We’ve Got Answers
You’ll find answers below to common queries below but if you need to talk to us please get in touch.
All tickets are nonrefundable. Consider it like buying a concert ticket – that seat is reserved for you and we will be unable to resell it. As a small business with only 12 tickets per tour, it’s important that you purchase tickets when you’re sure you can go. If you can’t make it to the tour you purchased, the tickets are transferable.
Gratuity is not included. 15%-20% is customary in the tourism industry.
Yes! Our Progressive Meal is a full meal! The base package features appetizers, entree, and dessert (~3-5 dishes) and is great for lunch or dinner. For private tours, you can also choose the “add more food” upgrade for an even more luxurious and robust menu (~5-7 dishes) great for a heavy lunch or solid dinner.
Our pricing already includes applicable taxes! For private events, there is a standard $25 per person private event service charge noted. This helps ensure we can tip your guide and restaurant servers for larger/private groups. No surprise “booking fees” or hidden extras.
It’s okay! We can accommodate dietary restrictions and requests for non-alcoholic substitute beverages. We’ll ask for your requests and restrictions during booking.
We strongly discourage it. Everything in your pre-booked tour is ordered and prepared in advance to be ready on arrival at each restaurant. Orders placed after arrival take much longer, and come out with little time to spare before we head off to the next course. Guests end up disappointed, leaving cocktails behind or feeling pressure to drink up. Not a good experience.
Yes and no. Our experience takes the best elements of seated dining, prix-fixe chef’s tasting menus, blended with the best elements of a classic food tour, to create an entirely unique dining experience: the Avital Progressive Meal.
That’s okay! You can still book to reserve your date/time with an estimate and adjust later. We accommodate changes of +/- 20% from your original number. Ask your curator if you need special arrangements for larger changes.
That’s our job! We’ve spent years testing out all of the city’s awesome restaurants, finding those quirky characters, and building a culinary experience with story and purpose (that’s also delicious!) Trust us, that’s why you came here.
We’ll send your confirmed meeting address prior to your tour date. The menu itself, and featured restaurants, follow a prix fixe tasting menu style and are revealed as part of the experience itself as it unfolds. You can explore our example featured dishes to understand the caliber and style of dishes and cocktails we highlight.
Our North Beach food tour is a flat route with 2 slight hills, about 1 mile of walking.
Our Mission District food tour is a flat route with about 1 ½ miles of walking.
Our public tours sell out fast so we recommend purchasing your tickets at least 2 weeks in advance. For private tours, we also require a 2 week lead time. Private bookings made with less than two weeks notice will come with a nominal rush charge of $150, and deadlines for dietary restrictions info and final guest count are extended to 3 days prior to the event date. Inquiries less than 3 days in advance require all guest info upon booking.
In between delicious courses, your Avital Guide will lead your team through a fun and interactive team building game. Games last about 10-15 minutes each.
Tonight’s Special: Designed in-house by Avital curators who specialize in foodie fun and corporate team building. This creative card game gets players thinking like chefs as they navigate trendy ingredients to create mouthwatering menus. Collaborative and competitive, Tonight’s Special will get your team hungry for more fun!
Embrace Quirky: Our original, and all-time favorite Avital game, Embrace Quirky is inspired by our core values. This simple but effective get-to-know-you game challenges your team to find and embrace their own quirky histories, meanwhile sleuthing out who’s who among their quirky team! Someone here used to be hairdresser to the Queen, someone else drank rum with real pirates, and someone else always ties their left shoe first. Who can it be?
Note: Adding the team building upgrade does not reduce or impact the number of restaurants you’ll visit nor the number of dishes you’ll enjoy. However, adding the team building upgrade does cut in on your “mingling” time during the tour – the in-between moments where you might otherwise enjoy organic conversation time will instead be spent playing these fun and engaging games!
All tickets are nonrefundable. Consider it like buying a concert ticket – that seat is reserved for you and we will be unable to resell it. As a small business with only 12 tickets per tour, it’s important that you purchase tickets when you’re sure you can go. If you can’t make it to the tour you purchased, the tickets are transferable.
Gratuity is not included. 15%-20% is customary in the tourism industry.
Yes! Our Progressive Meal is a full meal! The base package features appetizers, entree, and dessert (~3-5 dishes) and is great for lunch or dinner. For private tours, you can also choose the “add more food” upgrade for an even more luxurious and robust menu (~5-7 dishes) great for a heavy lunch or solid dinner.
Our pricing already includes applicable taxes! For private events, there is a standard $25 per person private event service charge noted. This helps ensure we can tip your guide and restaurant servers for larger/private groups. No surprise “booking fees” or hidden extras.
It’s okay! We can accommodate dietary restrictions and requests for non-alcoholic substitute beverages. We’ll ask for your requests and restrictions during booking.
We strongly discourage it. Everything in your pre-booked tour is ordered and prepared in advance to be ready on arrival at each restaurant. Orders placed after arrival take much longer, and come out with little time to spare before we head off to the next course. Guests end up disappointed, leaving cocktails behind or feeling pressure to drink up. Not a good experience.
Yes and no. Our experience takes the best elements of seated dining, prix-fixe chef’s tasting menus, blended with the best elements of a classic food tour, to create an entirely unique dining experience: the Avital Progressive Meal.
That’s okay! You can still book to reserve your date/time with an estimate and adjust later. We accommodate changes of +/- 20% from your original number. Ask your curator if you need special arrangements for larger changes.
That’s our job! We’ve spent years testing out all of the city’s awesome restaurants, finding those quirky characters, and building a culinary experience with story and purpose (that’s also delicious!) Trust us, that’s why you came here.
We’ll send your confirmed meeting address prior to your tour date. The menu itself, and featured restaurants, follow a prix fixe tasting menu style and are revealed as part of the experience itself as it unfolds. You can explore our example featured dishes to understand the caliber and style of dishes and cocktails we highlight.
Our East Village food tour is a flat route with about 1 mile of walking.
Our Flatiron food tour is a flat route with about 1 1/2 miles of walking.
Our Michelin food tour is a flat route with about 1 1/2 miles of walking.
Our public tours sell out fast so we recommend purchasing your tickets at least 2 weeks in advance. For private tours, we also require a 2 week lead time. Private bookings made with less than two weeks notice will come with a nominal rush charge of $150, and deadlines for dietary restrictions info and final guest count are extended to 3 days prior to the event date. Inquiries less than 3 days in advance require all guest info upon booking.
In between delicious courses, your Avital Guide will lead your team through a fun and interactive team building game. Games last about 10-15 minutes each.
Tonight’s Special: Designed in-house by Avital curators who specialize in foodie fun and corporate team building. This creative card game gets players thinking like chefs as they navigate trendy ingredients to create mouthwatering menus. Collaborative and competitive, Tonight’s Special will get your team hungry for more fun!
Embrace Quirky: Our original, and all-time favorite Avital game, Embrace Quirky is inspired by our core values. This simple but effective get-to-know-you game challenges your team to find and embrace their own quirky histories, meanwhile sleuthing out who’s who among their quirky team! Someone here used to be hairdresser to the Queen, someone else drank rum with real pirates, and someone else always ties their left shoe first. Who can it be?
Note: Adding the team building upgrade does not reduce or impact the number of restaurants you’ll visit nor the number of dishes you’ll enjoy. However, adding the team building upgrade does cut in on your “mingling” time during the tour – the in-between moments where you might otherwise enjoy organic conversation time will instead be spent playing these fun and engaging games!
Yes and No. Our hands-on experiences feature the best “peak” moments of a cocktail class, blended with the pampering and enjoyment of a prix fixe tasting experience. The perfect balance of time to mingle and connect (aka relax and enjoy!) and time to get hands-on (aka learn and engage!)
Yes, each Interactive Meal includes at minimum four courses (amuse bouche, appetizers, entree, dessert) plus three beverages (welcome beverage, hands-on cocktail, entree wine pairing). Choose our Interactive Meal package for a full and satisfying meal, great for lunch or dinner! If you’re looking for less than a meal, ask your curator about a modified Hands-on Happy Hour package with light snacks, great if you have other meal plans before or after.
Our pricing already includes applicable taxes! For private events, Classic and Premium packages have a $60 per person private event service charge. Deluxe packages have an $85 per person private event service charge. This helps ensure we can tip the staff for larger/private groups. No surprise “booking fees” or hidden extras.
It’s okay! We can accommodate dietary restrictions and requests for non-alcoholic substitute beverages – including mocktails for hands-on drink experiences. Requests MUST be submitted by the deadline (1 week prior to event.) Extra requests submitted after the deadline, especially day-of will be accommodated as best as possible, but may incur additional charges.
That’s okay! You can still book to reserve your date/time with an estimate and adjust later. We accommodate changes of +/- 10% from your original number. Ask your curator if you need special arrangements for larger changes.
We’ll send your confirmed meeting address 1 week prior to your event date, after we receive your final guest list and dietary restrictions info. The menu itself is a prix fixe seasonal menu, revealed as part of the experience itself as it unfolds. You can read about example featured food+drink in our proposal to understand the caliber and style of dishes and cocktails we highlight.
You certainly can, but you may not feel the need! Our Interactive Meal includes 3 beverage pairings per person. For a 2-2.5 hour experience, we don’t recommend additional alcoholic beverage pairings. But you’re welcome to start a tab if you’d like to!
Yes! Bookings made less than 2 weeks in advance are considered rush bookings. We release our staff’s availability at 2 weeks so they can pursue other passions, so rush bookings require a quick manual availability check. We strive to confirm rush availability within 24-48 hours. Final guest count is extended to 3 days prior to the event date. Inquiries less than 3 days in advance require all guest info upon booking.
Book first, addresses later! : ) Addresses must be submitted at least 2 weeks prior to your event date to ensure pre-event delivery of your ingredients. Please book your event as soon as you know your date/time, don’t wait for all your RSVPs – your date might sell out!
That’s okay! Book your event with a deposit for your best estimate. When you submit your final guest list (2 weeks prior to event) you can make the necessary adjustments (max + or – 20% of your original guest count, refunded or charged accordingly)
Yes! You are welcome to host on your own account/platform instead of our Avital: Zoom if you wish. Our staff is fluent on Google Meet, Zoom, WebEx, and Teams, and must be granted access to Screen Share, Chat, Spotlight, and Mute capabilities. For all other platforms, please inquire about capability and recommendations. Platforms with two-way/group video capabilities are best for this interactive experience.
We have options! Ask your Avital event coordinator which package would be best for you based on your destination countries. Not all experiences ship everywhere, and shipping rates and timelines vary widely. Ask your coordinator right away for the best options.
Yes! We send tracking information/numbers as soon as we receive them from the shipping carrier. Please contact [email protected] with any questions or concerns you may have about tracking for your event, and our team will be happy to help! Our team also tracks your shipments for you and will alert you of any carrier delays and work with you on solutions.
Yes! Standard run time if flexible for up to 10 minutes of your own content. If you need additional time, you can add hosted Emcee time at $25 per 15 minutes, or have us join your platform link before/after your longer presentation (no additional event time or charge, we attend only for our standard run time.)
Our experiences are carefully curated to be cohesive, energetic experiences for your guests and work best when you stick to our well-rehearsed timing. We do our best to accommodate requests for condensed experiences, but want to set your expectations and encourage you to let us do what we do best!
All event packages include 15 minutes extra prior to your event start time for sound checks or tech checks you may need with our Emcee. This is the most accurate time to check true conditions. If you require a longer rehearsal call on another day, ask your coordinator about our Conference-Level package options which come with a rehearsal.
Choose one of our alcohol-free experiences, or one of our “mocktail friendly” cocktail options so everyone in your group has a great beverage to suit their needs. Ask your curator for suggested options from our seasonal menu.
No problem! We’ll send you a prep sheet in advance that notes common substitute tools. A jar with lid is a great substitute shaker, measuring spoons will sub for a jigger, etc.
Yes. Some states legally prohibit the mailing of alcohol. We do our best via a network of partnerships to legally cover as many states as possible compared to other mixology options out there, but there are still a few stickler states.
Coming Soon!