Chicago Food Tour: 6 Dishes with Deep Dish Pizza & Beef Sandwich
Recommended by 98% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Chicago, USA
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Explore Chicago's buzzing food scene—and see some of its best-known landmarks on the way—on this two-in-one walking tour. The small group size offers are more intimate experience as you stroll around the vibrant Loop area, spotting highlights from the Willis Tower to the Rookery building. Indulge in a variety of famous Chicago foods, from deep-dish pizza to the world-famous dipped Italian beef sandwiches.
- Embark on a small-group tour, or upgrade for a private experience
- Enjoy enough bites to add up to a hearty meal
- This two-in-one tour is great for time-pressed travelers
- Exploring on foot is a great way to soak up the city's ambiance
What's Included
- Deep Dish Pizza
- Gourmet Popcorn
- Chicago-style Hot Dog
- Italian Beef Sandwich
- Fudgy Brownie
- Our delicious Secret Dish (to be revealed on the day)
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- 805 S State St, Chicago, IL 60605, USA
We will meet at Lou Malnati's Pizzeria, 805 S State St, Chicago, IL 60605. Our guide will be waiting for you with an orange umbrella for easy recognition.
End point
- Millennium Park, Chicago, IL, USA
We end the tour across the street at Millennium Park.
Itinerary
Make your way to a centrally located meeting point, in time to meet up with your small group (or just your guide, if you've selected the private option).
Taste a classic Chicago deep-dish pizza, the source of many rivalries with New York. Learn what makes a Chicago deep-dish so special. You'll also visit a historic spot to taste the Italian beef sandwich, where you'll hear about the origins of this classic sandwich and its founding right here in Chicago. Enjoy hot dogs and other treats along the way.
As you go, you'll wander through the Loop—Chicago's Downtown area—and will see many of the city's iconic architectural landmarks, as well as its famous skyscrapers. Continue nibbling and tasting as you go.
Finally, end the tour in Millennium Park, where you can admire the beloved Cloud Gate sculpture and stay as long as you'd like.
Taste a classic Chicago deep-dish pizza, the source of many rivalries with New York. Learn what makes a Chicago deep-dish so special. You'll also visit a historic spot to taste the Italian beef sandwich, where you'll hear about the origins of this classic sandwich and its founding right here in Chicago. Enjoy hot dogs and other treats along the way.
As you go, you'll wander through the Loop—Chicago's Downtown area—and will see many of the city's iconic architectural landmarks, as well as its famous skyscrapers. Continue nibbling and tasting as you go.
Finally, end the tour in Millennium Park, where you can admire the beloved Cloud Gate sculpture and stay as long as you'd like.
1
Chicago Public Library - Hall Branch
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Financial District
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Calder’s Flamingo
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
Willis Tower
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
The Rookery Building
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
6
Palmer House Hilton Historic Lobby
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
- Not wheelchair accessible
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Most travelers can participate
- * Please note: the itinerary and menu is subject to change, based on the locations' availability, weather, and other circumstances.
- * Please ensure to contact us in advance of the tour for any dietary requirement, to ensure we can cater for them the best we can.
- * This tour involves a fair amount of walking; comfortable shoes are recommended.
- 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
4.9
based on 1,012 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Our Secret Food Tour guide was Eliot, who was very informative about the food and history of areas that we covered. Eliot was easy to understand and to hear, and kept a moderate pace throughout our 2+ hours together (which was good for one of our 88 year old participants). The portions of food were plenty, and some favorites were the deep dish pizza at Lou Malnati's, Garrett Popcorn, and churros at Tortas Frontera. The tour allowed for times to do sit-down eating and bathroom breaks. Yes, I would recommend this tour and our tour guide, Eliot!
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Thank you for the positive review! We’re glad you enjoyed the food, the local insight, and the time with our guide. Secret Food Tours was pleased to have you with us.
The tour was great, as was the food. Our guide needed to be louder, she was very hard to hear. She often talked with her back to us.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Thank you, Cynthia, for sharing your feedback. We’re glad to hear you enjoyed the tour and the food, and we appreciate your perspective on the experience with your guide. Feedback like yours is helpful as we continue to refine our tours and make sure every guest can comfortably follow along and enjoy the experience from start to finish.
We hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back for another Secret Food Tour in the future!
Chicago Bob was great! He kept track of our group, got to know each of us. He was kind and engaging while so very knowledgeable! The food selections featured all the favorites I wanted and the atmosphere and the pace were great. Loved it!
Response from Host, Sep 2026
We’re pleased to know you had such a positive experience. Thank you for choosing us and for taking the time to tell others about your day with our guide. It was wonderful having you along!
This is a great tour to try all of the Chicago classic tourist foods without having to wait in line or make reservations. The food was delicious, and our guide Addie was so sweet and fun!
Response from Host, Sep 2026
We enjoyed introducing you to some of the city’s local favorites. Hearing that you had a good time makes the effort behind each tour worthwhile. Thank you for choosing Secret Food Tours!
Great guide, but overpriced for the portion sizes
The tour itself was enjoyable, largely thanks to our guide (LANCE), who was fantastic—funny, personable, and super informative.The stops chosen offered a nice variety of local flavors, but overall, it didn't feel like a great value for the price.
The issue wasn't that I left hungry, but rather that the portions simply didn't match the ticket cost. Serving sizes were surprisingly small—just a very tiny slice of pizza and half a beef sandwich—and water was the only drink offered at any of the stops. While the selection had good variation, the actual amount of food provided just didn't add up to what you'd expect for what we paid.
Great guide and fun commentary, but a bit lacking on the value side.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you, Robert, for taking the time to share your experience. We’re pleased to hear that Lance made such a positive impression and that you enjoyed the variety of local flavors and the commentary throughout the tour.
Our tours are thoughtfully curated to offer more than simply a large quantity of food. Along with tasting local specialties, guests get the opportunity to explore the city with a knowledgeable guide, learn about its food traditions and history, and gain a better understanding of the places and culture that make Chicago distinctive. We also plan portions carefully so guests can comfortably enjoy the full experience without becoming too full midway through the tour.
That said, we understand your perspective on the value and appreciate you sharing it as we continue to refine the experience. We’d be happy to welcome you on another Secret Food Tour in the future and hope the combination of food, storytelling, and local insight provides an experience that feels worthwhile from start to finish!
Lots of great food, good info on tour. Just the right amount of walking. Right amount of people on tour
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for giving us some of your time while visiting. We hope the experience offered a genuine look at the local food scene and the neighborhood behind it. It was a pleasure having you with Secret Food Tours!
My family and I did this tour while we were in Chicago this past weekend and we were very happy with our experience. Sue was our guide and she was a wealth of knowledge. You could really tell that she enjoys her job. Before we got started, she made sure that everyone in our group was accounted for and even went out of her way to ensure that a few unintentional latecomers were able to jump in without disruption. She was well-prepared with anything we would've needed like wet wipes, hand sanitizer and even a Tide pen! All of the food options were amazing, with the Lou Malnati's pizza being my favorite dish. I would 100% recommend this tour to anyone visiting Chicago! You'll feel like a local for a few hours. :)
Response from Host, Aug 2026
We’re grateful you allowed us to be part of your travels. We hope the tour gave you something distinct from the rest of your itinerary and a few memories connected to the places we visited. Thank you for joining Secret Food Tours!
Sue was an amazing guide, so sweet and informative. She took us to some amazing places with delicious food and we got some cool history along the way. Everything was great and we highly recommend booking this tour!
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Your time with us is something we truly appreciate. We hope the tour brought together good food, local insight, and an enjoyable way to explore the area. Thank you for choosing Secret Food Tours!
The tour was wonderful. Sue was a wonderful guide who was well versed in the history of Chicago and took us to some great spots to experience the staples of Chicago food
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for choosing us during your time in the city. We hope the experience helped you settle into the area and see it from a more local perspective. It was great having you with Secret Food Tours!
Sue is wonderful, born in Chicago so she knows the great food places. All the food was delicious, better than I expected. The pizza was so good, I never eat that kind of pizza but I ate the entire piece. The brownies were scrumptious, even though I was full, there was always room for a great brownie. Sue's knowledge of the Chicago history made the tour an absolute must for anyone who is interested in great facts and stories. I would recommend this tour to all.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
It was great meeting you! Your time in the city was yours to spend, and we’re glad some of it brought you our way through Secret Food Tours. We hope you’ll join us again when the opportunity comes.
Booked this tour through Viator. I received an email with instructions for meeting time and place. Went to the location as instructed and no one was there. I tried to contact the tour operator but the phone number given states all communication needs to be through messaging which I did. However the response time was not sufficient since my tour was already to be starting . I then called Viator for help which the rep said he had a different address for a meeting point. By this time the tour operator had messaged back and told me that this is a problem with Viator that they are trying to resolve. The problem being the wrong information email being sent to the customers. She then gave me the correct address and said she reached out to the tour guide that I was on my way . After running to that location I met up with the group. I was told by the others that the tour guide message them directly to advise of the correct meeting place. I was not messaged obviously. The worst part was it was all a blame game. Viator would not admit fault by sending out the incorrect instruction email, the tour operator only wanted to blame Viator even though they knew there was an issue and did not make sure to notify me of the correct meeting point. Then the tour guide wanted to blame his tour office for not contacting me. Not once between Viator, the tour operator or the tour guide was I given a genuine apology. It was nothing more than a blame game. I love food tours, we do them in every new city we visit but please do yourself a favor and find a different tour company that offers one.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thanks for sharing your experience. We appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective, as feedback like yours helps us continue refining the experience we provide. We always aim for clear and efficient communication throughout the entire guest journey, so we understand how frustrating it can be when that falls short of expectations.
While many guests go on to enjoy the food, neighborhoods, and stories shared on our tours, we know that a smooth start is just as important. Your comments are valuable as we continue working to improve communication across every stage of the experience.
We hope you'll consider joining us again in the future so we have the opportunity to provide the kind of experience that so many of our guests have come to enjoy.
It was an amazing experience. Sue was very informative and helpful. The secret spot was my favorite. Don’t pass on this tour or you will be sorry.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Welcoming guests is something we never take for granted. Thank you for making Secret Food Tours part of your visit. We look forward to hosting you again!
Food was great, historical information was great, Eliot was a superb and knowledgeable guide! We highly recommend!
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you for your thoughtful feedback. Your review is appreciated by our entire team. We look forward to welcoming you back to Secret Food Tours!
Great taste of Chicago! We did this tour on our first day. Perfect way to get the ‘lay of the land’ and decide what we wanted to get back to during our stay. Elliott did a great job providing a smooth experience with interesting facts about the City. Highlight for us. Highly recommend.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
We appreciate you taking the time to leave a review. Your feedback reflects the experience we aim to provide every guest. We look forward to welcoming you back to Secret Food Tours!
Although this is titled “Food Tour” only the last 45 minutes of the tour was about the food. Since we’d already had an architectural tour of Chicago, we heard a lot of repeated information. We wanted a real “food tour” focused on the cool Chicago food and it wasn’t that. Tour started at 11:30am and we expected to eat fairly quickly so we hadn’t eaten a big breakfast. Our first food stop was over an hour and a half into the tour so we were starving and the rest of the food stops seemed jammed together so by the time we got the Chicago Italian beef sandwich - the last stop, we were were stuffed cramming all the food in.
Sadly, and this is the first times I’ve ever done a non-flattering review, our guide “Mike” extended the tour by more than one hour - and the extension was because of his personal stories and opinions that were a bit on the sexist/conspiracy theory side. Usually we’d be happy about an extension, but his silly personal anecdotes were about him and his girlfriend and not about Chicago. In addition, he was kinda rude to two people who stopped and listened into the tour. Completely understand him telling people if they wanted to join the tour, they had to pay, but he was unnecessarily snarky and then rude to a homeless guy telling me “I get into a hassle with that guy every day”. In comparison to our guide from the previous day who had a woman in a wheelchair almost run over him and tour group thought she was out of line- his response was “You never know what kind of day people are having” was so gracious.
Also not the guides fault - the tour was on a Saturday when several of the buildings were closed so we couldn’t even go in and see the things he was describing - the description on Viator should have indicated that.
We enjoyed the food - and the short food histories … just thought the entire tour would be about that. That along with the guides yammering on with unrelated personal experiences - none of the four of us would recommend this to anyone else.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Hi Marquette, thank you for taking the time to share such detailed feedback about your experience. We appreciate hearing both what you enjoyed and where the tour did not align with your expectations.
We're glad to know you enjoyed the food and the stories behind Chicago's iconic dishes. We also appreciate your perspective on the balance between food, neighborhood history, and the overall pacing of the tour. Feedback like yours is valuable as we continue to refine the experience for future guests.
We also appreciate you sharing your observations about the guide and the overall flow of the tour. Guest feedback helps us evaluate every aspect of the experience as we continue to improve.
Thank you again for your thoughtful review. We hope you'll consider joining us again in the future for another tour and the opportunity to explore a different destination with us.
Usually when you do these tours you go to hole in the wall spots, but not on this one. The deep dish pizza spot was Giordano’s - which we were told was like “third best off the bench.” The hot dog spot was “5th best in Chicago.” Take me to one of the top two, right? The photo spots were cool. Learning the history of Chicago was intriguing. That’s about it. I literally texted a friend who was going to take her mom on the tour when she visited Chicago and told her not to do this one.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback, Mary. We're pleased to hear you enjoyed learning about Chicago's history and passing by some of the city's iconic spots along the way.
We understand everyone has their own expectations when it comes to a food tour. Our experiences are thoughtfully curated to showcase the local food scene as a whole, with each stop selected for the role it has played in the city's culinary story and the overall experience we aim to create. While personal favorites will always vary, many of our guests have appreciated this approach and have shared positive experiences with the variety, quality, and stories behind the tour.
Still, we appreciate you sharing your perspective, as feedback like yours helps us continue refining the experience. We hope you'll give us another opportunity to welcome you on one of our tours in the future.
Mike was knowledgeable, engaging and provided a fabulous experience. The food was amazing and the surprise was exceptional.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. Your review shows just how much you enjoyed getting to know the city with us. We hope to welcome you back to Secret Food Tours before long!
Highly recommend this tour. The food is wonderful, the walking through the streets, the sights and history is interesting. It started raining in our tour, but with an umbrella that in no way took away from the tour. Eliot was an excellent guide!
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Many thanks for sharing your experience! We're pleased that your time with us stood out in such a positive way. We hope you'll join Secret Food Tours again soon.
Make sure you come hungry! This tour was everything I wanted and more. We literally got an architecture, history and fun fact tour mixed in with great food. Mike was AMAZING. he was patient, funny and accommodating. 1000/10!!
Response from Host, Jun 2026
We appreciate your review! Knowing that you connected with so many parts of the experience is always great to hear. We look forward to welcoming you back to Secret Food Tours.
Danny provided such an awesome experience - the perfect blend of history, cool buildings, Chicago culture, and great food!
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. A successful tour is often made up of many small moments, and it's great to know that those moments added up to something memorable for you. We hope to see you again with Secret Food Tours!
You do not know what you are going to eat so be prepared to eat a lot and be prepared to walk alot.sue was a knowledgeable guide
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We're glad the tour gave you an opportunity to enjoy some local favorites and spend time exploring with us. We hope you'll join Secret Food Tours again in the future!
We do food tours wherever we go and this was one of the best tours we have been on! Sue was absolutely fantastic at guiding us through Chicago and giving us the perfect amount of history and interesting stories throughout the tour. The food was amazing and definitely will leave you full!
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you for being part of the experience! We're glad you enjoyed discovering new flavors and learning more about the destination. We look forward to welcoming you back to Secret Food Tours.
This was a perfect blend of history and information about Chicago and the food associated with it. Our tour guide Michael had prepared a great tour with a delicious sampling of food.
Response from Host, May 2026
We’re grateful for your kind review. Knowing the experience became a meaningful part of your visit means a great deal to our entire team. We look forward to seeing you again through Secret Food Tours!
This is a wonderful tour. If you haven’t had the opportunity to get a taste of Chicago this is a great way to get the introduction. You won’t be sorry. There is a fair amount of walking so wear comfortable walking shoes. It’s worth it. Lance our tour guide was very friendly, helpful, and informative!
Response from Host, May 2026
Thank you for your review! We’re glad the day provided a relaxed and memorable experience while allowing you to fully enjoy the city and its atmosphere. Secret Food Tours would be delighted to host you again.
Sue was our guide and she was absolutely fantastic ! The food was great, but the history was better! She knew it all. She timed it perfectly and was so conscientious of our entire group. She gets a 10/10!
Response from Host, Apr 2026
We appreciate your review so much. It is always nice to know the tour gave you something special to take away and remember later. We would love to welcome you back with Secret Food Tours!
We had a fantastic time on our tour! We ate some great food and learned a lot about Chicago. Sue was a wonderful guide and so knowledgeable. Highly recommend this tour!
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Thanks for posting this! It’s always nice to hear when guests have a great time and enjoy the full experience. We hope to see you again through Secret Food Tours.
Of all the activities I did for my weekend trip to Chicago, the tour was my absolute favorite!!
Lance, our guide was the best!!!!
Response from Host, Mar 2026
We’re so glad you took the time to write this. It’s great to know the food and the overall experience made your time with us enjoyable. We hope to see you again on another Secret Food Tours!
This was a fun food tour where you eat enough for 2 meals! I learned a lot from our awesome guide Mike!
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Thanks for your 5-star feedback! Our team values hearing that our guide helped tie everything together. We’d happily welcome you again on Secret Food Tours!
Spend a few hours learning about Chicago history, architecture and food! We walked around the Loop, filled our stomachs with sweet and savory, and enjoyed learning about the city. Our tour guide, Mike, was knowledgeable, friendly, and funny. Would definitely recommend this tour!
Response from Host, Dec 2025
Thank you for your review! We’re pleased the experience brought together tasting and context in a way that felt natural. You’re invited to join another Secret Food Tours in any destination.
Great time, great food, great tour! Favorite display location: Library; Favorite food: pizza
Lance was great!!
Response from Host, Dec 2025
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We’re pleased our tour helped bridge food and local perspective seamlessly. You’re welcome anytime to join another Secret Food Tours worldwide!
Member Pricing
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per personWas $84.99(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Chicago Food Tour: 6 Dishes with Deep Dish Pizza & Beef Sandwich
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