San Francisco Chinatown Food Walking Tour
Experience North America's oldest Chinatown through its food.
$79 per person – 3 hours
($79 plus 6% Online Booking Fee = $83.74)
All food and non-alcoholic drinks included
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.
Highlights
- All tastings included
- Start in Chinatown with moon cakes from one of the oldest bakeries in Chinatown
- Relax over a tea tasting experience
- Taste some of the best Chinese food such as hot pots, 5-spice beef, and peking duck
- Walk down Waverly Place to admire Chinese temples
- Head inside the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory for samples
- Explore the Stockton Street markets filled with fresh fare
- Vegetarian and special dietary needs welcome
- All food and non-alcoholic drinks included
- Whether you are in Union Square, Pier 39, Market Street, or Nob Hill, our tours are easy to get to.
Taste of the Tour
These are just some of the highlights when you come out with our San Francisco local guides.
Stop for treats at Chinatown Bakeries
One of the first stops is at an iconic Chinese bakery in San Francisco, where you get to try complimentary moon cakes. It opened in 1924, and has been a neighborhood mainstay ever since. In 2020, loyal customers ensured this beloved bakery stayed open, with many people special ordering its popular coffee crunch cake and moon cakes with homemade filling.
Enjoy tea tastings at a wonderful local spot
We also stop in a wonderful local spot for a variety of tea tastings where you learn Chinese customs regarding tea ceremonies, as well as the health benefits of the tea leaves you taste.
Experience the heart of Chinatown on Stockton
With your sweet tooth satiated, stroll through the Stockton Street markets to experience what it’s like to be in the heart of Chinatown. You’ll see people buying up fresh produce, meats, and other goods here. It may be far from Hong Kong, but the lively energy along the sidewalks in this part of Chinatown may stir up memories or fantasies of what it is like across the Pacific.
Savor Local Favorites
Enjoy everything from BBQ Pork Buns, Sui Mai, Rice Cakes, Shrimp Dumplings, and more from Chinatown's favorite restaurants. Savor Dim Sum; from onion pancakes to Shanghai Dumplings and more, at local Chinatown eateries.
Go behind the scenes at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory
No visit to Chinatown is complete until you've seen the landmark Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory. Since 1962, this small operation tucked away on Ross Alley has been making people smile at the crack of a handmade fortune cookie. On this tour, you get to go inside to taste the freshly baked goods firsthand and meet the people responsible for bringing joy to so many lives for more than half of a century.
Sit down for a traditional Chinese meal
In addition to generous samples, this tour also includes a sit-down meal at a favorite local spot in Chinatown. Enjoy Peking Duck, potstickers, sesame balls, and tea, as you chat with your small group. Vegetarian and vegan options can be added!
Important Information
- Upon booking, let us know if you have any dietary requests for the tour
- Our tours operate daily
- If you need to get in touch with us, we are available 24/7. Contact us here , or by phone at (415) 665-0480
Cancellation Policy
Local Tastes of the City Tours wants your entire experience with us to be exceptional and we want you to feel confident reserving a tour, whether by phone or online. We ask you to give us 48 hours notice to cancel a tour. If it's less than 48 hours, and the unexpected happens, such as being delayed at the airport, flight cancelled, or something else, call us and we'll do our best to make you happy.
Meeting Location
Our tours begin next to 400 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA ( Chinatown) at the corner of Bush and Grant, in front of the Chinatown (Dragon) Gate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, please let us know at the time of booking.
Yes, and we’ve heard from plenty of parents how much fun their kids had in the fortune cookie factory in Chinatown!
Yes, we are happy to accommodate dietary needs. Please let us know at the time of booking.
This tour covers about 8-10 city blocks with some slight inclines on hills.
San Francisco’s Chinatown is the oldest district of its kind in North America. Situated in the heart of downtown, in between Grant Avenue and Stockton Street, Chinatown is beloved by Bay Area locals and travelers alike. Karaoke bars, dim sum restaurants, tea houses, and dive bars are just part of Chinatown’s draw. Come in February for a spectacular Chinese New Year celebration, and the Chinatown Autumn Moon Festival in September. Please note that we do not go to the karaoke bars on our food tours.
Chinatown and North Beach (Little Italy) share a border at Stockton Street. It is easy to get between the two neighborhoods on foot.
Locals call it North Beach and people outside San Francisco call it Little Italy, however it is the same neighborhood.
We ask you to give us 48 hours notice to cancel a tour. If it's less than 48 hours, and the unexpected happens, such as being delayed at the airport, flight cancelled, or something else, call us and we'll do our best to make you happy.
Our tours begin next to 400 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA (Chinatown) at the corner of Bush and Grant, in front of the Chinatown (Dragon) Gate.