This Catalina Food Tour is a MUST DO!! Janet is a fun, funny local who has knowledge of Catalina history and knows the best places for food and drink. DO NOT EAT OR GET BOOZY BEFORE THIS TOUR! The tour includes a lot of very good food and drinks in the best local spots! This is different from every food tour we've been on because of the amount of food and drinks offered. Everything was so good! It was my husband's birthday and Janet took it upon herself to make a part of the tour a birthday celebration that the group partook in boisterously! This tour is worth every penny! I can't say enough good things about it. I highly recommend you book this tour. Janet will not disappoint! read more

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Went today with Janet. Sooo much fun! Still full and filling tippy! Janet is such a good tour guide and everything went very smoothly. Food and drinks were great! It took forever for us to tender in from our ship. Had to meet at the first stop which was fine. We have never been to Catalina Island and it was a very cute town. Highly recommend the food tour! read more

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We had the best time! Janet was so much fun and knew EVERYTHING about everything on the island. The history was fascinating and we enjoyed meeting and dining with the other people on the tour. The food was so good and we ate and drank more than we expected. I highly recommend this for a fun and relaxing afternoon. read more

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This place used to be amazing and we used to go to like six restaurants and every restaurant you had like a small portion of food. There were five restaurants that actually have food and then the sixth one you got coffee and a cookie well today we went to three places that had really tiny portions of deep fried stuff so it was really unhealthy and then they gave a ton of alcohol and then the last place was alcohol so for $155 with tax I do not think it was worth it Because I left feeling really hungry and a bit sick even though I tried to only have one of the alcoholic beverages, but I did it to try to fill up because it was so long without any food That's really a shame because this used to be our favorite tour on Catalina Island. I honestly feel like I wasted $155. It definitely is not worth it That said the tour guide running it. She was fairly nice. She did a decent job. It wasn't her fault that there wasn't any food. I don't think. And the people I was with were really cool, but the tour itself for that much money sucked I'm adding the photos of all the food we got except for one chocolate chip cookie. This was for $155. Honestly, for about $20 at any mall food court we could've gotten the same thing This was really horrible read more

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I was very excited to take a food tour on Catalina island. The price of $150 seemed reasonable at the time of booking. I toured on Sunday April 28, 2024. I didn't receive communication on the meeting - I got a location but did not receive details on who to look for or how to find the group. I called the tour company and they gave me the details on who to look for. It would be really nice if they sent out a text the morning of the tour with those details to avoid guests wondering how to ensure they met up. The description online of the tour is: Experience 5+ unique tasting locations I took that to be 5+ FOOD tasting - but some of these locations are drinks only. I felt a bit cheated by that. I think they should clarify 3 food tastings and 2 drink tastings. Also the online description says: Digital Guidebook includes tour map, cultural insights & exclusive guest coupons! I never received any of this. No digital guidebook, no map, no coupons. As I scroll the photos posted by other people who reviewed - the food is very different than what I got. I feel quite cheated as that food looks so good compared to the variety I received. So many things are posted - and I get it could be a variety - but I think they need to make it clear what you are signing up for. I expected to experience the things I saw posted - and I didn't. The website advertises you will get 6 of the following locations: 1. Maggies Blue Rose - 2. Steves Steakhouse 3. El Galleon - received 4. Lloyds 5. Catalina coffee - received 6. Toyon Grill 7. Lobster Trap 8. Cafe Metropole 9. Coyote Joes I only received 2 of the choices advertised. I feel the tour was mirepresented and advertised many things that were not received. Details of tour: 1. Started at El Galleon - loved this place, the long table we sat at was perfect for this type of tour and the food and drink here were very tasty. **Took a walk through the town post office** 2. Catalina coffee company - I want to love this place, but I'm going to give it 3.5/5 stars. The cookie we received wasn't great. The tea was good, but very similar to Starbucks dragon drink. 3. The Naughty Fox - unfortunately we didn't get to go inside this restaurant. We sat outside on the benches and the tour guide brought us boxes. This was not ideal as ahi tuna nachos is not something you eat "on the go". I would have much preferred to sit down and eat inside. The ahi tuna nachos were nothing to get excited about, I've had much better. The toppings on the nachos were minimal - so it was mostly just chips. 4. I am not sure which restaurant this was - the guide mentioned that the original stop in this portion of the tour was closed today so they had to find a replacement. We sat outside in a common area so it was hard to know which restaurant it was. 5. The Marlin Club - this is a really cool place and I would go back, we only received a shot and a drink here and then played a game of pool. the shot was delicious. Details of food included: 1. small pina colada style cocktail and plate of zucchini sticks (4) and shrimp (8) 2. Iced Hibiscus tea and a chocolate chip cookie 3. Ahi tuna nachos - to go 4. Tiny tiny sample of cocktail - a quarter of a sandwich and small portion of sweet potato fries 5. a shot and a drink The guide was a local and knew many people throughout the town. He mentioned he was a teacher at the school. Overall, I don't feel like the tour was worth the money and I would suggest just sampling appetizers from various restaurants on your own. You can probably learn as much about the island history by watching a youtube video. read more

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This was my first food tour, and it was great! The City of Avalon has a small radius, so it's very easy to walk from place to place. There were six stops on the tour, mixed in with a lot of Avalon/Catalina history, and it didn't feel like we were in a rush. Here are my highlights: Steve's Steakhouse served a great tomato soup with noodles - Mr. Ning's had a killer mix of sautéed green beans, rice, and sauce - the "John Daly" drink at Coyote Joe's was super refreshing on a hot day - the cookie at Catalina Coffee & Cookie Co. was amazing - Bluewater Avalon's grilled artichoke was really good. The tour was topped off by a Ginger Beer Float with Gelato Salted Caramel (with Chocolate Chunks) at C.C. Gallagher's! Advice: If you are in Catalina on your birthday, all adults in your party get 20% off (check the sheet the Catalina Express gives you). read more

Spent the weekend for an 18th yr getaway. Enjoyed Catalina Island thoroughly. We wanted to do something local and maybe meet some folks. Enter Catalina Food Tours. We were paired up w Lily as our guide. There was about 10 people in the group and we toured 5 bars (let me try to remember) Coyotes Joes, Marlins, Maggie's, Luau Larry's and.....the toyon grill. Yah!! Tried my 1st potato taco (yup....no meat potato only) very interesting. Only thing is that the drinks we got to try were all creepers (very sweet) so after the 5th bar, we were loose. Lily was awesome, eventhough we got shushed by a Patron in a bar while we were doing our scavenger hunt. Get a life lady. Anyways, we needed up at Marlins (oldest bar on the island) and guess who won the thrust your pelvis game??(see pic) lol. It was a good time and lasted about 2 hours, made some friends and my wife and I recommend the experience !! read more

Catalina Food Tours - Winner. Winner. Shot glass from Marlins winner !! - Food Tours Near Me - Avalon, California

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Booked a one day trip to Catalina on July 22 and wanted to do something different, we love food tours so thought we would give it a try. I did think it was a little pricey but we figured everything is pricey these days. I received the confirmation email with the link but it did not bring you to a page that gave all the information needed (ie. host, where to meet, etc.) so I called and was provided that information. The host Jenny was nice and pretty knowledgable about the history of Catalina. The food on the other hand was very basic and didn't build on each other as food tours usually do. It went from pina colada type cocktail/fried zucchini and a couple shrimp at El Galleon to a sweet tea and cookie at Catalina Coffee and Cookie to ahi tuna appetizer at the Naughty Fox (they were actually closed for food but made to go boxes and we ate on a bench) to a birria taco and potato taquito with sangria at Catalina Charlies then to a dive bar for another sweet little beer shot and coconut rum drink. We did stop outside the taffy place for a little history and were given two taffies that she pulled out from her bag. Honestly it felt all over the board as did our stomachs. We did receive a coupon for a sticker to put on your suitcase at one of the shops...a little random. Why not just give the sticker at the time unless you are hoping we spend money at the shop. Definitely not something I would recommend to anyone. Unfortunately we walked away feeling disappointed. read more

Awesome way to kick off our 1st day on Catalina Island! Walking food tour from 12:00-3:00 with 6 stops for food, beverages and cocktails. All the stops were sensitive to food allergies and they had non-alcoholic substations, if needed. Paula was our tour guide and in addition to knowing absolutely everything about this island, she was also lovely! The tour was a great way to learn about how life on the island has developed over time and even people who aren't history buffs will have a great time! Lots of beautiful scenery cutting in and out of courtyards along the way. read more

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Who knew Catalina had some great restaurants! If you have 3 hours and you like food and drinks take the tour. It filled us up and so we could hang on and have a late dinner. Our guide had lots of interesting facts on the history of the island and the walk was not hard for a couch potato. we took the tour Aug 2019 read more

Taste of Catalina marked my 12th food tour and it was right up there with the best of them! Food tours shine when both the food and the tour guide are excellent. Taste of Catalina had both in check! On a beautiful Sunday, ten of us met our tour guide, Cathy, around noon to get started. We got a brochure that outlined the tour itinerary and that had coupons for a few places on the island. After Cathy offered a little history of the island that she calls home, we set off on a 3-hour tour to try the six tastes, which was enough for a good-sized lunch. 1. Steve's Steakhouse - coconut shrimp, hibachi steak, roasted potato leek soup, pink lemonade 2. Avalon Seafood - mahi mahi with tartar sauce and white rice, beer pairing 3. Mr. Ning's Chinese Garden - sauteed green beans with white rice and fortune cookie, water 4. Catalina Coffee and Cookie Co. - sweet and spicy: ice tea with cinnamon, dark chocolate pistachio bark 5. Bluewater Avalon - Maryland crab cake with pesto aioli and New England clam chowder, beer pairing 6. C.C. Gallagher - beer float with salted caramel gelato and either ginger beer or purple haze Probably the best tastings of the day were the coconut shrimp and hibachi steak at Steve's Steakhouse. But, all of the tastings were delicious and there was enough variety to satisfy most palates. The beer float was a perfect ending to the tour; it was surprisingly light and very refreshing. Cathy was great! She effortlessly wove in hilarious tales from her childhood, family entrepreneurial stories, and a plethora of historical tidbits about the island. You can really tell the difference between a guide who knows the area and a guide who memorizes all of the tour information. She was very relaxed throughout the tour and her familiarity with the cuisine, as well as the owners/chefs and even fellow islanders walking down the street was great to see. She also ensured that the food was ready when we got to each stop and the tour began and ended on time! Although this is the most expensive food tour I've been on - including ones in LA, Chicago, NYC - by about $20, I still highly recommend it. My one piece of advice is that if you don't drink alcohol or if you don't enjoy beer, let the tour guide know at the beginning of the tour as three food pairings came with beer. Thankfully, Cathy was accommodating to those of us who were not beer fans. read more

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Are you one of those people that don't exactly want to eat one thing but eat a little bit of everything? Well this tour is for YOU! Not only do you eat but walk around the island and here the story of a local rather than superficially reading a brochure. Cathy was an amazing tour guide and we hope you get her for yours. Ambiance: * We were the younger pair in the group, it generally consist of 35+ aged people and the tour took about a good two hours. The walking isn't that intense either as the locations are all proximal and relevant. Here is where we went: 1. Steve's Steakhouse 2. Avalon Seafood 3. Mr. Ning's Chinese Garden 4. Catalina Coffee and Cookie Co. 5. Bluewater Avalon 6. C.C. Gallagher Overall: * 5 stars. I love the food, the walk, and the stories. The tastes are completely different and gourmet. For those learning about the history and are hungry. This is definitely a great twofer place to be! Advice: * Birthday special deal if you do this on your birthday! * Cathy rocks! read more

Catalina Food Tours - Sipping some tea while listening to Kathy do her thing. - Food Tours Near Me - Avalon, California

Lili was very friendly. Steve's steakhouse had good steak. Lots of information about the history of the island. read more

A definite MUST! Cathy was such a sweet heart and not only took us to amazing spots to try out mind blowing food, she taught us a lot about the island, it's residents and about her experiences. Due to the bad water conditions and no boats coming in or out, my boyfriend and I ended up being her only guests. It was really nice getting to know her. Even though it's a wee bit pricey, it's very worth it. You get quality food. She's very accommodating and knows her stuff. read more

Outstanding! The ONLY way to get a great overview of the Island's rich history while eating theeee yummiest food available! I loved the chance to "sample" the eats so I could decide WHERE to go for the full-treatment during my stay at Avalon! GREAT IDEA!!! And Janet was engaging, fun, approachable, and really drew us into the Island's vibe and the ambiance/offerings of each eatery! I LOVED THIS and will ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND to ANYONE visiting the Island! YAY! read more

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What a fun and great way to experience Avalon and learn more about the history of Catalina. We weren't sure how the tour would really take three hours given how small Avalon is, but you spend about 30 minutes at each of the six stops on the food tour. Our guide did a great job providing us with lots of fun facts and history about the island. The tour introduced us to different restaurants/foods that we wanted to go back for more of during the remainder of our trip, though I liked some of the food items more (below are the items that we had ordered by what I liked most): - CC Gallagher: The ginger beer float with salted caramel gelato was a unique and delicious concoction. I never would have thought those two would have gone well together, but it was so great that I went back for more! - Bluewater Grill: Clam chowder, shrimp ceviche and beer; I particularly liked the clam chowder....and went back for that one too! - Steve's Steakhouse: Hibachi grilled steak and curry tomato soup. I don't like tomato soup, but I liked this one - the curry added a depth of flavor that I really enjoyed. I went back for that one too! - Maggie's blue rose: Chicken enchilada - Mr. Ning's Chinese: Sauteed green beans with white rice and a crab rangoon - Catalina Coffee Company: Cinnamon iced tea; I don't particularly like cinnamon so this wasn't a great drink for me, and I think Catalina Coffee Co has many other tastier items! read more

Took my boyfriend to the island to celebrate his 31st birthday. We had a great time! The tour was so much more than I had expected. Aside from the good food, we really enjoyed the historic and cultural lessons. Loved that our tour guide (Paul Romo) is a born and raised local, AND currently teaches the local high school! I used to work in higher ed so the education system always interested me. Getting the scoop form a local who absolutely loves everything Catalina was just great. I had no idea that 65% of the population is Latino! As a vegetarian, I really appreciated the fact that they take into consideration dietary needs. I usually end up eating boring salads on food tours, but not this time! I had a great selection at each stop. Everything was delicious! Thank you Paul and Catalina Food Tours! read more

Participated in the 3 hr walking tour, and our guide Paula was THE BEST! She was an Avalon resident who shared insightful tips, and lots of historical, and interesting fun facts as we walked. We visited 6 locations, and each seemed to be better than the last. My personal favorite was Coyote Joe's, which had a vibrant atmosphere, and food to match. Our group was fair, with only 7 participants, which allowed me to socialize and share tips with the other travelers. I would definitely recommend making this tour your first activity when visiting the island! Thanks for such an awesome experience, Ms. Paula! read more

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Had a wonderful experience with Catalina Food Tours. My husband and I spent our first wedding Anniversary on the Island of Avalon and decided to take the tour. Our tour guide Lili didn't disappoint! She was so knowledgeable about the history and culture of Catalina. We had 6 stops and every stop we went to was better than the last. So happy we took this tour. A beautiful experience we won't soon forget. Thanks again Lili and to Catalina Food Tours. read more

Catalina Food Tours - Tasty tacos and refreshing beverages - Food Tours Near Me - Avalon, California

We purchased this as part of a getaway package through Groupon. We didn't really have any expectations going into it, but it actually turned out to be a really great way for us to meet people and get a sampler of what some of the bars and restaurants on the island have to offer. A host toured us to six bars/restaurants where we sampled a drink and an appetizer. The drinks were good but appetizers were much smaller than I had expected - we all had to share them (this is the only reason I'm giving the tour 4 stars instead of 5). The host also dowsed us with a little trivia about the island and we played some fun games throughout the tour that kept everyone engaged and made the experience worthwhile. It was a pretty creative way to spend an evening, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a fun night (regardless of age) or might have problems deciding what to do on the island. I would highly recommend doing this on your first night on the island so that you'll know how to plan out your dining, drinks and entertainment throughout the rest of your stay. It really aided us in dieciding where to go to get good food and drinks. read more

Lilli was so much fun!!! We bad a pretty large group and she made sure to keep everybody in line... she was very knowledgable with the history of the island and different places we visited...the drinks along the happy hour tour very delicious...my favorite was the "mexican lollipop"... read more

Catalina Food Tours - Catalina Island views - Food Tours Near Me - Avalon, California

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My girlfriend and I didn't know what to expect and had a tremendous time. If you have three hours and are ready to be full of great food and history, I highly recommend this tour. Our guide, Lili, was extremely knowledgeable, fun, and made the time fly by. Every restaurant had something tasty and delicious to try and the walk was full of facts I would have never known about all the history and historical figures that came through Catalina. My girlfriend is allergic to shellfish which wasn't a probably as the restaurants happily accommodated with substitutions that were equally good. I would review the dishes but I don't want to ruin the surprise, trust me when I say every dish was great and the tour even comes with coupons for the restaurants you visit to get some money off, we ended up going to one that very night. This tour is a bargain and a great way to spend an afternoon on Catalina. read more

We spent 3 days here and decided to wrap it up with the Taste of Catalina tour to get the places we missed while on our stay. The tour was about 3 hours and we had the privilege to be the only two on the tour which made it our own little private tour of what Catalina is all about our guide has had family on the island since the 40's and it has extended to her own who now reside here as well with their children. Not only do you get great food but a awesome story of how Catalina has came about through the efforts of selfless people who wanted to share the beauty that resides on the island and that same character trait can be seen today. The tour consists of six stops and they are all top notch. With the addition of "Happy hour" and deserts tours the Taste of Catalina is a must stop while visiting from the mainland. read more

Catalina Food Tours - Awesome taste of coconut shrimp and steak from Steve's steak house. And the soup is to die for. - Food Tours Near Me - Avalon, California

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The tour was excellent. Delicious food stops... we were all very full at the end...some sweet, some savory, and excellent drinks too. Some alcoholic and some refreshing tea and lemonade. Paula Patterson, who grew up going to Catalina and now lives there full time, is an excellent historian, full of fun facts and stories about Catalina. I highly recommend the tour! This was my first ever food tour and now I am hooked that it's. A great way to spend 3 hours on a vacation! read more

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Great Time & Great Food We took the food tour last week with our Carnival Cruise. Our tour guide Paula made it really interesting and we learned so much about Catalina Island and Avalon. She was personable and we really enjoyed every minute of the tour. The food as all great as well. read more

Lilly was an amazing guide! She has a wonderful and warm personality and is not only personally acquainted with each restaurant and the owners and staff, she is also very knowledgeable regarding Santa Catalina history. She kept the pace up (literally!) so we made sure to walk off the calories from each delicious destination! The stories, the food, the drink, all paired very well together. The only negative (if I HAVE to call it a negative) was that one of the restaurants was unable to accommodate us in sequence, due to an over abundance of patrons so Lilly (without skipping a beat!), phoned ahead to the next location and rearranged the schedule a bit. TWO THUMBS UP!! read more

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Let me start this off by saying that I think this is a great idea for the City of Avalon. If you're visiting Catalina for the first time (which I was), it's hard to know what to do and where to eat. I've put a lot of time and thought into this rating, and overall I was just really disappointed with this tour. Coming over from LA, maybe I'm a food snob, but I just wasn't all that impressed by the menu selections. We started off at Steve's Steakhouse, which was by far the best stop on the whole tour and I would highly recommend visiting this place while you're here. After that, things proceeded to go downhill in my personal opinion. There were some weird selections, such as a ginger beer float (salted caramel ice cream covered in ginger beer), cream cheese wontons, and pistachio chocolate with cinnamon tea.... Destined I'm not a local, and I don't know what's popular here, but I found the selection of food to be very underwhelming for the price. When we showed up for the tour one of the other guests was explaining to our guide that she didn't eat seafood. The guide seemed a bit irritated by this and was wondering why the guest didn't say something sooner. In the guest's defense, when you sign up for the tour, someone from the office reaches out to see if you have any food allergies or dietary restrictions, but you're never asked if you eat seafood or not. I don't particularly love seafood, but I never would have thought to say something about it unless prompted. I decided to suck it up and eat the seafood because it just wasn't worth saying anything. So a heads up, if you don't like seafood, make sure to tell them that when signing up. My last complaint, is about the drinks: I was under the impression that this would be a food tour where the food is paired with drinks that compliment the meal. That was not the case and that's totally fine, but at least give me the option to purchase a drink on my own accord. When we hit our third stop, someone in our group asked our guide if they could purchase a beers for his group. After some convincing, he was finally able to do so, but again the guide seemed very frustrated with our whole group by that point since we were all asking about drinks (specifically alcoholic drinks, I should add). All in all, the coolest part of this tour was learning the culture of the island. To be honest though, throughout the tour I grew more and more annoyed about how everything was playing out, paired with how much money we spent and this in turn caused me to tune out quite a bit. After the tour, our whole group ending up staying together and ordering drinks at Maggie's - this was the best part of the day. Again, I was pretty disappointed because my mom and I both love doing food tours and we were so excited to do one in a place we've never been and we both felt a bit let down. read more

This is a great introduction to Catalina if you are not familiar with the history or the food on the island. Our tour guide was Lili and she gave us a great history of the island. I had no idea how historically rich this little island is. She gave us a sense of what life was like when the Wrigley family built up the island, and told us funny stories about the people who have come and gone from the island. We had 3 hours and 6 stops along the way. Let me just start by saying that Avalon is tiny. So if you're worried about not being able to walk the whole tour, you can rest easy. It is a really easy walk with lots of sitting breaks. Stop #1 was at Steve's Steakhouse where we tried a hibachi steak with mushrooms, a tomato soup, and an award winning coconut shrimp. Everything there was good, but a little too sweet for me. Stop #2 was at CC Gallaghers, which is named that because it's on the corner of Cresent and Claressa! We had salted caramel gelato topped with ginger beer. I was skeptical, but it was really good! Stop #3 was at the only Chinese place on the island - Mr. Ning's Chinese Garden. We had a cream cheese crab wonton and green beans over rice. It was fine. Nothing special. Stop #4 was at the Catalina Coffee & Cookie Company. We had some dark chocolate with pistachios in it. It was really good! Not too sweet and nice and salty from the pistachios. We also had the cinnamon drink. It was definitely interesting. I wasn't a huge fan, but it was interesting. Stop #5 was at Bluewater Grill. We sampled their clam chowder and shrimp ceviche. The ceviche was meh, but the chowder was really great! I enjoyed it so much I wanted to go back the next day for lunch. It's great since the tour gives you a 10% off coupon if you go back! Stop #6 was at Maggie's Blue Rose, which is right downstairs from Steve's Steakhouse (where you start the tour). We had chips & salsa, a quesadilla, something else I can't remember and a sample of their coconut margarita. The margarita blew me away! It was amazing! I've never had one before and it really tasted like coconut. Yummy! We had a great time, learned a lot, and ate some great food. I feel like we got a really good feel for the food options on the island. My only issue is that Lili kind of talked up the food too much. Some of it she raved about and when I ate it, it was only meh. I like to manage my expectations! Other than that, everything was great! read more

First of all, this group may offer food tours. But the hostess/leader of the group came into a restaurant I was eating at screaming her lungs off at this specific group. Many people were questioning why she was screaming in a restaurant setting this way. She scared a child with her screaming as well over a SIMPLE game of BINGO. read more

2 stars = did not meet my expectations. I really struggled with the rating for this experience. I have given it considerable thought. I feel like I need to explain how I arrived at this score. My expectations are built on three main factors: 1) The price for the service relative to the actual experience 2) My internal thoughts about what I should expect 3) Other people's ratings which contribute to my expectation (call it hype - for lack of a better description) Let me explain each of these. 1) I felt like the value for my money was not acceptable. The tickets for this event were $95 apiece. That included stops at 6 locations for tasting accompanied by cultural and historical commentary on the area by our guide (Kathy). If you have read other reviews here, you know that the stops are fairly simple. At one of the locations we had iced tea and a sliver of delicious chocolate. At another we had an unusual salted-caramel with ginger beer float. 1/3 of the tour was for items that should have cost $5 to $8 each. At another location we had an unusual mashed potato taco and a small cocktail. At another we had a fairly tasteless chicken quesadilla. The remaining 1/3 of the tour was actually proportionally worth it from a food-value perspective. I would be remiss if I excluded the value of Kathy's historical presentation. This was the most interesting part of the tour and far outweighed the value of the food. Kathy clearly knows about Catalina's history and fills in lots of personal stories. She is passionate about the island, and you can tell she very proud of her family and their involvement with the island's community. I feel like they should consider branding this as a cultural tour with food and drink to enjoy along the way instead of the other way around. 2) Prior to taking this tour and living in big cities for much of my life I really had tempered my expectations of the food. I had thought "how good could the food really be in Catalina?" I had hoped that it would be decent and somewhat interesting. In this regard the tour pretty much matched my expectations. 3) The hype for this tour is what forced me to drop my rating to two stars. There is no way it is worth the massive number of 5 star reviews. I have to believe that none of these people have been on a real food tour (ex. Bon Appetit's Grub Craw in LA or NY). I refuse to accept that these reviews are from stuck up foodies such as myself. So, would I ever take this tour again? Not a chance. Should you consider taking it? Possibly. Look, Catalina is an interesting place, and if you can find a way to pretend you spent $30 less for your tickets than you actually did, I think you will be satisfied with the outcome. read more

Even after looking at some of the suspicious reviews, there are some legit ones. I went the day after Valentine's day. I must say it was way more than I expected and I had a great time. If you have 3 hours to burn or want to do something spectacular for 3 hours, this is it. We just got off the Catalina Express and was planning to stay for the day. Mind you, this is a small island and there are lots of fun activities. We wanted to have a mellow tour without doing too much physical work and we found it. To do the complete opposite we decided to do a food tour with an added bonus. Cathy was our tour guide and she is a ball of energy. She has a very personable characteristic about her that just captivates you. Her family's history is pretty amazing and every restaurant you stop at she'll tell you a little story behind the building or the family(ies) that owns(ed) them. There are about 6 stops and each one of them offered their own little taster to lure you back. I must say, I've been to lots of tasters and they usually serve bite sized hor d'oeuvres that you find at Costco, okay maybe twice the size of Costco, but not here! The restaurant owners actually come out to serve you their signature dishes at a kid size portion. After the 2nd stop, I knew if this went on for the rest of the tour I'd have to take a timeout. The tour has a little of everything starting with a hearty meal to a light intermezzo to finishing off with a nice beer gelato float. Oh yeah, some stops offer beer tasters. This is the right tour for just about anyone. As long as you like food you're in for a treat whether you're a carnivore, vegetarian, peskatarian, or any other --tarians. Just let them know when you get there and each of the restaurants will cater to your needs. They (Cathy) are super flexible and historically knowledgeable. I would definitely recommend taking this tour for the overall experience of meeting new people, learning the rich history of the island, the food, and just have fun. It's better to go with the flow and take it all in. read more

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Excellent Tour - Perfect mix of history, food and local culture. I would highly recommend taking the Catalina Food Tour. Our tour guide, Lili is a great ambassador for the island of Catalina. She entertained us with stories, history and the local culture while we enjoyed our food and drinks from six locations throughout the island. Before our tour was complete, my husband and I were planning our next trip to the island. read more

I think that having a food tour of Catalina Island is a great business idea but looking at these Yelps, I happen to think that most, if not all of them, are suspect. So many people who have never Yelped before suddenly open an account and give 5 Stars to this business. Sure, the Yelp filter picked a few of them out--several of whom live in Avalon, Ca. themselves! But quite a few others deserving flagging as well. Businesses do themselves no favors by encouraging these fake Yelp reviews. Just the fact that there is a food tour is good enough for me to want to check it out. I would be most interested in a "Local's Tour" so visitors can get a look at where the actual Islanders spend their money to eat. Until then, I would view these Yelps here as highly suspect. 3 YELP STARS for sending ringers out to Yelp what very well is a great business. read more

Honestly, I was teetering between 3 and 4 stars, but what solidified the 4th star was probably Cathy's knowledge. It is clear from the start that she is passionate about Catalina, and her family's involvement in the island. It is very fun hearing all the facts from a local. I do believe this is more of a cultural/historical tour with some food along the way. She kept asking if we were in food coma, but I truly never was. At my favorite place all we got was a small sliver of chocolate and an iced tea. The food was very tasty, and we had tried 2 beers along the way (though more like 1/2 beers), but what is sticking with me is the price. I guess If I compare it to a 3 hour jeep tour it makes sense, but this is walking and you don't go very far. If I add up what we ate in food I think it would probably come out to 20-30 dollars. So I paid an extra 60-70 dollars to walk and hear stories. Will I ever do this again? Definitely not. But, I am glad I did it and now I have more of an idea where to go when I come back and want a meal. read more

We went on this food tour on Sunday, May 20th. We were rather disappointed. First, I'll note the good: The tour was very informative and rich in history, and sometimes humorous. The food tasted good, and was served promptly at each location. That is where the positives end. We enjoy going on food tours, not only to try great food, but also to socialize and enjoy the company. Our tour guide was very "on script", meaning that at every point she had a planned thing to say and left little time for questions. In fact, when we did ask questions, she very quickly brushed them off, or just repeated what she had just said in her history monologue without any engagement in the questions. She did little to nothing to facilitate any type of conversation between the group, nor did she really allow us any time to talk or get to know each other. The only time she engaged us to speak, was at the beginning of the tour when we were quickly instructed to say what city we were from, and at the end when we were quickly instructed to say what our favorite dish was. Secondarily, our tour was scheduled to start at 12:00PM, and we were instructed to arrive ten minutes prior. Due to our own fault, we ended up walking up right at 12:02pm, I checked my watch. We apologized for our untimeliness. However, we still received two (almost reprimanding?) comments from our tour guide about being late well after the fact, and the voicemail that she left me at 11:56am stated that she would start the tour "with or without us." I thought that was a little much, especially considering our tour ended 20 minutes early anyway. Lastly, I wouldn't normally note this, but given the above issues with the tour, I feel that $78 per person (after a coupon code) is quite steep for a food tour where 2 of the 6 stops were some form of candy/chocolate. I understand that there is an "island premium" for food on Catalina, but it still seems excessive. We left the tour planning dinner. I wouldn't recommend this tour. read more

This was a great tour of 6 different restaurants around Avalon. Our tour guide, Cathy, was very knowledgeable about the history of the island; we even got some of her family history as well. We found this fascinating and it only made walking around that much more fun. Food was really good at all the restaurants, especially the dark chocolate pistachio bark at the Catalina Island Cookie & Coffee Company. Nice to have a bite of sweet between the food restaurants. read more

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My girlfriend and I went to Catalina for my 40th birthday. First time for both of us, so she suggested going on the Taste of Catalina Food Tour so we could sample food from different places in Avalon. Sounded good to me! Since we went off-season there were only 2 other people on the tour. A couple of Swedish guys doing a piece for a boating magazine over there. Really nice guys. Cathy was our guide, and she did a great job. I tend to get bored when on extended tours where there is a guide, but not in this case. All the information that Cathy shared with us was really interesting. The tour kept a good pace, and the three hours went by very quickly. We never lingered at any one spot too long. The food and the restaurants were all awesome. The staff at every location was friendly, and expecting our group. There was never a wait for a table, and the food came out immediately. It doesn't seem like there's going to be a lot of food, since they're basically samples, but by the end I was stuffed to the point of going into a food coma (which is a good thing). It's also quite impressive how the tour was EXACTLY 3 hours to the minute. We highly recommend this tour, especially if it's your first trip to the island. read more

We have not been to the City of Love (Avalon) in 30 years and had an amazing time. We did the Catalina food tour and our guide Lily was exceptional and a Blast full of fun and knowledge. We visited six locations and tasted samples of their food, drinks and a little bit of history with each location. We plan on visiting again soon and thank Lily for an excellent tour. read more

Catalina Food Tours - Food Tours Near Me - Avalon, California

What a wonderful foodie experience. Lili is an exceptional local historian who really knows this Island and loves to share her wealth of knowledge. Thanks Lili, we'll be visiting again soon! read more

Great tour, usefully for first timer who have no specific plan. We got to try out samplers of 6 different restaurants and history/stories about the island. If we come back, I would also like to try the Happy hour tour read more

Catalina Food Tours - Food Tours Near Me - Avalon, California