New Orleans Culinary History Tours

This review is a long time coming, but I would definitely be remiss in not leaving a review for this tour company. It was my birthday weekend and this was one of three tours during my first ever visit to New Orleans. Naif was my food tour guide for the day. When I arrived at the initial spot, I was informed that while he normally had a group of 7-9 people for the food tour, this day it was just me. It was my actual birthday, so needless to say it was a pleasant birthday surprise.While I enjoyed the gumbo and jambalaya of our first tour stop, Naif proceeded to tell me the origin and history of the food and the surrounding area. The delicious cuisine continued when we stopped for a shared muffaletta and fries. We kept the party going to Jackson Square where I was regaled with more knowledgeable, interesting history from Naif. We rounded out the tour with an iced coffee and delicious beignets from the infamous Café du Monde. I do not recommend wearing black as I did. I walked out a powdered sugar mess. Although a happy one!I had such an enjoyable time! The food was delicious, the service at the individual restaurants impeccable and the tour guide company exceptional. Naif was passionate in sharing his knowledge, funny and engaging and all-around great company. I would definitely recommend his tour and will definitely be back with friends to do so. Thanks again, Naif, for a great and memorable birthday.

Very enjoyable. Food portions were reasonable and our guide "Naif" was very knowledgeable and personable. Would recommend.

I recently attended the French Quarter Food Tour with a group of about 10 others and Naif as our tour guide. We met at Tujague's where we waited for the rest of our tour attendees and enjoyed a delicious Brisket Sandwich. We then ventured to Jackson's Square to try some red beans and rice along with a scrumptious chip dip. From there we moved on to try some Seafood Gumbo, Crab Beignets, Sausage Puff Pastries, and some Pralines. The food samples were a bit small, but they filled us up enough.Naif was a great guide! He was full of fun facts, jokes, and positive energy. You could tell he was very authentic & provided us with an exceptional experience. All the food we tasted was very true to New Orleans and tasted great. My personal favorites were the Crab Beignets and Seafood Gumbo. I would highly recommend checking out this tour out for a real, true taste of New Orleans.

This was an unexpected wonderful feature experience for small family group of 5 people. Our tour guide guide, Annette was very knowledgeable and versed in local perspectives. The food selection was diverse and very good. The history of restaurants and Mardi Gras was especially insightful and quite interesting. Highlights were seafood gumbo at Antione's and Broussard restaurant had a great Sazerac cocktail. The history of both Tujacques and Armand's as well as the others was fascinating. The Praulines at Leah's the best. Highly recommend taking in this tour.

A decent way to spend an afternoon, but personally I'm more accustomed to organizing my own food-related tours around a city. We had some "know it all" type people in the group that made the experience a little less than enjoyable for the others (not to mention being pregnant I wasn't drinking, so there's another potential source of annoyance). Still, I could see this being a very enjoyable experience for some. But if you're inclined to explore on your own you can probably skip it. The food overall was pretty average, and the information shared was good but a little redundant for my taste. It felt a little like we were 'in the way' at many locations, instead of being treated as guests. And only one of our 6 stops did a restaurant owner / manager acknowledge our group's presence (aside from the gift shop we ended at, that is).

This was a great way to try a staple dish at some of the hot spots in the French Quarter.I pre-ordered tickets on their web site ($48/each). The tour lasts about 2 hours, as advertised.If your experience is anything like mine, you'll stop at Antoine's for gumbo, Tujague's for turtle soup, Arnaud's for shrimp Arnaud, and Creole Delicacies for pralines. Pay particular attention to the spiel on Antoine's. This place has a lot of history. According to the staff there, it's also commonly frequented by Tom Cruise and his unnecessary posse of bodyguards due to his paranoia, as well as Branjelina, who are respectively in need of a bath and change of clothes, and some rehab.Overall, the guide (whose name escapes me) was very knowledgeable and kept our group engaged the whole time, unlike other guides who ramble on and on and put the crowd to sleep.You're not going to leave here full, but it'll help you make an informed decision of where you feel like eating, especially if you're only in town for a short time.

To keep things brief; Naif was amazing and one of the best tour guides I've had on any tour in any city I've been to. He was dynamic, incredibly knowledgeable, and committed to engaging everyone in the tour group and tailoring the experience to our interests.In addition, the food we tried was great and with Naif's guidance, it gave us a new perspective of the city's cultural history.

My family and I took two tours with this company (first the food tour with Midge and then, the following day, the drinking tour with Naif) and were not only given ample victuals on both, but were taken to some really great places.On the Culinary Tour, Midge took us to Leah's Praline's (praline and a taste of bacon bark), Antoine's (seafood gumbo), Remoulade's by Arnaud's (shrimp arnaud), Tujague's (beef brisket), La Divina Cafe (muffalata, cannoli AND chocolate and orange gelato--best gelato EVER!), and Creole Delicacies (cooking class and red beans and rice--Sandra is the BEST, great cooking tips, so knowledgeable!) We also went behind the scenes at Arnaud's and Antoine's, which was very cool.On the Classic Drinks tour, Naif took us to Tujague's (grasshopper), Muriel's (can't remember, but it was great), Antoine's New Hermes (sazarac), and Arnaud's French 75 (French 75 and potato puffs). Naif catered the tour to our interests (architecture and miscellaneous topics involving history and teaching), and took us upstairs at Muriel's and even further behind the scenes at Antoine's. Taking the tour with Naif was like walking through New Orleans with a family friend who knew, and got on with, everyone in town.I would have given it five stars, but for the food tour with Midge who was pleasant, but was not very engaging; as a result, she did not seem very well informed.Whatever you do, make sure to book a tour with Naif next time you're in town!

We took this tour last month, and while it was a good way to kill some time, I would say there is room for improvement in a couple areas. We thought it would be more of a city history tour with culinary stops, but it turned out that the history was of the restaurants themselves, e.g. when they were founded, who visited. Maybe we just misunderstood the description, but I still found it disappointing. I also found it lacking in organization. Our tour guide was nice, but hard to hear. Often we got into a restaurant and had to stand around for a bit before they shuffled us into whichever place they wanted us. For the price you pay, I don't feel this tour really gets you in anywhere you can't get yourself. With a little bit of planning and a couple people, you could probably pick out 3-4 restaurants yourself and recreate this with an appetizer at each.

As soon as I knew I was going to NOLA for vacation I started to research different tours. When I found this French Quarter food tour I was intrigued.This was a 3 hour walking tour (mostly inside!) that covers the rich culinary history of New Orleans. We visited historic restaurants like Antoine's & Brennan's and got to sample 8 different dishes native to the area like gumbo, red beans & rice, pralines and muffuletta. Three hours may sound like a lot but the time passed quickly and you don't do tons of walking. Everything is within a few blocks. Our guide was a nice local guy and former chef. Food portions were substantial enough to make you full. It was more than I expected. My husband and I had a grand time.The concept of a food tour is brilliant. Each major city should have one.