Bagels, Knish, and Dumplings: Join us on our Lower East Side Food Tour, and explore food influenced by immigrant cultures from Eastern Europe, Russia, Germany, Puerto Rica and many more!
Explore Diverse Cultures: Wander through streets that echo the stories of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, Russia, Germany, and later Puerto Rican and Chinese immigrants who also shaped this neighborhood.
Taste the Old World: Savor a potato knish, bialy and chocolate babka. Try something new, like a green tea doughnut or fried Chinese dumplings. These flavors are just the beginning of your culinary adventure.
Visit Iconic Landmarks: From historic synagogues to trendy boutiques and art spaces, discover the unique architecture and diverse cultural landmarks of the Lower East Side.
We will sample from some of the best bakeries and unique shops in the Lower East Side:
Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery
Kossar's Bialy and Bagels
North China Dumpling
The Pickle Guys
Russ & Daughters
Economy Candy
We pass by the famous Katz's Delicatessen, but it's just so crowded we don't head in for food.
History, Culture and Cuisine with 6 Food Tastings
Our Lower East Side Food Tour invites food enthusiasts and culture explorers alike to experience the vibrant tapestry of one of New York City’s most iconic neighborhoods.
With 6 food stops, YOU choose what you want to eat! Let your stomach and budget decide!
Our Lower East Side Food Tour at The Pickle Guys!
Click here to see our full schedule of walking tours in NYC. This is one of our most popular food tours for a reason!
We had the best time joining Courtney on her Lower East Side Food tour! Courtney told us so many fantastic stories and the time went by too fast! We had so much fun trying the delicious food, which was really well chosen to get to know the area! Thank you so much! We will be back for more 🤗😀
Highly recommend these fantastic tours! I took 4 of them during a recent stay in Brooklyn. I went with Onel on the Brooklyn Bridge, DUMBO and Brooklyn Heights tour on a Sunday. Jon was my guide to Soho, Little Italy and Chinatown one day, and on the Food Tour of the Lower East Side on a Saturday. Then Kassi took us through the East Village, Chelsea and the HighLine. All the guides were fantastic, highly knowledgeable, interesting and fun!
Do yourself a favor and see Brooklyn with Onel - nothing like seeing Brooklyn with a proud Brooklynite! Onel, I took the Easter River ferry back up to Greenpoint, it’s the best way to go home! (Go with Onel on Sunday, it’s the best day.) Loved Jon with his color-coordinated hoodies and baseball caps – Jon, I’ll never look at another crazy person in the street again, I’ll only look at you! 😄 Jon takes the best group photos as well, and the food was delicious on the food tour. Kassi, thanks for a lovely stroll around the East Village, Chelsea and Chelsea Market and the HighLine. I can see why you stayed in New York - you’re the quintessential New Yorker! What a fun day it was.
Folks, evidently there’s some movement afoot to push people towards taking paid walking tours. Resist this and sign up with Free Walking Tours by Foot/NYC - you’ll have a wonderful time. Whatever you tip your guide at the end of the tour will be graciously received and well worth whatever you decide to give them. Support this wonderful New York institution - and you’re welcome…
So, bottom line, you should do this. Tour very casual yet well organized, had a group of about 10-12 people, met up on lower east side, we were running a bit behind, they waited for us with good text communication. Jon was our guide, excellent and very experienced and he got us to sample food along the way and see the neighborhoods. We used it as a starting point to explore Bowery, Essex market, Orchard st market, little italy, etc. you walk, but not overtaxing. Kinnishes, dumplings, bagels, deli, sugar cookies, we sampled much. Unique and personal, do it.
We spent a most wonderful couple of hours, led by a really easy going and amazingly knowledgeable Jon Nodl doing the "Lower East Side Food Tour".
Highly recommended. Tasty stuff.
Update April 2024: My daughter and I went on the Lower East Side food tour with Jon N last week. This is the best tour company, especially the food tours, because you get so much history and info about the neighborhood. Jon is polite, professional, and FUN! Pay attention, some of his dry subtle humor may slip by you. 😉 Take cash in small bills, wear comfortable shoes and clothes appropriate for the weather. AND tip your tour guide!
This is the 3rd tour I have taken with the company and the first with Jon N as the tour guide. This was the Sunday night 9/11 Memorial and Brooklyn Bridge tour. Jon was outstanding in his knowledge of the events and construction of the new World Trade Center. I remember the day clearly and have been to the memorial site 3 times, but there were younger people on this tour that could have been hearing this information for the first time. Jon explained at the beginning of the tour that he would be very open and honest about what happened and he did an excellent job in dealing with a difficult series of events. At the end of the tour, Jon stayed to take pictures. I should have taken him up of his offer to help us get back to the proper subway station because I did get lost and wandered around before finding a station with an A or C train. My error, not Jon's!
I’ve done three tours with this company since moving to New York: Lower East Side food tour with Kathleen, Brooklyn Bridge/Brooklyn Heights/Dumbo with Onel and Soho/Little Italy/Chinatown with John. All have been great experiences with knowledgeable and kind guides who truly love the city! My son (11) joined the food tour and my daughter (12) the two other ones and they loved it as well! Highly recommend!
We love free tours by foot! We had John for the Grand Central tour, and Kathleen for the Lower East side food tour. Both of them were excellent guides and great people. Warm, funny, interesting storytellers filled with rich info about NYC.
Jon was excellent on our 12/26 Lower East Side food tour. We ate Knish, bagels, fried dumplings, empanadas, gelato and more. Lots of fun history and everything was delicious, we probably spent $20pp in addition to the cost of the tour (we paid $65 as an “tip” for our party of 5) and we got one of everything. Highly recommend Free Tours by Foot and Jon!
We've been visiting NYC over the past few weeks, ALL of the Free Tours By Foot activities we did were excellent. We did the New York One Day, Greenwich Village Food, Holiday Lights, Lower East Side Food and the Harlem tours.
Without exception they were well organised, informative and catered to a wide range of group members. To demonstrate what a challenge this would have been to a tour guide, as a family we were travelling with a 12 and 13 yo boys and I was on crutches (hip surgery 6 weeks before we arrived in NYC) but we were all included in a positive way.
Special mention to Garrett Shore for being the funniest on the New York One Day (unanimously voted including the kids!) to entertain the whole group for 6 hours plus was incredible.
The Lower East Side food tour was an awesome tour! Jon our tour guide was super organised and friendly! He gave a very good quality tour with passion and a lot of knowledge, I think it also helps because he is an actor the way he presents all the interesting knowledge about the food history. We tried some amazing food, and from very friendly food restaurants. I would definitely recommend this tour and the company.
We just got back from NYC and had a wonderful time doing all the touristy things. But the one thing we agreed on and loved the most were the free walking tours by foot! Thanks to this page I never would have know about them and I'm so glad I did!
On Sunday we did the lower east side food tour with Josh. He was interesting and engaging with his history (a former history teacher and native of NYC for his whole life) and the food was so good! We opted to buy extra at almost every place we visited. Thanks Josh!
On Monday it was raining alot but we decided to brave it and met Lori (the amazing admin for this page) for the Chinatown and Little Italy food tour. Once again we were not disappointed! Even the rain couldn't dampen our spirits! The food was unbelievable and again we left with bags of extras to have for later! Thanks Lori!
Monday night we took the Holiday Lights Tour with Meredith. She was very knowledgeable and we learned alot. The lights we got to experience were magical and lovely! Unfortunately by the time we got to Macy's I had gotten a painful blister on my toe and we called it a night. Thanks Meredith!
On our next trip we will be planning more tours! Plan it! You won't be disappointed!
Just finished the lower east side food tour with Jon. Truly outstanding tour. A good amount of history, good stories and laughter. The pace was good, the food was excellent and Jon was fabulous.
We did a food tour on lower east side today with Jon and it was simply great! The food was awesome and Jon did a great job, he was funny, very intresting stories about the neighbourhood. We would recommend this tour to everyone! Come hungry!
Loved the Lower East Side food tour with Jon. Not only did we get to sample a variety of food (7 options - made it our lunch), we also learned a little history for the area. Great story telling voice and quite knowledgeable. Check out his evening Holiday Light tour -AWESOME and be ready to walk....
We took the food tour with John of the Lower East Side and couldn't eat another thing I was so full. Started the tour with a knish and the incredible history behind that little shop. We then had emanates, gelato, dumplings, cookies, pickles, and bialys. The history behind the food and its evolution over time made the tour even more interesting.
Discover a neighborhood where an historic Synagogue-turned arts center sits across from luxury high-rise condos. Pass trendy boutiques that sit comfortably next to decades-old "Mom and Pop" shops.
Wander through streets that echo the stories of immigrants who shaped this neighborhood, from Eastern European Jews to Puerto Ricans, and now Hipsters!
Food Stops
We will sample from some of the best food stores shops on the Lower East Side. Vegan and gluten-free options are available at some locations.
Yonah Schimmel Knishery, a Lower East Side institution since 1910, serves traditional knishes (Old-World Eastern European hearty snack filled with savory ingredients like mashed potatoes, spinach, and kasha wrapped up in a thin pastry dough). Their time-honored recipes showcase the rich flavors of Jewish cuisine.
Economy Candy opened in 1937. Carrying your hard-to-find favorites like Squirrel Nut Zippers and Charleston Chews. Load up on candies and chocolates by the pound. Choose from 40 flavors of Ritter Sport bars. And so much more!
The Pickle Guys offer pickles crafted the old-fashioned way, using an authentic Eastern European recipe dating back to 1910. Try their brine-soaked specialties, from classic sour pickles to unique delights like pickled pineapple.
Kossar's Bialy and Bagels, the oldest bialy bakery in the United States, is renowned for its freshly baked bialys and bagels. Eat them plain or with a schmear of cream cheese.
Choice of dessert from either the famous Russ & Daughters, where you can get Jewish treats like chocolate Babka or Rugelach or wait until the end of the tour for freshly-made delectables from the Doughnut Plant. Try flavors like Crème Brûlée, Chocolate Hazelnut or Vanilla Bean & Blackberry Jam.
The tour ends at Essex Street and Grand Street. But if you are still hungry, our guide will bring you to North China Dumpling for savory fried dumplings and scallion pancakes served up at unbeatable prices.
*We stop at Katz's Delicatessen to hear some funny anecdotes, but due to the long waits, we do not stop for food.
What to Expect
We begin your 2.5-hour food tour at the famous Yonah Schimmel Knishery, then set off into this bustling neighborhood. Along the way, we nosh (Yiddish for snack) on foods with recipes dating back decades.
As we stroll past significant locales, learn about 200 years of history, especially the era of mass immigration, when the Lower East Side was the most crowded neighborhood on earth. Discover the neighborhood's evolution, from Eastern European Jews to Puerto Ricans to today’s Hipsters.
We end at the intersection of Essex Street and Grand Street near multiple subway stations.
Join Us!
Refine your palate, expand your mind, and immerse yourself in the flavors and tales of the Lower East Side. Whether you're a seasoned foodie or a curious cultural explorer, this tour is an unforgettable experience.
Book your spot now and walk the streets of history with Tours by Foot!
Tour information
The tour meets outside Yonah Schimmel's Knish Bakery, 137 E. Houston St. (map).
The tour ends at the intersection of Grand Street and Essex Street (map) near the Delancey Street subway stop.
Duration: Approximately 2.5 hours. Tour distance is approximately 1 mile (1.6K)
On rare occasions when a shop is closed (typically for Jewish Holidays), we cannot guarantee that all shops will be visited on each tour.
What will you see on the Lower East Side Food Tour?
We see so much on the tour, and not just food shops! Here are just a few of the sites on our tour:
Yonah Schimmel’s Knishery
Since 1910, this shop has been baking some of the best knishes in New York City. What is a knish, you may ask?
It's an Old-World Eastern European hearty snack filled with savory ingredients like mashed potatoes, spinach, and kasha wrapped up in a thin pastry dough
Along with the traditional classics like potato and kasha, there’s sweet potato, spinach, mushroom, and even jalapeno!
The dumbwaiter is one of the oldest in the city. The tin on the ceiling is original.
This iconic Jewish New York eatery also has egg creams, latkes, kugel, and many more delights.
The former Ansche Chesed Synagogue
This landmarked Gothic Revival gem dates back to 1849. It was built to house the Ansche Chesed congregation, the largest congregation in America by 1850.
By the 1970s, membership dwindled to a handful of congregants as most of the neighborhood's massive Jewish population had moved on. Eventually, the building was abandoned.
In 1986, it was rescued by a Jewish-Spanish sculptor, Angel Orensanz, who created the Angel Orensanz Foundation for the Arts.
Among the famous events that took place here was the wedding of Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller) and Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie Bradshaw) in 1997.
In 2011, Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Haus Party Tour made a stop here!
Russ and Daughters
This landmark 'appetizing' shop opened in 1914. The most common definition of appetizing (in this case is a noun, not an adjective) is "food that goes on bagels", like smoked and cured salmon, herring, whitefish salad and cream cheese spreads.
This shop is the epitome of the American Dream. Joel Russ, a Polish immigrant at the turn of the 20th Century, came to the New World in search of opportunity.
He went from selling dried mushrooms on a string to opening this wildly successful store.
Proof of just how good the food is at Russ and Daughters is the fact that, after 100 years, it is still open!
Economy Candy
In 1937, Economy Candy opened, and now, nearly a century later, this candy shop is still going strong with what is likely the most extensive selection of candy in the city, if not the country!
From old hard-to-find favorites like Squirrel Nut Zippers and Charleston Chews to modern sweets like Pop Rocks, Pez dispensers, and Big League Chew, Economy Candy has thousands of types of sweet treats.
Katz's Delicatessen
When it comes to Jewish delicatessens, Katz’s is the undisputed champion.
This iconic eatery has been serving up some of the best pastrami and corned beef sandwiches in the world, not to mention great hot dogs, knishes, and knockwurst, since 1888.
It's also where Harry met Sally. Read more about this NYC phenomenon here.
While it IS tempting to go in for a snack, the lines are just too long for our tour. But come back afterwards!
