Secret Food Tours vs Charleston Culinary Tours
The international operator against the hometown one, compared on route, format, price and what the reviews actually say.
Written by Alex H., a Charleston local Updated August 2026
Deciding fast? Book Charleston Culinary Tours. Their Downtown walk covers the same French Quarter and City Market ground, costs less, and carries the better review record of the two (4.9 stars over 120 reviews against 4.8 over 109). Book Secret Food Tours if you want more tasting stops than four seated courses, a hard cap of 12 guests, and the hidden final dish they will not name in advance.
| Secret Food Tours | Charleston Culinary Tours | |
|---|---|---|
| Who they are | The Charleston branch of an international food-tour company that runs walks in more than 100 cities | Charleston-owned, started in 2011 by Guilds Hollowell, a sixth-generation Charlestonian |
| Routes | French Quarter (the original) and an Upper King Street brunch walk. Both run about 3 hours | Downtown (French Quarter and City Market) and Upper King Street. Both run 2.5 hours |
| Format | Six stops, 7+ tastings, closing with a "secret dish" they refuse to name in advance | Four restaurants, seated tastings at each, enough food that most people skip dinner |
| Group cap | 12 guests maximum | Small groups, cap varies by route |
| Drinks | Extra. A paid upgrade adds beer, spiked tea and a wine flight along the route | Extra on the food tours. They also sell a separate pub and taproom walk |
| Price direct | $104.99 either tour | $95 either tour |
| On GetYourGuide | French Quarter $117, ★4.8 (109). Upper King brunch $112, ★4.7 (6) | Downtown $110, ★4.9 (120). Upper King $95, ★4.6 (6) |
Both companies are running Charleston tours right now, and both sell through GetYourGuide as well as their own sites. The choice is not about which one is still in business. It is about whether you want six quick stops with seven or more tastings, or four restaurants where you sit down and eat a course at each.
What Secret Food Tours actually is
Secret Food Tours is a franchise operation with walks in more than 100 cities, and the Charleston branch runs two of them. The French Quarter tour is the original and the one people mean when they search the name. It starts at the United States Custom House on East Bay Street, runs about three hours, and threads six stops through the oldest part of the city. The food is Lowcountry standard-issue done well: pulled pork, benne wafers under Market Hall, she-crab soup, shrimp and grits, a pecan cluster at the end. Between bites the guide walks you past St. Philip's, the Dock Street Theatre and Philadelphia Alley, which means you are getting a history walk with the meal attached.
The gimmick is the secret dish, held back until you are standing in front of it. The second Charleston tour is an Upper King Street brunch walk that meets at 427 King Street and opens with a country ham biscuit at the 1810 William Aiken House.
The honest problem is volume. The Upper King brunch tour has only six reviews on GetYourGuide, so its 4.7 average is close to meaningless as evidence. The French Quarter tour is the one with a real record behind it.
What Charleston Culinary Tours actually is
Charleston Culinary Tours was started in 2011 by Guilds Hollowell, who grew up in Mount Pleasant in the house that is now the Charles Pinckney National Historic Site. It is family-owned and still local, which is worth something in a city where a lot of the tour business is franchised in.
The format is different from Secret Food Tours in a way that matters more than the branding. You visit four restaurants and eat a proper course at each, seated, with tax and server gratuity already covered. Their own description of the portions is "a meal for most," which is accurate: people regularly skip dinner afterward. The Downtown tour covers the French Quarter and City Market in 2.5 hours. The Upper King Street tour meets inside the Charleston Visitor Center at 184 East Bay Street and works the modern restaurant corridor north of Calhoun.
On GetYourGuide the Downtown tour is the strongest food tour listing in the city by rating and volume together, at 4.9 stars over 120 reviews. The Upper King listing has only six reviews, the same thin record as its Secret Food Tours counterpart, so judge that one on format rather than stars. We have a full breakdown on the Downtown Culinary Walking Tour page.
Book direct or book on the platform?
Direct is usually cheaper, and it is worth saying so plainly. Charleston Culinary Tours charges $95 on their own site for the Downtown tour and $110 on GetYourGuide. Secret Food Tours charges $104.99 direct for either Charleston walk against $117 on GetYourGuide for the French Quarter tour. Their Upper King Street tour is the one exception on the Charleston Culinary side, priced at $95 in both places.
What the extra buys is flexibility. GetYourGuide listings carry free cancellation up to 24 hours before the tour and let you reserve now and pay later, which is genuinely useful if your dates are soft or the weather might move things around. If your plans are locked, book direct and keep the difference. Prices here were checked in August 2026 and both companies change them.
Practical things both companies get asked
Neither walk is strenuous. Both cover flat downtown blocks over 2.5 to 3 hours with long stops for eating, so the distance is closer to a stroll than a hike, though the French Quarter route puts you on real cobblestones and rewards shoes you can stand in. Both companies want reservations ahead of time, and Charleston Culinary Tours says outright that most of their departures sell out.
Tipping catches people out. Charleston Culinary Tours already covers tax and the server gratuity at each restaurant, but not the guide's, so bring cash for that. Secret Food Tours guides carry an orange umbrella at the meeting point, which is the only way you will pick them out of a crowd at the Custom House steps on a busy Saturday. If anyone in your group has a serious dietary restriction, email the company before booking rather than mentioning it on the day, because the tastings are set in advance with the restaurants.
The route is the real decision
Strip the branding away and you are picking between two things. First visit, take a downtown route: the French Quarter and City Market give you the historic core and the Lowcountry classics in one pass, and both companies run that ground well. Returning visitor who has already eaten shrimp and grits at a tourist-facing kitchen, go to Upper King instead, where the newer restaurants are. Our menu-by-menu comparison lists what lands on the plate on every Charleston food tour, these four included.
Which should you book?
Charleston Culinary Tours for a first visit: the Downtown route, four seated courses, the best rating and review count of any food tour in the city, and the lower price.
Secret Food Tours for more tasting stops, a 12-guest cap, three hours instead of 2.5, and the secret dish.
Either way, check the direct price on the company's own site before you book. It is often lower.
Book the one you picked
Charleston Culinary Tours
Downtown Culinary Walking Tour from $110, 4.9★ (120 reviews), 2.5 hours. Four restaurants across the French Quarter and City Market.
Check availability →Secret Food Tours
French Quarter Guided Food Tour, 7+ tastings, from $117, 4.8★ (109 reviews), 3 hours. Meets at the United States Custom House. Their Upper King Street brunch walk is bookable too.
Check availability →The rest of the Charleston food tour field
These two companies get the search traffic, but they are not the only food walks running downtown, and one competitor beats both on review volume. Current GetYourGuide numbers, checked August 2026:
- Small Group Food Tour, Savor the Flavors: 4.8★ over 174 reviews, $111, 2.5 hours. The most-reviewed food tour in Charleston.
- Downtown Culinary Walking Tour (Charleston Culinary Tours): 4.9★ over 120 reviews, $110, 2.5 hours.
- Historic Downtown Food Tour: 4.7★ over 67 reviews, $115, 2.5 hours.
- Savor the Flavors Upper King Street: 4.5★ over 10 reviews, $111, 2.5 hours.
- Charleston's Upper King Street Culinary Tour (Charleston Culinary Tours): 4.6★ over 6 reviews, $95, 2.5 hours.
- Striped Pig Distillery Tour and Tasting: 5.0★ over 4 reviews, $22, 45 minutes. Not a food tour, but the cheapest tasting in town if you only want a drink and a look at the still.
If you want the safest booking rather than the best-known brand, Savor the Flavors has more reviews than either company on this page. If you want the best rating with real volume behind it, the Downtown Culinary Walking Tour is it. Everything else on the list has too few reviews to judge on stars alone.
Food tours book out in spring and October, so reserve a week or two ahead in season. If you are still assembling the trip, the things to do guide covers what fits around a 2.5-hour lunch walk.
Book a proven Charleston food tour
Full breakdown, pricing, and where to book each one:
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Secret Food Tours still run tours in Charleston?
Yes. As of August 2026 their own site sells two Charleston walks, the French Quarter tour and an Upper King Street brunch tour, both at $104.99. Both are also live on GetYourGuide, where the French Quarter walk rates 4.8 stars across 109 reviews.
Which is cheaper, Secret Food Tours or Charleston Culinary Tours?
Charleston Culinary Tours. Their tours are $95 direct against $104.99 for Secret Food Tours. On GetYourGuide the gap is similar. Both replace a meal, so weigh the price against what lunch for two costs downtown.
Which one should a first-time visitor book?
Charleston Culinary Tours’ Downtown walk, on the current numbers. It rates 4.9 stars over 120 reviews, costs less, and covers the French Quarter and City Market. Book Secret Food Tours if you want more tasting stops and a street-food pace rather than four seated courses.
Is it cheaper to book direct or through a booking platform?
Direct is usually cheaper. Charleston Culinary Tours’ Downtown tour is $95 on their site and $110 on GetYourGuide. The platform price buys free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead and pay-later booking, which is worth something on a trip you might reshuffle.
Do either of them include drinks?
Neither includes alcohol in the base price. Secret Food Tours sells a drinks upgrade that adds beer, spiked tea and a wine flight. Charleston Culinary Tours covers food, tax and server gratuity, and runs a separate pub walk if drinking is the point.
Still comparing food tours?
See every Charleston food tour compared by price, menu and neighborhood in the full guide.
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