2024

We had a great time, Scott is a fantastic guide! We had some delicious food at seven different stops and learnt a lot about Chinatown and its history. I would 100% book this tour again!

Worth it

Ryan_A, Mar 2024

Had a very nice time. The food was great and the sights and info was a nice touch I think the tour could condense a 1/2 hour to an hour off the total time while not sacrificing any of the quality.

Tea Bar was amazing ! As...

Rosa_V, Mar 2024

Tea Bar was amazing ! As well as knowing vital history part of this neighborhood - Food is plenty - -

Good tour

Travis_b, Mar 2024

Onion bread, pork dumpling great, fortune cookie factory, Buddhist temple, duck, all good. Parks and historic buildings were nice, Would of like a little more detail on the historical events, although it is a food tour not a history tour.

Excellent!!!

Annelind_W, Mar 2024

The history of Chinatown in San Francisco was very interesting! It wasn’t strenuous (just be careful about some uneven walkways). The food was AMAZING!!! The Peking Duck is a must try!

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