Taste of New Haven

My husband and I gave my parents a gift certificate for Taste of New Haven for Christmas last year, and we cashed it in and went with them for the Theater District Tour. We had a BLAST — great food, great drinks, got to see and learn about new places in New Haven, and the pace of the whole tour was leisurely and comfortable. Jennifer was a fantastic tour guide! This tour exceeded our expectations and was a fantastic value. We will definitely be booking more tours in the future!

I had a great time on my your today! I learned a lot of new information about New Haven and I’ve been spouting random facts all evening. I can’t wait to book my next tour and I will definitely be recommending these tours to everyone I know!

Colin and Taste of New Haven is fantastic! One of the best tours i have ever taken. Colin is a terrific guide and turned New Haven into a fabulous city filled with culture, great food and drinks. We took the Symphony tour and ended the night with fabulous seats at the Schubert Theatre to hear a terrific show. A perfect night! I will be sure to take my family friends who visit on another tour.
This is a must do for New Haven!

Having never been on a culinary walking tour, I was extremely skeptical. I have to say, I believe any culinary tour that is not Taste of New Haven related is sure to be a huge letdown. Colon was an amazing guide. He was very informative about all things New Haven. He took the time to answer questions and really taught the group alot. The food was plentiful and the amount beer and liquor was a very nice surprise. I definitely will recommend this tour to everyone. Had a phenomenal time.

I’ve been on both the Theater District tour and the Canal tour and have been totally pleased with both events. Starting with our excellent guides, who know New Haven and can talk about its history, architecture, Yale, and the local businesses, and who get a group of strangers on the tour acquainted and conversing, and continuing through the restaurant stops, all with fabulous food and drink, these excursions are a great time. Over the course of four hours we walked about a mile or so and stopped at six or seven establishments, including wine shops for tastings, restaurants for food and drink, and a chocolate shop (Theater District; frozen yogurt on the Canal tour). While none of the food stops served large portions, over the course of the afternoon we had more than enough to eat, and to drink!
I can’t wait to go on another tour. This is a wonderful way to experience New Haven and some of it’s tastiest offerings, while learning about some of its history and architecture, as well. Natalie was an excellent and entertaining guide on the Theater District tour and Eric was amazing on the Canal tour. Definitely recommend!

Did the canal quarter tour for my husband for our anniversary. It was awesome. we went to 9 places in the 4 hour period. Colbie was our tour guide and she was adorable. I enjoyed most Casious, Zapra, koffee and Odd Bin. I loved how we started light faire and ended with heavy food and pub. Our tour guide mixed in some historical fun facts which was a nice touch. It was the perfect amount of time. We ended the tour full and satisfied. I will def try another tour.

Took the goatville tour with my girlfriend and elderly (70’s) parents. I was worried my parents weren’t going to be able to do all the walking but they were fine. It was a 4.5 hour leisurely stroll down State St. Colin was a very informative and entertaining tour guide. My father just loved talking to him about the history of New Haven. The staff at each stop were very welcoming. I’ve worked in New Haven for 20 years and eat in town frequently but still I found the tour to be both interesting, informative and fun! The food at each stop was great and the other folks on the tour were very nice also. I will be planning another one for next spring! Thanks Colin, we had an awesome day.

Colin is amazing and you should do this with friends! Super fun and a great thing to do to explore New Haven!

We did the Canal Tour today and it was amazing. Eric, our tour guide, was awesome. I really enjoyed the laid back feel of the tour, the mix of culinary and cultural history, and the pace of the day. I will definitely be signing up to do another tour soon.

We did the Theater tour today with Jenny. She was a complete joy! The tour was great (food, people, atmosphere). It was wonderful learning anecdotes about New Haven and more about the city itself. I would highly recommend this as a great way to spend the afternoon. I left beyond stuffed.

I did the Theater district tour with Natalie as tour guide and it was fantastic. I heard about the tours from a Fox channel broadcast and I thought it was an excellent way to taste many restaurants without having to go through an entire meal. Temple Grill was our first stop (Sangria’s, sweet potato fries, waffle fries and chicken Waldorf salad slider). We were full and happy as a fat cat at the first stop. Then onto Bar for pizza and beer. I’m not a beer drinker but the mashed potato, bacon pizza is crazy good. The thin crust pizza made in a brick over was amazing. Chocopologie was ok but the one in South Norwalk is the one to visit. The kettle corn was the perfect mix of salt & sweet. Then our last stop at Kelly’s. Even after all the food the walking really helped keep you going. By the time we got to Kelly’s we were ready for the chicken spring roll. Which are wonderful, crispy and delicious. The end of the meal was ice cream from Mochi. I had never had them before and it’s hard to describe the outside of a mocha, you really have to have one to understand. I had the mango and it cleanses the palate and a fantastic kiss good-​bye. It was a wonderful Sunday. Colin has created a wonderful mix of great food, history and architecture information all in a tour. Every city should model this if they want visitors to feel welcome, learn about their city and get a taste of their restaurants that will surely become their favorite haunts. We’ll be going back for the other two tours before the summer is out and probably repeat the theater district in the fall with more friends and family.

I did the theare tour and it was GREAT! I signed up because I knew very little about New Haven and this tour changed that. We stopped at 5 different places for food and drink and also popped in on a couple more places. Our tour guide was super knowledgeable and easy to get along with. We didn’t get tasting sizes of food and drink… we got all normal sizes! Pitchers of beer and pizzas at one place, pints at another, tons of history from the owners, walked through Yale and learned a little more about Yale and New Haven… it was one of the best things I have done in CT and I can’t wait to do another tour. Go sign up and do one!

Great way to learn more about New Haven and its dining establishments. Did the Canal tour with a group of friends — this was an activity planned by one of them. A very fun afternoon and early evening — still leaving plenty of time to go out on the town for those up for it — and more than enough eating and drinking to feel like a complete nights entertainment if you call it a night after the final stop!

I was delightfully surprised by the Taste of New Haven food tour. I am a vegetarian and this sometimes makes for slim pickings on tours. I had plenty of food to taste on this tour. The tour guide Colin was very knowledgeable about the city in addition to the food. Half of this tour was the history and architecture of New Haven. I am not normally interested in these topics, but he told it with such enthusiasm and passion that I found it very engaging. We made 8 stops. I discovered several venues I would love to return to again. I have done food tours before, and I thought that this tour was a great value for the price paid. I do recommend bringing along a sturdy ideally insulated shopping bag for the experience as you will have the opportunity to make purchases, some even at a discount. I also really enjoyed learning about the various events the businesses have coming up. I left with lots of good ideas for fun events in the future. Come hungry!

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable of New Haven and the places we visited. A great idea to get to know restaurants and coffee shops in the area.

I definitely recommend this tour for people from New Haven, surrounding areas, or tourists just visiting for the weekend. This was a ton of fun and one of the best food tours I have ever been on. I grew up in New Haven, but moved to Boston ten years ago. I did this with my parents through Groupon and it was wonderful! We went to restaurants I had never been to before even though I grew up in New Haven. We did the Theatre District tour and had a wonderful variety of food from Mexican, to the famous New Haven pizza, amazing coffee and tea at Jojo’s, to kettle corn, Irish food, and an amazing dessert. The knowledge of food, architecture, and history of New Haven was wonderful. Even though I grew up here, I learned so much from the tour!
Colin, the tour guide and one man show of the company, was funny, energetic, knowledgable, and clearly well known around New Haven. I’ve done food tours in Chicago and New Orleans, and this one is one of my favorites! We had more than enough food at each stop (I was really full by the end) and the tour was 4+ hours! Definitely a bargain for the money we paid. Highly recommend this!!!

What a fantastic – and tasty – way to get to know a city! I didn’t know anything about New Haven until I started working on the ambulance in and around the city and this was just a great way to learn about new places to eat, the history of the city, architecture and a whole bunch of interesting little tidbits.
We went on the Canal Quarter tour with Farah as our guide and after a full 4+ hours of walking, talking, eating and drinking, we were so enthralled that we can’t wait to do another tour.
Our stops:
Koffee – if I liked coffee, this would have been great. Hubby enjoyed the tasting though!
Pure Health Lounge – the owner was fantastic and more than happy to show off his machines and provide us with tastings and answer questions. Super excited to stop by here when I’m working for one of their blends or their frozen yogurt!
Katalina’s Kupcakes – nice selection of samples, cute shop!
Caseus – how could you go wrong with a cheese tasting? This place has the potential to make me broke.
Zafra – charming bartender and delish Cuban food! Will definitely come back on our own to have more off their menu.
Oddbins Bottle Shop – the owner was so informative and helpful when it came to wines, it was impressive.
Anna Liffey’s – a perfect way to end the tour. Guinness (ick for me, yay for hubby) and huge plates of Irish fare.
I would definitely recommend these tours for anyone – even if you think you know New Haven – you’ll learn a lot while having a great time!

I really enjoyed seeing a new, fun, interesting is of the city. Colin, the tour guide, is really knowledgable and humorous while allowing the tour group to enjoy each stop and each other. Taste of New Haven would make a fabulous gift for friends or family visiting the city. Or take a tour yourself and discover some great hidden gems! I highly recommend!

Went on the Canal Quarter tour which was absolutely amazing. Colin’s knowledge of the history of New Haven, his sense of humor and the food and beverages made this tour well worth it plus I would have paid more… something new and interesting to do rather than the same old things. I highly recommend this tour and his others!

Took the Westville tour on Friday (12÷2÷11). Colin Caplan is a terrific tour leader, providing history of the area and the places we stopped in. Loved the Theatre and the Wine Store; Delaney’s was neat.
I highly recommend taking one of these tours. My friend and I will take another in the spring for certain.