Secret Food Tours Melbourne

The Secret Food Tour of Melbourne's St. Kilda was I believe my tenth food tour in various cities and countries, and when considering all the experiences, I feel this one has a lot of potential pending a few adjustments. To be clear, our guide Andrew was lovely and knowledgeable. The feedback I am sharing here I shared with Andrew in person at the time, and he was reflective and receptive. I felt that the breaek between the first food stop and the second food stop was much too long as it subsequently left 3 stops/4 food samples packed into a little over an hour. That said, the lengthy gap in the beginning involved seeing the penguins at St. Kilda pier, which was an enjoyable detour, especially if you won't have the opportunity to get out to Phillip Island. Food stop #2 was dim sim, a Melburnian treat that is tasty enough but quite heavy as it's a plate of deep-fried pork dumplings. Even if you feel extra hungry in the moment, I suggest limiting yourself to just one dim sim so that you don't fill up too much before the next stops. As all 5 of the food samples we tried involved some kind of starch (3 of them had bread as a main ingredient!), the line-up feels very carb-heavy by the end. Unfortunately I could only manage a couple bites of the last samples, and I regretted having had my second dim sim earlier. I appreciated the opportunity this tour gave me to try some iconic Melburnian foods I might otherwise have missed. The chocolate Lamington was delicious, and I also really enjoyed the garlic bread pizza. Our guide did a nice job explaining to us the history of the St. Kilda area and sharing information about Melburnian food/beverage. I have to be honest that ultimately I felt the price for this tour was too high by about $15-20 USD, though I realize that Melbourne isn't necessarily a bargain destination.

I was hesitant about whether I would enjoy a food tour, but my daughter had done one before elsewhere and enjoyed it. So glad we did, we really enjoyed our afternoon with Andrew. We explored many different foods. I especially liked the Dim Sum. The wine tasting at the end was also very enjoyable with Tay. It was rainy and cold when we first met, so he switched things up a bit so we would be down by the water at the end of the day when it was warmer. He helped us find penguins which was a bonus. Although this was booked as a food tour Andrew was very accommodating with all of our questions regarding Australia in general.

Even through a blustery morning we had an informative & enjoyable experience. We would rate the food selections on a scale of 1-10 as a 6. The morning cake, avocado toast, and garlic bread being our favorite. We would rate our experience with Andrew as a 9. His knowledge of the St. Kilda area was exemplary and he is extremely likable!