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Food tours in New York: what to eat and which tour to book
New York eats by neighbourhood and by immigrant community. The city's own staples are cheap and fast: the thin, foldable slice, the bagel with cream cheese, the pastrami sandwich, the halal cart platter. Beyond them, whole districts cook for their own communities: Cantonese and Fujianese in Manhattan's Chinatown, northern Chinese and Taiwanese in Flushing, South Asian and Himalayan in Jackson Heights, Italian on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. Many of the best meals are a subway ride from Midtown, and many cost under $15.
Use this page to decide what to order and which neighbourhood to head for. The dishes and areas below say what each place does well and when to go. The tours are real listings on GetYourGuide with prices as seen when we checked; prices, group sizes and inclusions change, so confirm on the booking page before you pay. Prices below are in US dollars with rough euro equivalents (about $1 = €0.85–0.90).
What to eat in New York
| Dish | What it is | Where to eat it | Typical price* |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York slice NY-style pizza slice | Large, thin, foldable slice from a big round pie, usually plain cheese or pepperoni, reheated in the deck oven to order. | Neighbourhood slice shops everywhere; Greenwich Village, the East Village and Brooklyn have many long-running ones. | roughly $3.50–5 for a plain slice (≈ €3–4.50) |
| Bagel with cream cheese bagel and schmear | Boiled-then-baked chewy bagel, split and spread with cream cheese; add lox (cured salmon) for the classic version. | Bagel shops across Manhattan and Brooklyn, especially the Upper West Side and Lower East Side; best in the morning when fresh. | about $4–7 plain with cream cheese, $14–20 with lox (≈ €3.50–6 / €12–17) |
| Pastrami on rye | Brined, smoked and steamed beef brisket, hand-sliced and piled on rye bread with mustard; a Jewish deli classic. | Old Jewish delis on the Lower East Side (Houston Street area) and in Midtown. | roughly $25–30 for a full sandwich at the famous delis (≈ €21–26); easily shared |
| Halal cart chicken and rice chicken over rice | Chopped spiced chicken or lamb gyro over yellow rice with salad, white sauce and hot sauce, sold from street carts. | Carts on Midtown street corners, especially along 6th Avenue and around 53rd Street; also near office districts across Manhattan. | about $9–13 a platter (≈ €8–11) |
| Dumplings and roast pork buns jiaozi / char siu bao | Pan-fried or boiled pork-and-chive dumplings and soft buns filled with sweet roast pork; cheap and filling. | Manhattan Chinatown (Mott, Eldridge and East Broadway) and Flushing, Queens. | roughly $3–8 for a plate of dumplings or a few buns (≈ €2.50–7) |
| Cannoli | Fried pastry tube filled with sweetened ricotta, sometimes with chocolate chips or candied fruit; best filled to order. | Old Italian bakeries in Little Italy and on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. | about $4–7 each (≈ €3.50–6) |
| New York cheesecake cheesecake | Dense, rich cream-cheese cake on a graham-cracker or sponge base, served plain or with fruit. | Diners and bakeries citywide; Brooklyn has the best-known old-style versions. | roughly $8–12 a slice (≈ €7–10) |
| Hand-pulled noodles and Xi'an-style food biang biang noodles / roujiamo | Wide hand-pulled wheat noodles with chilli oil and cumin lamb, and roujiamo, a griddled bun stuffed with braised pork. | Flushing (Main Street and its basement food courts) and Manhattan Chinatown. | roughly $8–15 (≈ €7–13) |
Where to eat: markets and neighbourhoods
Chinatown and Little Italy (Manhattan)
Dumpling houses, bakeries, roast-meat shops and dim sum on Mott, Bayard and East Broadway, next to the remaining Italian bakeries and cafés on Mulberry Street. Eat in Chinatown; treat Mulberry Street's restaurant row as a walk-through.
Lower East Side and Essex Market
Old Jewish delis, appetizing shops and bialy bakeries alongside Essex Market, a covered city-run market with produce, cheese, butchers and a food hall upstairs.
Chelsea Market
Food hall in a former biscuit factory with tacos, seafood, bakeries and specialty shops, at the south end of the High Line. Convenient and good quality, but busy and priced for visitors.
Flushing (Queens)
One of the largest Chinese communities in the US, with Taiwanese, Sichuan, northern Chinese and Fujianese food, and basement food courts on and off Main Street. Much cheaper than Manhattan.
Jackson Heights (Queens)
Indian, Bangladeshi, Nepali and Tibetan food (momos, thali, chaat) around 74th Street, plus Colombian and Mexican places along Roosevelt Avenue.
Smorgasburg (Brooklyn)
Large open-air weekend food market with around a hundred vendors, mostly new and small food businesses.
Food tours in New York compared
Every tour below is a real listing on GetYourGuide or Viator, checked on 2 Oct 2026. Prices move with season and group size, so treat them as a guide and confirm on the booking page.
| Tour | Length | Price* | Group | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYC: Chinatown and Little Italy Food Tour | 2 hours | about $79–83 per adult (≈ €68–72) | — | First-timers who want a short, lunchtime-sized introduction to both neighbourhoods. | Check dates |
| New York: Midtown Manhattan Street Food Walking Tour | 2 hours | about $48–54 per adult (≈ €42–47) | — | Budget travellers staying in Midtown, and anyone curious about the people who run the carts; most dietary needs can be handled with notice. | Check dates |
| Brooklyn Food Tour: Heights, DUMBO & Bridge Views | 3 hours | from about $69 per adult (≈ €60) | max 12 | Second-time visitors and photographers; vegetarian and gluten-free diets with notice, but not suitable for coeliacs. | Check dates |
| NYC: Chelsea Market, Meatpacking, High Line Food Tour | 3 hours | about $94 per adult (≈ €81) | max 10 | Visitors who want Chelsea Market explained rather than just walked through; listed as vegetarian-friendly, gluten-free with substitutions. | Check dates |
| NYC: Flushing Chinatown Food Tour – Eat Like a Local | 2 hours | about $69 per adult (≈ €60) | — | Adventurous eaters and repeat visitors who want regional Chinese food beyond Manhattan. | Check dates |
NYC: Chinatown and Little Italy Food Tour
On GetYourGuide · run by Empire Tours & Productions (NYC)
- Length
- 2 hours
- Price
- about $79–83 per adult (≈ €68–72)
- Included
- Walk with a local historian guide and tastings including dumplings, sponge cake, pizza and cannoli; drinks and tips not included.
- Suits
- First-timers who want a short, lunchtime-sized introduction to both neighbourhoods.
- Starts
- 119 Baxter St, Chinatown
New York: Midtown Manhattan Street Food Walking Tour
On GetYourGuide · run by Turnstile Tours
- Length
- 2 hours
- Price
- about $48–54 per adult (≈ €42–47)
- Included
- 6 tastings from food carts and trucks (menu rotates; examples listed include falafel, chicken and rice, kati rolls, Korean short rib and waffles), a bottle of water and a map of carts. About 1 mile of walking; part of ticket income goes to the Street Vendor Project.
- Suits
- Budget travellers staying in Midtown, and anyone curious about the people who run the carts; most dietary needs can be handled with notice.
- Starts
- 6th Avenue at W 42nd St, by Bryant Park
Brooklyn Food Tour: Heights, DUMBO & Bridge Views
On GetYourGuide · run by Intrepid Urban Adventures
- Length
- 3 hours
- Price
- from about $69 per adult (≈ €60)
- Group size
- max 12
- Included
- Tastings at eateries in Brooklyn Heights, a vendor at Time Out Market in DUMBO, a local sweet or savoury speciality, and a stop at the Brooklyn Bridge for skyline views.
- Suits
- Second-time visitors and photographers; vegetarian and gluten-free diets with notice, but not suitable for coeliacs.
- Starts
- 100 Henry St, Brooklyn Heights
NYC: Chelsea Market, Meatpacking, High Line Food Tour
On GetYourGuide · run by Like A Local
- Length
- 3 hours
- Price
- about $94 per adult (≈ €81)
- Group size
- max 10
- Included
- Guided walk through Chelsea Market, the Meatpacking District and part of the High Line with food tastings and water.
- Suits
- Visitors who want Chelsea Market explained rather than just walked through; listed as vegetarian-friendly, gluten-free with substitutions.
- Starts
- Outside Buddakan, 75 9th Avenue (corner of 16th Street)
NYC: Flushing Chinatown Food Tour – Eat Like a Local
On GetYourGuide · run by Urban Passer Inc.
- Length
- 2 hours
- Price
- about $69 per adult (≈ €60)
- Included
- Jianbing (Chinese breakfast crêpe), roujiamo, Cantonese rice roll, Taiwanese salty fried chicken and handmade dumplings, plus bottled water.
- Suits
- Adventurous eaters and repeat visitors who want regional Chinese food beyond Manhattan.
- Starts
- Inside the Starbucks at 38-05 Main St, Flushing (arrive 15 minutes early)
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Street food, sit-down or a cooking class?
Street food
Street food in New York means halal carts, hot dog and pretzel carts, food trucks in Midtown at lunch, and 'counter' food that works like street food: slices, bagels, dumplings and deli sandwiches. It is the cheapest way to eat well here, and lunch can easily be under $15. In summer, weekend markets such as Smorgasburg add dozens of vendors.
Sit-down meals
Sit-down dining is expensive by European standards once you add tax (about 8.9%) and an 18–22% tip. Popular restaurants book out weeks ahead through online reservation apps; walk-ins work better at lunch, at the bar, or early in the evening. Queens and Brooklyn give much better value than Midtown.
Cooking classes
Cooking classes exist (pasta, dumplings, pizza), but they are less central to visiting New York than in Italy or Asia, and are usually held in commercial kitchens rather than homes. For most visitors a neighbourhood food tour in Chinatown, Brooklyn or Queens is the better use of three hours.
How much to budget for food
| Style | Per person, per day* |
|---|---|
| Budget (street food, markets) | $40–60 (≈ €35–52): bagel breakfast, cart or slice lunch, cheap dinner in Chinatown or Queens |
| Mid-range (one sit-down meal a day) | $90–140 (≈ €78–120): one or two sit-down meals with tax and tip, plus snacks |
| Splurge (tasting menus, wine) | $250+ (≈ €215+): tasting menu at a well-known restaurant with drinks |
Vegetarian, halal and gluten-free
Vegetarian & vegan: Easy. Most restaurants mark vegetarian and vegan dishes, there are many dedicated vegan places in the East Village and Williamsburg, and Indian restaurants in Jackson Heights have large vegetarian menus. Watch dumpling fillings and broths in Chinese places, which often use pork.
Halal: Easier than in most US cities. Halal carts are everywhere in Manhattan, and there are many halal restaurants in Jackson Heights, Astoria's Steinway Street, Bay Ridge in Brooklyn and parts of Harlem. Kosher delis and restaurants are also widespread for pork-free meat.
Gluten-free: Gluten-free menus are common and staff are used to the question, but pizza, bagel and dumpling shops share flour and fryers, so cross-contamination is likely. Some tours (for example the Brooklyn listing above) say outright that they cannot cater for coeliacs.
Food scams and tourist traps to avoid
- Restaurant touts on Mulberry Street in Little Italy pulling people in for mediocre, overpriced pasta. Eat a cannoli at an old bakery, then walk a block east into Chinatown or north into Nolita for a meal.
- Automatic service charges (often 18–20%, especially for groups) with a blank tip line still printed on the bill, so people tip twice. Read the bill before adding a tip; if a 'service charge' or 'gratuity' line is already there, you do not need to add more.
- Carts parked at the busiest tourist spots (Central Park entrances, Times Square, outside museums) charging far more for hot dogs, pretzels or water than carts a few blocks away. Ask the price before ordering, and walk a block or two away from the landmark.
- Times Square chain restaurants and 'famous' themed places with long waits and high prices for ordinary food. Hell's Kitchen (9th Avenue from roughly 42nd to 57th Street) is a few minutes' walk west and has far better value.
Top tours & activities in New York
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Staying near the markets saves time and taxi money — most food tours start in the old centre.
Common questions
How much should I tip in New York?
Tipping is expected. In sit-down restaurants, 18–20% of the pre-tax total is normal and 15% signals poor service; check first that no service charge is already on the bill. Counter service and coffee shops have tip screens; $1 or a small percentage is common but optional. On food tours, guides usually expect around $10–20 per person or 15–20% of the ticket, unless the listing says gratuity is included.
Is street food in New York safe?
Generally yes. Carts and trucks need city permits and display a permit decal; busy carts with steady queues turn food over quickly. The main practical risks are long-held cooked food at quiet carts and tourist pricing at landmarks. Restaurants display a letter grade (A, B or C) from city health inspections in the window; an A is the norm.
Which food tour is best for a first visit?
For a first visit, a Chinatown and Little Italy tour covers the most classic New York snacks in two hours and is near other downtown sights. If you are staying in Midtown, the street food walk around Bryant Park is short and cheap. Repeat visitors get more out of Flushing or Brooklyn, where the food is less familiar and the tours go where most visitors do not.
How much should I budget for food per day?
Prices are high and tax and tip add roughly 25–30% to sit-down bills. A tight day of bagels, slices, cart food and a cheap Chinatown or Queens dinner is about $40–60. Two sit-down meals in ordinary restaurants usually come to $90–140. Tasting menus at well-known restaurants often start around $200 before drinks and tip.
Do I need to book restaurants and food tours in advance?
Popular restaurants release tables 2–4 weeks ahead on reservation apps and fill quickly, especially Thursday to Saturday. Food tours with small groups (10–12 people) fill a few days ahead in summer and December. Most GetYourGuide listings allow free cancellation up to 24 hours before, so booking early costs little.
When is Smorgasburg open and is it worth it?
It usually runs from about April to October, on Saturdays in Williamsburg and Sundays in Prospect Park, roughly 11:00 to 18:00, with dates and sites changing by season. It is worth it for variety and atmosphere, but expect $12–20 per dish and long queues by early afternoon. Arrive near opening and share plates to try more.
* Prices are approximate, gathered on 2 Oct 2026 from menus, markets and the booking pages linked above. They change with season and exchange rates.