You all know by now that food tours are my favorite thing to do! I’ve enjoyed food tours in New York, Siem Reap, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Mexico City, and Reykjavik. Naturally, when I landed in Tucson, the first thing I looked for was a food tour. Thanks to the Google, I stumbled upon the lovely ladies of Taste of Tucson Downtown and immediately signed up for the Historic Downtown Tour. With so many places to eat in Tucson, this is a great intro to the best downtown Tucson restaurants. This historic Tucson food tour runs at 1:00 every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. (Pre-pandemic they also ran other Tucson food tours: a Fourth Avenue Tour and a Happy Hour Tour; hopefully those will come back!)
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My Historic Downtown Tucson Food Tour met at Mercado San Augustin, a cool space that incorporates several restaurants, a central courtyard, and even a community kitchen. Located in the heart of Tucson’s west side, free parking and easy access to the streetcar make this an ideal starting point for a walking tour of downtown Tucson restaurants.
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Best Downtown Tucson Restaurants
I love food tours because you get to try some of the best restaurants in town, for a fraction of the price! And you get multiple courses throughout the walking tour. As a solo traveler, sampling a little bit from several restaurants is way better than one big meal at one restaurant. Not to mention, you get to learn some history along the way. Tucson is an amazing foodie town and the first U.S. City of Gastronomy, so there are way too many excellent Tucson restaurants to hit on one tour. But this taste of Tucson was the perfect intro to Tucson.
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Augustin Kitchen
Our first food stop is Augustin Kitchen, nestled in the corner of the Mercado. The space is open and light, with vintage decor set against the white tile. The chef gave us an overview of the kitchen’s philosophy, which focuses heavily on sustainability and locality. Our samples here included a goat cheese brulee with mulberries and a cheese & fruit plate. According to those in the know, the calamari is a must-try but was not available when we visited. (I’ve since returned and can confirm – the calamari is ah-mazing!)
From here, we jump on the streetcar (24-hour pass included in your $68 food tour ticket) and head over to the downtown area. Between food stops, we learned a lot about the history of Tucson and were given insider tours of the Congress Hotel and the art deco Fox Theater.
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Elliott’s On Congress
Our third food stop is Elliott’s on Congress, a family restaurant serving American fare and the largest selection of infused vodka flavors in Tucson. There are over 30 vodka flavors, but since this is a food tour, not a drinking tour, vodka tasting will have to wait for my next visit. At Elliott’s, we had duck sliders and jicama coleslaw. The duck sliders (delicious!) had crunchy fried onions that really added to the texture of the slider. I definitely want to come back here for a full meal.
Charro Steak
Food stop #4 is Charro Steak, an upscale cousin of the El Charro chain of Mexican restaurants. Charro Steak focuses on ranch-to-table cuisine, and the chef here is very passionate about the quality of his food. At Charro Steak, we were served a trio of deliciousness that included a shredded beef chimichanga (El Charro is the supposed inventor of the chimichanga), a stuffed mushroom, and a BBQ meatball. All delicious! When I became a concierge, I sent so many guests here for dinner and never had any complaints!
The Screamery
Continuing our grass-fed theme, we ended our Tucson food tour at The Screamery for a sweet end to a savory afternoon. We were given the chance to sample many of their unique flavors such as Bacon & Bourbon, Cowboy Cookie, and Sweet Cream Honeycomb. I opted for Pumpkin Pie, which did not disappoint with chunks of graham cracker crust hidden in the creamy pumpkin flavor. Someday, I’ll return and try the Ice Cream Nachos or a flight of ice cream! (Find the best ice cream in Tucson!)
Caffe Milano (closed)
One of our stops was La Fufi Caffe Milano, a cozy Italian joint in the heart of downtown. The Chef, La Fufi, served us a penne pasta dish. Penne Arrabiata looks like your average pasta with red sauce…ho, hum…but this sauce had a spicy kick to it that was super unique and delicious! I knew I shouldn’t eat all the pasta with 3 more food stops, but I just couldn’t help myself!
Sadly, it looks like Caffe Milano has closed down, but I’m sure there is an equally delicious replacement on the food tour.
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I was a guest of Taste of Tucson Downtown. These are solely my personal opinions and I was not financially compensated for this post.
I took a different tour (with another company) two year ago. It was fantastic! The food in Tucson is excellent and affordable. We ate like kings and queens while in there. I will go again just for the food. Glad to know other companies offer tours too (more options!).
The food looks amazing! I need to start doing this in the different cities I go to as well! I usuallly create my own food tour, it is one of my favourite things about new countries, trying out all the amazing new and different food!
The food looks amazing, making me very hungry.
I loooove food tours. Tasting local cuisines is my favorite part of visiting new countries! All this food looks delicious, but Charro Steak sounds like my kind of place!
This made me decided to finally book a food tour! I always do it on my own, but I guess I may miss on some good stuff. The goat cheese brulee looks yum!
I absolutely love doing food tours too. I feel like you really get to know a place by the type of food they have. Those duck sliders sound awesome as well.
I want the goat cheese brûlée and the bacon and bourbon ice cream!! Sounds delish
All of these stops look delicious! I love getting to know a city by exploring its food. I am saving this for when I go to Tucson!
So awesome! I always trying to do something food related when I travel – tour, cooking class, etc.
I have never done a food tour although I am a foodie and love trying local cuisines wherever I go. But I will try one sometime soon. It’s a brilliant idea! I love the places they’ve taken you to in your tour, especially the screamery. What an innovative name and the icecream looks perfect!
Oh my word I’m hungry now. Love the name of the last place: that ice cream shop has Bacon and Bourbon. That’s my life goals right there! 😀
I need to start doing food tours. Especially on my next AZ visit, this is going to be high on my list! Thanks for sharing this 🙂 My mouth is watering now .. lol
Nice! I just came from a food tour in my hometown of Toronto and it’s got me itching to try the local eats in all the cities I visit. Tucson looks amazing!
I shouldn’t have read this right now while super hungry! My pick? That trio at Charro Steak. Y’all really ate your way through that city, that’s for sure!
Ever since we did our first food tour, it has become one of our favourite ways to immerse in local culture. It really helps to know where to eat what kind of food while in a new destination. All the recommendations you made here seem great!
Looks like a great tour! All these pictures, and reading through the article, it is actually making me hungry right now!
Never been to Tucson but I might have to put it on my list just for the food! This all looks so good and it’s making me seriously hungry!!
Wow! That looks so good and I probs want some of that calamari! 😀
We LOVE food tours too, and this one looks amazing. Its great that they show you so many different cuisine types. However I think the highlight for me would be The Screamery! Such wild flavours, I’d definitely want to try the Bacon and Bourbon (because why not?) and the Sweet Cream Honeycomb (thats my favourite). Looks like a wonderful experience!