Old Beijing Dinner Tour
Recommended by 99% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Beijing, China
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Beijing’s food culture is incredibly rich, but the most memorable meals are rarely found along the main tourist streets. This guided dinner tour takes you deep into Old Beijing to walk through one of the city’s remaining hutong (narrow lane) neighborhoods and dine at local, family-run spots known mainly to residents. Instead of guessing where to go, follow an insider route to sample traditional dishes and experience the flavors that have shaped Beijing’s everyday life for generations.
- A small-group tour ensures a relaxed and intimate atmosphere
- Visit spots off the tourist trail that you're unlikely to find on your own
- Eat like a local and sample authentic specialties you won't find elsewhere
- Navigate narrow streets with ease thanks to your guide's insider knowledge
What's Included
- DinnerTasting stops add up to a very large meal, and you will most likely not need to schedule a meal for several hours after the tour
- Bottled water
- Soft drinks & local alcoholic beverages
- Guide fee
- Post-tour welcome packet with helpful restaurant recommendations, local travel tips & so much more to help make your stay in Beijing easy & fun
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Beixinqiao stationDongzhimen, Dongcheng, Beijing, China, 100009
Meeting Location: Beixinqiao Subway Station - Exit B. 北新桥地铁站-B东北口.
End point
- 210 Dong Si Bei Da Jie, Dong Cheng Qu, Bei Jing Shi, China, 100009
The tour ends near the intersection of Dongsi North St & Dongsi 10th Alley, near the Zhangzizhong Rd Metro (line 5). 东四北大街和东四十条路口.
Operating hours.7:00 pm
Itinerary
Meet your guide and small group near Beixinqiao Station for an evening start, then set off on a walking tour through Old Beijing’s historic hutong (narrow lane) neighborhoods. As you explore, stop at a selection of local restaurants and street food stalls to sample traditional dishes alongside residents.
Along the way, enjoy an authentic introduction to northern Chinese cuisine with a variety of tastings, which may include Mongolian-style hotpot, hand-stuffed boiled dumplings, and Beijing’s famous sauced meats. Your meal is paired with a bottle of local beer.
The evening concludes at a boutique rice wine producer. Sample a small tasting flight and learn more about the traditional drink from your guide.
After the tour, your guide is happy to assist with directions back to your hotel.
Along the way, enjoy an authentic introduction to northern Chinese cuisine with a variety of tastings, which may include Mongolian-style hotpot, hand-stuffed boiled dumplings, and Beijing’s famous sauced meats. Your meal is paired with a bottle of local beer.
The evening concludes at a boutique rice wine producer. Sample a small tasting flight and learn more about the traditional drink from your guide.
After the tour, your guide is happy to assist with directions back to your hotel.
1
UnTour Beijing Food Tours
3 hours • Admission Ticket Included
2
Hutong Tour
2 hours • Admission Ticket Included
3
Nuoyan Rice Wine Shop
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
4
Ghost Street (Gui Jie)
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking advanced notice is required to be able to cater to any dietary restrictions.
- Standard group size is 8, but in some cases groups can be up to 12 people with a second guide
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
5.0
based on 373 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Cristin_W, May 2026
This is a well planned night out. Plenty of food and drink is provided. Everything was delicious. There was a good variety of food and local restaurants visited. The guide was friendly and was willing to answer all questions from the group. We would highly recommend this tour.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you for the wonderful review! We’re so glad you felt that the evening was well paced and that your guide helped bring the experience to life. Thanks for the recommendation!
matthiasfurrer, Jan 2026
During the 3-hour food tour, Shan gave us very interesting insights about Chinese cuisine, the Hutons, and China in general. It was one of the best tours I have ever taken.
Response from Host, Jan 2026
Thanks so much for taking the time to write a review! We are so happy to hear you enjoyed hearing about the history of Beijing's hutongs and the China, as well as the food on the tour. We're absolutely thrilled that this is one of the best tours you've ever been on! We hope you will come back and eat with us again in Shanghai or Beijing soon!
Mark_D, Dec 2025
This ended up being a private tour after another guest was unable to attend - Garth did a great job explaining the various dishes, their origination, and the specific stories of the restaurants/chefs involved. The food was great with the noodles and crepes being my favorites
Response from Host, Dec 2025
Hi Mark - we're so glad to hear you had a great time with Garth on your tour. The jianbing crepes are my fav too! Hope to eat with you again soon.
Hannah_E, Nov 2025
I had a great time and ate foods I wouldn’t have tried otherwise. Garth is a very kind person, very well prepared and shared his extensive knowledge about Chinese history. Thank you for a great night! ☺️
Response from Host, Dec 2025
Hi Hannah - thanks so much for taking the time to write a review. We're so glad we got you out of your comfort zone to try new foods and that you had a great night with us!
Ole_G, Oct 2025
Fantastic guide. Exactly what we were looking for; a meal experience we would never have sought out ourselves. Learned a lot about China, culture and food as well. Great with a small group, so was very social, and shared experiences.
Kit_Y, Aug 2025
Easily the best food tour I’ve done having done so many in several countries! Great tour, great host, great company and of course great food with a wealth of historical background about each food. Starting with a sumptuous hotpot, we than ate yoghurt introduced to China by the invading Manchurians during the late Qing Dynasty, then onto some wine tasting which were the best wines I have ever tasted, some fermented for as long as 365 days. Onto some noodles with vinegar and chilli and eaten with raw garlic, then perhaps the strangest, most exotic of all dishes, donkey wraps with real donkey meat! Really tender and juicier than beef. Garth explained that while those in heaven ate dragon meat, the next best thing for earthlings was the meat of donkeys. We then went onto savour the popular jinbiangs where historically troops on the battlefield would cook these on their shields over an open flame. And lastly we visited the home of a local citizen where we were surprised with the sight and sounds of little crickets in small lantern shaped cages and the last item, chicken wings marinated in Szechuan sauce. Our host, Garth was an encyclopaedia of knowledge providing the most fascinating stories behind each of the food items, and a fun and pleasant person to talk to. And there was also so much camaraderie amongst the fellow travellers also joining the tour. Overall a fantastic tour and one not to be missed for those visiting Beijing. Thanks Garth for a great time!
Daniel_P, Apr 2025
Amazing tour with the best tour guide Jesus. Took us to Amazing places beer at each one included and he helped me sort out a Didi, whilst having issues with my Alipass (took 30min) and waited till it arrived. Thank you again
Panaitescu_A, Mar 2025
This is one of the best food tours we’ve ever done while travelling. So if you need to book a food tour, I highly recommend this one.
We’ve experienced at least 6 different foods ( that I remember of :)) plus some drinks. The bonus is that we’ve also got a glimpse into Wilson’s life of how we moved from Australia and based his whole life in China.
It’s truly a wholistic journey as you eat extremely well, understand more of the culture, you see how one can integrate here & taste some of the local Chinese drinks.
Highly recommended it, 10/10, would definitely book it again when coming back!
Thank you so much Wilson!
Christopher_H, Oct 2024
Excellent tour with Garth. Very informative, food excellent, helpful getting a taxi back to the hotel. A great end to our stay in Beijing.
LizAnn_M, Sep 2024
We had an incredible food tour in Beijing with Gareth as our guide. His knowledge of both Beijing’s and China’s history and culture was impressive, and he added so much depth to our experience. The food was absolutely amazing, and each stop on the tour was unique, offering something new and authentic. It felt like we were uncovering hidden gems that you wouldn’t find in a guidebook or stumble upon on your own. The whole experience was intimate and personal, making it feel like a true discovery of Beijing’s culinary treasures. Highly recommended!
RaymundJorge_M, Jul 2024
Garth was so amiable. He narrated well what the tour is all about and the history behind it. Garth gave an expansive story about every plqce we visited. It qas an exclusive tour for us.
Andrea_G, Apr 2024
With our guide Garth we visited very peculiar diners in the Beijing hutongs around the Lama temple area. They were hidden gems we would have never found by ourselves, offering authentic and genuine food, which we truly loved! We also listened to Garth’s fascinating tales on the origin and history of some Chinese meals and food culture. From Mongolian invasion to the silk road, from the Ming dynasty to the dairy tradition… ending up in a private house usually hosting crickets’ combats! A delicious way to start our discovery of China marvellous world, a must-do in Beijing!
Cynthia A, Apr 2018
I was so glad that I did this food tour. Garth was an amazing tour guide and knew the best places to go, places that I would have never gone to without his guidance.
Bruce_W, Apr 2018
Some food tours disappoint by being timid or obvious, but not this one. Zeben, our guide, was a great host and guided our convivial group of eight to some great food served in possibly-too-generous-portions accompanied by plenty of local drinks. We never would have found these food sources on our own, let alone known how to order! A fantastic time, I recommend this tour!
Rotem_S, Mar 2018
Great variety of tastes. Nice company and very helpful guides. Many thanks!
Alice K, Jan 2018
Lots of great food. In fact too much great food for me to eat all of it. The two guides we had on this tour were very knowledgeable, and having one local guide plus a guide originating from England was a really good combination for giving a good view of Beijing. The notes we were given at the end about where we'd visited were very helpful.
erikacoppola, Nov 2017
Fantastic Tour, our guide was very friendly and had a love for the culture and food. He was very informative, everyone should try atleast once!
Marcus K, Aug 2017
This tour was exceptional! The places, the food, the people! I strongly recommend this tour to everyone visiting Beijing!
richard k, Jul 2017
We did this tour in early July and I can say it was one of the absolute highlights of our travel to China.
Our guide Kelly made sure we spend a perfect night out in some of Beijing's Hutongs.
Not only did she provide perfect organisation and a fun trip around the back alleys of a fascinating neighborhood, but offered an awesome mix of interesting history, fascinating food knowledge and great anecdotes.
The places she took us were all more than worth the visit and hard to impossible to find without local knowledge. And the food couldn't have been any better.
If you do one guided tour in Beijing go for this one.
Howard P, Jul 2017
Where do I start? How about with the guides Eric and Kelly. They hail from Canada and USA respectfully, but are fluent in Chinese and English. Our group was promptly met at the Beijing Subway Line 5 Beixinqiao stop, and this was both easy and awesome. Don't worry about using the subway the best option due to massive traffic, as it is very easy and cheap 4 Chinese Yuan in each direction. I have attached a map to give you a sense of the system. For those who have any anxiety about train systems, focus on the Last stop on a particular line that you want to travel to, and that lets you know which train to take. Also focus on the color/ of train you wish to ride.
Once we were all together, Kelly and Eric introduced themselves and everyone else, and we were off for the best experience ever. They took us into the famed Hutong district and it dates back more than 600 years. The dark alleyways, and narrow thoroughfares are hard to navigate, but our guides got us through the areas that they are experts in using daily. We went to a variety of stores, small restaurants, or other interesting places, and that is what made this tour so good. I will not give away their little secrets, but there was one surprise after another. I will tell you even after knowing about all the places we went, it still would be difficult, if not impossible, for you to manage to do what we did on this tour on your own.
The guides purchased food/drink/beer at every location, gave very detailed information about all items cooked/consumed, and even gave a historical backdrop to China which I am sure many do not know. A little extra information was so good for my knowledge base, and I LOVED every second of it. After eating traditional/speciality items, from the variety of locations visited, Eric and Kelly made sure that the group knew how to get back to their respective hotels. These guides were all about safety, from the start till end, as I have a shellfish allergy. They have vetted the restaurants, and know they are hygineic and safe for the tourist. I could not have been more happy with this tour and I give it a 78.55 on a scale of 10.0!
These guides do these tours, not to get rich, but out of the goodness of trying to get you to experience Chinese culture in its most authentic form, so tipping is much appreciated. I should have tipped more. If anyone has questions about anything in this review, please reach out, and I will do my best to answer any questions. I will be off to Shanghai China next, and just left Dubai. So far, this tour has been my highlight:! Thank you Eric! Thank you Kelly!
Stefan Z, May 2017
This tour was really an "insider" experience. Our tour guide, Garth was great. He had a lot of background information and made unforgettable.
A "must" do. for all who want to learn more about China and its culinary history.
Donald B, Apr 2017
What an amazing tour! Kelly was terrific. She was super-friendly and managed our group of eight people flawlessly. She remembered all our names and made sure to give attention to each of us as we travelled along. The tour itself was a blast. Kelly took us to a variety of spots, from an authentic Mongolian hotpot restaurant to street food the egg crepes with crispy wonton are AMAZING. There was a mix up with the reservation at the chicken place and we had to wait for 30 minutes, but Kelly solved that problem easily, taking us to a nearby microbrewery and feeding us fresh fruits while we sipped on beers. One last detail, the chicken place at the end of the tour is very, very special. Not only is the food phenomenal but the owner is utterly unique. He raises birds, quotes poetry in the parks, and he taught his dog to ride a kid's scooter he shared a video. Definitely one of my most memorable experiences in Beijing.
Christian H, Oct 2016
A Must do thing!
You are going plases, eating stuff.......you never would have found or deard trying!
Our guide Katie is the best!
Worth the time and money :
madkessler5, Oct 2016
I had an amazing time with Garth as my tour guide!! The food was delicious and very interesting. You will not be able to try any of it by yourself and Garth knew a lot about the origins of every food item. I can't recommend this tour any higher. It was truly amazing to spend the night eating and drinking with Garth!
Maximilian_R, Mar 2024
Tour durch das alte Peking mit Abendessen:
Ich hatte diese Food Tour als Einführung in das chinesische Essen für meine Frau und meine Schwiegermutter geplant. Ich selbst war ja schon mehrmals in China.
Laut Angebot hieß es, dass bis zu (glaube ich) 8 Personen maximal sein werden. Wir hatten Glück, dass die Tour sonst niemand an diesem Tag sonst niemand geplant hatte und hatten somit eine „Sonder-Tour“ durch die Altstadt von Peking. Garth unser Führer stammt aus Australien und lebt schon länger in Peking. Er hat sich größte Mühe gegeben, langsam und deutliches Englisch zu sprechen, dass selbst meine Schwiegermutter ein paar Brocke verstehen konnte, obwohl sie zuletzt vor ca. 50 Jahren das letzte Mal englisch in der Schule hatte. Im Zuge der Tour bekamen wir zusätzlich zum perfekten Essen, Trinken auch einige kulturelle Informationen zu Peking und der Innenstadt „Hutong“.
Unser persönliches Highlight der besuchten Lokalitäten und Speisen war der HotPot, der mit leckeren Zutaten befüllt wurde. Wie auch schon durch Garth vorgewarnt ist es sehr viel Essen auf der gesamten Tour. Also sich am Besten nicht bei der ersten Station dem Hotpot voll zu essen.
Als besonders aufmerksam fand ich, dass wir nach Abschluss der Tour, am nächsten Tag eine Info zu den Adressen der besuchten Lokale und auch Tips über andere Lokale bekamen. Zusätzlich gabs auch noch Informationen für z.B. Massageangebote.
Ich bin froh, dass ich das gebucht habe, ein tolles Erlebnis! Kann das Angebot jedem empfehlen, der Peking besucht!
Roam565091, Sep 2019
Diese Foodtour sollte ein Muss für Besucher in Beijing sein. Julia entführt einen an Plätze und in Lokalitäten in den hutongs, die nicht gerade touristisch orientiert sind. Und dies macht Spaß. Kleine Gruppe(6-8 Personen), viel an Informationen über Kultur, Lebensart und natürlich auch Kulinarik. Ohne Einschränkung kann man diese Tour empfehlen. Geplant waren ca. 2 1/2 Stunden. Wir begannen um 19h00 und mussten leider die Gruppe um halb elf verlassen, um so noch die letzte Metro nehmen zu können. Dies ist aber auch der einzige Nachteil.
Treffpunkt war an einer großen sehr belebten Kreuzung. Nicht ganz leicht zu wissen wo, doch Julia meldete sich tel. und so war alles bestens. Versuche viator zuvor tel. zu erreichen, liefen allerdings fehl, da das Telefon abgeschaltet war.
Tiz2307, Aug 2019
Sehr gute Tour durch die Hutongs von Peking, tourguide war super, Engländer, leider den Namen nicht mehr im Kopf :)
Sehr feines Essen, gutes Bier und tolle Infos. Gerne wieder!
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