Carlsbad Food Tours

Loved this tour! We are locals (low 30s) and went with my mother and father in law (64-70s) and it was really great to get to stop by some restaurants, hear the history etc! Ben was a great tour guide too! Also seriously go with an empty stomach because you get full!

My wife and I had a wonderful tour while visiting Carlsbad for the first time. Our food tour guide, David was great! He was very knowledgeable about the history of Carlsbad and gave us great suggestions for local restaurants. The tour included some great eating spots ranging from pasta, tacos, crepes and dessert. I would highly recommend this tour.

Ben was amazing. We learned a bunch about the town and ate some great food. Would recommend his tour to everyone visiting and living locally!

If you plan on visiting Carlsbad or a nearby destination, I would HIGHLY recommend this tour. It was fun, delicious and so interesting! Total bargain for the price!

One of the best tasting tours I have been on. Great information about the history of the town and even better local restaurants that’s have awesome food!

Fabulous tour ! Our guide Ed (AKA Dirt ) was not only knowledgeable but entertaining. We went to some of his favorite food spots . You do not leave hungry ! We try to do a food tour in every city we visit and this tour does not disappoint. I would definitely recommend this food tour !

Great food with a great tour guide I loved the variety of food and drinks and especially enjoyed the skillful guidance from Ben. We visited six restaurants around the Carlsbad Village area, some were savory and others were sweet. Ben was a delight with his friendliness and wealth of information about the city and its history.

My best girlfriend and I elected to go on this tour. We have know each other for 63 years. We had not been on a food tour before and we didn't know what to expect. We enjoyed ourselves immensely. The Donut shop, Good Eats was amazing! I don't even like donuts and they were one of a kind donuts & pastries. We tried Italian food which was so fresh and tasty and the Limoncello was homemade and wonderful. We tried Mexican food, Senior Gruby's which was good but not a highlight of the tour. The strawberry shortcake at the shop that specializes in strawberry shortcake was delicious. I am not even a dessert eater and I admit it was great. The winery we went to was a nice shop but we didn't really care for the wine that we sampled. I guess we are wine snobs! Our tour was given by David. David was amazing! David is also somewhat of a history buff for this area so we learned so many things about the town of Carlsbad, the historic buildings, history of the area, and Carlsbad alkaline water from a historic site. We bought a case of the water as it was so delicious and refreshing. We also had Gelato at a shop that makes it fresh and creative every day. Flavors we never tried before. David also mentioned other restaurants that we might want to try in the future. I 100% think this tour was worth it but that is if you happen to get David as I don't know anyone else who directs these tours. :) I had a great video of the bakery products but I couldn't get it to load. ;(

What a fabulous experience Our guide was Ben and he was great. The tour was very well organized and included an excellent variety of eateries. But it is much more than that! It included history of Carlsbad and sites that gave a taste of the local culture. It was a great 3 hours.

Ben did an amazing job of taking us around Carlsbad. Not only did we get to experience some delicious food, but we also got to enjoy some tasty adult beverages. More importantly, Ben interjected historical tidbits on Carlsbad along the way as well as introduced us to the local street art scene. Awesome way to spend an afternoon; highly recommend Ben and the tour.

This is an excellent tour of Carlsbad village. David was so nice, easy to talk to and had very good suggestions of where to go and eat while we're in town. The places he took us to were all good and fun as well. I recommend this tour. Take it at the beginning of your visit to Carlsbad so that you can go to most of the places that he recommends.

This by far was one of the best walking tours and food tours I’ve ever done. Dave was an amazing tour guide and I learned so much about the history of Carlsbad. Highly recommend taking this tour.

I grew up in Carlsbad and didn't think I could learn SO MUCH I didn't know. This tour goes beyond the food and wine (although the food and wine is amazing too). Thank you David for making my afternoon with my mom so special! Highly recommend!

The tour was great. Our tour guide was super knowledgeable about the history of Carlsbad which he covered while we were casually walking around the village. We had six stops (food, drinks and desserts- all fantastic!). The guide gave us background on each establishment and also pointed out other restaurants in the area that were worth trying (so many we want to go back to try!). This was my first food tour and I would advise you book it for day 1 of your trip so you have a chance to try some that weren’t on the tour. I think I’ll try to do this sort of thing at the beginning of all my future trips. Five stars!!

I've never done a food tour and I'm happy this was my first experience. We were in a group of eight which was a good size. Ed "Dirt" was our guide and he gave us a lot of Carlsbad history while we walked from place to place. He was knowledgeable and friendly with a kind of swagger you'd see in old Westerns. Turns out he has acted in a few and had some additional behind the scenes stories that were really fun and interesting. All food stops had delicious food including a savory crepe sample, vodka pasta, limoncello, avocado toast, pork tacos, wine, mac and cheese, fried brussel sprouts with pork belly, and a donut. We were so full! Ed was mindful of any dietary restrictions/preferences and made sure to convey those to all the restaurants upon arrival. He was also very attentive to all guests. All in all it was an enjoyable way to spend a few hours in the afternoon and we felt it was worth the price. Please don't forget to tip your guide generously. They certainly deserve it!

What an amazing experience. Loved everything about the tour from the food selections to the stories about the history of Carlsbad. I would highly recommend David as he spoke with such passion and enthusiasm. All of our questions were answered as he knew so much about the city and back stories about the chefs/restaurants.

This tour was absolutely fantastic! Our tour guide, Dave, was incredibly versed in the history of Carlsbad, as well as the food scene. The food was delicious and very generous portions were given. I would highly recommend.

Fabulous Way to Experience Carlsbad

Whether you are local or a tourist, this food tour is a MUST! It's a great combination of food, fun, and history. I live locally but had a group of women come to town from all over the country for a convention. CFT was extremely professional and made the whole experience easy. I highly recommend for this for any occasion. Too much fun!

A Carlsbad Must Do

Five of my girlfriends and I went on the Tour of Carlsbad. Our tour guide Veronica was wonderful and very knowledgeable. We loved the food, the walking and the information. Just the right amount of time in restaurants. I think they had a perfect order to the stops. I highly recommend this tour. We're going to book another one for sure!

Great Way to Explore

Cherie was a fantastic tour guide leading us through the stops in Carlsbad to include local history background. Definitely recommend those new to the area to get some ideas for dinners out, friend meetups and date nights. Will definitely be returning to most if not all of the stops we made! Thank you Cherie and Carlsbad Food Tours! We had lots of fun.

Loved It

We had a great time on the tour with Cheri! She was very knowledgeable about the restaurants and general history of Carlsbad. She also made suggestions about other things to do in the area. Definitely do the tour near the beginning of your time here so you can go back for more of what interests you. The food was wonderful. Everything was well timed.

Fun Food Tour March 2023

We had a deliciously wonderful time! The food stops were tasty and we put in almost 7,000 steps! Great way to be introduced to so many shops and restaurants! Enjoyed learning the history of the area too! No food allergies for us, but lactose-free foods were provided for the one person in our group that did! Had a great time, totally recommend it.

We did this tour with friends of ours for a reunion get together in Carlsbad. This is a great way to learn about Carlsbad and the village area while having some good fellowship, food and wine. Highly recommend it. Ben was our tour guide and very knowledgeable on food and Carlsbad history. Awesome tour guide!

WOW what a great afternoon! We were so excited to do this walking food tour. We had one other couple on the tour which made for a more "private" like feeling. John was our guide and he must be the happiest person I've seen. Always smiling. We started our walk and John began to explain the history of Carlsbad. I didn't realize it would be an historical tour also--added bonus. The foods were delicious, the company was warm. We stopped at 6 places to get a taste of their offerings. And John taught us about things I would have never known. Like the history of the Bird of Paradise flower and the meaning of a mural that I would have admired and then never given another thought unless John explained the meaning behind it. The walk was easy and in a small area with much to see. I would recommend this tour to everyone, foodie or not. TIP--taking the tour on a Wednesday will coincide with the Carlsbad State St Farmers market.

Ed - “Dirt”, was our favorite part of the tour apart from the food. He was very knowledgeable about all the places he took us and threw out fun facts about the restaurants and the owners and he makes an effort to connect with the people on his tour. At each stop you feel like you have plenty of time to eat and drink, as well as talk to each other so you don’t feel rushed at all. Definitely go hungry because you will be eating SO MUCH good food, and DEFINITELY go on Thursdays when Ed guides the tours, it’ll be one of the best parts of your trip!

Ed was an awesome guide! Food and drinks were great at every stop. We all left with very full bellies. It’s a must do with family and friends! More fun that just hanging out at one restaurant. What a great variety of yummy food and drinks!

My husband and I enjoyed the walking food tour. He was 12 weeks past a total knee replacement surgery so I was looking for something that we thought he could do. He didn’t have any problems. The restaurants were all within a 4 to 5 block radius. The diversity of food was delicious and we got an enjoyable history lesson by Ed our tour guide. He was an enthusiastic guide with great stories. Being a group of 7 people, we were small enough to be able to get to know each other a bit. Ed began the conversations and took an interest in everyone in our group. I highly recommend Ed and this tour. Ask for Ed. He works on Thursdays (and sometimes Sundays).