My family (two adults and two girls, ages 14 and 11) spent a week in Venice in January. We reached…read moreout to Chef Isa a couple of weeks prior to our trip and booked a custom, four-hour cooking class. It was the ABSOLUTE HIGHLIGHT of our trip! (And not just for us -- the girls have been telling everyone about their favorite experience in Italy!) Chef Isa and her husband Stefano treated us like family and honored guests in addition to students at their school. Communications prior to our arrival were really clear and ensured that we knew exactly what to expect and how to get to the location. They also got us excited, as we were able to choose options for our class -- pasta sauce and gelato flavor. :) When we arrived, we were welcomed warmly, and we really appreciated how they set up their space. We felt like we had everything we needed at our fingertips. Our custom course included making pasta and sauce, saltimbocca, and gelato. There was also a bonus! They taught us focaccia style pizza! Plus, they had a lovely meat and cheese tray, wine, and soda for all of us. We definitely left feeling full, between the extras they provided and the food we prepared and ate along the way. When we returned to the US, our daughters immediately starting asking when we could use our new skills, so we have already spent time making pasta from scratch, and we are up to three kinds of gelato. (Chef Isa sent a cookbook after our event with a ton of family gelato recipes. I personally recommend the limoncello flavor!) We cannot say enough positive about our experiences with Chef Isa and Stefano. We definitely want to do this again the next time we are in Venice!

We had a fantastic experience with Mama Isa and Stefano - so much fun and we learned a lot about…read morethe history of food, regional / cultural differences, new cheese and wine, and of course, how to make the best ravioli and gelato! We really appreciated how accessible the class was so that we could see ourselves making these recipes at home. Mama Isa was very flexible and accommodating with our schedule (booking the night before) and dietary needs (vegetarian), which we really appreciated. They were incredible hosts and we felt like we were part of their family for the day. We would 100% recommend Mama Isa's class and would definitely take more classes with Mama Isa if/when we visit again in the future!

This is one of the most incredible experiences you could ask for. If you are a foodie or just enjoy…read moreamazing food and incredible history, you need to book a class with Lucas! He has scheduled classes as well as private classes. I've done both and it fabulous to be with friends, cook, and eat delicious food. It's also equally enjoyable to meet travelers and make new acquaintances. His place is located in the old wall of the Vicenza Castle. The art on his dining room ceiling dates back to the 700's. Your senses come alive when you arrive and start to walk up the old stairs to his flat. Lucas will walk you through several courses and if it's a private class he is able to cater to your dietary needs. Recently we made an incredible meal. We started with his Lentil soup with chestnuts. It was mouth watering divine. I went home and recreated that night. While the soup was cooking we started the pasta, desert, and fish. We boiled pealed pears in a wine sauce, made homemade pasta, and enjoyed a salmon filet covered in our choice of veggies and mussels and cooked in parchment paper. He served the pairs with gelato and cream. It is an out-of-this-world experience! Plan for a minimum of 4 hours and approximately 35euro per person. You won't regret the experience. He will also provide a bottle of wine, but it's fun to bring a wine to share.

This is a great way to spend a day in Italy! Lucas is a great chef and teacher, and makes it fun to…read morecraft an incredibly delicious meal from scratch. This was one of our favorite things from our vacation. Do it!

Everything! Teresa is wonderful, welcoming and warm. She teaches in a fun and engaging way.read more

THE BEST FOOD TOUR that I've ever been on!!!!!! We did the "lunch tour" of Venice (I wish the…read more"dinner tour" wasn't booked or I would've done that too!!). Adam and Maya are Americans that fell in love with the city (and people) of Venice while on vacation and subsequently moved there. This couples' love of Venice, along with their brand new sidekick, Sarah, REALLY shines through on this food tour. Even while simply walking down the street you will get to experience their bonds with the locals. All 3 are the absolute BEST guides- friendly, funny, quirky, knowledgeable, and most importantly, passionate about the food. The tour lasted about 4 hours (wear your walking shoes), and was JAM packed with interesting information- from the food, to the people, to the architecture, to the culture. What I liked most about this food tour, was after arriving at each cafe, you usually got to choose which food or which wine (red or white) you wanted to try. That's an aspect of a food tour I haven't experienced before- usually all the samples of food and drinks are pre-chosen for you. Adam taught us several miscellaneous pieces of information about Venice, that you too will find intriguing and make you fall in love with the city of Venice. He explained to us that in Venice it is illegal to sell food the next day, from the day before ("leftovers")- so that was cool to see firsthand (as we continued from cafe to cafe throughout the day, you saw that the available samples dropped). I don't think I can even pick one "favorite" stop on this tour- important to note that all the stops you visit are owned by local Venetians. All of the tapas, chichetti, sandwiches, pasta, gelato, pastries, and wine were all SO fresh and so tasty- I had no other wish than to have more time in Venice to go back and eat at all the places again!! You will definitely not leave hungry, and like us, you'll be guaranteed to leave with new friends and fond memories. I will continue to recommend this food tour to friends and family for years to come- I have yet to stop talking about it!! I learned SO much, and I enjoyed myself on this tour more than any other tour that I did (over 2 weeks) in Italy.

This review is long overdue. I'm horrible at these things!…read more We had an absolutely amazing experience with Venice Bites Food Tours on the "Off the Eaten Path" Tour. Maya and Adam are great! We learned so much about not only Venetian food and drink but also all about Venice and it's history. This tour made us fall in love with Venice! My wife and I are planning a trip back to Venice in 2020 and we will be doing the Progressive Dinner tour with Maya and Adam for sure!!!

Food tours are such a great way to check out a little of the history and the cuisine in a city…read more I've been fortunate to go on a number of food tours and each one offers a little something different. I must say that this one may just be my favorite one so far. Open for two years, Venice Food Tours has a few options. I chose the Rialto Market lunchtime tour. After meeting at a central location in he city, our tour guide - Alessandra - took 13 of us on a culinary adventure that won't soon be forgotten. We began at Cantina do Spade, a wine bar, to enjoy small bites including fried zucchini flowers stuffed with baccala, calamari stuffed with red sauce, scallops, and sardines. From there, we moved to Cantina do Mari for a few snacks. The surprise here was the porchetta sandwich with grapes and the formation ubriaco, a cheese that is aged in grape skins and wine. This takes "wine and cheese" to a whole new level. Can someone say yum!!! The story behind this cheese is fascinating as well. After a few savory stops, we went to Mauro for an early dessert and we enjoyed apricot jelly pastries and Bourano Island cookies which had a shortbread like consistency and taste. The next stop was quite hearty. A small soup, pasta, and cicchetti spot that caters to workers looking for a quick and cheap lunch, Sepa served up delectable vegetarian risotto. I typically don't care for risotto because it's often too soupy or lacking in flavor but this bowl of risotto was perfect! It was smooth and creamy and honestly, it felt like a hug feels...so comforting. The caramelized onion that we tried with it added a nice sweet note. My - dare I say - favorite stops were the last two. Antico Gatoleto offered us a flavorful and light pasta with shrimp and I was able to try squid ink pasta for the first time. And then of course, we finished the tour with a traditional tiramisu from I Tre Mercanti. As we entered they were assembling the cups of dessert and the smell of dusted cocoa wafting around the place let me know that I was in for a treat. This was hands down the best version of this dessert that I've ever had! Venice Food Tour was a wonderful experience and our guide was so informative. I had the opportunity to introduce my palate to new foods and culinary combinations and to meet folks from around the world who share an interest in well...eating! Doing this on my first day in Venice was the perfect way to start my vacation. The tour lasted longer than we anticipated but none of us minded as were were enjoying the great food and each other's company. I highly recommend this tour!

This was by far the coolest thing I did in venice. Lucia was a fantastic tour leader. The other…read morefolks from the group never showed up so we had the city all to ourselves. we talked about food, wine, culture, my country (Puerto Rico), Venice, life, food and more food!! If you do this tour, bring your appetite with you, there's tons of food to try and everything was absolutely delicious!! Lucia, thank you so much for your time and attention during the tour, I absolutely loved it!! Ciao Bella!!

We booked the Cicchetti of Venice Tour and it was one of the highlights of our trip to Europe! Out…read moreof all the organized tours we took on our trip, this is the only one that 100% delivered what it promised (and then some)! Our guide, Cecilia, was phenomenal! It was like we had an old friend showing us her hometown. It was great to have Cecilia with us because she took us walking along the back streets of Venice where we stopped in and sampled food and wine in several local bars. These were places we would never have found on our own. We didn't have to worry about anything, Cecilia got us a table and handled all of the ordering. We never had to pay another cent out of pocket for any food, wine or transport, making this tour an exceptional value. We sampled many different local wines and lots of cicchetti (vegetables, cheese, meat, fish and more). All were delicious and exciting and the entire tour was a very intimate, educational experience. We even got to try our hand at crossing a canal in a local traghetto (though I wasn't brave enough to stand up during the crossing). We had 5 other couples on our tour and it was wonderful to get to mingle and explore a foreign city with other excited foodies. If you love food and like to experience and learn about different cultures, book this tour; you will not be disappointed! I cannot recommend it highly enough!

We did a good and wine tour with Eisa (Elizabetta) last night and it was amazing…read more A true wealth of knowledge and extremely helpful. This is a must do on your first night, she gives you tips and tricks for navigating. The city and avoiding the true tourist traps (of which there are many). Urban Adventures prides themselves on responsible tourism supporting the local shops and restaurants. She even showed us a local spot that we could get 1.5 liters of amazing wine for only 3.50 Euros. Literally cheaper than water that you can pay up to 4 Euros for at most places. We are now trying to book similar tours on other legs of our stop, great way to get a feel for the really local culture!

Walking around Venice was a real treat!…read more You become emerged in the culture of Venice Italy! And there's so much that you can't see unless you walk around and checkout the city. I'm pretty lazy lol So, normally I don't like walking around. Venice has so much to see by foot though. It makes it worth the effort in walking around. There's so much to see to really enjoy Venice fully!

Do this tour! My guide was Simona and she was awesome. The tour was about 2 hours or so and she…read moreshowed the group the unbeaten path of tourists. The thoroughness of the details of Venezia was amazing. The entire tour was new to me and helped me understand Venezia and its history a lot more.

No stars!! No tour! Took my money and for some reason the online payment got screwed?! After…read moreshowing proof that my account had been charged, still would not let me take the tour. After the fact, and after I left Venice, they said they'd refund me my money. Stay away from this tour company