Top 14 Lower East Side Tours

1.Lower East Side Food Tour: Taste NYC’s American Dream

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,031 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $54Our pick

Walk about a mile through Lower Manhattan with an English-speaking guide such as Astrid, Erik, or Tavia. Expect four food tastings, immigration stories, street art, Chinatown dumplings, Little Italy pizza, and a small group capped at 14 people.

“Very enjoyable tour- loved hearing the history of NYC and tasting samples of food from different cultures. Our guide, Tavia, also supplemented the tour with photographs and images. A great idea.”

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2.NYC Lower East Side Walking and Food Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 646 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $94

Join a guide such as Amanda, David, or Emmeline for a three-hour Lower East Side walk built around food and immigrant stories. You’ll sample pastrami, dumplings, pickles, candy, bialys, and doughnuts. The group is capped at 12, lunch is included, and vegetarian substitutions are available.

“Knowledgeable guide, plethora of food, fun part of town and the small group size allowed an intimate time to be had by all.”

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3.Taste the American Dream a Lower East Side Food Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 307 reviews · 3 hours · from $53

Walk 1.6 km from the African Burial Ground to the Lower East Side, stopping for four tastings and stories about Jewish, Chinese, Italian, and Latin American New York. Small groups of up to 14 make it easy to ask questions. Guides have included Bruce, Erik, Alex, and Micaela.

“Very informative tour with an excellent tour guide who was energetic and passionate about his job!”

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4.Lower East Side Eats Food Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 100 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $99

Walk New York’s Lower East Side for three hours with a licensed guide and up to 12 people. Expect generous tastings, including Katz’s pastrami, Dominican food, bialys, pickles, candy, and Doughnut Plant sweets, plus neighborhood stories. Guides such as Adam, Shaina, Jack, and Jonathan bring different personal styles.

“Matt was great... very personable and knowledgeable. Great spots to visit.. Totally worth it... plenty of food!”

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5.Lower East Side, Chinatown and Little Italy Food Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 61 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $88

Spend three hours walking from Essex Market to Chinatown, pairing Jewish, Italian, and Chinese food with New York history. You’ll sample bagels, bialys, pickles, candy, cannoli, pizza, a roast pork bun, dumplings, and a fruit smoothie in a group of up to 14.

“Our guide, Chris, is highly knowledgeable about food, art and history of the lower east side, Chinatown and Little Italy. He made the walking tour fun and full of great bites from the neighborhood. Highly recommend. Be prepared for lots of walking and bring your appetite.”

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6.Devour New York Lower East Side Guided Food Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 56 reviews · from $79

Start at 10:30 am with a guide such as Brian or Sara and walk through the Lower East Side for seven generous tastings. You’ll try pastrami, Dominican breakfast, cheese, vegan bagels, dumplings, pickles, and doughnuts in a group of no more than 12.

“I am very happy I booked this tour. My tour guide Sara was friendly, very knowledgable and really has a passion for her job and the city of New York. We stopped at some great spots on the tour and I was stuffed by the end of it! I learned lotRead more”

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7.Lower East Side Food Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 31 reviews · 3 hours · from $99

Spend three hours with Sidewalk Food Tours tasting Jewish deli classics, bialys, pickles, dumplings, doughnuts, and candy in the Lower East Side. Small groups of up to eight follow English-speaking guides such as Jack and Ross, with stops and tastings subject to change.

“Jack was amazing, stops fabulous book it! Had to move due to weather flight delay to another morning GYG was very accompanying!! Thank you”

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8.Private Walking Tour: Jewish Lower East Side

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 27 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)

Walk the Jewish Lower East Side with a private English-speaking guide, starting at 174 East Broadway and ending at Economy Candy. You’ll see architecture linked to Russian Jewish migration, visit Pickle Guys, Essex Market, and a Depression-era candy shop. Jonathan is praised for warm, sharp storytelling.

“Jonathan is a wonderful guide. He was funny, personable, and knowledgeable. From small details to the big picture, Jonathan weaves it altogether to give a sense of a place that has always been (and continues to be) in transition. Highly recommend.”

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9.Lower East Side Bagel Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 24 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $58

Walk New York’s Lower East Side for about 2.5 hours with a guide such as Ben, tasting local favorites and starting with a fresh bagel. Expect Jewish neighborhood history, stops near Katz’s Deli, Russ & Daughters, Economy Candy, The Pickle Guys, and Kossar’s Bialys, with groups capped at 15.

“Avoid at all costs!!! Only 2/8 of places were open One of the places had been closed for years Not sure but seemed like a scam as the price was high”

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10.Lower East Side Devour Food & History Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 19 reviews · from $79

Walk the Lower East Side with an English-speaking Devour guide, tasting 7 or more dishes at 7 family-run businesses. Expect Katz’s pastrami, Dominican breakfast, handmade cheese, a modern bagel, Fujian noodles or dumplings, pickles, and inventive doughnuts.

“Guide was outstanding. Great knowledge of history of the area and shared an interest in food with all of the people on the tour. Took my 11 and 13 year-old boys and they had a great time.”

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11.Iconic Foods of the Lower East Side and Little Italy Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 14 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $90

Meet at 220 Broome Street at noon for a food-and-history walk through the Lower East Side, Chinatown, and Little Italy. Your guide, possibly Hank, buys five tastings, including donuts, pizza, soup dumplings, bagels with lox, and cheesecake. The tour ends at Grand and Mulberry Streets.

“Hank was very knowledgeable on the food and neighborhood history of New York. We had a great time. Our your included donuts, pizza, soup dumplings in Chinatown, bagels and lox, and New York cheesecake. All the establishments were excellent and Hank made this an educational, delicious and fun experience.”

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12.Lower East Side Walking and Food Tasting Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 6 reviews · 3 hours · from $89

Spend three hours with an English-speaking New York guide, tasting your way from Katz’s Delicatessen to Doughnut Plant. Amanda, Dante, and Emmaline have led recent tours, which include pastrami, pickles, bagels, dumplings, and sweets. Lunch, bottled water, and a private group are included.

“A really interesting introduction to an area of NYC I may not have otherwise seen and fantastic to learn about its very rich history . Amanda really knew her stuff ands was a really good guide (I tipped her with cash on the way). Unfortunately I had an upset stomach at the end of the tour. I know Katz’s Deli is an easy place to find and super busy from 11:00 am but we finished our tour at 2:00 pm and their pastrami, which is delicious, would have gone down better around lunchtime. It wasn’t clear on the description that lunch was what we’d spend all morning eating and as…”

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13.Good Vibes on the Lower East Side: Art-full Discovery Walk

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 5 reviews · 2 to 3 hours (approx.) · from $50Best value

Join guide Alex for a two to three hour walk from Think Coffee on Bleecker Street to Essex Market. Visit Lower East Side galleries, meet their proprietors, learn local art and history, and sample snacks from neighborhood eateries in a small English-speaking group.

“Alex really tailored the experience to our interests which made it really enjoyable! The pace was perfect and we enjoyed learning about the art and history of this part of the city.”

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14.CharacTour of the Lower East Side

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 3 reviews

Walk the Lower East Side from Seward Park with a guide and an improvising actor playing figures from New York’s past. Stop for pickles, bagels, bialys, Essex Street Market, and Economy Candy. The private tour lasts about 90 minutes to two hours and suits families and groups up to 15 at the listed price.

“Wonderful, interactive, informative, and interesting tour. Also--just a lot of fun! We learned a great deal and enjoyed watching the history come alive. Our entire group made up of kids and adults all got a tremendous amount out of it.”

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