Chinatown Culinary Walking Food Tour

What you'll do:

Welcome to North America's oldest Chinatown! Here, fresh laundry air dries from clotheslines, and intricately designed temples glow in technicolor at night against the strings of red lanterns that hang above the alleyways.

On this small-group walking food tour, your Bay Area local guide weaves history and storytelling into a handful of stops that showcase San Francisco's Chinese-American heritage. Begin under the archway of the intricately designed gateway to North America's oldest Chinatown. Throughout the tour, you zigzag across Kearny, Grant, and Stockton streets — often cutting through alleyways — to see the elaborate architecture, eat at some of Chinatown’s oldest restaurants, and more.

Wave hello or stop to talk to the business owners and makers we know along the way. You'll discover many of the restaurants and bakeries we visit have been owned by the same families since the early 1900s.

The only two things you really need to know for this tour: wear comfortable shoes and come hungry! Chinatown teems with delectable places to eat and places to shop, all along mostly flat sidewalks.

Why we love it for your party:

• Chinatown thrills (Dive into North America's oldest Chinatown for a quick blast of lantern-lit nostalgia, family tales, and mouthwatering delights)
• Quick bites (Join a lively sprint through Chinatown, high-fiving locals, and chowing down on century-old goodies)
• Hi, eat, repeat (Wave to makers, wear your comfy kicks, and unleash your appetite for a speedy, flavor-packed escapade)
• Flavor frenzy (Speed-taste your way through Chinatown's delicious history, where every bite is a time-traveling treat)
• Cookie quest (Uncover Fortune Cookie secrets in a whirlwind stroll through charming alleys—ancient flavors in a bite-sized adventure!)

About this experience partner:

Our San Francisco food tours not only serve up a delicious sampling of food and drink, they are also a great introduction to some of San Francisco's most beloved neighborhoods. You will see Chinatown in a way only a local can.

Our tea tastings will open your eyes to new experiences, as we see the places that have enamored locals for years, from fortune cookies to local markets. You'll explore the culinary and neighborhood traditions with expert guides whose personal experiences will allow you to experience Chinatown as a San Franciscan.

Additional information:

• Meets next to 400 Grant Avenue, at the corner of Grant Avenue and Bush Streets, in front of the Chinatown (Dragon) Gate