Taste of Virginia Food Tours
Taste of Virginia Food Tours
Taste of Virginia Food Tours
5
5:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Tuesday
5:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Wednesday
5:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Thursday
5:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Friday
11:30 AM - 2:30 PM
Saturday
11:30 AM - 2:30 PM
Full view
About
Taste of Virginia Food Tours is Introducing Charlottesville Evening Delight Food Tour on the Downtown Mall. Now available during the middle of the week. Come enjoy an evening out. Taste of Charlottesville Food Tours lunch is a 3-hour walking and tasting tour during which you will enjoy a fun, culinary experience while strolling through historic Charlottesville area and learning some of its history and lore. Discover some of the unique restaurants that you will enjoy. Our newest tour "Stonefield Food Tour" What is stopping you? So go eat.
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Taste of Virginia Food Tours
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
5.0
75 reviews
Excellent
59
Very good
14
Average
2
Poor
0
Terrible
0
Kelsey B
Reston131 contributions
We have been on several food tours in different cities. This one was good, but the most underwhelming out of the ones we have been on. Overall, I would have liked more history about Charlottesville. I also didn't personally care for the humor of our tour guide. As far as food goes, I liked most of the stops, but for the price I don't feel like we got our fill.
We went to the Draft House on the Downtown Mall and were able to try different kinds of beer, self-pour up to $2.50, which I thought wasn't really a lot of beer. No background from our tour guide, just basically go try beer. Second stop was at The Whiskey Jar for collard greens, a fried chicken drumstick, and a small cup of hard cider. The fried chicken was very good. We went upstairs to Bebedero's for our 3rd stop to have horchata and chicken nachos. This was our favorite spot and we went back on another day to have a full portion of nachos. After that we ventured over to The Spice Diva, which was my least favorite spot. It was mostly the owner trying to sell you stuff from her store. You got two little packets of spices to take home, but you didn't even get to chose them. The 5th stop was across the hallway to Feast! which is a great little shop with fresh cheese, bread, etc. but those portions were extremely small. Finally a walk to a homemade chocolate shop where you get 2 small pieces of chocolate. Honestly, I figured we would get more food. Our tour guide took some pictures along the way, but was eager to end our tour and get out of there. I would have also liked our guide to give us more background on the restaurants/food we were trying.
We went to the Draft House on the Downtown Mall and were able to try different kinds of beer, self-pour up to $2.50, which I thought wasn't really a lot of beer. No background from our tour guide, just basically go try beer. Second stop was at The Whiskey Jar for collard greens, a fried chicken drumstick, and a small cup of hard cider. The fried chicken was very good. We went upstairs to Bebedero's for our 3rd stop to have horchata and chicken nachos. This was our favorite spot and we went back on another day to have a full portion of nachos. After that we ventured over to The Spice Diva, which was my least favorite spot. It was mostly the owner trying to sell you stuff from her store. You got two little packets of spices to take home, but you didn't even get to chose them. The 5th stop was across the hallway to Feast! which is a great little shop with fresh cheese, bread, etc. but those portions were extremely small. Finally a walk to a homemade chocolate shop where you get 2 small pieces of chocolate. Honestly, I figured we would get more food. Our tour guide took some pictures along the way, but was eager to end our tour and get out of there. I would have also liked our guide to give us more background on the restaurants/food we were trying.
Written 21 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Beloved One
Charlottesville, VA1 contribution
Oct 2019
I went on this tour recently with my wife, her mom & our 6 year old. We enjoyed meeting the other people on the tour and our tour guide Deborah was wonderful! It was a great family experience. All four of us thoroughly enjoyed the tour & meeting the different business owners and chefs that came out. We also liked learning more about the historic nature of the city and architecture as well as the trivia. The food and drinks were great too. Definitely something fun and different to try. Would go again.
Written 15 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
yankvol
Rochester, NY85 contributions
I’ve been on food tours in New Orleans, Charleston and Nashville and and decided to try this as a fun way to explore Charlottesville while in town for a quick trip. Deborah made excellent food selections and shared a bit of info and history along the way. The tastings included a wide variety of drink and food options and just the right amount of each. Everything was delicious! Our favorite stop was Bebedero— it was so delicious! The weather was perfect for walking and since there were only two of us on the tour we ended early, giving us enough time to walk around the Mall by ourselves.
Written 9 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tasteofvafood
Thank you for coming to Charlottesville and spending the day with us! It was my pleasure
guiding you around, to the different tastings and sights. So glad you were able to enjoy the walk around the mall by yourselves. Feel free to come back soon. Thanks
Written 11 November 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Timeshare V
Chesapeake, VA513 contributions
Aug 2019
We traveled to western Virginia (where we have been many times over the years). We usually stay in the McGaheysville area. This time we decided to stop in Charlottesville to take this food tour since we enjoy these tours so much and it provides an opportunity to learn more about the community. We have taken food tours that have ranged in price from $59 (this tour) up to $179 (in Maui). At one time, I even pondered and researched starting a food tour business. We have taken tours in Newport, RI (our first), Key West, Hilton Head, Denver, Miami, Maui, Halifax N.S., and the Outer Banks.
There were six of us on the tour. The other group of four arrived late; with the fourth person arriving much later than the other three. We finally proceeded with the tour and the late-comer caught up with us as we were starting the tour late. We visited a pub with beer tasting stations. We each were provided with a $5 card to get a couple of selected pours. The stations are a great concept that we have enjoyed previously. We moved on to a couple of restaurants, a spice shop, a cheese shop and finally to a chocolate shop.
During our tour it began to rain. As we toured and were given tidbits of information while walking the streets, the downpour erupted. Being soaked through and through, and continuing to walk the streets as information about the area was being shared; things became quite a bit less enjoyable.
We have previously been on food tours where the restaurant chef or owner meets with the group for a few minutes to talk about the restaurant and/or dishes being served. This food tour did not incorporate this. At the spice company, we would have liked to have had a few extra minutes to get a better feel of what was offered and made a purchase while there. The same for the cheese shop. We were looking around at the offerings in the shop, but no time was allowed to make a quick purchase. After leaving these shops, we did the walk through the streets in the pouring rain to the last stop, a Chocolate shop. Again, things seemed rushed. But since it was the last stop, we had the opportunity to linger and make purchases after the end of the tour. The handling of the end of the tour was a bit unexpected. The guide seemed to be in a hurry to end things even though it was supposed to be a three-hour tour. There was a late start and the tour ended about 20 minutes before four o'clock. The additional time could have provided an opportunity to do some quick shopping at the last three stops. Again, things seemed rushed. Perhaps this was influenced by the rain. Part of food tours are to promote businesses and restaurants visited. I feel that the spice, cheese and chocolate shops would have better served the proprietors in making sales if tour guests were given a few minutes of time to look around and make purchases.
At the last stop (chocolate shop), which was a good ways from our starting point, we were given some directions to make it back to our vehicles, and then the owner/guide was gone. We normally provide a tip to our food tour guides; however, before we knew it, she was gone.
Perhaps the weather and the late start necessitated a shortened tour, and made things feel rushed on this particular day. After being soaked through and through, and trying to get back to our car, we decided it wasn't worth trying to revisit the shops, pub or restaurants before leaving Charlottesville.
There were six of us on the tour. The other group of four arrived late; with the fourth person arriving much later than the other three. We finally proceeded with the tour and the late-comer caught up with us as we were starting the tour late. We visited a pub with beer tasting stations. We each were provided with a $5 card to get a couple of selected pours. The stations are a great concept that we have enjoyed previously. We moved on to a couple of restaurants, a spice shop, a cheese shop and finally to a chocolate shop.
During our tour it began to rain. As we toured and were given tidbits of information while walking the streets, the downpour erupted. Being soaked through and through, and continuing to walk the streets as information about the area was being shared; things became quite a bit less enjoyable.
We have previously been on food tours where the restaurant chef or owner meets with the group for a few minutes to talk about the restaurant and/or dishes being served. This food tour did not incorporate this. At the spice company, we would have liked to have had a few extra minutes to get a better feel of what was offered and made a purchase while there. The same for the cheese shop. We were looking around at the offerings in the shop, but no time was allowed to make a quick purchase. After leaving these shops, we did the walk through the streets in the pouring rain to the last stop, a Chocolate shop. Again, things seemed rushed. But since it was the last stop, we had the opportunity to linger and make purchases after the end of the tour. The handling of the end of the tour was a bit unexpected. The guide seemed to be in a hurry to end things even though it was supposed to be a three-hour tour. There was a late start and the tour ended about 20 minutes before four o'clock. The additional time could have provided an opportunity to do some quick shopping at the last three stops. Again, things seemed rushed. Perhaps this was influenced by the rain. Part of food tours are to promote businesses and restaurants visited. I feel that the spice, cheese and chocolate shops would have better served the proprietors in making sales if tour guests were given a few minutes of time to look around and make purchases.
At the last stop (chocolate shop), which was a good ways from our starting point, we were given some directions to make it back to our vehicles, and then the owner/guide was gone. We normally provide a tip to our food tour guides; however, before we knew it, she was gone.
Perhaps the weather and the late start necessitated a shortened tour, and made things feel rushed on this particular day. After being soaked through and through, and trying to get back to our car, we decided it wasn't worth trying to revisit the shops, pub or restaurants before leaving Charlottesville.
Written 6 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tasteofvafood
Thank you for your feed back. I run tours in the rain and shine, it states on my website to check the weather conditions the day of your tour and dress appropriately.
Written 11 November 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Elmer B
3 contributions
Oct 2019 • Family
Debra was very friendly and quite informative. The tour was a nice mix of history and some great tastings. This was my first time in Charlottesville and I would recommend this tour to other first timers who want the explore the mall and downtown area as well as sample some great food.
Written 26 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tasteofvafood
Thank you for coming to Charlottesville and spending the day with us! It was my pleasure
guiding you around, to the different tastings and sights. Feel free to come back soon. Thanks
Written 11 November 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Pat R
Virginia14 contributions
Sep 2019
The tour involved six unique and interesting places from beer to chocolate. Each site gave us a warm welcome and tasty dishes and drinks--unique Mexican sopas p to a wide range of herbs & spices, teas, bitters, and ice cream. Debbie was delightful, good natured, friendly, and knowledgeable. Our friends from out of town appreciated the history and the Mall. As locals, the Taproom was a wonderful surprise. We'd do it again and are considering taking friends on the Dinner Tour.
Written 30 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tasteofvafood
Thank you for your kind words. It was my pleasure guiding you around to the different tastings, and spending the afternoon with us. Please come back soon. Be a food lover.
Written 13 October 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
G Rippyl
8 contributions
Sep 2019
I wish I could eat lunch like this every day! We were taken on a great knowledge of food tour by Debbie. Taphouse, Gearharts, Whiskey Jar, Spice Diva and more were all so interesting and delicious.
Hoping to do this again soon
Hoping to do this again soon
Written 23 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tasteofvafood
Hello rippyl,
Thank you for your kind words, It was my pleasure to guide you around to the different tastings and sights. and spending the afternoon with us. Please come back soon.
Be a food lover!
Written 25 September 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Inasso
67 contributions
Aug 2019
My wife and I have been on a few different food tours and this one stood out even in the rain. Debra was great and very informative and she really had a great rapport and understanding of the area and businesses she dealt with. We had some wonderful meals, best one was the Mexican bistro. Atmosphere was incredible even with electricity going out she never skipped a beat. Absolutely a must do.
Written 4 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tasteofvafood
Thank you Inasso, for coming to Charlottesville and spending the day with us! Even in the rain. It was my pleasure guiding you around, to the different tastings and sights. Please come back soon.
Written 13 September 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
TempleBerry
Richmond, VA4 contributions
My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our very first food tour during an anniversary stay in VA. Deborah was delightful and taught us so much about the downtown area. All six stops were well organized and the service we received was top notch. I also loved learning about and eating in a restaurant that you would never know was there!!
An absolute MUST DO in Charlottesville!!!
An absolute MUST DO in Charlottesville!!!
Written 25 July 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tasteofvafood
Thank you Temleb, for the lovely review, and choosing Charlottesville to visit. It was my pleasure to guide you around the downtown mall area. Happy Anniversary!! Come back soon.
Written 26 July 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jonathan M
1 contribution
Jun 2019 • Couples
Deborah did a great job. Very interesting and great food and drink on the tour. I liked that the tour was just us and one other couple which made it more quaint.
Written 30 June 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tasteofvafood
Thank you, Jonatha we had many laughs and fun. Good memories to have. I enjoyed showing you around our city. Please come back.
Be a food lover!
Written 3 July 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Linda I
Delmar, NY4 contributions
Where does it start, where can I get tickets and how much is the tour?
BigDawgJohn
Gaithersburg, MD5 contributions
Hi Linda. I bought the tix at the taste of Virginia Food Tours website for $54 per person.
The tour starts in the Downtown Mall (an outside mall). Full instructions are given on where to meet and park when you sign up.
Debbie H
Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States15 contributions
Sorry, this is a walking tour I would meet you at our first tasting.
Yes, I can have up to 1o people at one time on a normal tour private tour on off days I would be able to handle a little more.
Dress for what the weather is at the time. If it is raining dress for the rain. Snow dress warm.
