Experience this Italian-influenced North Beach neighborhood with a four-course progressive dining experience. With an intimate group of 12 people or less, follow your food-loving guide to many of the neighborhood's iconic restaurants starting with appetizers followed by an entree and finishing with dessert - all while exploring the neighborhood through your belly and your eyes. Enjoy experience-enhancing alcohol pairings (add-on can be purchased at the time of the tour) while tasting fare at some of the most popular spots as well as some hidden gems. Tastings may be selected from wood-oven pizza, to arancini, to cioppino (a seafood stew invented by San Francisco’s Italian fisherman), to handmade traditional cannoli, to California gelato. Hear gourmet gossip about some of the establishments' owners and learn about North Beach's history, from the Gold Rush to modern day.

3-hour food tour of San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood
Visit four popular and off-the-grid restaurants for food tastings
Hear stories of the chefs and restaurant owners, and learn local restaurant tips
Hear the stories behind these historical establishments, from the Gold Rush to Prohibition
Small-group tour limited to 12 people ensures a more personalized experience

What's Included

Guide
Live commentary
Food tastings
Small group limited to 12 people to ensure a personalized experience
$25 Covid surcharge

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Gratuities
Alcohol pairing (can be purchased at the time of the tour) $26/person

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

1630 Stockton St
1630 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94133, USA
All Weekday 3PM Tours, Saturday 11AM & 3PM Tours and Sunday Morning Tours – Meet in front of the Italian Athletic Club – 1630 Stockton Street

Start time

03:00 PM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Meet your guide and small group of food-loving new friends in the heart of North Beach. Start out along the route of your walking tour, which follows an easy, flat route, and includes lots of food stories. Beginning in the afternoon, this outing will last about 3 hours. Listen to engaging commentary from your guide as you walk, and learn about how this neighborhood was part of San Francisco's red-light district during the Gold Rush Days and the Italian Fisherman who made North Beach their home. Stop by some hidden tunnels that were used to smuggle liquor into the city during Prohibition. Your 4-course culinary experience may begin with San Francisco's famous seafood stew, cioppino, while your guide tells you interesting tidbits about the local food and drink scene.

After a second appetizer at a local hangout, you'll enjoy your entree of either some wood-fired pizza made in the oldest pizza oven on the West Coast, dating from 1935 or delicious Eggplant Parmesan at a local historical favorite restaurant. Your progressive meal will conclude with California's version of Italy - a fresh filled cannoli or gelato. You'll finish your tour just a couple of blocks from where you started. You're free to explore the fascinating neighborhood on your own from here.

Please note: Samples and locations are subject to change without notice. This experience focuses on quality not quantity. Yes, you’ll leave satisfied, but you should taste and experience food in a new way – and this is about the quality and flavor! Great things come in small packages…

Jackson Square

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

North Beach

3 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Must be 21 years or older to drink alcohol
Vegetarian options available
Locations visited are subject to change
Tours run rain or shine; please dress appropriately
Wheelchair accessible

Stroller accessible
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
Guests must be vaccinated and show proof to participate in the tour.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers

Cancellation Policy

This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

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

Featured review

Perdita_H

We had a good time on our tour, with Ben as our guide. Got good information about the area and restaurants as we visited three different places, sampling four dishes in total. Each dish was excellent in quality and the cannoli at the end of the tour was divine. We did the alcohol add-on and enjoyed the drinks. I recommend this tour.

Reviews

5.0

157 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 157 reviews

Progressive dinner walking tour of North Beach!

babaz, Oct 2022

We highly recommend the progressive dinner walking tour of North Beach with Avital. Nikki kept a reasonable pace as she led a small group of us from Washington Square through the Italian community, where we sampled Cioppino with crab and shellfish, a delicious pork Bao bun, hot fresh pizza from the oldest pizza oven on the West Coast, and finally two flavors of creamy, luscious gelato! Her inside stories of the families and history behind each restaurant made the tour memorable. All the food was fresh, hot, and scrumptious! This was much more fun than randomly choosing a restaurant and sitting the whole time! We were so full! The tour starts at 3:00 pm and ends about 6:00, and alcohol can be added to the package (optional). No need for dinner after this! Take a Lyft or Uber to a show, or head to a comedy club or opera after the tour! Dress casually and warmly, depending on weather.

Response from Host, Oct 2022

Thank you so much for joining us! It was delightful meeting and eating with you and we hope to see you again soon!

BOOK IT!

Elizabeth_V, Oct 2021

I loved this experience! Wow! The food, stories, and fellow travelers were just wonderful. The ciopinno soup was by far my favorite. The four other guests were just lovely and the walk was more like a stroll, nice and easy. Danielle was our docent and she just rocked. She took care of us which I really enjoyed. I liked not having any responsibility navigating a busy city. Our first progressive dinner and totally not our last! A great value and worth every penny.

Awesome afternoon!

stancapper, Jul 2019

This was a wonderful tour with great foods and a delightfully fun, charismatic and knowledgeable guide named Ben. The foods? Had we been staying in the city longer, we'd have eaten again at every stop, such was the quality of the samplings. Ben will also point out other restaurants with stellar, long-time reputations while also regaling your group with fascinating information on one the country's great cities. No, not the old, "San Francisco was first settled in blah blah blah..." His stories feel more like little secrets you won't find in any Chamber of Commerce literature. Because Ben comes to the tour with a strong background in food and nutrition, his expertise make the whole experience that much richer. Another plus was that you don't leave the tour feeling like some ancient Roman glutton. You'll be sated for sure, but you won't be plied with an over-abundance of food, as sometimes happens on these tours. My advice? Eat up at every stop. The portions are perfect. Our only regret is not taking this tour early in our last trip to San Francisco, for we surely would have tried these places and many of the others Ben raved about. We came in just for the day for this tour. Do yourself a favor and take this tour soon after you arrive. If you're lucky, you'll get Ben as your guide.

Fun Walking/Culinary Tour

Perdita_H, Aug 2018

This was a delightful tour. The...

KathrynL_K, Jun 2018

This was a delightful tour. The guide was excellent and very knowledgeable and the food was great.

This was a top 5 experience for my...

Victor L, Jan 2017

This was a top 5 experience for my wife and I on our week long San Francisco Vacation. The terrain of which we walked was relatively flat so steep inclines were not an issue. Tollen, our tour guide did a wonderful job, we love her. The only regret is that we didn't give Tollen a bigger tip.

We had a very pleasant experience...

Donald L, Sep 2016

We had a very pleasant experience! Food was great and the knowledge of the City was a bonus! Highly recommend!

This tour was interesting, the food...

Judith S, Aug 2016

This tour was interesting, the food was good, but the alcohol pairings were a bit scarce. I don't really think it was worth the cost, although I did enjoy the area we walked around in and the food that we did taste.

Was absolutely great. The right...

Klaus S, Feb 2016

Was absolutely great. The right sized group. very knowledgeable and pleasant tour guide. I will do the other culinary tours when I am in town next time. Klaus ps : However, the tour guide promised us to send us via E-mail some information on the tour which never happened.

This was so much fun! The tour guide...

Thea W, Nov 2015

This was so much fun! The tour guide was very knowledgeable. The food was fantastic! What a great way to start our visit to SF!

This may be the best tour I have...

Jeff S, Nov 2015

This may be the best tour I have ever enjoyed! Our tour guide, Margherita, was very personable and knowlegeable about both the history and food in North Beach. I cannot recommend this tour enough for anyone who enjoys learning about a neighborhood through its dining experiences.

The tour was a blast and Margherita...

Donna R, Oct 2015

The tour was a blast and Margherita the tour guide was very knowledgeable. I would definitely take the tour again.

My wife and I really enjoyed this...

Mark H, Sep 2015

My wife and I really enjoyed this tour. Marguerite i may have butchered the spelling of her name and Kat were great tour guides and took us to places we would have never went if not for the tour. Every place we went told a different piece of history and the food at each was fantastic. Tomassos pizza was my favorite, if I had to pick one, but everything was great. I would definitely recommend this tour. Mark and Carrie.

Margherita was an amazing guide! She...

Emily G, Jun 2015

Margherita was an amazing guide! She was friendly and took us to the best spots in North Beach. I would absolutely recommend this tour to my friends and family. I purchased this for a belated mother's day present. It was a very unique experience, and my whole family enjoyed it.

Informative tour, but the seafood...

david.olstein, Jun 2015

Informative tour, but the seafood stop was bit of a waste. Unlike other stops on the tour, the restaurant had no historical connection to the neighborhood, and the foot selection - New England clam chowder - had no connection to the neighborhood either. Cioppino would have been a better selection.

Good tour - learned history, ate great...

Dave F, May 2015

Good tour - learned history, ate great food, enjoyed our wonderful guide.

We really enjoyed this Food and Wine...

TRACY R, May 2015

We really enjoyed this Food and Wine Tour. Lela was wonderful. She was from the area, very knowledgeable and really cute. She knew all the owner's personally and had a great rapport with them and with us. We walked about 1 mile, pretty easy walking not steep hills and tried food at 4 different places. Each had wonderful food and cocktails and we got to meet and talk with the owners. All the food was wonderful. Great way to get oriented to North Beach which after a week in San Fran was my favorite neighborhood.

Leila is fantastic. She loves her...

Jessie C, Oct 2014

Leila is fantastic. She loves her city and that is completely obvious. The food and wine on this tour are fantastic and you really get to see a fantastic cross section of the SF food culture. I cannot recommend this enough - super fun and again, a great guide.

I would highly recommend this tour...

Elizabeth C, Aug 2014

I would highly recommend this tour to anyone. Delicious food, great company, and an energetic tour guide. I was very impressed. Thanks again!

We loved our tour. Our guide Laila...

Stephen P, Jun 2014

We loved our tour. Our guide Laila was enthusiastic, funny and informative. She had a great relationship with all of the owners of the restaurants we went to. We felt like a member of the family instead of a customer. We will definitely sign up for another tour when we return to San Francisco.