Authentic Local Food Tour in Central Shanghai
Recommended by 100% of travelers
Shanghai, China
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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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.
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 15 travelers
Supplied by
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 1,538 reviews
Elizabeth_R, Jun 2026
Great experience, good selection of food and places to visit. Really appreciate the guide letting us know the first stop location after we were held up at the airport and running late!
Jordan_L, May 2026
This was such a fun experience! Our tour guide, Jade, did an amazing job of explaining the background of each type of dish we tried. She also gave us great tips on things to do in Shanghai which was super helpful.
Anastasia_G, May 2026
I am 100% happy to have selected this tour. Even before tour began, I had received very accurate and easy to follow instructions on how to arrive to the meeting point from the guide. Being a dinner tour, and having arrived in Shanghai only hours earlier, I was ready for a treat. And that's exactly what this tour was. We visited 5 different establishments, tasting a variety of handmade deliciousness along with local beers, liquors and shots. Everything from dumplings, soup, skewered meat and veg, fruit, desserts to carefully curated samples in our final location - a Michelan rated restaurant. I would never have found or even walked into any of the establishments because I just would never know where to go. We strolled from one location to the next, allowing the food to digest, all while learning all about the ever evolving history of Shanghai, its food and people. The two and half hours went by so quickly and in the end, the guide Jim ensured that all the participants knew how to get back to our accommodations. He helped to order a Didi ride home for me, for which I was very grateful.
This tour is a wonderful introduction into Shanghai and the different foods on offer. It's worth every RMB. Just do it!
Koh_C, May 2026
Had such a wonderful morning walking around the historic buildings, starting from the French Concession and ending at People’s Square, while savouring many types of breakfast that locals enjoy. I was lucky to have Jim as my guide, who explained the history behind the places we passed along the way. The restaurants and food stalls he brought my group to were hidden gems not mentioned in the usual travel guides.
I would recommend this walking tour to those who want to learn more about the history of Shanghai while enjoying local food delicacies.
Matthew_W, May 2026
A really enjoyable few hours. You get to go to places that as a Western tourist you would not venture, so it feels as though you really are experiencing China. Great food. Value for money, this is one of the best tours I have done anywhere in the world. I really recommend.
Chris_L, May 2026
Jade was an excellent and friendly guide with great knowledge of local history and the food we were tasting. A really balanced pace between a walking tour and sampling a lot of delicious food from local vendors. Would highly recommend this experience!
Tess_T, May 2026
Excellent food tour! We sampled some very special dishes to really understand Shanghai cuisine. We went to local spots which was great to get a feel of real Shanghai. Highly recommend.
Shyam_R, May 2026
Jade was a good host and took us to great places. Gave me a chance to try a variety of dishes which i could not have as a solo traveller.
Andrea_H, May 2026
We had the best time with Jim! We ate delicious food, had great conversation with him, and loved having a chance to walk around the city.
Andrew_M, May 2026
Jade was a great tour guide and knew a lot about the city and the food we ate. She was very prompt, on time and was a very great guide!
Olivia_M, May 2026
Do this food tour at the beginning of your trip. You will get to understand the culture of Shanghai and experience local food. The food you will try is 100 times better than the tourist versions.
Danielle_G, May 2026
Lotus was a fantastic guide. She was very knowledgeable and spoke great english. She was helpful and made sure that the food was safe for me to eat as I have a severe tree nut allergy. She made the tour educational and fun. My partner and I enjoyed all the food stops. I highly recommend Lotus and this tour.
georgette_s, May 2026
You're going to sample a variety of delicious dishes from several different eating establishments. All popular small eateries.
John_M, May 2026
TJ was an excellent host who took us around some great finds. Expertly cuarated, it was also an insight into Shanghai life that a normal tourist would never encounter.
Maria_C, May 2026
Jade was charming and a perfect host. The places we went were varied and plentiful. The food was delicious.
Ben_L, May 2026
Amazing experience, amazing tour guide! Jade was a phenomenal guide: hilarious, honest, and super knowledgeable about Shanghai and the different foods we ate. This was the highlight of our trip to Shanghai. Highly recommended.
Tim_D, May 2026
Our Shanghai food tour was wonderful! Our hosts were fun and engaging. The restaurant and food choices were ideal, just adventurous enough to experience true Shanghai street food, but not too wild. The food was amazing, stop after stop. Our seven guest tour was the ideal size, with plenty of food and it culminated with a fantastic muti course feast.
The early rain was not enough to keep us from losing interest in this experience. Excellent tour at a bargain rate, highly recommended.
Connie_P, May 2026
Our tour guide Jim was extremely knowledgeable and pleasant! He fielded many questions both food and non-food related and shared fun anecdotes related to my family’s interests. We only wished that we had taken this tour earlier in our trip because it was so much fun and informative. I’m not sure if different tours or available through this operator, but I would sign up for more to bring us through different historical sites or neighborhoods based on the wonderful experience we had.
Alex_C, May 2026
Excellent local food walking tour. Learnt about the history of Shanghai, tried various foods and drinks and the host Jim super engaging, friendly and helpful. Would highly recommend, such a worthwhile experience when in Shanghai.
Ian_G, Apr 2026
Excellent experience. Jade (and her colleague) were wonderful hosts, met us on time and made us feel very welcome. Great variety (and quantity) of food, with interesting anecdotes and other useful information. Would highly recommend.
Torlisa_J, Apr 2026
Happy I decided to do this food tour inspite of the rainy weather the day of the actual tour. Alex was a wonderful guide and had prepared a yummy circuit of food majorly in 2 areas. I loved the additions of the Chinese tea ceremony and fruit snack in between the highlights of fried scallion noodles, Cantonese duck, Shanghai fried dumplings and Xiaolongbao soup buns. Highly recommend this tour!
Donald_S, Apr 2026
Alex was a fabulous guide. He was friendly, knowledgeable and professional. We enjoyed delicious food experiences in small neighbourhood eateries.
We highly recommend this small group tour.
Thank you Alex.
Erica_B, Apr 2026
I had a wonderful evening with TJ and Lotus showing us some hidden gems in central Shanghai. We got lots of information about the specialities and food culture not just from Shanghai but across China. All the food was absolutely delicious, but I will dream about the crispy pork dumplings and xiaolongbao for a long time!! Highly recommended
Dustin_W, Apr 2026
Jade was AWESOME! She’s friendly and fun. Knowledgeable about all the foods and places, and offered to give tourism advice. Fair warning about the your - they say come hungry and they mean it!!! There’s was so much food over the several places that I thought I might burst. All of it wonderful!
lawrencekswong, Apr 2026
Great to have a local Shanghaiese to take us to the really delicious places instead of the well known but chain restaurants that filled with tourists
Connie_T, Apr 2026
My sister and I booked the Monday morning tour. It was a quiet, peaceful time to walk through Shanghai. No one else signed up for our time slot so it was like a private tour. He took us to small local shops and ordered a variety of foods, including breakfast, snacks, and lunch. The food recommendations were all really good quality and authentic. He also got us any specific items we wanted to taste. I also appreciated that he gave facts throughout the tour about Shanghai culture, language, and history.
Vanessa_C, Apr 2026
Highly recommend this tour . Guide was excellent , informative , friendly and fun . An interesting walk and delicious food .
Amy_Z, Apr 2026
TJ was very knowledgeable and friendly. She explained the foods well and had great recommendations for the rest of the trip. We ate until we couldn't eat any more! Highly recommend!
Ana_K, Apr 2026
My family and I had such an amazing time on this food tour—it was honestly one of the highlights of my trip. Every stop was thoughtfully chosen and gave a really authentic taste of the local food scene. There was such a great variety, from savory bites to comforting classics, and everything felt fresh and full of flavor.
My absolute favorites were the scallion noodles, which were perfectly cooked and incredibly juicy, the pan-fried buns with their crispy bottoms and flavorful filling, and of course the xiao long bao, which were just bursting with rich, delicious broth. Each dish felt like a little experience on its own.
What really made the tour special though was Jim. He was so kind, welcoming, and genuinely passionate about the food and culture. He took the time to explain the history behind the dishes and made sure everyone felt comfortable and engaged throughout. You could tell he truly cared about giving us the best experience possible.
Overall, it was such a memorable and enjoyable experience—I’d highly recommend this food tour to anyone who wants to explore amazing food while learning more about the local culture. Definitely come hungry!
Molly_B, Apr 2026
Great food and an even better guide! What a wonderful experience with TJ! She was so kind and went the extra step to meet my dietary issues. The food she selected was incredible and she made the night really fun!
From $79.00
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Authentic Local Food Tour in Central Shanghai
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