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14 Reviews

As expert tour guides, Guide Shawn and their team love providing guests with memorable, food-focused experiences in Charleston. Their food tours are peppered with historical and cultural facts with the best local food as the featured moments. From Southern specialties like shrimp and grits and fried green tomatoes, discover Charleston’s culinary authenticity with Guide Shawn and their team.

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Charleston Food Tour + Drink Upgrade: Iconic History and Flavors of Charleston

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Food Tour + Drink Upgrade

REVIEWS

Guide Shawn or Local Guide's Overall Rating

4.5 / 5

Based on 14 reviews

Reviews guests left for Guide Shawn or Local Guide

Personal

02/28/25

Joe was our tour guide. He did an exceptional job telling us about the history of Charleston as well as the food. We had a great time and highly recommend your tour.

02/28/25

Dean Amann

07/10/23

Food was good but not tied to the history of the South or of Charleston - there didn't seem to be a connection.

07/10/23

Dean Amann

07/09/23

Not much history or history of the food in Charleston was shared. Not much was tied together of the food and what it meant to the South

07/09/23

Reviews Guide Shawn or Local Guide received outside of Cozymeal

Scott

01/27/23

As a resident of Charleston who has been on numerous tours, I can say that this one was the best. First off, Guilds, the tour guide, is a local who grew up knowing almost everyone in the food industry. This is a true insider tour because of his familiarity with that subject as well as the city and its residents. The food was exquisite. Each dish was excellent and used produce and proteins from South Carolina. Your time and money will be well spent on the conversation and food. You won't be let down, and you'll also get a good meal and some entertainment!

01/27/23

Shane M

01/27/23

With so many must-try places to eat in Charleston, we decided that taking a food tour would be the most efficient way to sample the local food and save time. The Downtown Charleston Food Tour is what we did. The best choice ever! Mimi was the ideal host, providing details about the food and the background of Charleston as well! P.S. The portions were enormous, and the food was absolutely delicious! That evening, we were unable to eat dinner. We had such a great time on the tour that we decided to go on the Farm to Table Experience the following day!

01/27/23

Nicky M.

12/07/22

What a great, relaxing approach to discovering more about Charleston! Laurie was a top-notch tour guide. While we sampled Charleston-specific cuisine, she told us tales about the city's rich history and traditions. We took a tour through the lovely French Quarter neighborhood, stopping at 5 delicious restaurants along the route for the food. With a great couple, it was a really private tour, and Laurie made us all feel quite at ease. We appreciate your support in making our first very long trip to Charleston memorable. This tour comes highly recommended. Thank you, Laurie.

12/07/22

Ivan

12/07/22

On this food tour of Charleston's French Quarter, we had a blast! Jessi was a fantastic tour guide—friendly and relaxed, he made sure we kept to the schedule without ever making us feel rushed, and he gave us lots of useful information on the local cuisine and interesting places as we traveled. We visited five different places, sampling a variety of Charleston-area specialties at each stop. I highly recommend this food tour as a delightful and enjoyable way to learn more about a lovely city and its particular flavor.

12/07/22

Beatrice

12/05/22

Oliver provided a wonderful experience, I must say! He was very intelligent, fascinating, and friendly. He took us to six fantastic places where we sampled local food including Irish food and barbeque, drank beer in one of the oldest taverns in America, and had a meal at one of Charleston's fine dining establishments. He revealed to us certain mysteries that we eagerly anticipate learning later. He was always on time and well-organized, and his generosity was a special experience. We definitely recommend Oliver serve as your tour guide.

12/05/22

Marc

12/05/22

Local Charleston resident here. Laurie served as my tour guide. She took us to some incredible local spots that I was unaware of and told us a ton of fascinating tales about how Charleston's cuisine and drink have contributed significantly to the city's history. All of us on the trip felt welcome thanks to Laurie's warmth, friendliness, and expert knowledge. She also patiently answered all of our queries. In the city I call home, I never anticipated to discover so many undiscovered jewels! You won't go away hungry though! This was some of the nicest food I've had in Charleston, and the portions were generous. I adore Laurie and would recommend this tour!

12/05/22

Ciara

12/05/22

Jessi, our tour guide, was outstanding. She took us to five fantastic locations, and she had meticulously planned the entire trip in advance. The menu included a wide choice of tasty cuisine and drinks. We also valued Jessi's familiarity with Charleston's past. She shared some really fascinating information with us about the early days of colonization, the various religious groups that immigrated from Europe, as well as some significant contributions made by women and African Americans over the course of the previous 300 years. Overall, a fantastic experience.

12/05/22

We highly recommend doing this tour! If we hadn't done this trip, we would have missed out on how lovely this part of the city was. The tour guide, Jessi, was fantastic! She is also a cook and shared with us some advice on utilizing our own green egg smoker as well as a few of his own dishes. She was quite knowledgeable about Charleston as a local. This tour was by far our favorite out of the two that we took in Charleston that week. We skipped dinner that night because we were too full. We enjoyed the finest shrimp and grits in the entire city on this trip! Also fantastic was the Nutella dessert.

12/05/22

Liza

12/02/22

Our guide did a great job. While we were traveling to each destination, he was extremely knowledgeable about the food we ate as well as the history of Charleston. We laughed a lot and had fantastic chats. He even organized a Happy Birthday song for my daughter at the restaurant. Her 22nd birthday was celebrated in a wonderful way. This was an excellent opportunity to sample the fantastic food that Charleston has to offer. You won't regret trying this tour and eating like the natives.

12/02/22

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