Shopping & Tasting Tour
Every Saturday, $95 per person, includes all tastings and a sit-down lunch. Approximately 2.5 hours long.
Step into New York’s last enclave of family-run Italian food shops, where century-old bakeries, butchers, and delis still thrive. Along the way, you’ll taste samples, hear stories, and pick up insider tips on where to buy.
The experience concludes the way locals have done it for generations—with a sit-down Italian American feast at Mario’s, which has been open since 1919. Lunch includes meatballs in a classic Italian red sauce, ravioli made at Borgatti's, the best fried calamari you've ever tasted, and Mario's signature pizza, an off-the-menu specialty that recalls the restaurant's origins of one of the first pizzerias in New York City.
If you prefer to book a private tour, make a tour request here.
Prefer to visit independently?
The Shopping & Tasting Tour is available as a map-synchronized digital guidebook via Saltete or as a physical guidebook, available on Amazon.
Meeting Place, Directions,&
Parking
All tours meet at 2344 Arthur Avenue, in front of the Arthur Avenue Retail Market. If you're navigating by GPS, please be sure to add the actual address, because the default drop-off point for the Retail Market is at the loading dock on Hughes Avenue.
We recommend taking Metro North's Harlem line to the Fordham Station. It's just 16 minutes from Grand Central Station. If you are driving, there is a municipal parking lot directly across the street from our meeting place. The parking lot entrance is at 2356 Hoffman Street.
TOUr Price & Cancellation
The tour price of $95 includes on-the-go-tastings as well as lunch at Mario's. Children under 5 years old are free.
Tours are fully refundable until 48 hours before the scheduled date. Cancellations within 48 hours and no-shows are non-refundable. Tours run rain or shine. If there is extreme weather, we will contact you directly.
SPECIAL DIETS & PRIVATE TOURS
Please note any allergies you may have when purchasing your ticket. Unfortunately we cannot accommodate vegan or gluten-free diets.
Private tours are available by appointment from Tuesday-Saturday. Tours are $95 per person, with a minimum of 8 guests and a maximum of 18. Please fill out the Private Tour request form below.