St. Augustine Food Tour Review: My Honest Experience (Is It Worth It?)

While this experience is fresh on my mind, I want to offer my St. Augustine food tour review! I grew up visiting this historic Florida city, since I don’t live far. From field trips as a kid to visiting as an adult just for fun, I love exploring the oldest city!

I generally prefer to write glowing recommendations, but I actually have mixed feelings about this one. On one of my trips to Miami, I did a Little Havana food and walking tour and I really loved that experience. However, this St. Augustine food tour really pales in comparison.

It wasn’t all bad and could still be worth it for you! There are also other food tours to consider, so if you are debating between this one and another one, perhaps this St. Augustine food tour review will help you decide!

What Is a St Augustine Food Tour?

A St. Augustine food tour will include stops at various places to offer a sampling of the food available. It will usually include information about the food, history of the area, and just fun or valuable local knowledge.

There will typically be four to five stops on a food tour, including both food and drink stops. Various food tours cap the number of participants differently, but the guided food tour of St. Augustine I booked had a cap of twelve, but we only had four!

Food tours will differ on length as well. This St. Augustine food tour lasted three hours and the Little Havana food tour I did was about two and a half hours. Regardless, expect food tours to last two to three hours.

Which St Augustine Food Tour Did I Do?

I did the Corks and Forks Tour – St. Augustine, which is offered by Tasting Tours. They offer four to five stops over the course of three hours in the historic district of St. Augustine.

The tour is capped at twelve, but there were only four of us on a Wednesday in December. The tour started at 1PM and we met at the Governor’s House Cultural Center & Museum, a museum in the middle of the historic district.

I paid the full price of $135 and booked on Viator. This was not sponsored or discounted and the tour has no idea I have a travel blog. It was something I was interested in doing and I knew I could repurpose the experience by writing a review.

• Tour name: Corks and Forks Tour – St. Augustine
• Tour company: Tasting Tours
• Location: Historic district of St. Augustine
• Stops: 4–5 food and drink stops
• Duration: Approximately 3 hours
• Group size: Capped at 12 guests
• Actual group size for my tour: 4 people (Wednesday in December)
• Start time: 1:00 PM
• Meeting point: Governor’s House Cultural Center & Museum
• Price paid: $135 per person
• Booking platform: Viator
• Disclosure:
  • I paid full price
  • This tour was not sponsored or discounted
  • The tour company was not aware I have a travel blog
  • I booked this tour out of genuine interest and planned to repurpose the experience into an honest review

There is a food tour worth considering that is a bit more expensive but is also higher rated. Since my experience left me conflicted, I’d suggest also looking into St. Augustine’s Wine, Cocktail and Food Experience.

My Experience on the St Augustine Food Tour: The Stops: Food, Drinks & Overall Quality

I’m going to share my exact experience from the Corks and Forks Tour – St. Augustine food tour. First, I will outline what we did and in what order, then I will share my honest feedback on the experience.

En Route to Stop One

The tour guide did offer some history on the way, mentioning the civil rights era and the significance St. Augustine played. However, it wasn’t very informative. Perhaps the guide didn’t know enough or he lacked a good delivery, but this was a good spot to impress with historical knowledge and it landed flat.

I actually opened a new note on my phone to take notes, and I never added to it in that moment or for the remainder of the tour. Spoiler: this was a disappointment for me and I’ll talk more about that later.

First Stop – Greek Food

Our first stop on the St. Augustine food tour was Athena Greek Cuisine. This restaurant is in a prime location across from the Plaza de la Constitución and a very short walk from the Governor’s House meeting point.

We were ushered to our table, which had water and wine waiting for us. Soon the server emerged with the Saganaki and instructed us to say Opa when the dish is lit with fire! I already know I love Saganaki, and this was no exception! The drizzle of lime to put out the fire added a nice taste.

The guide offered an icebreaker for our group of four, which was a fun way to start. While we were enjoying the Saganaki, a sample-sized gyro was brought out, but with no fanfare or explanation. Regardless, I enjoyed it and the tzatziki was delicious. Heavy on the garlic and not as good as I had in Athens, but good nonetheless.

Pros and Cons of Stop One

The food was good and a fun way to start! However, there was no insight into anything. No history of the restaurant, explanation of the food, fun tidbits about the owner, NOTHING. It was solely a food stop.

Stop Two – Honey Mead

We had a lot of extra time, according to the guide, so we went to the Savannah Bee Company. I visited this place my last day in St. Augustine so I already knew I loved it.

We sampled some honey and I did end up buying some whipped honey with cinnamon. Being on the tour offers a 10% discount, which was a nice surprise.

The guide then had us do a honey mead tasting. I’m not sure if this was on the original tour or not. I think he might have added it on his own since we had the time, which I appreciate.

The honey mead was fun to taste. There was a card with an explanation of each one and the Savannah Bee Company employee guided us through the tasting.

Pros and Cons of Stop Two

I enjoy this shop, so visiting on the food tour was fun but also not necessary. However, I don’t think this was a planned stop, so I appreciate that the tour guide improvised with all the extra time we had in between.

Honey mead is a unique experience, so it’s definitely a fun thing to have on the food tour. However, we did linger quite a while in this small store, and it was the first of a lot of alcohol as the next stop was wine.

Stop Three – Wine Tasting

Casa De Vino 57 is tucked just around the corner from St. George Street. It’s a cute little courtyard and one we all appreciated as we first strolled in.

We were taken to the bar and she offered us each one glass for the tasting of four different wines. There was a little cup in the front to pour out any excess we didn’t want and she guided us through the four wines.

I’m not a big drinker, but I have done wine tastings. While this spot was a cute, tucked away find, the whole experience was probably all of our least favorite.

Pros and Cons of Stop Three

The entryway and courtyard was cute. I also left my honey that I just bought, and they still had it set aside for me when I returned. These are the pros.

Instead of taking us to the table they had prepared, we stood at the bar. The idea was after tasting the four wines, we choose our favorite for a full glass while we enjoy a charcuterie board. I’m neutral about having to stand there, but in hindsight it’s an interesting choice.

The lady who did the wine tasting didn’t have the best personality. She was very dry and borderline grumpy. The other employees we encountered would probably have been better to handle the tasting.

The charcuterie board was very small. I understand it’s supposed to be a sampling, but it did not impress.

Lastly, the Christmas music was obnoxious and blaring! It negatively impacted the vibe for ALL of us! While I can ignore a lot and did while I was there, the music was annoying and the speaker was right behind me. It was something we all commented on whether there or after!

Stop Four – Cuban Dessert

Hands down the best stop, because the owner had a great presentation, a great attitude, offered an explanation for each sampling and was overall enthusiastic.

We walked into this popup (their actual restaurant, Paladar Cuban Eatery & Bakery, is about 8 miles away) and our dessert samplings were adorably designed and waiting for us! Each of us had our own plate and each plate had Merry Christmas written on it.

The sample had flan, which she said is more cheesecake than custard-like, a yucca churro, some chocolate mousse in the middle, a rum cake, and bread pudding from her family recipe dating back 90 years!

THIS is what I expected on the food tour of St. Augustine! It was absolutely fantastic and all of us said we’d love to visit her actual restaurant, which I found out I already had bookmarked! So if you ever visit St. Augustine, consider a lunch at Paladar Cuban Eatery & Bakery.

Pros and Cons of Stop Four

Zero cons, so let’s go through the pros! The owner was enthusiastic, had an excellent presentation, and offered insight into what the sample included. The popup was well decorated and very cute and Christmasy!

Overall, this was the favorite stop and I think the owner made it the best! She truly delivered an excellent experience on all fronts.

I’ll be visiting Paladar Cuban Eatery & Bakery when I return to St. Augustine. The couple on the tour were staying the night and planned to visit the next day for lunch. That is the level of impact she had! All four of us planned to visit her restaurant following that experience.

Stop Five – Dessert

I’m not sure if this was on purpose, since it was near Christmas, but we had two dessert stops. We definitely did not get enough protein on this tour. The cheese and gyro were not enough and the price of this tour was steep.

Now that I got that out of my system, stop five had my favorite ambience. It was a tucked away courtyard at the Old House Inn & Restaurant. The plants were beautiful and the fountain added the peaceful background noise. The wine stop should take notes.

The peach cheesecake was delicious! One other lady and I on the tour weren’t sure we’d like the peaches. However, it actually was delicious! There was also some Moscato on the table, but as someone who doesn’t drink, I had reached my capacity. I tasted it, but couldn’t drink it and my friend finds it too sweet to begin with.

Pros and Cons of Stop Five

The ambience was 10 of 10 and the dessert was delicious!

I would consider returning to try the restaurant, but with no restaurant representative enthusiastically greeting us or offering any insight or history, there is no real motivation.

The cons are not really about this stop, but actually about the tour. We really should have had at least one other savory stop. Two alcohol and two dessert stops were too much and I really don’t feel like I got my money’s worth as a whole.

What I Loved and Didn’t About This Saint Augustine Food Tour

My St. Augustine food tour review is not all positive. I think part of the issue is it really didn’t hold up to the Little Havana food tour by comparison and it was pricier! Here is what I loved versus what I didn’t summarized below.

What I Loved	What I Didn’t Love
Small group size (only 4 people)	Lack of meaningful history or storytelling
Fun, interactive start with flaming saganaki	Little to no explanation of food or restaurants
Honey mead tasting was unique and enjoyable	Tour leaned too heavily toward alcohol and sweets
Guide improvised an extra stop due to extra time	Too much lingering between stops
Cuban dessert stop was outstanding (best experience)	Wine tasting felt cold and unwelcoming
Enthusiastic owner with excellent presentation for the Cuban dessert stop	Charcuterie portions were underwhelming
Beautiful garden ambiance at final dessert stop	Two dessert stops, not enough savory food
Peach cheesecake exceeded expectations	Tour felt unbalanced for the $135 price

Comparing Food Tours: Little Havana vs St Augustine

When I did the Little Havana food tour when visiting Miami, I really enjoyed it! The tour guide offered history of the area, of Cuba, and gave insight into the food as well. It really felt like a cultural and historical tour, which is something you expect with a food tour, and I left really charmed by this Miami neighborhood.

When doing a food tour in the oldest city, I expected more history, but I got very little. There was only one savory meal and the rest was alcohol and desserts. While I love sweets, I expected more savory options, especially for the price!

I left the Little Havana food tour having enjoyed the experience, but after having a subpar food tour in St. Augustine, I think even more fondly of it.

Who Would Enjoy This Food Tour (and Who Would Not)

By now, you know I wasn’t impressed. However, if you don’t care about history, explanations about the food, or tidbits offered about the area, then you’d love this tour! Of course, if you have a different guide you may get a better experience overall.

It did take you to different restaurants you may not find on your own. The tour does allow you to try numerous places and since St. Augustine has a ton of restaurants, it can be a fun and easy way to experience more of them, especially if you’re only spending 3 days in St. Augustine!

It’s good for:

• First-time visitors to St Augustine
• Short trips / weekend travelers
• People who prefer guided experiences

While I have mixed feelings about the Corks and Forks Tour – St. Augustine, there is another top rated food tour in St. Augustine to consider, St. Augustine’s Wine, Cocktail and Food Experience.

Is the St Augustine Food Tour Worth It? (Final Verdict)

I’m conflicted. While I enjoy tours, this one just fell short for me. It’s possible it just wasn’t their best offering, especially with the busyness of Christmas and Nights of Lights.

Of course, my experience wasn’t all negative, and the tour has a lot of great reviews! It has 4.9 Stars with over 700 reviews, so most people enjoy the tour. While my tour did not have a lot of history or fun facts, there are reviewers who mentioned how the history aspect of the food tour was so good!

If you want to try multiple places and get a feel for the food scene, this is a good tour! Based on my experience, I’m conflicted, but it does seem that others had a better time with their tour guide.

The Cuban restaurant owner is fantastic and clearly makes a good impression, as she’s mentioned in many reviews! I think more restaurants and even the tour guides should take notes from her!

Worth it for multiple food stops!
Kind of pricey for what we got.

There is a pricier food tour in St. Augustine that is higher rated than the one I did. If you can spring for the extra fee, this St. Augustine’s Wine, Cocktail and Food Experience might be worth considering!

Tips for the Food Tour in St Augustine

The Corks and Forks Tour – St. Augustine started at 1PM and it looks like that’s the only time offered. We went hungry, but didn’t leave full. Again, I’m not sure if that was just our tour, or normal.

Wear good walking shoes as we did get about 5,000 to 7,000 steps. I hit over 10K for the day, but my friend and I did walk around before and after the tour. Also, be sure to dress for the season. It was a cool, but not cold December day for us. In the summer, be ready for afternoon showers!

FAQ

St. Augustine Food Tour Review

While I enjoyed this walking food tour, I am conflicted and can’t give my full recommendation. There were definitely aspects of this tour I really enjoyed and the Cuban restaurant owner was amazing! Her whole attitude and presentation was perfect!

It can show hidden gems, but the tour I did lacked history or interesting facts. If you were on the fence between tours, I hope this St. Augustine food tour review helped you decide.

Of course, this oldest city is fun and worth exploring! I hope you have an amazing time in St. Augustine!