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Authentic Local Food Tour in Central Shanghai

Recommended by 100% of travelers
Shanghai, China
Viator Experience Award
High interest
Booked 2 times today.
  • 3 hours (approx.)
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

5.0
·
· Aggie ·
Sep 2026
We have had a fantastic time and sooo much food. Jade, our guide was outstanding, she was so much fun, personable, knowledgeable and very engaging. We were a small group only, 3 participants, but it never felt odd. She made sure everyone felt looked after. The food was plentiful, very yummy and very authentic. We visited little local places we wouldn’t have known or found ourselves.
· Jacqueline_E ·
Aug 2026
What a great night. Food was amazing and Gabin was a superstar. BBQ was our favourite and we went to places we never would have gone to otherwise. I would recommend this tour to anyone visiting Shanghai.

Overview

Enjoy a more immersive way to explore popular Shanghai areas such as Xintiandi and the French Concession—and sample many traditional dishes—on this small-group food tour. With your guide in the lead, discover sights and bites you'd miss on your own. Look forward to sampling Shanghainese dishes such as scallion oil noodles, soup dumplings, steamed buns, and more, and learn about the history and culture of the city.
  • Discover multiple Shanghai areas, bites, and eateries in one tour
  • Choose from morning, lunch, evening, or late-night tours
  • Includes all food and drink tastings: enough for a generous meal
  • Enjoy a more personal experience on a small-group tour

What's Included

  • Local guide
  • Food and drink tastings (enough for breakfast, lunch or dinner)
  • Local beer or desert for late night session
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

  • 333 Huai Hai Zhong Lu, Huang Pu Qu, Shang Hai Shi, China, 200021

    Please meet up at Exit 2, Site of the first CPC national congress-South Huangpi Road Metro Station (Line 1). Or Take Didi (the Chinese version of Uber) to No333 Huaihai Road which is the front door of Xintiandi Plaza. 你好,请带我去上海地铁1号线一大会址-黄陂南路站2号出口,或者淮海中路333号新天地广场正门.

End point

  • People's Square, Huangpu, Shanghai, China

    Tour will end around the People Square.

Itinerary

Find your way to a central meeting point in Shanghai, where you meet your guide and small group. Depart on foot for the Xintiandi area.

Make your first stop at a local restaurant serving up the best soup dumplings in the city. Find a table among the locals, then taste the famous dish and participate in an in-depth discussion on the flavor and consistency of the broth, the quality of the meat filling, and the texture of the dumplings' skin. Learn about the history of this dish as a Shanghainese staple.

Then, set off to the French Concession, home to historic shikumen houses. This atmospheric neighborhood is home to many top restaurants where you can try local dishes, and see how residents eat. Taste dishes such as spring rolls, roasted duck, scallion oil noodles, and red-braised pork.

Between stops, cleanse your palate with green or black tea and listen to your guide's commentary on Shanghai's culinary culture and traditions.

This tour ends at the People's Square.
1

Xintiandi

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

2

Former French Concession

50 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

3

People's Square (Renmin Guang Chang)

50 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Children under 3 are free of charge
  • Stroller accessible
  • Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
  • Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
  • Service animals allowed
  • Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
  • Near public transportation
  • Please wear comfortable walking shoes
  • Transportation is wheelchair accessible
  • Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
  • Most travelers can participate
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

5.0
based on 1,676 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Sort by: Most recent

TJ was a great guide we...

elicaprince, Oct 2026
TJ was a great guide we had so much food and was so full and satisfied it was great to experience so many different shanghainian food. Our guide was so knowledgeable and really gave insight into what its like to live in Shanghai. I would highly recommend especially for first time travellers its the best way to experience food you probably otherwise wouldnt try on your own.

Great variety of local food

Wes_L, Oct 2026
Very enjoyable food experience. Tasted a variety of local foods, enjoyed all of it. Good variety of different foods. TJ was a great guide.

Shanghai food tour is a must try in Shanghai.

Sarah_H, Oct 2026
T.J. was our spectacular tour guide. Her knowledge about Shanghai was amazing. Her enthusiasm and love for her city was wonderfully displayed. Food choices were very delicious and plentiful. We would do it again!!

Han did a great job...

TrudeKruse_J, Oct 2026
Han did a great job showing us restaurants with local food and has a lot of knowledge about the food and Shanghai.

Lovely Food

Lisa_S, Oct 2026
Great tour Jade was an excellent guide. The food was great I would highly recommend this experience.

Great food & host!

Mark_G, Oct 2026
Jade took us on a great food tour with lots to eat & different foods to try! Had a great evening with 4 other foodies and Jade looked after us all and made it a very happy experience! Highly recommend the tour with Jade. Thank you!

Jade is awesome. She...

Jack_L, Oct 2026
Jade is awesome. She really knows her stuff! Food is fantastic. Went to so many great food spots! Had fun! 11/10

Come for the noodles (stay for the dumplings)

Elise_B, Oct 2026
I had a lovely evening with Jade as well as 3 other travellers. She took us to the best restaurants in the center Shanghai - would definitely recommend!

What a wonderful way to...

Kevin_A, Oct 2026
What a wonderful way to spend our first evening in Shanghai. Tj was super friendly and did a great job explaining what we were eating and sharing a bit about life in Shanghai. Go hungry - the food was yummy and there was a lot of it.

Good tour.

John_H, Oct 2026
A very good food tour, but nothing spectacular about it. It's at a high price point and better tours available at lower price points.

Response from Host, Oct 2026

Thanks.

Had an excellent time &...

kings_w, Oct 2026
Had an excellent time & the food was great! Learned a lot & would definitely do the tour again. Very insightful!

Food and fun and friends

Shari_O, Oct 2026
I had a fantastic afternoon with my guide, Jim. He was not only knowledgeable about the neighbourhoods we were in, and the history and customs of the Chinese people but also, he was just wonderful to be with. I felt like I made a new friend. I don't normally do food tours, but this one was awesome, and I would highly recommend it.

Truly a wonderful...

Christopher_O, Oct 2026
Truly a wonderful experience that blended cultural understanding and local food and drink into a fun afternoon of eating. The intimate group made it feel like friends dining out as much as it was a tour!

Loved this tour!

Janice_C, Oct 2026
This tour was delicious, fun, and very informative. Gin was a great guide. Even though it was raining, we had a great time. The food was amazing and we were absolutely stuffed by the end. Highly recommend.

A food tour not to be missed - absolutely excellent!

Aggie, Sep 2026
We have had a fantastic time and sooo much food. Jade, our guide was outstanding, she was so much fun, personable, knowledgeable and very engaging. We were a small group only, 3 participants, but it never felt odd. She made sure everyone felt looked after. The food was plentiful, very yummy and very authentic. We visited little local places we wouldn’t have known or found ourselves.

TJ was a super fun tour...

Stephanie_A, Sep 2026
TJ was a super fun tour guide. A true local. Passionate and enthusiastic. She shared with us her favourite foods and how to eat them.

Delecious birthday tour

Vaitiare_W, Sep 2026
What an amazing and insightful tour we had with Jade. She was very attentive, personable, and entertaining. She went an extra mile by making our birthday celebration so special. She gave us lots of useful pieces of information and simply took care of us. Thank you, Jade.

Highly recommended if...

motoshi_s, Sep 2026
Highly recommended if you're interested in trying new things but don't know where to go and don't speak the local language. My guide, Han, took me to hidden gems that locals actually go. I especially enjoyed the tea tasting with the tea shop owner.

Tour was great… even...

Melanie_F, Sep 2026
Tour was great… even though we had to leave a little early the food was awesome and the guide great!

Highly recommend this food tour!

akiko_t, Sep 2026
Outstanding tour. Thoughtful and well informed. A combination of history, culture and delicious food. We had a group of 8 family and friends and had a blast. We had 2 English speaking guides Ken and Han. We highly recommend this tour.

Fun Exploration with TJ (our guide)

Dennis_K, Sep 2026
Very diverse tour. We had traditional Chinese with soup dumplings (they claim the invention, not Taipei) broken up with Mongolian BBQ then on to more neighborhood fare and finishing at a Michelin star restaurant for dessert.

A really nice tour with...

darko_k, Sep 2026
A really nice tour with way too much good food. Jade was super personable and a truly great tour guide.

Really great tour! Our...

Brandee_F, Sep 2026
Really great tour! Our guide Jin was so knowledgeable & fun! He had us try an array of dishes & demonstrated how to properly eat each one. Thank you for a great time!

Fun and filling food tour

Pamela_F, Sep 2026
Gabin/Jin was an enthusiastic host. His English was excellent and he explained how the food was prepared, how to eat it, and what made it authentic to Shanghai. We walked a lot and even took a didi to get to our locations. It was a lot of food to eat and all of it was delicious. I highly recommend this tour and our guide.

Highly recommend to experience while in Shanghai

Olanrewaju_O, Sep 2026
TJ and Jin were amazing hosts that took us to many wonderful spots. TJ specifically had so much energy and passion and imparted a lot of amazing insight into Shanghai and Chinese culture

Digital shopping

Helen_B, Sep 2026
Amazing. Maisie was wonderful, attentive and had planned for every eventuality. Lots to see…make sure Alipay or WeChat payments work before you go

Traditional food tasting tour in the Centre of Shanghai

Murray_B, Sep 2026
This is a great way to spend an evening in Shanghai with someone like Gabin our tour guide he was equally passionate to my love of traditional food. The tour was not a long way to walk between restaurants, along the way you will try noodles, dumplings ,BBQ skewers and a traditional tea house tasting section finishing with a visit to a local fruit market were you get to try a nice selection of local fruits . The group of fellow Aussie and British travellers we met on the tour added to the atmosphere and entertainment, well done Gabin

Great Tour with delicious food!

Greg_F, Sep 2026
We had a great tour with TJ from Shanghai Foodies. There was a great variety of delicious and authentic dishes from places the locals go, TJ was a fantastic host and the group size (5) was just right

Food extravaganza

Jack_R, Sep 2026
Come very hungry...a large amount of food, great quality, good variety. Jade our hostess did an excellent job

We had a fantastic...

giovanni_c, Sep 2026
We had a fantastic experience with TJ and would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Shanghai. TJ was an excellent guide — friendly, engaging and incredibly knowledgeable. He gave us so much insight into the food we were trying, explaining the different dishes, ingredients and local traditions, while also sharing plenty of interesting information about Shanghai, its history and culture. The whole tour was relaxed, well organised and a great way to experience parts of Shanghai we probably wouldn’t have discovered on our own. The food was excellent, but TJ’s knowledge and personality really made the experience. A great tour, a great guide, and definitely one of the highlights of our time in Shanghai. Thanks TJ!
Member Pricing
From

$75.05

per person
Was $79.00(-5%)

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

Book ahead!
On average, this is booked 28 days in advance.

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