If you want to try lots of the famous foods of Boston, including the best food, food tours can help! All of our picks for the best food tours in Boston, MA, are guided walking tours. Explore the best of Boston cuisine with one of our tours that are from 90 minutes to 2.5 hours. The yummy walks will delight your taste buds, you’ll visit historic landmarks, and you’ll be on a foodie tour sampling some of the best food in the city.
6 Best Boston Food Tours You Will Love!
Harvard Square Chocolate Tour
While it may not be a North End tour, we think that the Harvard Square neighborhood is even more remniscent of the cobblestone streets of Europe. This 90 minute award-winning tour showcases the history of chocolate and will definitely satisfy your chocolate cravings. Begin outside of the Coop, you’ll explore four different stops on the fast-paced guided tour while being entertained by a friendly and knowledgeable guide. You’ll sample everything from gelato to ice cream to hot chocolate to cookies to nutella greek donuts. Learn Cambridge’s rich history, and end the foodie tour steps from where you started so you can continue your evening on the cooler side of the Charles River!
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars – over 100 reviews – badge of excellence!
Harvard Square Chocolate Tour includes:
- Fun for locals and guests including birthday parties, bachelor and bachelorette parties, dates, friend gatherings, anniversaries
- Ice cream
- Hot chocolate, cookie
- Gelato, waffle, milkshake
- Cacao juice and locally roasted cacao bean
- Nutella greek donuts
- Chocolate bar with tasting
- Historic Harvard Square sites: Coop, Harvard Yard, Harvard Student Center and Plaza, and more!
Important info:
- Guests must purchase tickets in advance
- Can accommodate a wide variety of allergies
- Private tours are also available
Book your Harvard Square Chocolate Tour here.
Central Square Sunday Food and Mural Arts Tour
This Sunday tour is one of the best Boston foodie tours for art lovers! Taste a variety of the best lunch foods in the business improvement district, from donut bread pudding to smoothies to a tasty wrap, to a sampling of salads and meat to oysters. Your belly will be full from the delicious eats, and you’ll also explore the varied and interesting murals of Central Square. The murals were largely commissioned in 2018, and our tour was developed in partnership with the Central Square Business Association who commissioned them. Together we bring to life the secrets behind the artwork as well as tell stories about the history of this really eclectic and interesting part of the city.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars – over 100 reviews – badge of excellence!
Central Square Food and Mural Arts Tour includes:
- Fun for locals and guests including birthday parties, bachelor and bachelorette parties, dates, friend gatherings, anniversaries
- Local vegetarian wrap
- Smoothies and granola
- Donut bread pudding
- Selection of salads, oysters, meatballs, arancini and the best Italian food in Boston
- Historic Central Square sites: Graffiti Alley, a hidden passageway, Starlight Plaza, and more!
Important info:
- Guests must purchase tickets in advance
- Can accommodate a wide variety of allergies
- Private tours are also available
Book your Central Square Sunday Food Tour here.
Stories of Harvard Square Food Tour
Why take this Boston historic Harvard Square food tour? This 2 hour award-winning tour showcases stories of Harvard Square and significant history of this renowned and beloved area through the decades. Begin outside of the Harvard Student Center, you’ll explore four different stops on the relaxed guided tour while being entertained by a friendly and knowledgeable guide. You’ll sample everything from zucchini fritters to bacon-wrapped dates filled with almonds to the best mai tai in the city to fancy bao to Zuck’s favorite pizza, and more. Learn Cambridge’s rich history, and end the foodie tour steps from where you started so you can continue your evening on the cooler side of the Charles River!
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars – over 100 reviews – badge of excellence!
Stories of Harvard Square Food Tour includes:
- Fun for locals and guests including birthday parties, bachelor and bachelorette parties, dates, friend gatherings, anniversaries
- Zucchini fritters
- Zuck’s favorite pizza
- Almond-filled dates wrapped with bacon and plaintains with cheese
- The best mai tai in the city and delicious specialty animal-shaped bao
- Historic Harvard Square sites: Coop, Harvard Yard, Harvard Student Center and Plaza, and more!
Important info:
- Guests must purchase tickets in advance
- Can accommodate a wide variety of allergies
- Private tours are also available
Book your Stories of Harvard Square Boston Food Tour here.
Union Square, Somerville Food Tour
Tatse your way through one of Boston’s most hip neighborhoods, Union Square in Somerville. Discover its cultural diversity through such dishes of international cuisines from India, Peru, Mexico, and Nepal. This 2 hour award-winning tour showcases the history of the area while sering up a hearty heaping of culinary delights, culture, murals, and stories of entrepreneurship. Begin after the farmer’s market in the main Square, you’ll explore five different stops on the fast-paced guided tour while being entertained by a friendly and knowledgeable guide. You’ll sample everything from donuts to Peruvian chicken and corn to the best mango lassi in the city to a blue corn quesadilla with grasshoppers to yummy rice pudding. Learn Somerville’s rich history, and end the foodie tour steps from where you started so you can continue your evening at the famous Bow Market, a haven for local shoppers and small business enthusiasts.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars – over 100 reviews – badge of excellence!
Union Square Somerville Food Tour includes:
- Fun for locals and guests including birthday parties, bachelor and bachelorette parties, dates, friend gatherings, anniversaries
- Mango lassi and samosa
- Peruvian chicken, corn, and salad
- Blue corn quesadilla with hibiscus drink and fried grasshoppers
- The best donuts in Boston
- Scrumptious rice pudding
- A beer or kombucha sample
- Historic Union Square sites: Bow Street, Prospect Hill, Bow Market, and more!
Important info:
- Guests must purchase tickets in advance
- Can accommodate a wide variety of allergies
- Private tours are also available
Book your Union Square Somerville Food Tour here.
Central Square Tuesday Food and Mural Arts Tour
This Tuesday night after-work tour is one of the best Boston foodie tours for art lovers, and it’s a different tour with different stops than our Sunday tour! Taste a variety of the best foods in the business improvement district from sophisticated award-winning culinary gems, from Vietnamese Papaya salad to papas bravas to arancini to cod fritters to cocktails and mocktails. Your belly will be full from the delicious eats, and you’ll also explore the varied and interesting murals of Central Square. Together we bring to life the secrets behind the artwork as well as tell stories about the history of this really eclectic and interesting part of the city. Paint the town in Graffiti Alley!
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars – over 100 reviews – badge of excellence!
Central Square Food and Mural Arts Tour includes:
- Fun for locals and guests including birthday parties, bachelor and bachelorette parties, dates, friend gatherings, anniversaries
- Best Asian fusion food in Boston
- Spanish Japanese tapas
- The best Italian food in Boston
- Cocktail and/or mocktail
- Historic Central Square sites: Graffiti Alley, a hidden passageway, Starlight Plaza, and more!
Important info:
- Guests must purchase tickets in advance
- Can accommodate a wide variety of allergies
- Private tours are also available
Book your Central Square Tuesday Night Food Tour here.
Harvard Square Donut Tour
If you’re going to take a Boston walking tasting tour, it better include DONUTS. Calling all decadent donut fans! This 90 minute award-winning tour showcases the history of doughnuts and will definitely satisfy your donut cravings. Begin outside of the Harvard Student Center, you’ll explore four different stops on the fast-paced guided tour while being entertained by a friendly and knowledgeable guide. While all of our tours are somewhat of a “Secret Food Tour” because we don’t actually tell you which places you’ll visit until you show up. You’ll love secret food tours! You’ll sample everything from greek donuts to mochi donuts to churros to large yeast and cake donuts from the best artisinal donut shops in Boston. They’re off the beaten path and not likely to be found on your own. You’ll be able to sample yummy drinks as well from greek frappes to lattes, and you can even take home a really cool mug. Learn Cambridge’s rich history, and end the foodie tour steps from where you started so you can continue your Sunday on the cooler side of the Charles River!
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars – over 100 reviews – badge of excellence!
Harvard Square Donut Tour includes:
- Fun for locals and guests including birthday parties, bachelor and bachelorette parties, dates, friend gatherings, anniversaries
- 4 Different Types of Donuts
- Coffee and Beverage Pairings
- A souveneir donut mug
- Historic Harvard Square sites: Coop, Harvard Yard, Harvard Student Center and Plaza, and more!
Important info:
- Guests must purchase tickets in advance
- Unfortunately allergies are not accommodated due to the nature of donuts.
- Private tours are also available
Tips for Taking a Food Tour in Boston or Cambridge
Choosing Your Boston or Cambridge Food Tours
When you’re deciding between which Boston food and drink tours to take, definitely consider going off the beaten path to Cambridge or Somerville to discover the best food in Boston, and DO NOT be taken in by any tourist traps! Anyone can tell you that Boston locals are the nicest people, but they aren’t as quick to give away all of the secrets of the best food in Massachusetts. So you’ll want to go on one of the Off The Beaten Path Food Tours in order to connect with locals with local knowledge and flavor.
If you look at the price of the food tours, you’ll see that Off The Beaten Path Food Tours are a lot lower than other tour prices in the area. The reason is the tour was started by locals, so they’re not a big multinational company like Secret Food Tours which is looking for the highest profit. Also, locals don’t want to be ripped off and pay tourist prices, so these tours offer a lot of delicious food at a value.
Consider your dietary preferences and allergies. Most food tours in Boston don’t offer this service to guests and cannot accommodate any allergies. However, Off The Beaten Path Food Tours strives to be warm and welcoming, and they go above and beyond to offer a stellar expereince for guests who cannot eat certain food items.
Another factor to consider is when the tours run. Off The Beaten Path Food Tours knows that guests are looking for fun activities year-round so unlike the other food tours in Boston, they run year-round and do not close for the winter. Most other tour companies close October through April.
Preparing For Your Boston Tours
Walking food tours in Boston and Cambridge require you to be outside, so please dress for the weather – including layers, comfortable shoes, and rain gear if needed. The tour companies also request that you bring a bottle of water with you in case you get thirsty – although often there are beverages served at the stops. Make sure you check your e-mail before the tour to look for the guide’s information and please message them if you’re late for the tour. In addition, some tour companies like Off The Beaten Path Food Tours offer discounted parking in Harvard Square which is so helpful. Most of all, have fun!
Boston and Cambridge Food Tours are the best way to see the city. The tours run weekly, year-round most days of the week, and private tours are also available.
See Tour Calendar
