More about: Seattle Food Tours
Seattle is a city with a huge variety of things to see and do. It is modern, futuristic, full of museums, history, culture and of course, it has an extraordinary gastronomy. Its unique dishes, the taste of its local products and the culinary variety, is something you will fall in love with.
You can visit the famous Pike Place Market, visit the most exclusive wineries in the city and even live a unique experience in Woodinville Wine Country, Snoqualmie Falls and Bainbridge Island. Below I tell you a little more about the best food tours in Seattle.
1. A classic tour of Pike Place Market
Pike Place Market is one of Seattle's most famous, popular and visited landmarks. There you will find the perfect blend of good food and a lot of culture and history.
With the experience of an expert guide, this tour will allow you to walk through each of its emblematic points, tasting the widest variety of regional delicacies. You will be able to choose from fresh products and pastries to meats and delicious dishes.
Throughout the tour, you will have included some stops so you can stimulate your palate with drinks and delicious food from some restaurants and stores of the place.
In addition, in this tour you will be able to learn particular facts and curious stories from the guide and the local people that will make the tour more entertaining and fun. This is one of the great advantages that makes the difference, and that you will not have if you decide to tour Pike Place Market on your own.
You will meet the farmers, butchers, bakers, winemakers and all those professionals who fill the market day after day. You'll also find one of the largest craft markets in the country, with an enormous amount of 100% handmade products made from local raw materials.
You'll find that Pike Place Market is home to more than 225 small independent businesses and restaurants, so you'll not only come away with tastes of the most delicious local foods, but also shopping tips, cooking ideas and market know-how.
Where to Eat at Pike Place Market
While the guide will make sure you tour the main stores of the market, sharing the history and tasting the most typical foods, the place is huge and you will inevitably have a few things left to try.
So, if you want to complete this experience and get the most out of your visit to Pike Place Market, I recommend a few places to visit on your own.
- Beecher's Handmade Cheese: here you will find the best Mac and Cheese in Seattle, no exaggeration. Cheese is the star ingredient of this place, located in the heart of Pike Place Market, and you will fall in love with it.
- Britt's Pickles: Seattle's most popular pickles are here. You'll find the most original versions of Britt's pickles: spicy, hot and sour, half sour and ginger and pepper.
- Ellenos: the most delicious Greek yogurt you will ever taste is also present at Seattle's legendary Pike Place Market.
- Le Panier: one of the most exclusive pastry shops in the area also has its place in this exclusive market. It is the perfect place for you to try delicious croissants, breads and all kinds of sweet and savory delicacies.
- Pike Place Chowder: clam chowders are a Seattle classic and possibly this restaurant serves the best. It has different versions and varieties that I recommend you try.
- The Pink Door: is an exclusive Italian restaurant where you can enjoy the best dishes in a very pleasant place, a must in Pike Place Market!
- Market Grill: here you will find the most typical American dishes with the most characteristic seafood of Seattle. It is an essential restaurant to taste the most local flavors of the city.
- Three Girls Bakery: famous for its exclusive pastries and the best variety of sandwiches. This store has a history that goes back more than 100 years and is a must in Pike Place Market, highly recommended!
Tour details
- Duration: Guided tours of Pike Place Market last approximately 2 hours.
- Approximate Price: From 55 €.
- What's included: All these tours include an expert guide to allow you to learn more about Pike Place Market and stops inside the market to taste various local products.
2. Spend a full day at Woodinville Wine accompanied by the best local flavors.
Woodinville Wine Country is only about 30 minutes from downtown Seattle in western Washington in the beautiful Sammamish River Valley.
This stunning attraction is located around the town of Woodinville and is undoubtedly the epicenter of wine, home to more than 100 wineries and tasting rooms. You will arrive there in a comfortable bus and be accompanied by a professional naturalist guide and spend a unique day.
This type of tour, besides tasting many regional products and enjoying a lunch with fresh, organic, seasonal and delicious ingredients, will allow you to get to know one of the best views and relax in the middle of nature and fresh air.
Here you will be able to get into the most varied wine offer of the area and taste the best wines from boutique wineries managed by families.
On this tour you will be able to visit three wineries in the area such as Lauren Ashton Cellars or Kestrel Vintners, some of the most exclusive and taste some of the best wines in Washington. Most often tickets to William Grassie Wine Estates - Events Only and Patterson Cellars - Hollywood Hill are included and you will have access to a lot of information about the history of the place and the traditions of the area.
Tour Details
- Duration: 8 hours.
- Price: You can enjoy this experience for a price starting at 197 € per person.
- Schedule: Usually starts at 10 a.m.
- What's included: This is not just any tour, but the most exclusive and complete of all. You will have lunch, wine tastings included and entrance to unique sites. You will tour Woodinville Wine Country and Sonqualmie Falls on the same tour.
3. A tour of Bainbridge Island's finest flavors and luxury wineries
Bainbridge Island is a ferry ride away from the city of Seattle and is a different option to enjoy a day outdoors, with beautiful views and the most varied and exclusive flavors.
This tour includes a historical tour of the most emblematic places of this northwestern island, the company of an expert guide who will tell you all about the place, gourmet lunch options , wine tasting in exclusive wineries and tasting of local delicacies and the best landscapes you can imagine.
This experience will allow you to enjoy the best panoramic views of the city from the picturesque ferry, visit the beautiful Bloedel Reserve full of trees and fresh air and the Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, an exhibit that commemorates the internment of Japanese Americans from Bainbridge Island in Washington State.
As for culinary delights, you will have at your disposal a variety of gourmet options with exclusive fresh and seasonal products and the most delicious wines from the best wineries on the island to taste. You can even tailor the experience to suit you, choosing between lunch at a renowned restaurant in the area or a gourmet picnic.
Tour details
- Duration: 9 hours.
- Price: You can enjoy this experience for a price starting at 290 € per person.
- Schedule: Starts at 9 a.m.
- What's included: You will have lunch, wine tasting included and a guided tour of the Bloedel Reserve.
4. Combine exclusive local wineries with the breathtaking Snoqualmie Falls.
This culinary tour will give you the option to enjoy one of the best views of the city, as it combines the best wineries in Seattle with Snoqualmie Falls, which is considered a very popular destination due to its proximity to the city and its stunning natural views.
You will be able to taste delicious wines at Chateau Ste. Michelle, known as the oldest winery in Washington and one of the most popular, as well as other well-known wineries in the area.
This tour also includes a visit to Boehms Candies, a quaint candy factory built like a Swiss house, where you can indulge in the best candy, you'll love it.
Tour details
- Duration: 6 hours.
- Price: You can enjoy this experience for a price starting at 85 € per person.
- Schedule: Starts at 10:30 am.
- What's included: Tastings at at least two local wineries and a walk through the stunning Snoqualmie Falls.
How to book a food tour in Seattle
You will have the option to purchase the tour pass that best suits you, directly from the website and get your digital ticket.
When you make the purchase online, you will receive confirmation of your reservation immediately. Just as you read, it is simple, convenient and fast.
Keep in mind that you must choose an exact date on which you are going to take the tour and in case you regret it or your plans change for any reason, do not worry, you can cancel the tour for free.
Duration of the gastronomic tours in Seattle
Depending on what you prefer to do and how long you plan to be in Seattle, you can choose from short food tours of approximately 2 hours or longer tours of 8 to 9 hours.
This should be taken into account when organizing your visit to the city, because if you plan to spend a short time in Seattle, you may want to take a short food tour and combine it with another tour of Seattle to get to know the city better.
Similarly, if you have more time, you can combine some of the food tours with other tour options from Seattle and get to know the city and its surroundings.
How much does a food tour of Seattle cost?
You will have the most varied prices to choose the gastronomic experience in Seattle that best suits your possibilities, being the cheapest of about 60 € and the most expensive from 190 €.
You must keep in mind that prices are related to the duration, the route, the number of passengers with whom you share the tour and the services included. Therefore, I recommend that in order to choose the one that suits you best, you should analyze the complete experience offered by each one of them.
Seattle's gastronomic classics
Seattle is a city with a very particular attraction and a variety of its own delicious flavors that are worth tasting if you are visiting. I can assure you that you won't get tired of tasting the local delicacies and drinking good wine.
Here is a list of the foods you must try in Seattle so you can imagine what you can find in any gastronomic tour you choose to do.
- Oysters: as you might expect, because of its proximity to the sea, I can assure you that in Seattle you will taste the most delicious seafood. And in particular, oysters. You will find them in various forms, raw, fried and however you can imagine them.
- Clam Chowder: another classic of the city is the delicious clamchowder and at Pike Place Market you will find, without a doubt, the best you can try.
- Seattle Dogs: the local version of the classic hot dog. In Seattle you will discover this strange but exquisite way of eating them with two additional ingredients: cream cheese and sautéed onion. You can't miss them!
- Chocolate: if you are a chocolate lover like me, Seattle will be your new favorite destination. You will find several varieties of chocolates in all their possible forms, from truffles to cocktails. I recommend two places where you will find the best chocolates in town: Fran's, a classic since 1982 and Intrigue Chocolate Co. Fran's, where you will taste the best truffles.
- Pho: due to the large Vietnamese community that has been living in Seattle for years, this is one of the best dishes you can try in the city. It is based on a classic noodle soup and is served in a bowl with rice noodles in a beef broth with small elongated pieces of meat.
- Coffee: not a dish, but a good after-dinner side dish or just to have on the go. Seattle is the cradle of good coffee; the city is even known as the international center of coffee roasting and is, without a doubt, the ideal place to try it.
Tips for a gastronomic tour of Seattle
The first thing I want to recommend is that you wear comfortable clothes and shoes according to the weather, since some tours will be on foot and others may take you several hours walking around the city and its surroundings, and you don't want to be uncomfortable and have a bad time.
Also, if you have any kind of dietary restrictions, I advise you to check the itinerary of each tour so that you can choose the one that suits you best in relation to it and not be disappointed when you go on the tour.
Food tours in Seattle, are they good or not?
If you want to tour Seattle in a different way, tasting the most popular local products and foods and getting to know the main charms of the local gastronomy, I recommend that you DO take one of these tours.
They will be a unique experience that will allow you to walk through the history, culture and traditions of the city, including local, fresh, artisanal, homemade and seasonal delicacies.
Now, I do NOT recommend that you take a food tour of Seattle if you have little time to tour the city. You'll have a wide variety of attractions to see and history to learn about, so you probably won't have much time left to devote to a food tour.
Although if you are a foodie, you may be able to set aside a few hours of your trip to do one of the shorter tours. As you will see, this will depend on the type of traveler you are and what you prioritize in your visit to Seattle.