Little Italy Tours

My work department did this tour as part of our holiday celebrations and had a great time! Our tour guide Anthony was very informative and energetic. We learned all about where pizza came from and each stop taught us something new and allowed us to try pizza from a different region. You will leave full and educated! They also worked great with a food allergy which was much appreciated and didn’t detract from the experience at all.

Aaaammmmazing! This was one of the most memorable days in San Diego to date! I’ve lived in San Diego for four years and never experienced Little Italy like this! We toured several restaurants, each with its own unique story. The food we tasted was something I would have never considered to order off the menu, it was delicious.
Our tour guide Anthony was so passionate in sharing every detail about each restaurant; how it started, what region of Italy they get their food from and why, the history about the décor and what region of Italy it relates to.
The experience honestly exceeded my expectations. It was phenomenal, I felt like I was experiencing so much of Italy’s rich culture right in San Diego. The people are so appreciative and love to share their culture. The history of Little Italy is very much alive today! :)

Anthony knows how to create a memorable experience. I was so impressed by the restaurant line-​up, visiting 5 reputable establishments of Little Italy that I’ve always wanted to visit as a local. Anthony made the tour group feel like we were family members gathering around the dinner table, ordering delicious items from both on and off the menu at each stop and explaining their regional origins and cultural significance. We were lucky enough to meet the fantastic owners behind the scenes, making for a very special, very lively Saturday afternoon with lots of laughs and good memories. Anthony was constantly attending to our needs and making sure everyone was enjoying themselves.

Such an amazing way to spend an evening in Little Italy! Michela (our tour guide) was sweet and fun — her lovely Italian accent and recent move to the US allowed for a truly authentic experience. Anthony was also in attendance and added so much fun and frivolity to our tour! I have lived in San Diego my entire life and have always loved Little Italy. This tour gave me such great insight to the rich history of this historic neighborhood. I highly recommend this tour and all of the restaurants we visited. Definitely worth it! Grazie!

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Little Italy with Anthony! A group of 15 of us traveled from Orange County to learn more about this charming area of San Diego. Anthony knows his history and shares it with a lot of passion. His stories were animated, clear and concise. The Prohibition stories were fascinating and the rich history surrounding the neighborhood church was very moving. A nice plus, Anthony was very conscientious in offering bathroom breaks and always finding a shady spot for us while he regaled us with his stories. Following the tour we all sat down for a delicious lunch that included a large antipasto platter and an assortment of pizzas. After lunch we enjoyed homemade gelato. Based on all the positive comments I heard from my friends, I think we would all highly recommend Anthony and Little Italy Tours.

I really enjoyed this tour– the guide, the places we visited, the experience provided, and the stories and history we learned about tour. Anthony was our tour guide. Our tour started at a little café, which ironically is owned by a family that lived across the street from my family almost a century ago. Anthony got the owner, who came over, and the entire experience was surreal. Anthony and the café owner were able to tell me stories and I felt like I was apart of this little community, and speaking to family. We also got to enjoy a pastry and cold beverage (it was 95 degrees).
The tour was extremely knowledgeable from Cabrillo sailing into the most perfect harbor to ending in a beautifully hand painted Catholic Church. Anthony told us such detailed stories, shared photographs, and answered so many questions I had. I really enjoyed his conversations, stories, and how every knew his name as we walked the streets and said hello.
I would recommend this tour! If you love history, are Italian, or just love this unique community. A little bummed we don’t have time for the food tour… next time! Thank you, Anthony.

THIS IS NOT A FOOD TOUR. I bought the Living Social deal, thinking that Little Italy Tour meant Food Tour. There was some food, but it definitely wouldn’t be considered a Food Tour. That being said, it was an awesome historical tour of Little Italy.
The bf and I love history, so we took a sunny Saturday to walk around and learn all about San Diego’s historical Italian neighborhood. Anthony was an awesome tour guide — very knowledgeable. He would even stop the formal tour to introduce us to locals and shop owners that were walking by, peppering the tour with personality and local charm.
The food that WAS included was:
Inis: a huge Sicilian donut filled with cream. Delicious! You can only get it at that café. I would come back for it and share with a friend.
Coke and a Slice: Pizza and pasta at Landini’s. It was alright, but pretty standard fare. I was hoping for something a bit more original like we had a breakfast.
We were a bit disappointed that the tour description made it sound like a food tour, so I took off one star for that. They have since changed the naming on the website to more accurately reflect what is included. If it was advertised more as a history tour when I purchased, I would have given it 5 stars. Overall, a lot of fun, very informative, and I would definitely do more tours with Anthony in the future.

My wife and I recently traveled south from OC to San Diego. We had heard about the Little Italy tour but little did we realize just how interesting, fun and informative our time with Anthony would be. We kept turning around looking for the Corleone’s.
Anthony is certainly passionate about the roots of the Italian culture in San Diego and was the fastest 120 minutes we spent during our trip and left you wanting more, much, much more. It is a MUST DO on a visit to San Diego… and BTW the food in Little Italy is suburb, everywhere! And the visit to the Our Lady of the Rosary church was a spiritual experience as well.
Thank you Anthony, thank you Little Italy Tours. We are looking forward to our next visit and another Little Italy Tour experience. Be sure to make your reservation — it won’t disappoint.

Little Italy Tours is a surprisingly entertaining and informative experience that I would highly recommend for both visitors and residents of San Diego alike.
I was amazed at how much fun I had on this little walking tour. Anthony, our guide had colorful information and stories about Little Italy that must have taken years of research to dig up.
The stories about prohibition and the mob’s attempt to gain a foothold in San Diego was more gripping than going to a movie.
You won’t regret going on this tour, and no visit to San Diego would be complete without it.

I worked with Anthony to help organize a cooking demonstration for my cousin’s bachelorette party last weekend. Anthony was very accommodating and worked with me to make sure the plan was set. I was initially concerned that the price per person was a little high – but once you attend you realize it’s well worth it. We were served salads, appetizers, and 3 dishes plus dessert. Not to mention the wine! It was well worth the price and the experience was just what we were looking for. Chef Gregorio is extremely knowledgeable about his craft and we enjoyed talking to him about all things food! A big thanks to Little Italy Tours. I’d recommend them to anyone looking for an out of the ordinary experience.

We took the Little Italy Tours Pizza Tour. It was probably the best food tour we have taken so far. We have done almost every tour offered in San Diego and environs. This was perfect in every way. Analise is a great tour guide. She Italian in every way and knows so much about Italian cooking. She does cooking classes also. We started off with 2 kinds of pizza along with a glass of wine or soft drink, learning about the difference in the pizzas and areas where they originated. Then we went to another place with 2 pieces. Then another with 2 pieces, learning about prosciutto and various parmesans. The last place was 3 pieces. Boy do you have to pace yourself with 9 pieces total. All were delicious and we really learned a lot. There was very little walking so it works for all ages.
Fantastic!

Although I had high hopes, this experience was underwhelming. We started in the back of an Italian eatery/​bakery where we were given a Sicilian Doughnut which was tasty and filling. Note: Here ends the most favorable portion of the review.
The tour itself seemed a little scatter-​shot as far as the route taken. We were required to stay within «25 yards» of the tour guide in order to be able to hear clearly on the «high-​quality» headsets that were distributed prior to embarking on the tour. Apparently I have a much different definition of «high-​quality» as these units produced background static most of the time and only got worse outside a 15 yard radius from the guide.
Along our «route» we stopped periodically to view «slides», or old printed, laminated pictures, of the settlement area. I’m not sure what the cost overhead is on this tour, but a simple tri-​fold brochure, printed on both sides (can even be black & white since I don’t recall any color pictures) distributed at the beginning of the tour would have been much better. I’d have much preferred that as opposed to handling pictures after who knows what everyone else touched.
We were all «treated”(?) to musical interludes in between our stops. I assume the selection would have been good had it not been tainted by the ever-​present static. Also, to the Tour Guide: Please mute your mic when you want us to listen to the music. I’m not interested in listening to any side conversations in transit on top of the music.
Though there were obviously tidbits of knowledge that I didn’t know, as I’m not from Little Italy and I didn’t look up its history online prior to the tour, I expected much more in terms of the experience.
To those of you considering this tour:
If you want a conversational, relatively lackluster experience, starting with a good pastry and ending with typical pizza/​pasta, as well as not wanting to just buy a Little Italy brochure, please take this tour.
If you want something more customized for what you want, do yourself a favor:
Save yourself some money and cut out the middle-​man
Get a pamphlet about Little Italy or do a little research online
Do your own walking tour with some friends
Eat/​drink along the way if you want (like I said, the doughnut was good)
***Update in Response to Owner***:
As I’m sure most people who use this site can attest, any comments I make are not meant to be personally disparaging. I submitted a critique, based on the experience I received.
The owner/​operator seemed fit to include a commercial for the offered foods as well as referring to a «Food Tour». I complimented the doughnut received but made no other mention of any food tour. So I can only assume that he’s projecting from others that have given not-​so-​stellar reviews.
About a third of the way down, after the commercial, the conversations over the mic are addressed though none of the conversations heard were in Italian. They were with a lady at the head of the tour asking questions which, had the mic been off, would not have elicited a negative response from me. Also, I’ve worked with sound equipment, mics and receivers included (also being of much better quality than those apparently used at the Vatican), and I find it very hard to believe that the types of «glitches» that were occurring during the tour were isolated. Had the mics and receivers been checked prior to disbursal — which I’m sure we’ll see another response from the owner saying that they check them before EVERY tour — there wouldn’t have been a problem.
Regarding the pictures, if the owner had read what was written instead of skimming, he would have realized I was giving a tip that would likely increase the efficiency regarding picture distribution. I know the pictures are old as they were taken 100+ years ago. Though if the originals were laminated in order to present to tourists, I feel like that was a poor decision. I said above that I wasn’t sure if there were any in color, from any period discussed. That was not a criticism but an observation concerning the low cost of reproduction in a pamphlet form that would have been more useful than laminated «slides» being passed around.
Finally, regarding the route taken, that clarification might be useful at the beginning of the tour but I’m sure the route could be better optimized for time. There didn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason behind the wandering route that we took. The owner mentioned «Re-​enactments» a couple of times in his response. I’m not really sure where these came in, perhaps I missed the actors nestled in with the tour group? Perhaps the owner meant to say «retelling» which would have made more sense given the context of the exceptionally long response/​commercial below.
I’d like to congratulate Little Italy Tours for being «culturally significant» and I’m glad others had a good to great experience. I wish I could share in their enjoyment but, as indicated by the 2-​Star rating, I had a higher expectations.

*UPDATE*:
Simmer down Anthony… I appreciate the fact that you CHANGED the name of your tour and are no longer calling it a «Food Tour» like it said when my group purchased it. To your point I was not offended that you asked me one time to wash my hands BUT I had a problem with the fact that you singled me out again to verify that I did indeed wash my hands. If I told you I’d wash my hands then I did! I’ve been on food tours in many cities San Juan, LA, SF, Berkeley, Napa, Seattle, Dallas, and more and this was NOT A FOOD TOUR! So great job changing the name to «historical adventure» but that’s NOT what it was called when we paid for it. But thanks for trying to make me look like a liar oh and accusing me of writing bad reviews under different name… good way to run a business.
Fuggeddaboutdit! This tour is not worth your time or money if you’re expecting a «food tour» like where you go from eatery to eatery and taste traditional Italian food offerings then you should look elsewhere. The tour itself tries to be educational but it’s just silly, boarding on condescending as the over-​the-​top Italian tour guide (Anthony) literally points to iron grapes on a fence and asks the group if anyone can tell him what these are? Really? The tour starts out in the back of a café where we’re given a giant doughnut type pastry which I must admit was yummy. But only if you wash your hands first… seriously. I was making small talk with the guide and mentioned that we tried sea urchin while at the farmers market and he asked that I wash my hands before handling their audio equipment. Which I guess I didn’t mind since I needed to use the restroom anyway and obviously wash my hands. But then he sought me out before they gave out the headphones and asked me if I did indeed wash my hands. I nodded yes as to not draw even more attention from the group. We put our headphones on and headed out to learn about Italian immigrants, the fishing industry, and of course the mafia because it’s that cliché! The best part was when we stopped in front of an old family home on the main street and the tour guide talked about the family who lives there, then an old gentleman emerged from the home, Anthony points him out in a whisper like we’re on safari and trying not to spook the man. It was hilarious! I felt a little like I was on a school field trip as we were asked several times to stay in a single file line, stay quiet, don’t touch anything, and to stay close. (mind you there are only adults in the tour) So we saw a fountain, some fishing net in the back of a parking lot, stalked an old man at his house, a tiny grocery store where we weren’t supposed to touch the dried fish we were there to look at (not taste), peeked in a window of an old restaurant, looked at some barbed wire in front of an old mafia hideout, and visited a church. Sound like a food tour yet? Yeah, not so much. But after the church we started to head over to the pizza joint for some food FINALLY! But on approach there’s another tour in there so we need to wait but we did get to listen in on the conversation between our guide and others (apparently forgot he’s wearing a mic) We each got a slice of pizza and drink ($ 5 on the regular menu) then a small dish of pasta and when I asked the assistant tour guide what it was she didn’t know and said that Anthony would explain it, but I don’t think he ever did… oh well we were starving so we just ate it. So if you are still going to take this tour make sure you eat first!

This is a history tour of Little Italy… and how can you do that without food?! Not possible! The tour started with an «inis» which I had never heard of before… a huge Italian pastry. Amazing! Then we walked through Little Italy and learned about the area and the people. Anthony was an excellent guide. The headphones were very helpful.
Our group was talking about our next tour before this one was even over! I recommend this for anyone… whether you are a tourist or a local!

Perfect rating out of 70plus reviews had my hopes up so much. I was super excited to go on this tour of Little Italy and enjoy food sampling. Well maybe I set myself up for disappointment. We started off at the meeting place and had a very delicious Sicilian Doughnut (Very Delicious). Then started our walk of the history of Little Italy. Lots of walking and lots of history. (1:45 minutes later) Then we ended at the last stop with a slice of pizza, drink and a sample of pasta. Pizza was good, pasta was ok. My over all experience was just ok. Maybe I worked myself up to expect the five star experience everyone else enjoyed. But I have to say it was just ok. I will definitely have another Sicilian Doughnut!!!

This was so much fun and so organized. The
Tour was very entertaining and informative. This isn’t a food tasting tour it is a historical tour of Little Italy. You get a huge pastry and at the end pizza and pasta.
I had a great time you will to

I feel bad giving a 3-​star review because I did enjoy the tour. My problem is that we wouldn’t have bought the tour if we had known what it was. We bought a «food tour» of Little Italy, but it was primarily a history tour with some food.
I am a history geek and I loved the history of Little Italy. Anthony is a great tour guide and even has a Tony Soprano accent to go along with the tour. But it is not what we signed up for.
My girlfriend and I are foodies who have been wanting to explore Little Italy’s restaurants, but couldn’t because all the choices were intimidating, and we didn’t know where to start. We thought a food tour of Little Italy would be perfect to sample some food and note what we liked and didn’t like.
At the beginning of the tour, Anthony offered us Inis — a humongous Sicilian deep-​fried, cream-​filled donut that was delicious and exclusive to the café we were in. However, at the end of the tour, we went to Landini’s for a coke and a slice of pizza, and some pasta — probably the least novel of Italian food. The food was good, but I guess we were expecting things we haven’t had before, or maybe even a history of the food in Little Italy.
I would give the tour 5 stars if it is correctly labelled as a historical tour of Little Italy. But I am rating the food tour that we purchased, and I have to go with 3 stars.

I saw this tour on Living Social and decided to try it. My husband and I are always looking for new things to do or try. We weren’t exactly sure what to expect since our only experience in Little Italy had been going out to dinner but the information said walking tour with food/​tasting at the end.
I’m so glad we did this. It was really interesting to hear about the area and what it has gone through since the first Italians arrived to date. Anthony was very knowledgable and personable.
The tour is two hours but you should allow for 3 hours. The walking tour is 2 hours and you eat after.
The walking tour includes headsets, which are great so you can hear everything that is being said clearly. That was such a good idea! However, if you’re like me and have smaller features you may want to bring your own ear buds. My headset didn’t fit my head right and kept falling off. Not the tours fault, my genetics! Lol!

Enjoyed a lovely day with friends touring and eating in Little Italy. Loved the historical stories told by Anthony and learning about the culture of the area.
It was a fun and interesting tour which I think any San Diegan or tourist would like!
We look forward to attending other Little Italy Tours events!

Anthony is absolutely amazing, truly professional and entertaining. And the food — so delicious!
Do not miss the opportunity to take a tour, cooking class, etc. Learn about San Diego’s great history & have an amazing experience at the same time. Great for visitors and locals alike. Great date if you are looking for something unique to do.
As the owner of a concierge company, I would recommend Little Italy Tours to all of my clients.