San Francisco Gourmet

We had a fantastic time, can't wait to do it again.

We are San Franciscans. Our guide was knowledgeable and personable. For us, the highlight was his own recommendations of public picnic spaces. The amount of chocolate was too much, not very diverse and only sweet. We have so many interesting bakeries, restaurants, moles, etc. here. It would have helped the stomach if we were exposed to more diverse, quirky, insider finds. I loved the background history and information, but my 20-something daughter found it boring and way too long. We attended tours and are devotees of chocolate, so know something about the industry. Most on the tour seemed well-informed.

Tour guide (Cecelia) was lovely, BUT.... The bars were not cool or interesting. We ended in a crappy part of town. It went way over the timeframe we were given, and we had to leave for dinner reservations we made that should have worked with the timing of the event. The drinks served were awful. The information was uninteresting, and it was not a pleasant tour. Cecelia was very nice and the other people we met were also very nice. The problem was the subject content, the quality of the drinks and the bars that were not good.

The experience was great. Our guide was knowledgeable and friendly, and we made lots of interesting stops along the way. Something that could improve the experience is trying a wider variety of foods involving chocolate, such as pastries.

My husband and I had an amazing time on the walking San Francisco Gourmet Chocolate Tour. We enjoyed it immensely! The chocolates were all unique and delicious and our tour guide was so knowledgeable. I would definitely recommend this tour experience to anyone!

What a fun birthday gift! I want to do an experience like this every year for my birthday! So many cool stops with delicious chocolate and wonderful cocktails and wine. Plus the tour guide was great which made the experience great!

Wonderful experience overall. Food was great, servers were all friendly. Our one complaint was they started to put away food while they were still serving alcohol. I went to grab a plate and while I was grabbing food the waiters started taking things away. If you are letting people buy drinks, you should leave a snack on the table, common courtesy. Otherwise awesome experience!

Lots of fun!

We had a great time, very nice.

Great service, food, and beautiful surroundings.

Did not understand why use two Mexican restaurants for sample when such a variety is available in the area. Also, it would have been nice to have been offered a small glass of beer at the second stop to wash down the tacos instead of water. Our guide was great.

This tour was just okay, mostly because our guide left a lot to be desired. I felt she could have been a lot more engaged. She seemed more like a shepherd than a guide, leading us around town and then kind of disconnecting when we got to places. She didn’t seem very knowledgeable about the places themselves, or the things we were eating. She interacted with people while walking from place to place, but I felt there were missed opportunities to talk about the food itself. For example, at the first stop she simply handed us a breakfast taco and didn’t tell us what was in it. At other stops there were people to speak to us directly, but at one point I had forgotten what one of the meats at the Fatted Calf was and asked if she remembered, and she simply said, “I don’t.” She didn’t make any move to find out or suggest we ask the man who told us about the meats, as he’d already gone back inside. It wasn’t a huge deal, but it stood out to me that she wasn’t really concerned with helping a client find the answer to a pretty simple question, which is a good indicator of the difference between average/below average and great customer service. She struck me as someone just trying to get through the three hours. The stops themselves varied. C Casa was a nice first stop because there was space to sit outside and meet one another and break the ice. The breakfast taco was pretty yummy, even if I didn’t know what was in it. The second stop was nice, too—the cheeses were all great, and I went back and bought one later. The olive oil place was my favorite—it was fun trying all the oils and balsamics, and the man working there was friendly and engaged and had good energy. (Our guide simply held the bag of bread for us.) The chocolate place was underwhelming but the ladies who spoke to us about the chocolate were nice and they seemed to enjoy what they did. The wine tasting could have been good but the woman serving the wines seemed to be really busy and took a LONG time to come back to serve each new wine. Ultimately the tour started out stronger than it ended, partly because it took a while to sink in that our guide wasn't that great, and partly because at some places it was clear that we were not really central customers but somewhat of a nuisance or afterthought because we were part of a tour, if that makes sense.

Ahmed was an ideal guide. He was knowledgeable and extremely personable.

Wonderful experience! I love chocolate & enjoyed tasting so many chocolates. Marie was very informative & personable! I highly recommend this tour.

Stephanie was a great guide. Super-friendly and knowledgeable about chocolate and the city. I hated to see the tour end.

The brunch cruise San Francisco Bay activity was as good as it can get. My wife and I had a wonderful time together. We would like to recommend the experience to anyone and any family.

Excellent food, kind staff, pleasant trip, with the exception of the so called "dress code." While in line at the buffet table, the young man in front of me was wearing his pants low with half of his butt/underwear showing. I understand this is popular among the young and those who are in prison however in my opinion this is not "business casual." I did mention it to the staff and he agreed it was unacceptable, I am not sure if they did anything about it. So one must assume that if you have the money, you can book a cruise even if you don't know how to dress like a civilized adult.

Had a great time! Food was delicious, our waiter was amazing -- so friendly and ready to pour us more. :) Loved the route of the cruise, going into McCovey Cove was so exciting. Loved our trip!!

Delightful. Would recommend this tour. Will be coming back to explore more.

Rainy, gross day but Ida (our guide) made it worth it! The stops and food were incredible!

Shane was great! We absolutely adored her. I loved that she brought a cupcake for my boyfriend's birthday. It was nice to be reminded of the history and architecture of San Francisco. It's easy to forget to pay attention to the details when we're in the city. There was a LOT of chocolate, but it was nice being able to have some for later! Overall, great experience!

Marie was fabulous, knowledgeable and friendly. The tour itself was great. I would definitely recommend it as a fun activity.

Everything went very well regarding the guide and the neighborhood. I thought the choice of food and the sequence in which we ate could have been better. We had three desserts and two sandwiches. I would suggest only one sandwich and one less dessert. Also we had two charcuteries, which should have been just one (skip the Fatted Pig). The other one was very nice but the wine served was barely a sip and everyone was thirsty. At the last stop, we had a wine sampler with no food, which would have been much better in the middle with the other savory dishes. I would have preferred having appetizers first, then savor with wine, and then end with desserts.

Great time and great food. Captain was excellent, and so was the piano/musical entertainment. Our server, Mateo, was really exceptional as well.

The champagne brunch cruise in San Francisco was wonderful. I can't think of one thing that was not perfect.

Go hungry!!!! The walking is minimal but we checked out some great food places. Great way to get a little of Napa history too. Our Guide, Mary, was very nice and knowledgeable!

Our tour guide, Brie, was very knowledgeable about the topic and took us on a varied journey throughout San Francisco for chocolate. We started out learning about how chocolate is actually created. What made it fun for us was that we were then leaving for Hawaii in a couple of days. So we added the Hawaii Chocolate Factory to our itinerary while were in Hawaii. We enjoyed the different flavors and ways the vendors presented their products. I thought a highlight was how the focus was on local and small businesses and their success.

Very happy with our tour guide (Margarita) -- she was very knowledgeable and very sweet. Great choice of restaurants/foods. Will do this again with family who come to visit SF. Thank you!

Went on the Brunch Cruise with a friend and we were thoroughly impressed with the experience! For a brunch buffet, there were a great variety of choices -- cold salads, hot traditional breakfast foods, and a dessert table. The staff on the boat were lovely and the live piano was great. Would recommend this for both locals and tourists as the views of the Bay are incredible, and you get to go right under the Golden Gate bridge! All around I'm very satisfied and happy we booked the excursion.

Went on the Brunch Cruise with a friend and we were thoroughly impressed with the experience! For a brunch buffet, there was a great variety of choices -- cold salads, hot traditional breakfast foods and a dessert table. The staff on the boat were lovely and the live piano was great. Would recommend this for both locals and tourists as the views of the bay are incredible, and you get to go right under the Golden Gate bridge! All around I'm very satisfied and happy we booked the excursion.

Our guide, Emily, was knowledgeable,fun and engaging. The restaurants were unique and exciting and the food, delicious. Thumbs up from both my wife and I.

Emily, our guide of the Mission Food Tour, was awesome! She was full of energy and information. She did a great job of bringing together a group of people who didn't know each other and making sure we all had a great time. The experience was great as well. Really enjoyed learning a bit more about my own backyard (The Mission) and enjoying some of the cuisine it has to offer.

I truly enjoyed this chocolate tour. The guide, Ahmed, was fantastic and very knowledgeable. He kept everyone's interest, he was informative but not boring, and gave some good tips about the city itself as well. I highly recommend this tour and would do it again at a later date.

Our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. She knew a lot about Napa, and we went to parts of Napa we had never seen before. My husband loves to cook, so he was very intrigued by our guide and her knowledge of food and cooking. (He wants to take a cooking class! I am way more interested in eating!) I would definitely take another tour that Cloud 9 Living offers.

Avital Food Tours provided us with an amazing experience. My husband and I really enjoyed all of the places we visited. The food was fantastic.

Dan was an awesome guide. In the beginning, he took the time to ask about what foods we liked, the kinds of sights we were interested in, and how adventurous we were feeling. The restaurants he took us to were great. As far as food is concerned, we did soup at Far East; dim sum at some hole in the wall with a name I can't quite remember; egg custard tarts at the Golden Gate Bakery (which were awesome, by the way - coming from a guy who is usually "meh" about egg tarts). We got some nice, crispy roast duck and pork at another hole in the wall (I guess I should've taken notes), and finished up with a tea tasting at Vital Tea Leaf. In addition to the food, our guide's knowledge of the neighborhood and city was super-interesting. We saw the home of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, took a walk through Gambler's Alley, went into the Tin How Temple (the oldest in San Francisco), sampled a cookie at the fortune cookie factory, took a look inside a few markets, discussed historic architecture, and had an all-around good time. Highly recommended. It was a fun, personal, and friendly tour. As far as logistics were concerned, the company was super easy to deal with. We actually booked last minute (2 days in advance) and they were accommodating and called to verify that everything was good to go.

The meeting point was not very clearly communicated. I was waiting at the said location but no one was there, thus the tour started 10 minutes late. I also thought there would be more wine tasting. Overall it was a good mix of different local food and provisions- delicious! Thank you.

Mary was a delight. She was knowledgeable and gave us an introduction to Napa that we wouldn't have discovered on our own. Additionally, this was an excellent marketing tool for the participating merchants. We have already returned to one of the participating shops and will very likely visit more before we leave Napa.

Highly recommend if interested in unique dining exposure. We live in the Bay Area and had heard of the restaurants. We were pleasantly surprised how good and unique they are. Our guide, Corrine, was very knowledgeable and very enthusiastic. We were fortunate to have only 3 in our group, which am sure made it more enjoyable, informative and intimate.

We really loved the Hornblower cruise/brunch. We went on a Sunday. The tickets were a Christmas gift from our son. It was a beautiful day on the bay, a little foggy by the Golden Gate but it was really perfect weather. Dorothy was our server on-board and she was attentive and very nice and friendly. We asked her about Angel Island and although she did not know the answer, she then asked a fellow worker and then shared the information we were asking for. We really appreciated her responsiveness. The food was very good as well, and better than I had expected. My husband is gluten free in his diet and there was plenty of gluten free selections so that was no problem. The live music with the piano was also a very nice unexpected bonus. The man was very talented and did a great job. His piano skills were really superb--he could play anything!! I would definitely suggest this to any of my friends or out-of-towners visiting.

Very enjoyable morning.

I learned amazing facts about chocolate and more importantly, San Francisco. We're new to the area so I was hoping to learn about SF and we did! He showed us amazing little rooftop gardens open to the public that are perfect for urban picnics. Very positive experience overall!

Great, learned a lot, had fun.

The overall experience was excellent. We had a great time. I would have liked a little more depth in information about Napa, the history and future plans.

Overall my husband and I had a good experience. We really liked our tour guide Zev, & meeting Avital. There were only two things that were not satisfying. Upon walking into the mission cheese place, our beers were already poured for us. I was shocked, and I would suggest they wait for everyone to sit down until pouring drinks. Also, the stop at the market was disorganized. The representative who was supposed to meet us was too busy. We ended up waiting outside eating blueberries. I do not like berries, another option would have been nice. Other than those two things, we had a great time! We especially liked meeting Tyler at West of Pecos. I can't wait to go back to the Mission district.

I just noticed the few selection of food and dessert but overall is a good experience for me and for my husband.

Food was very good and plentiful with many choices. Accommodations were nice. Boat crew very friendly.Overall a success!

Excellent tour- this made me want to come back to the city of Napa - so much history, and so much to explore!

the food was excellent-every bite I consumed was good. The area is outstanding, all the little shops, the old and new buildings nestled together makes for a warm and charming neighborhood. Our guide, Melissa Chen was very informative,and made sure everyone in the group had what they needed. Melisso made sure to visit with each member of our 11 person group; she is the perfect hostess. I have recommended the Hayes Valley Tour to several people and I will continue to do so. Sandra Hawkins

We had a wonderful time. It was great exposure to an area with which we had little experience. Melissa was knowledgable and engaging.

We had an amazing time!! Our guide, Melissa was wonderful. She was friendly and fun and the group we were with consisting of 14 people were all very friendly. The people who own and run the places we visited were most informative about their establishments and seemed appreciative of our visit. And to top it off, the weather in San Francisco was ideal!! We couldn't have asked for a better experience.

We very much enjoyed the tour, but we were definitely hungry at the end. It started at 11:00 and ended at 3:00. We had many nibbles along the way, but they were just nibbles. A few thin slices of cheese, followed by a few bites of salumi, teaspoon of ice cream and chocolate and wine tasting that you can do all day in the valley for little or no charge. For $160.00 we could have had a wonderful lunch with wine and been totally satisfied. After the tour we went to Hog Island Oyster Co and had a dozen oysters for another $40.00.

Wait staff could have been more attentive.

Would refer to any foodie friends

My wife and I have taken many tours in many places, but this was without a doubt the best tour we've ever taken. Our tour guide, Ahmet, of Gourmet Walks, was outstanding. He took three couples that were total strangers and before long we felt like old friends. Ahmet has a vast knowledge of chocolate, wine and the city of San Francisco, that he conveys in a casual and fun manner, with a great sense of humor. Best of all, this tour was a tremendous value. I believe that we must have come close to recouping our investment with the fine chocolates, wines and other beverages that we consumed. This tour was just a blast. We'll absolutely recommend it to friends and family. Like our other experience with Cloud 9, the whole process was seamless and well organized. The customer service from Cloud 9 is superb. -Steve L

We had a delightful experience. All vendors were passionate, friendly and knowledgeable. We enjoyed ourselves immensely. Mary is the best tour guide ever! Thank you.

Amazing experience, easy check in.

We thought it was a particularly good experience! Our guide, Mary, was informative, pleasant and made the 3 hour experience particularly enjoyable. It's always good to have a local as a guide. We have talked about it several times (since doing it) and think it was very well-organized (from sampling of cheeses, to charcuterie, to chocolates, and finishing with wine sampling). It was also a good value. We were given a certificate for San Francisco (downtown Italian neighborhood tour) but know that area very well. It was easy to exchange this tour for the Napa tour. Job well done!

Mary, our guide, was AWESOME! I would do another tour with her any day.

I was very impressed with the tour. I thought the cost was excellent based on the experience and amount of samples that were given. It was nicely structured and even though it was a busy Saturday it didn't feel crowded or rushed. I will definitely recommend this tour and plan to try another 1 or 2 myself. Thanks for a great experience. This was a gift I got for someone else and it was a huge hit.

Swan was our guide on our Napa Food Tour. She was knowledgeable, friendly and professional. We had a great time and would definitely recommend this experience and Cloud 9 to friends.

We absolutely LOVED the tour! Only complaint, too much food! It was fantastic and I would recommend it to everyone! Thanks for everything!

We really enjoyed the experience led by Beth. She was friendly and very knowledgeable about the neighborhood, history, and business owners. Each site was prepared for our arrival; some shared more information than others. The experience was relaxing and very enjoyable. the small group of four made it more intimate as well, and easy to walk as a group. At the Taste Tea shop we went to, they shared the value of time in steeping the tea, but used the same tea leaves throughout. So we were not able to experience many flavors of tea. The ice cream shop, Smitten, demonstrated customizing each order - that was unique with a great entrepreneurial story behind it. The macaroon shop, Miette, was unique and well decorated with such a fine combination of sweets. We had enough time to shop at each of the sites, which would be a benefit to the businesses hosting the tour. We liked the fact that each of us have a complete list of where we toured, so we can return to those shops on our own. I would suggest that the tour guide have a small flag or noticeable item to raise at the meeting place, so it is easier than a blind date to find the group. Overall, a very good experience for a first, for us.

Our guide was sincerely friendly and helpful - A real people person. She was flexible with my wife and I (we were late due to traffic), and was extremely helpful guiding us to meet the group. She was extraordinarily knowledgeable with regards to the tour itself, and many other things about the city of San Francisco and its rich history. I can't express how enjoyable she made the whole experience just with her personality and livelihood! I sincerely appreciated the helpfulness of the staff in booking my tour on such short notice (2 days!), and being so accommodating with my schedule. It was the last day of our vacation in San Fran, and I couldn't have ended it any better than the tour. The tour itself was a great experience I'd love to repeat. I learned a great deal while meeting friendly new people along the way. My only gripe, if it is one, is that I didn't know the tour would end somewhere other than our starting point. The route taken was certainly efficient, but getting back was kind of tricky (even though our guide gave very clear directions). I rarely review experiences and take surveys, but I'm also so rarely this pleased by my experiences of this nature. Cloud 9 and Chocolate Tours get 5 stars for this experience. I'll definitely be looking at other experiences and adventures through Cloud 9!

Cloud 9 did a superb job booking our Hornblowre cruise, when we got in the ship, they made a mistake making reservation for only 4 while we had confirmed a party of 6. The cruise had did a great job change our rsvp on the spot. Thanks Cloud 9.

I rec'd a gift certif. for my experience, changed the venue & added people. All went very smoothly both in working on the phone with Cust Svc Reps & through the Internet. The experience itself was terrific in the delivery & knowledge content of our guide, Brian. The places we visited, the different foods, the establishments & their employees, the amount of time, & the walk through Santa Cruz. All of the above were able to satisfy both my partner & I (both close to 60) & our 25 year old kids. We will definitely use Cloud 9 to book similar experiences in other Cities we plan to visit in our Retirement!!! Thanks for a Terrific Father's Day!!!

Absolutely loved this cruise. We are planning another trip to include the kids. See you soon, Kevin Ewing

Great fun... Very knowledgable tour guide.

Good experience ... very nice way to spend an afternoon in Little Italy.

Marnie was delightful.

Our gourmet chocolate tour in San Francisco was awesome. The weather was nice and made for a perfect day for walking. Our guide Elizabeth was exceptional! She shared so much information about, not only chocolate and cocoa beans, but very interesting facts about the city. It was great to find the gem of a "fine chocolate" niche in the Fog City News stand. Try the ZOTTER Scotch Whisky Bar...Yummy! I can hardly wait to impress my family and friends with my new gained knowledge of where chocolate came from and which bars are truely the ones they need to try.

Maria our tour guide was warm and friendly. She was personable and a lot of fun. She's great and just really knowledgeable and nice. Elsa at Vintner's collective was rude and condescending. She epitomizes the snobbery associated with wine and really wasn't helpful and knowledgeable. She was arrogant and just rude. I felt so bad for how she treated one of my friends. I bought this as a gift and ended up regretting how my friend was treated.

It was fun, interesting, tasty, not terribly difficult to walk, an absolutely perfect walking tour. Highly recommendable!