A Taste of San Diego

Area explored: South Park
3 stars because:
— It’s an exciting idea
— It’s pretty fun
— It can be better
My girlfriend and I were the only ones in the group who have actually been on a food tour before. The two of us had fun, but I was concerned for the others. To be brutally honest, if this was my first food tour, I might not have the greatest impression of food tours in general, which would be unfair to everyone involved. I spent the entire tour just trying to figure out not necessarily the directions to the next top, but the direction of what this tour was trying to achieve. Was it supposed to be packed with food? Because I wasn’t stuffed. Was it supposed to be a culinary experience? Because it did not show much intrigue after the first place. And it didn’t help that the tour ended about an hour earlier than the projected end time.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Everything we ate was delicious. And Annette (our guide for the day, who also happens to be the head honcho of ‘A Taste of San Diego’ food tours) was very nice, courteous, and knowledgeable when asked questions during the tour. The tour itself showed some of the struggles in collaborations with the businesses in the area. Translation: ‘How can we show off these awesome places if they’re not even available (and sometimes unwilling) for food tours?‘
What was good about this tour?
It featured some fine places in the area that can be seen as landmark locations that put South Park on the map.
What could have made this tour more interesting?
— HISTORY. Tidbits about the area that aren’t obvious and can’t easily be found out on our own. We understand that it would take extra work to prepare, but it all invests into potentially a great tour.
— STARTING INSIDE OUR FIRST STOP. This time, it wasn’t an issue at all, but it can be. The location where we met could have easily sent tour group patrons far away. Thankfully, the blocks were not big.
— MORE STOPS. Like I said earlier, there could easily have been a setback in scheduling and accommodation, but the amount of stops we had (3) honestly did not leave us satisfied. Three stops honestly felt like a regular night out even without a tour.
In closing, what I’m basically saying is that there’s so much potential for tours in these areas. I would still support them because I believe in the concept. I just think that as a patron, I would want to know and experience as much as possible from the time I’m dedicating to a tour.
In the meantime, until they figure out the details of how to improve, you’d be better off at any of those self-​guided walk-​abouts (like Taste of Adams Avenue) to get your own free samples and have just as good (if not better) experience.

Well we have been looking forward to this food tour for a few weeks and another couple and I were doing the South Park tour. 2 hours before the tour the owner called us to tell us that the guide for the one tour was sick and so she had to cancel the tour. My friend had organized a baby sitter and we were very disappointed. After i said we would like a refund she called us back and said we could join the existing tour. We were so happy it worked out. We were taken to 4 different places in South park, all the places were ok and the food was average. But what we really lacked was a communication and history of the places we were at and what we were eating. How it was cooked who the owners were and in general a TOUR. It felt like we moved to 4 different places and the check was payed for us and thats it.
We have done a food tour before where it was about the food, how everything was cooked, how old the restaurant was, who the chef was. We got to talk and meet the people. Here it felt like it was lacking any thought. Nothing unique about this tour.

Great tour! 6 great restaurants and Eddie was awesome. He is very knowledgable about the area and told very interesting stories. I would definitely take the tour again!

Went on my first ‘Taste of San Diego’ Tour downtown and it was fabulous! We had Eddie as our guide who was both knowledgeable, interesting with his sharing of some of the highlights of San Diego that we learned so much about although we have lived her our whole lives. All of the restaurants were gracious and friendly and Eddie made each place special. Thanks for a great time and will be returning to another one very soon!

Found A Taste of San Diego through TripAdvisor while looking for things we hadn’t yet seen/​done in San Diego. This was our first food tour and our family of four loved every minute of it. The food at every stop was excellent and we were all very full when we were done. We liked J Wok the most and will definately return.
Annette was very accommodating to our schedule and was lovely as a guide. We can’t wait for our next food tour!

My wife and I were part of a private tour of restaurants/​tastings at a number of San Diego locations. Our first stop was the Studio Diner for Count of Monte Cristo sandwiches served with sweet potato fries. What a treat! This diner was featured on Food Network’s «Diners, Drive-​Ins and Dives.» We’ll definitely be going back there. Our next stop was a small Mexican restaurant, Chiquitas. We had carne asada quesadillas, enchiladas, and slushy margaritas. Very good. Next, we went to Seaport Village and sampled a myriad of olive oils and balsamic vinegars at the Seaport Oils and Vinegars. This place is not to be missed. JSix restaurant downtown was our final stop for dessert. We were served Valhrona Chocolate Semi-​Freddo which defies description as to how delicious it is.
Our tour guide was Annette, a bundle of energy and goodwill. She kept us engaged with food and restaurant information as well as sharing some of her own recipes and insights. A third-​generation San Diegan, Annette was most helpful and insightful. We would highly recommend this tour.

I booked the Taste of San Diego for Downtown SD. Through Unilocal,I used a discount code (SDTaste) for a 20% discount. It was a great experience. I thoroughly enjoyed the sampling of 5 places, including a cheese shop. I want to experience more. I fully recommend!

Not for Foodies! Fair warning for people who are expecting a knock-​your-​socks-​off tasting. This is not the tour for you. Myself and 3 others took the tour in San Diego’s East Village and it was an uncontested vote that this was a flop. Our first stop was J Wok which was solid Thai food in my opinion and quite big portions. There wasn’t really any introduction or explanation of the food from the staff however, and they seemed very uninterested in how much we enjoyed our taste, which led me to believe they weren’t very interested in repeat business. Our next stop was Valentine’s Mexican eatery… are you kidding me? This is a late night Mexican restaurant that I feel is most frequented by late night visitors after bar hopping in the Gaslamp. Whether it’s a staple in this area of San Diego or not, here’s nothing interesting about this place to be on a food tour of a city. Valentine’s was followed up my The Kebab Shop where we were served taboulee, falaffel, and a cucumber salad… hhmmm! This seemed like a place people ran in and out of for a very quick bite. Again not impressed. Both the Valentine’s and The Kebab Shop staff had no interaction with us and no explanation of food either. The next visit was Venissimo Cheese shop. This place was great and is the one of the only reasons for the stars given. The staff was extremely friendly and spoke about each cheese and also explained why they were placed in a certain order of tasting. The visit was very informative and the cheeses were delicious (and endless). 5 stars for Venissimo. Our last stop was dessert at Jsix. This was also a good stop and the dessert was delish.
Overall, it did not come close to meeting my high expectations of having an awesome time tasting delicious food at «restaurants» I may have overlooked in the past. Instead, we were taken to little quick spots that did not even feel like restaurants and there wasn’t really any information offered about the foods which for those who really enjoy food and cooking, that’s something that’s important. Our guide was nice and did give history about the surrounding area which was nice. Although the idea sounds Grand, this tour was nothing more than mediocre and left me feeling like I’d spent a lot of money for very little experience.

sampling different restaurants around downtown. even though it has «Taste» in its name, implying a sampling, the cumulative samplings made me pretty full afterwards. the restaurants ranged in their amount. some gave out quite a bit of food to sample, and one of the restaurants just let you eat straight up buffet. overall, food was great. make sure you use the coupon code «vavi» when signing up for a $ 5 discount.

We only had a few days to spend in San Diego and was really glad we joined this tour. We not only saw the sights but we got to taste the hidden gems that San Diego had to offer. The food tasting was great! By the end of the tour, my husband and i were really full and even skipped dinner. Oh did i mention that they chauffeur you around town?
Will definitely recommend to all my friends coming to the area.
Thumbs up to Annette and crew!

What an all around great experience! If you want to meet friendly people, see the sites of San Diego, and eat eat eat awesome food… this is it. What a great way to spend an afternoon. You’ll learn some of San Diego’s history while tasting the specialties of some older mom and pop restaurants. You can’t go wrong. Phenomenal food, tons of fun, and best of all you don’t have to drive! (Warning: Food coma may occur) Bring your appetite!

Im born and raised in san diego. For our aniversary my girlfriend took me on this tour. Ive never been on something of this sort, or even heard of it. When she told me what we had in store, I was more than excited. Being from san diego, I felt bad that i hadn’t been to one place in the tour. We hit 5 places on the tour, all of them amazing. The hostess & owner Annette is very knowlegeable and friendly too. The spots on the tour are not your 5 star resturants, more mom and pop places that only locals would know about. Or not, since I’m a local and didnt know any of these places. This is something great to do with a loved one or friends. I give it 5 stars.

I very recently went on my first culinary tour ati A Taste of San Diego. It was a delight, in many ways. Owner and founder Annette Legaspi has a real gem here in her guided tour, by van, of some of San Diego’s hidden restaurants.
The real treat, besides the food (and host, Annette, who is lots of fun and full of fun facts about the restaurants she personally selects to visit), is that these are not the mainstream places that all the tourists go to. You might not even find many of them in the guide books. And they have been in business for a LONG time… one for 76 years.
If you are seeking celebrity chefs, food from the pages of Gourmet, and upscale dining, go somewhere else. To discover some of the classic eateries the locals know about, take a culinary tour with A Taste of San Diego.
You can read my blog article here and listen in on my interview with Annette Legaspi, President and Founder of A Taste of San Diego.