Russian Hill, San Francisco Food Tour

As a regular tour guide for Gourmet Walk’s Fillmore Tour and Chocolate Tour, I had a fun time doing a role reversal and joining a Gourmet Walks tour as an active and hungry participant. In three hours I had the opportunity to explore Russian Hill (a neighborhood I seldom visit) with Marie, the most gregarious and knowledgeable local food tour guide.

In a similar fashion to Gourmet Walk's other tours, the Russian Hill tour included 7 tastings. All 7 tastings were completely new for me – and I have lived in San Francisco for nearly my whole life! Perhaps this isn't surprising when I learned that San Francisco has more restaurants per capita than any other city in the US. You could even eat at a different restaurant in SF for every meal of the day for 3 years and still not dine everywhere. 

Perhaps with this saturation of great food, it comes as no surprise that visiting restaurants is the #1 activity for tourists who come to SF. With that said, having a local guide to sift out the great spots from the mediocre spots is the best way to guarantee a delectable and delightful culinary experience in the city by the bay.

There was a plethora of great food from the tour (and some to take home too!). I can’t pick a favorite stop on the tour because the tour offered so much variety and each restaurant had a different personality. At some spots we even had the opportunity to have one on one interactions with head chefs and owners. This personable approach to tasting food made me appreciate not only the taste, but also the story and tradition behind the food. I loved this tour, and when you see some of the pictures (below) of what we tasted, I have no doubt that you will feel enticed to join it too.