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Charleston Food Tour: Taste Historic Lowcountry Cuisine
4.6
868 Ratings
Charleston
Embark on a 2.5-hour Charleston Food Tour and indulge in the flavors of historic South Carolina. Immerse yourself in the city’s rich history while savoring delicious tastings from leading restaurants.
Embark on a 2.5-hour Charleston Food Tour and indulge in the flavors of historic South Carolina. Immerse yourself in the city’s rich history while savoring delicious tastings from leading restaurants.
Duration:
2 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Bulldog Tours - Headquarter’s for Charleston’s best tour company, Bulldog Tours, which offers a variety of history, food, pub, and ghost tours on a daily/nightly schedule.
- Charleston City Market - Built in the early 1800’s, this four block historical landmark was originally the city’s grocery store. Today, the City Market is home to a…
- Bulldog Tours - Headquarter’s for Charleston’s best tour company, Bulldog Tours, which offers a variety of history, food, pub, and ghost tours on a daily/nightly schedule.
- Charleston City Market - Built in the early 1800’s, this four block historical landmark was originally the city’s grocery store. Today, the City Market is home to a variety of local vendors that sell their art, crafts, and local wares.
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French Quarter - French Quarter
One of Charleston’s oldest neighborhoods, the French Quarter is home to not only some of our most historical homes and churches but also some of our city’s most famous restaurants.
What's Included
- Food Tastings
- Local Professional Guide
- Bottled Water
- Food Tastings
- Local Professional Guide
- Bottled Water
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
- Transportation
- Gratuities
- Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
- Transportation
Additional Information
Embark on a culinary journey by foot through historic Charleston, South Carolina. Join a small group for a 2.5-hour tour engaging you in the deep-rooted history and vibrant culture of the Lowcountry, while exploring the diverse gastronomic offerings of downtown Charleston. Your path will lead you to some of the city’s top-notch dining spots. You’ll…
Embark on a culinary journey by foot through historic Charleston, South Carolina. Join a small group for a 2.5-hour tour engaging you in the deep-rooted history and vibrant culture of the Lowcountry, while exploring the diverse gastronomic offerings of downtown Charleston. Your path will lead you to some of the city’s top-notch dining spots. You’ll typically be tasting stone ground grits, Southern pralines, sweet tea, collard greens, Lowcountry barbeque, and fried green tomatoes.
*IMPORTANT: Should any member of your group have food allergies, it is critical that we are informed at least 48 hours prior to the tour. Failure to do so may result in some dining establishments being unable to accommodate certain dietary needs. Additionally, we cannot guarantee alternative options at every stop due to specific allergies.
- Please arrive 15 minutes before the start of the tour.
- The pace of our walking tour is leisurely
- Operates in all weather conditions, dress appropriately
Location
18 Anson St
Anson Street
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.6
(868 Ratings)
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Jsully63
Feb 25, 2025
Great fun and entertaining. - We had used this company a little over a year ago on a walking tour so decided to use them again. Dave was our guide and he was great. Plenty of food knowledge and kept us engaged at each stop. Made for an enjoyable afternoon. While it is a little on the pricey side it was still worth the adventure. I know the restaurants change so each experience will be different. We weren’t fans of all the restaurants but still enjoyed ourselves.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dave_skidmore
Dec 28, 2024
Dena Dioria -- A stellar tour guide - We loved our guide -- Dena Diorio, a local travel and food writer. She was friendly, encouraged questions, and was very knowledgeable about the history of Charleston food and the recent restaurant scene in the city. We visited one higher-end place and two more casual spots, plus a tea and spice store. The food was great at all three locations. We appreciated that Bull Dog accommodated my wife's desire to avoid red meat. Our tour was in the morning and we were lucky to be somewhat hungry again by dinnertime!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
P4289sxlindaw
Dec 19, 2024
A great excursion! - This tour was fantastic. Faith took us to several spots, all with delicious food. ) Certainly wasn’t hungry when it was over. )
Faith’s knowledge of history is unparalleled. We enjoyed every about this experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Brian_b
Nov 9, 2024
Excellent tour. Good food with a history lesson - Very enjoyable tour. Really liked how Faith tied the history of Charleston to the food we were sampling. Length of tour was perfect
Review provided by Viator
V115qnedwardd
Oct 2, 2024
A truly special tour with a truly special guide - Everything about the tour was absolutely outstanding, from the architecture, to the history, to the food and drink. But above all else, it was our tour-guide and host Faith who made the evening so uniquely memorable. Her genuine enthusiasm, deep knowledge and wonderful storytelling ability brought Charleston to life and made this one of the most intriguing and magical tours I've ever taken.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Danwx9902xr
Sep 14, 2024
Savor the flavor with great history - Great guide Dena. She was very knowledgeable and the food was excellent. Charleston has many great options for low country cuisine.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
1129path
Oct 22, 2024
Good but not great, unfortunately. - We did the food tour with Diane. She was wonderful. Three restaurants and a spice shop. I’ve done several food tours before and, unfortunately, this one, although good, was not great. The first item was a raw oyster. Since only ~47% of people eat raw oysters, I don’t think this was a good choice. I understand that a food tour gives you a chance to taste something you would not normally eat but I don’t think a raw oyster falls in this category. I would estimate that about ½ of the 12 people in the group did not eat it. The other tastings were a burrata appetizer and shrimp and grits. Both were good. The second stop was “The Spice and Tea Exchange.” This is a franchise that has locations in many cities. I’m not sure why this was included in a local food tour. The next two restaurants and their food were fine. We tasted fried chicken sliders, deviled eggs, banana pudding, BBQ, corn bread and collard greens. In my humble opinion one thing missing was she crab soup, which is one of Charleston’s signature dishes. All in all, Diane was great but I don’t think I’d do it again.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Z6430mxkristins
Jan 22, 2025
Informative Food Tour - Overall I had a nice time, and learned a lot. I left full and with a stronger connection to the Charleston but certain details were missing to make this a 5star review.
Jade was a good guide for our small group of 4. Our venture through Charleston felt more like a food history lecture with tastings than a tour. Jade was very knowledgeable and knew lots of info about the restaurants, tastings, and the food ways that brought them to the area. With all the info there wasn't much time to chat and engage with the other guests or guide. I would've appreciated breathing room from the stories and some photos of our time together.
The food was great. I loved the first stop though it didn't fit in with the rest of the restaurants. It was up-scale with refined food whereas the remaining stops offered humble Southern cooking. My expectations were set high with the first restaurant and leveled out from there. The spice shop was a crowd favorite. My partner and I would've appreciated more opportunities to buy a drink at our longer stop-overs but weren't afforded the chance.
With how much knowledge Jade shared with us I'm sure the History and Ghost tours are wonderful but this food tour missed the mark for me.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Patsy_t
Aug 8, 2024
Walked for 90 minutes-longer than we were at restaurants. Needed more dialogue and descriptions about the food. - The food was delicious but there was too much food. We stopped at 3 restaurants and had two big servings at each. There was too much walking. It was a very hot day and all that food and walking was too much. We went to a fourth place for chocolate and coffee. Choose restaurants that are closer together and they should serve smaller portions. With the smaller tour maybe the price could be reduced.
Review provided by Viator
Voyage09085494215
Jan 5, 2025
Disappointing - Two new stops were flops! - Our tour started off great with an excellent guide, Nancy, who has a terrific knowledge of Charleston’s history, architecture, and restaurants. Our first stop at Victoria’s on King was a delightful sample of Low Country cooking with very thoughtful commentary on the cuisine. Unfortunately, the next two stops were nowhere near as good. Mesu was supposedly an eclectic mix of Asian (sushi) and Mexican and failed in both areas. Both the lobster roll and the beef taco were uninspired and hardly distinctive. There was no commentary, nothing unique to Charleston, and the staff seemed totally indifferent. Next door at Bourbon N’ Bubbles we fared no better. It is basically a glamourous bar and the staff is totally focused on their extensive selection of whisky. The tastings were a deviled egg and a chicken tender on a roll. Again no commentary, no culinary history to speak of, and nothing unique about the food. The last stop for dessert at Hotel Bennett’s La Patisserie was well done and the pastry was nicely presented although not uniquely Charleston. All in all, this tour was not “seafood heavy” as touted on the website. Very ordinary, hardly representative of the Charleston food scene, and not a good value.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
