What You Actually Eat on Each Charleston Food Tour
She-crab soup, shrimp and grits, pralines, modern Upper King tasting menus — the tours sorted by what lands on your plate.
Written by Alex H., a Charleston local Updated July 2026
Short answer: if you're chasing the classics — she-crab soup, shrimp and grits, pralines — book a downtown or French Quarter tour; the French Quarter tour with 7+ tastings (4.8★, $117, 3 hours) gives the most shots at both. If you'd rather eat where Charleston eats now, the two Upper King Street tours cover the modern restaurant scene from $95. Every walking tour here replaces a meal, so come hungry.
Charleston food tours, compared by menu
| Tour | Duration | Price | Rating | Best For | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| French Quarter Guided Food Tour with 7+ Tastings
Top Pick
| 3 hours | $116.59 | ★ 4.8 (99) | French Quarter · Lowcountry classics | Book Now |
| Small Group Food Tour – Savor the Flavors | 2.5 hours | $110.5 | ★ 4.7 (172) | Historic center · most-reviewed | Book Now |
| Charleston's Upper King Street Culinary Tour | 2.5 hours | $95 | ★ 4.6 (6) | Upper King · modern Charleston | Book Now |
| Savor the Flavors Upper King Street Food Tour | 2.5 hours | $110.5 | ★ 4.5 (10) | Upper King · bigger tastings | Book Now |
| Charleston : Best Street Food Tour With A Local Guide | 3 hours | $103.52 | ★ 5.0 (1) | Street food · small groups | Book Now |
| Striped Pig Distillery Tour and Tasting | 45 minutes | $21.8 | ★ 5.0 (3) | Spirits tasting, 45 min | Book Now |
Which tour has she-crab soup and grits?
One honest thing to know first: no Charleston food tour prints a fixed menu. Stops rotate with the season and with which restaurants are open that day, so operators promise a style of eating rather than a dish. The style the downtown and French Quarter tours promise is Lowcountry, and in Charleston that means she-crab soup and shrimp and grits are the anchors the tastings orbit around, filled out with things like pralines, biscuits, and barbecue.
She-crab soup is the city's signature dish, a cream and sherry soup named for the roe that colors it, and downtown restaurants compete on their versions. If tasting a good one is the point of your tour, pick the route with the most stops: the French Quarter Guided Food Tour runs seven or more tastings over three hours, the most food of any option on this page, at 4.8 stars across 99 reviews.
The most-reviewed pick: Savor the Flavors
The Small Group Food Tour – Savor the Flavors is the proven one: 172 reviews at 4.7 stars, 2.5 hours through the historic city center, $110.50. It covers the same Lowcountry ground with a smaller group and a slightly shorter route. Between this and the French Quarter tour you're choosing tasting count versus group size, not quality; both walk the old district and both feed you a full meal's worth.
What makes a food tour "Lowcountry"?
Lowcountry cooking is the coastal South Carolina tradition: rice culture, shrimp, crab, okra, and field peas, shaped by the Gullah Geechee people descended from enslaved West Africans who did the region's cooking for two centuries. A tour earns the label when its tastings and its storytelling stay inside that tradition. The downtown and French Quarter routes do; they narrate 300 years of the city's food history between stops, which is also what people mean when they search for a "food and history tour." You get both on the same ticket here.
The Upper King Street tours are a different meal
Upper King is where Charleston's restaurant scene lives now, and its two tours taste accordingly: modern Southern kitchens rather than she-crab soup. Charleston's Upper King Street Culinary Tour visits four restaurants over 2.5 hours for $95, the cheapest full tour on this page. The Savor the Flavors Upper King Street Food Tour costs $110.50 with a similar footprint. Both have young review records (six and ten reviews), which is normal for newer routes; the operator format is the same as the proven downtown tours.
Pick Upper King if this is a second visit, if you've already eaten the classics, or if you'd rather discover where you're coming back for dinner. First-time visitors usually get more from the downtown routes.
The two smaller options
The Street Food Tour with a Local Guide runs three hours at $103.52 and is new to the platform with one early five-star review. The Striped Pig Distillery Tour isn't a food tour at all, a 45-minute distillery visit and spirits tasting for $21.80, but it pairs well as an afternoon add-on after a morning of eating.
Which should you book?
French Quarter 7+ Tastings if the dishes are the point — most food, best shot at she-crab soup and grits in one tour.
Savor the Flavors small group if you want the longest track record (172 reviews). Upper King Culinary Tour if you've done the classics and want the modern scene for $95.
Full breakdowns of the proven picks
Full breakdown, pricing, and where to book each one:
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Charleston food tour includes she-crab soup and grits?
The downtown and French Quarter tours build their tastings around Lowcountry classics, and she-crab soup and shrimp and grits are the two dishes those menus revolve around. Exact stops rotate with the season and the day's restaurants, so no operator guarantees a specific dish. The French Quarter tour with 7+ tastings gives you the most chances at both in one outing.
What is a Lowcountry food tour?
Lowcountry cooking is the coastal South Carolina tradition built on rice, shrimp, crab, and okra, with roots in Gullah Geechee cooking. A Lowcountry food tour is any Charleston tour whose tastings center on those dishes: she-crab soup, shrimp and grits, hoppin' john, pralines, and biscuits. In practice that means the downtown and French Quarter routes rather than the Upper King Street ones, which focus on Charleston's modern restaurant scene.
How much do Charleston food tours cost, and do they replace a meal?
The walking food tours run $95 to $117 per person for 2.5 to 3 hours as of this update. The tastings add up to a full meal, so book a late-morning or early-afternoon slot and skip lunch. The Striped Pig Distillery tasting is the outlier at about $22 for 45 minutes, and it will not feed you.
Which Charleston food tour is best?
By review record, the Savor the Flavors small group tour: 4.7 stars across 172 reviews. The French Quarter tour with 7+ tastings rates slightly higher (4.8) on 99 reviews and includes more food. Between those two you are choosing route and tasting count, not quality.
Can food tours handle vegetarian or gluten-free diets?
Usually, with 48 hours notice to the operator. Vegan is genuinely hard: Lowcountry cooking leans on butter, seafood, and pork. Our full food tour guide covers dietary logistics in more detail.
Still comparing food tours?
The full guide covers timing, dietary logistics, and how to pair a food tour with the rest of your day.