Our favorite eating neighborhood in Manhattan. Tour usually runs most Fridays or Saturdays as a lunch tour from mid-March to mid-December. Allow 3.5 hours. Tour meets outside Grand Central Terminal. One ride or unlimited card or OMNY required for the tour. You must have your subway pass or OMNY payment ready when you meet the tour. Add one ride if you are using the subway after the tour. You may use an unlimited MetroCard. Tour ends in the East Village neighborhood in Manhattan.
These are scheduled public tours with individual ticket sales and each guest requires a ticket. Some tours are seasonal so not all tours run at all times. Public tours do not run during winter from early January to mid-March but you can book a private tour based on availability. Tours with calendar codes are noted. Most tours are also available to be booked as private or group tours by contacting Food On Foot Tours directly. Tours use the subway and a subway pass or credit card to use the per-ride OMNY (One Metro New York) contactless credit, debit, reloadable prepaid card or digital wallet on your mobile phone payment system.
Food On Foot tours are a QUALITY FRESH FOOD EATING TOUR. We are not a sampling, gourmet, food preparation or history tour. We talk about the neighborhoods to give you a flavor (we had to do it) of the area but we are all about the eating and meeting others. You choose what you like at each stop and how much with either a ticket with a food credit included or you can pay-as-you-go (most people spend about $20 per person on the tours). The tour will replace a meal and maybe two meals if you’re really full. There’ll be plenty of food on the tour. All our stops are a surprise. The anticipation is part of the fun. We want you to experience the city the way New Yorkers do at the smaller authentic places where locals eat. There are sometimes waits at each stop while food is prepared and all our guests finish. That’s why we are a true meet mingle tour. We designed the tours to give you time to take in real non-tourist New York neighborhoods in a relaxed manner while meeting others.
Tour Information
Helpful Tips For East Village Variety Food On Foot Tour
- This tour includes walking and the subway. A subway pass or OMNY payment is required. One ride (two with a return after the tour) or unlimited MetroCard needed.
- All our tours end within walking distance of the subway.
- You choose what you like and how much at every stop. You eat WHAT YOU LIKE!
- Our tours go up to 40 people and are designed differently than a standard food tour.
- Our tours are surprise tours. We don’t tell you the stops because the anticipation of the next stop is more fun.
- Our stops are brick and mortar (storefronts). We do not go to food trucks.
- Our stops are all local and sometimes small.
- This tour has a minimum of four stops and includes one or more sweet stops.
- All or most stops have vegetarian options depending on the tour.
- Gluten free options are available at some but not all stops. Check with us before you book because tour stops can change.
- Tours are rain or shine.
- Not all stops have seating but we will accommodate you if needed, when possible.
- Come hungry and eat lightly in the morning if you have a lunch tour and eat a light lunch or snack if you have an afternoon or dinner tour.
Meeting The Tour
Accessibility, Transportation & Tickets
- Meeting points are clearly noted and simple directions are given on your confirmation to help you meet the group. This tour meets outside Grand Central Terminal.
- Your confirmation is your ticket. The tour guide will have a list with your name. There are no physical tickets.
- You must show up with your subway MetroCard or OMNY payment method set. Tours will not wait for you. It is not fair to people who show up on time to be waiting. A minimum of one ride (or two with a return) is needed.
- You must arrive 15 minutes early for check-in. If you do not, you risk missing the tour and we do not issue refunds under ANY circumstances. Our tickets are the same as any concert, performance or sporting event. They do not issue refunds for no-shows or being late and neither do we.
- Since we are dealing with restaurants and transit, tour times are realistic estimates only.
- Unlike some tours our guide will not just leave you. At the end of the tour your guide will give you directions (by subway or walking) to your next stop. Tour lengths listed do not include return to your next stop once the tour ends.
- We always have at least one stop with a toilet but we recommend you leave extra time at arrival to use the facilities at or near whatever location we are meeting at.
- Not all tours are handicapped accessible. You must make arrangements with us in advance if you need assistance or have special requirements. Since we do not have our own facilities, we must work within the parameters of the city itself to accommodate special requests.
- This tour is handicapped accessible by arranging a meeting point in advance at a location after the group exits the subway
- We offer different ticket levels based on cancellation options and whether you’d like food included or you’d prefer to pay-as-you-go. No matter what ticket you pick you choose what you like on the tour.
- If you choose a pay-as-you go ticket or have any ticket where food is not included we recommend having at least twenty dollars cash in person in smaller bills.
- If you are getting tickets through a partner program, only the type of tickets offered by that program are valid for that tour. Tickets CANNOT be changed once purchased. TICKETS ARE CONSIDERED A PURCHASE. WE DO NOT ACCEPT RESERVATIONS. Check your program for details and requirements. Your booking agreement also has those details. All partner program tickets require a cancellation fee if there is a cancellation option offered.
- Tickets are sold via our website and we recommend advance purchase as tours often sell out. Walk-ups are welcome based on availability for Gold Tickets only. Walk-up tickets are cash only and exact change is required. Meeting point is noted on the website calendar, not the booking calendar, by clicking on this tour.