Amazing amazing amazing! My best friend and I absolutely loved the "Yes Chef! Chicago: A Bear…read moreInspired Food Tour". Casey, our guide, was phenomenal. So fun and witty, and he really went above and beyond to make sure we had a great experience. All the places we visited were very special and iconic, including a bakery that's 115 years old and an ice cream shop that's 105 years old. It was really fun remembering where these places appeared in the show. Another perk of the tour was skipping lines and having special areas and service just for us. And not having to drive and look for parking. The air conditioned bus was lovely and comfortable, and it was fabulous to be driven around different neighborhoods. We went to so many great places and it's a fun way to get to know the city better. We ate so much good food!!! Italian beef sandwich, charcuterie, pepperoni pizza, hot fudge sundae, strawberry donut and more. Great drinks too! Beer and cocktails, or soda. I didn't need to eat for the rest of the day! Everything was delicious! I highly recommend this tour! It was exceptional and worth every penny.

What a fun and filling afternoon! We went to restaurants associated with The Bear, ate delicious…read morefoods, and learned fascinating back stories about the show, the restaurants, and Chicago. Our tour director, Casey, and our driver, Joe, set the mood for fun and community. Definitely recommend!

I honestly did not know what to expect, but this food tour was amazing. Our tour guide was very…read moreknowledgeable of Chicago and gave us a wonderful history of each place we stopped by. Being a foodie himself, we even got to talk about where some ingredients at the various restaurants come from (like California tomatoes at Lou's!). The River North Food Tour did NOT disappoint. I thought our only focus would be on food, but we even went over some architecture and history of various buildings. It was a great way to start our journey of Chicago and I absolutely loved this tour! Definitely recommend it for anyone who's coming to Chicago for the first time!

River North My…read moresister and I decided to include this food tour in our weekend plans. We gathered with 16 others (huge tour!) to meet Jake, our tour guide, around 3pm to sample some culinary highlights of the neighborhood. Having been on several food tours across the country on the east coast, west coast and in Chicago, I think that this tour was somewhere in the middle of the pack. There were some major pluses - Jake was friendly and very informative, he was sanitary and put on gloves when he handled our food (major plus), he offered a good amount of information about several key historical Chicago landmarks and he called ahead so the food was ready when we arrived at each stop. The six stops on the tour included relatively well-known restaurants - The Doughnut Vault, Lou Malnati's, Xoco, Al's Beef, Carson's barbecue and More cupcakes. At each stop we sampled fare such as a half donut, a small piece of cheese pizza, soup, a 2 inch piece of an Italian beef sandwich, half of a pulled pork slider and a mini cupcake. The food overall was pretty good. The pizza at Lou Malnati's and the pulled pork and barbecue sauce at Carson's were the best bites of the day. While the tastes equated to a nice snack, I wouldn't cancel your dinner plans! The stops were a little ways away from each other, which allowed us to get in a nice little exercise but it may have also contributed to the fact that we weren't full at the end of the tour. For the Living Social deal, this was a good tour. I'm not sure I would've felt the same way if we had paid full price. If you're a local foodie, like my sister is, this may not be the best tour for you. She had been to 5 of the 6 places before. Unlike other tours, there weren't really any "hidden gems" that we uncovered. If you yelp "best pizza Chicago" or cupcakes, etc. these places will come up. But, if you're visiting town, like I was, this is a nice way to sample the popular foods in the city. I had been to a couple of the places before but I didn't mind returning. Overall, we had a nice experience with Sidewalk Food Tours. It's nice to see that the company has expanded beyond NYC. They really have something special going on there. The food truck tour that we did about two years ago when they were starting up in Manhattan was excellent! ADDENDUM: YIKES! - Did you see the warning from Yelp? Sidewalk Tours of Chicago is soliciting five star reviews on Facebook by offering free tours???? That's not cool! Maybe that explains all the pristine reviews!!! Shame on you Sidewalk Tours!

During Parents' Weekend at the University of Chicago, the university offered tours of the…read moreneighborhood through Chicago Detours. My wife did this tour a couple years ago and highly recommended it, but I wasn't especially interested because I had also gone to school here and figured I knew enough about Hyde Park already. However, she insisted that it would be worth our while and so I agreed to climb on the bus. And it was the absolutely right decision, because the tour was excellent. In fact, it wasn't just a tour of Hyde Park. It included the surrounding neighborhoods of Washington Park, Kenwood, Jackson Park, and Woodlawn. Since this was a UChicago sponsored event much of the information related to the University's investment and involvement in the area. Our tour guide and founder of Chicago Detours, Amanda, is herself a graduate of UChicago and thus she had some additional insight into the relationship with the community. Though the 75-minute tour felt a little slow-going at times, there was much to learn about the vibrant but sometimes troubled history of the area. Amanda has tremendous knowledge and the excursion was both fascinating and entertaining. I can imagine that Chicago Detours would have equally interesting tours of other neighborhoods in this diverse city.

Virtual tours are such a cool thing to do right now. I attended a Yelp Elite event that was a…read morevirtual food tour of Chicago. It was incredibly informative and a good balance of history and current trends. Looking forward to attending more virtual tours, like the World's Fair and the Cruise From Your Couch Boat Tour. I loved seeing the pictures of the in-person tours and can't wait to attend some of those too.

I worked with Brandon at Chicago Dine Around to plan a dinner and Casino night for my company…read moreouting. Brandon was amazing and incredibly helpful and responsive! At the venue, Genesis was the event coordinator for the evening. She made sure everything flowed seamlessly and helped me enjoy the outing stress free! Both our game dealers (John and Ivan) were very knowledgeable and fun! They helped teach many of us how to play roulette and blackjack and were patient with us throughout the games! I would highly recommend Chicago Dine Around and we will absolutely return to book other events!

We hosted our Toronto team in Chicago for the first time and used Chicago Dine Around to help plan…read moreour team event. Working with Brandon was absolutely fantastic from start to finish. He made the entire process incredibly easy and stress-free. We chose the Private Architectural Boat Tour, and the Chicago Dine Around team went above and beyond to ensure everything was perfect. They even arranged for us to tour the boat beforehand so we could confidently select the right experience for our group. For lunch, they seamlessly accommodated all dietary restrictions and preferences, making coordination effortless. Every detail was handled professionally, allowing us to focus on enjoying the event. The feedback from our team was overwhelmingly positive. Many team members said it was one of the best company events we've had to date. Even our Chicago-based employees, who are very familiar with the city, thoroughly enjoyed the tour and experience. I highly recommend Chicago Dine Around for anyone planning a corporate event or group outing. Their attention to detail, outstanding customer service, and local expertise made our event a huge success.

Super amazing experience. Carla was even more amazing and went above and beyond and took a picture…read moreof us and sent it to me because I was scared of damaging my phone so I did not bring one. That's where guys were amazing and for first timers we felt extremely comfortable and shockingly we did not flip over! We can NOT wait to come back! Reccomend the Historical Tour!

I am so happy to have had the opportunity to try this tour with some other Yelpers. Let me just say…read morethat I have tried A LOT of food tours (both Chicago Food Planet neighborhood tours and TWO chocolate neighborhood tours) and this one ranks up there in the top! Out of all the tours I've done, I learned the most of Chicago history here. We not only stopped off at food locations but also at historic landmarks (i.e. The Drake hotel). It was a rainy AND windy Chicago Sunday, but despite the weather I had an awesome time! Lynn did a really great job with our tour and handled the weather situation without difficulty. What a great easy going guy! We visited: --Pizano's Pizza (I may have found my new favorite pizza spot. The deep dish and thin crust pizza were delicious! I am still trying to figure out how they get that crust so crispy!) --Sarah's (The brownie was definitely good...I've never met a bad brownie, but it was not the best I've had) --Downtown Dog's (Good Chicago hot dog--stay away from those peppers!) --Heaven on Seven (The gumbo was really delicious! I may have to come back to try more food!) --Billy Goat Tavern & Grill (I've lived in Chicago for over 4 years and FINALLY made it to this place! Sadly, the cheeseburger was not good. But I enjoyed learning about the history of the Original Tavern and the Billy Goat. Definitely a Chicago tourist spot to visit, if not eat at) --The Purple Pig (I've been wanting to check this place out too!!! That strawberry ice cream IS DELICIOUS!!!!! It tasted like something from my childhood!!! Very nostalgic for me! The outdoor seating was very nice! I enjoyed visiting ALL the locations on our tour, but my favorite EATERIES were Pizano's, Heaven on Seven, and The Purple Pig. For $44 you definitely get your money's worth if not more. The tour guarantees enough for lunch, but I can tell you that you'll be filled up for dinner too!! LOTS OF FOOD to keep you full. I started cramping towards the end from eating so much!! Just a note for those that decide to come, I recommend NOT driving. Your parking meter will expire. The tour is longer than 2 hours and the tour does not end where it begins. Also, the tour is designed for sit down dining so that you will always have a nice comfortable seat and a nice ICE cold drink (so you're not drinking the warm water you've been carrying around). The tour is NOT rushed at all which I enjoyed A LOT. You can also shop during the tour stops too, which many food tours don't allow. The duration of my tour was from 11am to 2:45pm. I recommend keeping your schedule for the entire day open so that you don't feel rushed to get somewhere else. I would definitely recommend this tour to my friends!

I was visiting some friends in Chicago and we toured the Andersonville part of Chicago with Carey…read more Her guidance was exceptional. She seemed to fit right in with our group and was laid-back but also gave us some really interesting historical facts about the neighborhood throughout the day. + Great way to find hidden jems in a neighborhood; we sampled Middle Eastern, Guatemalan, and Vietnamese cuisine throughout the course of the day. Oh and pie of course! Along with a couple cocktails at a historic speakeasy. + Carey is really easy-going and does a great job of filling you in on the various dishes offered at each restaurant, sharing her personal experiences; also she is an exquisite conversationalist that makes you feel like you've known her for a long time. + The amount of walking, distance covered, and quanitity of food is just right. A perfect activity in a great city. If you're looking for an activity that will get a group out and about, this is an ideal option.

I just went on this fantastic new tour last Sunday thru Lincoln Park/East Lakeview. Even though…read moreI'm a native of the city, Foodie & the Feast opened the doors to restaurants I've never been to before. Each place was more delicious than the one previous... and affordable too! Our tour guide Carey was energetic and informative. She spoke knowledgeably about each food stop giving interesting background about the owners, the eats and the neighborhood. This is definitely something I would recommend to out-of-towners. There is more to Chicago than the Mag Mile and this is perfect way to get away from the tourist traps and explore the city. Also, local Chicagoans will discover some hidden gems of their own. I actually can't wait to go on the other tours F & the F offer! I've been on other walking food tours and they can't compete with this one. Just as the name suggests, food that you want to feast on is the main attraction of Foodie & the Feast. With the others, it seemed like the food took a back seat to an extensive history lesson. Thanks Foodie & the Feast for keeping my mouth watering and my stomach full. When the tour ended I was completely satisfied!

We had a fantastic time on the Chinatown food tour! The dishes were delicious. A huge shoutout to…read moreour guide, Lillian, who was very knowledgeable and made the whole experience so enjoyable. We learned about the history of Chinatown and truly enjoyed every stop. Highly recommended!

I was sent a gift card for Virgin Experiences and signed up for paddle boarding. We mistakenly…read moreshowed up a day early and were accommodated, no questions asked. Peter set us up with kayaks as the lake was too choppy for paddle boarding. He also gave us extra time- about an hour and a half total. Five star experience! Thank you Peter and Bobby!

This was a great choice for a pizza tour for several reasons. First, the guide (James) was…read moreexcellent: very knowledgeable, welcoming, and funny (very funny). Secondly we learned a LOT about the history of pizza in this city. Thirdly the pizza restaurants were great (they rotate among 30+). Lastly, good variation on the crusts, cheese, and toppings. Highly recommended'

While I'm not a fan of Chicago pizza, I still very much enjoyed the tour. Our guide was extremely…read moreknowledgeable and enthusiastic. Definitely recommend, but go hungry

We have enjoyed Secret Food Tours in several cities and we were looking forward to the Chicago…read moreexperience! I have to add that we completely mixed up our travel plans and were only able to join this tour for the first half, so my review is based on this. Our tour guide, Danny, was informative, patient, and determined to share not only the food of Chicago but the history, characters and charm as well. We met at 11:30am for the tour and he waited until all participants had arrived. If you are late, he will text or call to make certain you can join the group. David began the tour with some history of the Harold Washington Library, where the tour began, and a trip to visit the Vietnam Memorial in the 3rd floor and a quick bathroom stop before we made it over to our first stop at noon for a slice of deep dish. It was very good and apparently the recipe for the crust came from the chef who had worked at Uno first. Hmmm. Our next stop was from some Chicago caramel and cheddar popcorn. We had time to duck on for a quick purchase as well! Danny was really helpful in that he rushed a bit to allow us to make it to the Chicago dog stop. Yay! Qe left the tour after this, but can highly recommend Danny and his tour. He not only shares Chicago treats, but history and interesting facts!

The first thing that struck me about this tour was our guide Eliot's bizarre and purposefully…read moreoff-putting behavior. For a food tour, we were given a rather extraordinary amount of personal information on they/them upfront. After about six minutes of painful emotional prodding during an all-together confusing summation of they/their time attempting a career as a comedienne at second city, Eliot stopped the tour inexplicably for a long and lingering moment by the Obama family's top literary picks to explain Chicago's diversity-rich history to us. We didn't receive any food for another 45 minutes afterwards. Somehow, the tour still ended almost an hour early. When receiving my pizza slice, I shot Eliot a rather confused glance and they/their response still has me perplexed. "MY tour differs greatly from the script that I've been given," they said curtly. I said nothing at all before or afterwards. In my opinion, this was strange when speaking to a customer while all the others could easily hear. Between the stops, Eliot didn't talk to the guests at all and instead studied their reflection in the windows which is very strange behavior for a tour guide of any kind. Also, the food that one is given on the food tour totals about $30, so one essentially pays $49.99 to be toyed with for a few hours. I'll walk myself up and down Jackson Blvd next time (which comprises the entirety of the food portion of the food tour) and avoid the nonsense next time.

Had an amazing experience at the CAC architecture tour. Our docent was incredibly knowledgeable. I…read morelearned so much, would 100% recommend!

I've visited the city many times and this is an absolute must! Such a great way to see the city and…read morelearn its history! Mark was an excellent guide and we enjoyed every minute!