Delicious Denver Food Tours: An Honest Review

When most people think of Denver, they probably think of mountains, skiing, and hiking long before they think of food.

At least, that was true for me before my first-ever visit to Denver last year. I had always understood Denver to be a city known for its outdoor activities, not its indoor food.

That all changed when I took a food tour with Delicious Denver Food Tours on my first day in Denver. As I walked from stop to stop, discovering a fantastic new item at each place, I quickly understood that Denver has a lot more to offer than what you’ll find in the mountains around it, and it’s definitely a worthy destination for food lovers.

In this post, learn about my experience with Delicious Denver Food Tours and whether I recommend that you take a food tour during your own trip to Denver (spoiler alert: yes!). Plus, find out how to book a food tour with Delicious Denver Food Tours, which tour to choose, and more (including some other things I recommend doing while you’re in Denver).

This post is not sponsored, but it does contain affiliate links. If you book a tour through one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting In Old Cities in this way!

My Experience with Delicious Denver Food Tours

Here’s what it was like to take a food tour with Delicious Denver.

The RiNo Arts District Walking Food Tour

I visited Denver for a reunion weekend with my college roommates. We stayed in the River North — or “RiNo” — area, which is known for the murals that cover many of its buildings (the result of the area’s history of holding many art galleries and studios). We arrived on Friday morning and opted to take an afternoon food tour to orient ourselves to the area and take care of our travel-induced hunger. So naturally, we booked Delicious Denver’s RiNo food tour.

Our tour began at Los Chingones, where we met our guide, Julia, who started off by giving us some important background information for Denver and its food scene. She asked if any of us wanted to purchase the optional alcohol add-on for $30 (we declined), and coordinated with restaurant employees to get our first serving: a fantastic taco.

Over the course of the food tour, we also visited:

• Redeemer Pizza, where we each had a slice of their Spicy Sausage pie — served on their famous sourdough base, of course.
• Denver Central Market, where we ate ricotta gnocchi from Vero and spent some time just walking around the market and exploring the various vendors. We loved Central Market so much that we returned there for brunch the next day!
• Farm and Market, where we ate pita with chicken and fresh veggies and learned about their impressive indoor farming operation.
• Dochi, where we ate fun little mochi-based donuts — and even got to take some with us to snack on the rest of the weekend. (Sadly, I think this location has since closed!)

I genuinely loved everything we ate, but if absolutely forced to choose, I’d probably say that the pita from Farm and Market was my favorite item.

Our food tour was three hours long, and we weren’t only sitting and eating at those five stops — we also walked around the RiNo area, with Julia giving us some helpful information about the history of the neighborhood and many of the artists whose murals we saw.

Thanks to the RiNo food tour, we definitely felt more connected with the area as we continued to explore it on our own over the rest of our weekend there.

Some additional notes and observations about my experience with Delicious Denver Food Tours:

• Our food tour took place from 1:30-4:30 pm — a time that isn’t traditionally busy for most restaurants — so there was plenty of space for us everywhere we went.
• Julia, our guide, was fantastic: she was personable and helpful, and struck a good balance of giving us attention and information vs. giving us some space to enjoy our food and catch up on our own. The four of us were the only people on our tour, and it was the first time we had all been together since early 2020, so it was much appreciated that she allowed us to have some time to chat amongst ourselves! Plus, she gave us some great restaurant recommendations for the rest of our weekend.
• On the whole, the RiNo food tour included a really great variety of foods (a huge plus!) and was an excellent introduction to the area. We definitely made the right call by making the food tour the very first thing we did in Denver!

My Recommendation

I definitely recommend that you take a food tour with Delicious Denver Food Tours! After my great experience on the RiNo tour, I wouldn’t hesitate to take another tour with Delicious Denver on my next visit to Denver.

If you’d like to take the same food tour I did in the RiNo area, check availability and book here:

You can also book the RiNo tour through GetYourGuide, or directly with Delicious Denver Food Tours.

Other Tours from Delicious Denver

If you’re interested in Delicious Denver Food Tours, but don’t think the RiNo tour is for you (or it’s not available on the day of your visit), they also offer the following tours in other areas of Denver:

DOWNTOWN FOOD TOUR: Delicious Denver’s Downtown Food Tour includes five tastings at downtown restaurants, plus plenty of information about Denver’s history and architecture, as well as visits to iconic landmarks like Union Station and the baseball stadium.

16TH STREET MALL FOOD TOUR: Delicious Denver’s tour of the 16th Street Mall — a mile-long pedestrian promenade — includes four tastings and the perfect introduction to this lively landmark.

DENVER COCKTAILS TOUR: Delicious Denver’s Cocktails Tour includes four craft cocktails from award-winning bars, several light appetizers, and lots of information about Denver’s cocktail history — including the city’s Prohibition era!

FAQ About Delicious Denver Food Tours

Is a Delicious Denver food tour worth it?

Yes, I definitely think that it’s worth taking a tour with Delicious Denver Food Tours.

At approximately $80 (depending on the tour), it’s certainly more than I would spend on a normal meal out — but that’s primarily because there’s a lot more food than I would order during a normal meal out. Plus, you get the benefit of a local expert who will show you the best places to eat, tell you about the history of the area, and give you more recommendations for your time in Denver. In my view and experience, all of that is well worth the cost.

How much food do you get?

So much omg. You can see photos of most of the servings above — none were huge on their own, but together it was much more than I would eat in an ordinary meal. One taco + one regular slice of pizza + one plate of pasta + one chicken pita + donuts = a lot of food!

Luckily, all of this was spread out over 3 hours and there was plenty of walking involved. But still: come hungry!

What about vegetarians and other special dietary needs?

Delicious Denver Food Tours can accommodate a variety of dietary needs and restrictions, including:

• Vegetarian
• Vegan (except on the RiNo tour!)
• Pescatarian
• No beef, pork, poultry, or seafood
• Nut allergies
• Gluten free (except on the RiNo tour!)

In short, don’t book the RiNo tour if you’re dairy-free or gluten-free, but otherwise Delicious Denver can handle your dietary needs. Just be sure to make a note of your restrictions in the box that’s provided when you purchase your ticket!

My friends and I didn’t have any food allergies or other dietary restrictions, but I did notice that everything was served in individual portions, so — I am guessing — they can just swap out one of the servings for an alternative option as necessary.

Is alcohol included?

That depends on the tour!

• The cocktails tour includes alcohol, with a slightly less expensive mocktails option for non-drinkers.
• The Downtown and RiNo tours do not include alcohol tastings in the base ticket price, but you can upgrade your ticket to include 3 alcohol tastings for $30. If you book directly with Delicious Denver, you can add this at the time of purchase; if you book with Viator or GetYourGuide, just let your tour guide know you’d like to buy the alcohol add-on at the beginning of your tour.
• The 16th Street Mall tour does not include an alcohol option, but you can purchase drinks on your own during the course of the tour.

More Things to Do in Denver

If you’re looking for more things to do during your time in Denver, here are some of my top recommendations:

RED ROCKS | Red Rocks Amphitheatre, with its dramatic rows of seating built in the midst of sandstone formations, has to be one of the most spectacular settings for a concert venue in the entire U.S. Going to see a show at Red Rocks is still on my bucket list, but you can visit the amphitheatre for free when a show isn’t happening — which I think is well worth it!

HIKING | It’s no secret that Denver is one of America’s best hiking cities. My friends and I enjoyed a casual hike just below Red Rocks, as well as an icy walk around a lake, but there’s no shortage of great hiking options at a variety of lengths and difficulty levels.

BASEBALL | The Colorado Rockies are not typically a great team (sorry), but they do play at a great stadium: Coors Field. Because the field is unusually located right in downtown Denver, it’s exceptionally easy to go see a baseball game in Denver!

CANDLELIGHT CONCERT | Candlelight concerts aren’t unique to Denver, but I saw a great one there! We gathered in a charming and simple little church, where a string quartet played instrumental versions of Coldplay songs while surrounded by hundreds of battery-powered candles. Gorgeous!

MUSEUMS | Denver has some excellent museums, including the Denver Art Museum, the Museum of Nature and Science, the Museum of Illusions, and Meow Wolf — a totally unique and immersive visual experience.

BOULDER | Drive to neighboring Boulder and enjoy shopping on the pedestrian Pearl Street Mall or sipping tea at the incredible Dushanbe Teahouse — an ornate building sent from Tajikistan.

Final Thoughts

I loved taking a food tour with Delicious Denver Food Tours and would definitely recommend it to other visitors to Denver — or to Denver locals trying to learn some new tips about the city’s food scene.

If you take a Delicious Denver food tour, report back and let me know how it was!

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