Food tours are one of my favorite things to do in ANY city because it’s such an easy and fun way to explore new areas and restaurants and try so many different foods. In NYC, make sure you find time for the Tasty Global Bites tour in Nolita with Ahoy New York Food Tours.
This three-hour tour took me into an area of New York that I hadn’t explored before, though it’s near Chinatown (where I did another amazing tour with Ahoy New York Food Tours last year). We had a fantastic guide and a small group, which is the perfect way to enjoy the Big Apple as you eat your way through it.
We all came out so full that we chose to skip dinner that night, even though this was a noon food tour. Yes, there’s that much food, and it’s that good.
I did receive a complimentary tour for myself and paid a discounted rate for my friend and their child. All my opinions remain my own, as always.
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Why I Love Food Tours
Food tours basically are a two-for-one deal, with more food than I usually eat in a single sitting and fantastic history and information from the tour guide wrapped into one delicious experience. On this particular trip, I took the tour with a childhood friend, her husband, and their tween daughter.
We all completely loved the experience from start to finish. Taking a guided tour is my favorite way to get a real feel for a neighborhood. You get a great history of the area, learn so much from a local guide, and taste food from places you might otherwise walk right past.
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What Exactly Is Nolita?
If you aren’t familiar with Nolita, the name stands for North of Little Italy. The whole tour takes place in this specific neighborhood, and we mostly stayed right on Mulberry Street.
The food scene here has really evolved from traditional Italian American joints to incredible cuisines from all around the world. Social media has really impacted this neighborhood lately, too.
There are lots of pop-ups everywhere, and you frequently see people queuing up for the latest viral food trends. Because of the nature of the food tour, we focus less on the latest sensation and more on places that have been around for a while, but the neighborhood’s vibe is definitely influenced by that (pun intended).
Can This Tour Accommodate Allergies?
Ahoy New York Food Tours does its best to accommodate allergies. Each tour has some allergies that are harder to accommodate, but they’re very clear when you sign up what they can adjust, which I appreciate.
My friend’s husband is anaphylactic to tree nuts, and the company confirmed and clarified this with us multiple times before the tour even started. When there is an item with an allergy they know about and can accommodate, they provide an alternative.
At signup, you see a list of food restrictions you can select at checkout, ranging from pork-free to no beef to gluten-free. The two big restrictions missing for this tour are vegan and dairy-free, so make sure you choose the right tour for your specific needs.
Also, keep in mind that the seven restaurant stops may change based on what is open and what’s popping up, as the neighborhood restaurant scene is constantly evolving. They do a great job managing this; for example, the empanada stop offered a vegetarian option, but that was the only other dietary concern within our group.
What Is This Tour Like?
The tour lasts about three hours, and this particular tour involved much less walking than many food tours I’ve been on. The good news is that the restaurants are all in a relatively small, concentrated area, so we walked only about a half mile in total.
However, if you have significant mobility issues, you should think carefully before booking and reach out to them in advance so they can do their best to accommodate you. Some of the restaurants involved tight spaces and some steps, but they generally can work with those who need accommodations.
For this tour, more restaurants than I usually see provided something to drink or a restroom stop, which made planning ahead a bit easier. There were three sit-down restaurants and four stops where we ate standing, so this is definitely a more relaxed tour than many you’ll experience.
That said, it also depends on the day. We were there on a very cold day, so the restaurants were far less busy than they often are, so we had the chance to sit down in a couple of places where we otherwise would have had to eat outside the restaurant. It also helped that we were a relatively small group of eight.
Our guide for the day was Liz, and she was absolutely fantastic. She was personable, extremely knowledgeable, and kept us all together and interested in the history and the food throughout. We learned so much about the history of the locations and the dishes being served, as well as the history and some of the important buildings in Nolita.
There is a maximum of 12 to 13 people per tour, and our group was a really comfortable eight. The tours do often sell out, especially in nicer weather, so plan to book early.
We brought my friend’s tween daughter on the tour, and since she is an adventurous eater, she fit right in with us though they generally recommend this tour for those 13 and older. Keep in mind that the child pricing is just five dollars less than the adult cost.
Warm Up With Traditional Indian Chai
The tour usually meets at La Churreria, but they will adjust the starting point if the weather requires it. It was freezing on the day of our tour, so we met at Kolkata Chai Company, where we could be inside right away.
We enjoyed a wonderful chai tasting, with so many fresh spices you can actually taste, like freshly ground ginger, pepper, and cardamom. This is traditional chai, and it is definitely not what you will get at Starbucks.
If you need oatmilk, they offer this as an option for allergies. I could have drunk this chai all day long – but I’ll admit that chai is my drink of choice in the morning.
We all absolutely loved it, and I was so sad I didn’t have room in my suitcase to take any home with me. My friends fell in love with this chai stop, too, and plan to make it a regular visit when they are waiting to pick up their daughter from her nearby school.
The company is owned by two Indian brothers from Massachusetts who spent their childhood summers going to India with their family. In addition to the chai, they have a small food menu, including samosas that I would absolutely pair with my chai the next time I go.
We visited their Nolita location, but they do have a second one in the East Village. Kolkata Chai also sell their teas online, and I might have already placed an order.
Side note: this was one of several locations that offers a restroom. I’m so used to just one or two on a tour, so this was a treat.
Sourdough Pizza Slices
Next on the tour was Upside Pizza, where we had a slice of spicy vodka pizza. I love New York-style pizza, but I had never had it with vodka sauce. I’m spoiled now.
The vodka sauce is made with a lot of red pepper flakes and a bit of cream, so it is relatively spicy. If needed, you can get a plain cheese slice instead, and we did have a couple of people in our group make that request.
Everything at Upside Pizza is made in-house, and they top their slices with fresh mozzarella. They use sourdough rather than yeast dough, which really turned a good slice into a great one.
These are not the cheap $1.50 slice places, and their heavy focus on quality shows. They have multiple locations in New York City, so you can try them even if you aren’t in Nolita.
There is a bathroom here, too. I love the lack of pressure!
A Whole New Kind of Falafel
Right across the street from Upside Pizza is Taim, a Mediterranean quick-service restaurant. It has the best falafel I’ve ever eaten, no joke.
The owner is an immigrant from Syria to Tel Aviv who grew up eating street food falafel, which is tiny and eaten like popcorn. It’s not the dry, dense, meatball-style falafel we are used to in the States.
They use freshly ground chickpeas with salt and pepper, and then they add amazing flavors. We tried two each per person of the harissa falafel and a green falafel made with cilantro, mint, and parsley.
They come with homemade tahini for dipping, and they serve a glass of water with this tasting. The green falafel is hands down my favorite, and I could have eaten these all day long.
Taim has grown from a single small location to a small chain with locations in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. The owner is also on Goldbelly, so you can order it from anywhere in the States.
Authentic Argentinian Empanadas
Our next stop was Goat Bakeshop for a taste of Argentina. We tasted a traditional beef empanada filled with hard-boiled egg, green olives, and other delicious fillings with the thinnest and most delicate exterior I’ve ever had on an empanada.
They serve this with a wonderful homemade chimichurri sauce. I loved how they stamp the exterior with the flavor, so you know exactly what you are getting. They offer eight different varieties, and I wish I could have tried them all.
Each person gets half an empanada, which is plenty, given all the food you get on the tour. If you’re a vegetarian, they offer a spinach empanada instead, featuring spinach, onions, and ricotta.
Sicilian Pasta, Not Italian American
After walking a bit more, we stopped at Lunella. This small, woman-owned business remains true to Sicilian cuisine and deliberately avoids standard Italian-American dishes.
We enjoyed table service that allowed us to relax a bit, and there is a convenient bathroom available. In addition to your pasta, you have your choice of beverage, including orange juice, pineapple juice, Chianti, Pinot Grigio, beer, and Coke products.
We started with a plate of bread before diving into our main Sicilian dish. We ate pasta alla norma, which is like a rich eggplant stew topped with shredded ricotta served over rigatoni.
I don’t even like eggplant, but this was amazing, and I ate every bite. The staff explained that, because this is Southern Italian cuisine, they use dry pasta rather than the fresh pasta native to Northern Italy.
The proof is always in the pudding for authentic restaurants when you listen to the people there talk. The waitstaff all speak Italian, and we noticed some of the customers did, as well.
Fresh Spanish Churros
We hit La Churreria, which is a spot my friend’s daughter had visited recently and absolutely adored. Ironically, my friend had shown me photos of her daugher and friend enjoying churros there the night before our tour, not realizing this was part of it.
The space is tiny inside but adorable, and while there is seating, people often eat on the street because it is packed. The owner also runs a Spanish restaurant down the street, and they offer authentic street-style churros here.
They use a choux-based dough to make shorter, thinner churros than what most of us are used to, and all are made by hand. They get rolled in extra-fine sugar after frying rather than cinnamon sugar, because cinnamon sugar is the Mexican way rather than the Spanish way.
The churros come with a chocolate sauce for dipping that is a little thinner than what you will find in Spain, but it is still a rich ganache made with cream. You can pour the chocolate into the boat, run it along the ridges of the churro, or dip it.
There is absolutely no wrong way to eat a churro, but you want to enjoy them while they are hot. Everything is made to order here, and they offer a cup of water if you want one.
The serving size is very generous, and you can easily eat more than one. We actually left some behind because we were already starting to fill up.
Gelato with Unique Flavors
Our final stop was Figo for a gelato tasting. Given the cold weather, our guide gave us an option at the start to do gelato or not, and we all enthusiastically voted for gelato.
This location is the newest restaurant on the tour, but they have other locations in NYC. A husband-and-wife team runs it. The husband, from Milan, started the business because he didn’t like the gelato he found in the States. Having spent time in Italy, I get it.
They make small batches at each location, so the product is very fresh. Figo has a variety of flavors, and we each get to choose which one we want.
I chose the Figo gelato, which is their signature flavor. It has a ricotta base with figs and amaretti cookies and really made me sad I don’t live near a location to have this one a regular basis.
It’s a relatively large portion of gelato, but I was so full from everything else on the tour that I could barely finish it. If you have an allergy, you can easily get a dairy-free variety.
Don’t Sleep on This Fab Neighborhood Food Tour
Taking a food tour is simply a great way to spend an afternoon in a city. We left the Global Bites tour with full stomachs, a new appreciation for Nolita’s diverse history, and a long list of places we want to visit again.
We had a great guide and variety of stops, and I highly recommend booking this Ahoy New York Food Tour experience. This global tasting experience offers something amazing for absolutely everyone.
