San Francisco

Chinatown Food Tour

Explore the oldest Chinatown in North America with awesome food and amazing stories from the neighborhood's best restaurants.

Explore North America’s Oldest Chinatown with Awesome Food and Amazing Stories at the Best Restaurants

You Expert Avital Guide will lead you through Chinatown visiting 3 of the neighborhood’s best restaurants with a sprinkling of fascinating stories and history in between. You’ll enjoy both classic Cantonese and innovative fusion dishes, from dim sum to spicy noodles and more.

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From $99 Per Person
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3 Hours
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3-4 Restaurants
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4 Courses & 3 Beverage Pairings (Optional)
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Private Tour Only

How it Works

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What’s Included

  • 3-Hour Walking Tour (approximately 1 mile) 
  • Expertly Trained Avital Guide 
  • 4-Course Meal with Appetizers, Entree, and Dessert 
  • 3 Alcoholic Beverage Pairings (optional upgrade) 
  • Delightful Sprinkling of Culinary Stories and History
  • Team Building Games (complimentary, optional upgrade)

Example Dishes & Drinks

Our San Francisco Chinatown Food Tour includes 4-courses–two appetizers, one entree, and one dessert–with a sprinkling of culinary history and stories in between. Plus an upgrade option to include 3 carefully curated beverage pairings. We focus on quality over quantity, but we promise you won’t leave hungry! Here are some possible tastings to satiate your curiosity.

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Crowd-favorite “Special Beef,” featuring top-choice sirloin marinated in chef’s special sauce

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Shrimp fried rice with black truffle from one of best new restaurants of 2025

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Black Sesame Cremeux with chocolate ganache, yuzu, & honey ice cream from Michelin-Starred Chef

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Trio of tofu, eggplant, and hot peppers, stuffed with house-made shrimp paste and served in a savory black bean sauce

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Scallion & beef dumpling, BBQ steamed buns, & chili oil wontons

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Crispy avocado and salmon egg rolls

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Tan Tan noodles with ground pork & rich, spicy broth

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Chocolate xiao long bao (soup dumpling) filled with warm Ghirardelli chocolate

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Sweet, savory, and crunchy honey walnut prawns with white rice

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Chewy and crispy onion crepe pancakes

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Variety of craft cocktails, beer, and wine

Example Restaurants

We’ll visit 3-4 of the best restaurants in San Francisco’s Chinatown, featuring hot spots (Avital guests skip the line) and hidden gems. All of our restaurants not only serve outstanding food and drinks, but they also have a rich story to discover and numerous awards (think James Beard Nominees, Michelin Plate, and Eater’s Top 38).

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Osmanthus Dim Sum

TimeOuts’ Top Dim Sum in San Francisco 

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Empress By Boon

Michelin-Recommended Cantonese Cuisine from Michelin-Starred Chef Ho Chee Boon

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Great Eastern Restaurant

Cozy, locals-only dim sum spot

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Z & Y Peking Duck

USA Today’s 10 Best New Restaurants of 2025

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606

Family-owned Chinese restaurant since 1989

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House of Xian Dumpling

Xian-style Chinese food

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Fusion Dumpling

Chinese regional fusion at OpenTable’s Diners’ Choice

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R&G Lounge

Gayot’s Best SF Chinese Restaurants

“Excellent tour. Did the China town walking food tour. Guide was very knowledgeable and the food was excellent.”

 

Kristina. via Google
Chinatown Food Tour

Where is it?

Osmanthus Dim Sum

Osmanthus Dim Sum Lounge, Broadway, San Francisco, CA, USA

Empress By Boon

Empress by Boon, Grant Avenue, San Francisco, CA, USA

Great Eastern Restaurant

Great Eastern Restaurant, Jackson Street, San Francisco, CA, USA

606

606, Broadway, San Francisco, CA, USA

House of Xian Dumpling

House Of Xian Dumpling, Kearny Street, San Francisco, CA, USA

Fusion Dumpling

FUSION DUMPLING, Jackson Street, San Francisco, CA, USA

Z & Y Peking Duck

Z & Y Peking Duck, Jackson Street, San Francisco, CA, USA

R&G Lounge

R & G Lounge, Kearny Street, San Francisco, CA, USA

Our start location varies; you’ll receive your exact meeting location after booking.

Run of Show

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1: Meet Expert Avital Guide & Introduction

Guests meet Avital Guide at pre-determined location. Kick off the tour with fun introductions!

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2: 1st Restaurant for Appetizer & Optional Beverage Pairing

Arrive at the first neighborhood restaurant and sink your teeth into a delicious appetizer with a carefully curated alcoholic (or non-alcoholic if you prefer) beverage pairing.

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3: Visit Iconic Landmark

Head towards your next restaurant destination, but on the way discover unique murals, historic statues, or hidden curiosities with rich commentary from your Avital Guide.

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4: 2nd Restaurant for Appetizer & Optional Beverage Pairing

Enjoy your second small plate appetizer with another delicious beverage pairing as you hear stories about the restaurant, culinary scene, and the people who make it all possible.

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5: Discover Neighborhood Story

As you walk to your 3rd restaurant destination you’ll continue your journey through the neighborhood with more awesome storytelling and fun facts.

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6: 3rd (or 4th) Restaurant for Entree, Dessert & Optional Beverage Pairing

Indulge in your main entree course with another incredible beverage pairing as you chat, enjoy, and connect with your fellow diners.

Then enjoy a scrumptious sweet treat for your final tasting. Your Avital Guide will wrap up the tour, answer any final questions, and can recommend other awesome places to visit next time!

The Essentials

Availability

Private tours are available any day of the week, at any time! Public tours are not available right now.

Distance

The San Francisco Chinatown food tour is a flat route, approximately 1 mile. 

Group Size

Private tours don’t have a minimum or maximum number of people. Ask your private curator for minimum spends.

Alcohol

Guests over 21 years can add the alcohol pairing upgrade which includes 3 carefully curated drinks.

Gratuity

Gratuity is included in your package price! 

Lead Time

We can accommodate Private Bookings in advance or rush. Start your booking and we’ll get back to you right away!

Private or Public Tour

Our Chinatown Food Tour is only available for private groups. It’s great for team building, client entertainment, birthday parties, and large groups.

  • Reserve Your Preferred Day & Time
  • Any Group Size
  • Private Avital Guide For Your Group
  • Customize Your Package

Upgrades & Add-ons

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Add 3 Alcoholic Beverage Pairings
$35 / Person

Curated cocktails, beer, or wine enhance your dining experience.

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Add More Food for Heartier Meal
$30 / Person

Perfect for dinner-time tours. Available on private tours only.

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Team Building Games
Complimentary

Booking this tour for a team building activity? Add 1-2 of our quirky-and-classy games for added fun and connection. In between courses, your Avital Guide will lead your team through fun and interactive team building games. Games last about 10-15 minutes each.

Dietary Restrictions

One of our core values is #BreatheCuriosity. We enjoy introducing you to new foods and old favorites in new ways. We very much encourage guests to be adventurous and try something new – we’ve even had an 80-year old man try his first oyster with us! Thus, while we love the diverse ways our guests choose to eat, we can accommodate some restrictions on public tours and many restrictions and preferences on private tours. You will be asked for your dietary restrictions during your booking process.

If you are unsure if we can accommodate your restriction, please email us at [email protected]. Please note that this tour may include nuts, dairy, seafood, spicy food, and pork. We can accommodate the following on public tours:

  • Vegetarian
  • Pescatarian
  • Gluten-free
  • Pregnant Guests
  • No Pork
  • No Seafood

Why Choose Avital for Your Chinatown Food Tour in San Francisco?

  • Expertly Guided: Our Chinatown Food Tour is led by a trained, expert Avital Guide. You can sit back and enjoy as your host takes care of all the logistics with rich storytelling and group engagement along the way.
  • VIP Experience: No waiting in lines and each course is served seated at a reserved table. Tours can be an intimate, small-group experience yet still have that same VIP feeling for large groups.
  • Experienced Team: A full support team to ensure a turnkey booking and seamless experience from start to finish.
  • Dietary Restriction Friendly: We understand dietary restrictions and want everyone to leave feeling cared for and full! We’ll ask for your restrictions after booking.
  • Taste The Best: Instead of visiting a whole bunch of average places with tiny toothpick bites, we visit 3 incredible restaurants that not only serve steller food and drinks, but are passionate about storytelling and the guest experience.
SF Food Tour FAQs

How to Book Your Private Tour

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1: Explore Packages

Download the PDF proposal to view packages and pricing for each experience. Still have questions? Schedule a call with your Culinary Curator.

 

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2: Start Your Booking

Submit your event details to get started. Upon submission, you’ll also have the option to make an initial, refundable deposit to reserve your date right away.

 

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3: Finalize Details

A real human will be in touch to finalize your event details, like confirming your package, how to submit request for dietary or alcohol accommodations, and when your final headcount is due.

Psst! Looking to join a public tour? You can buy tickets here!

Start Your Private Booking


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