Melbourne: Queen Victoria Market Food Tour & Tastings
Queen Victoria Market's traders will feed you what they're selling today
You walk Queen Victoria Market for two hours with a local guide who knows the traders and stops at stalls to taste oysters, kangaroo, cheese, olives, doughnuts and gelati as they come. Groups cap at ten, so you're not lost in a crowd. You leave with a market tote bag, a fruit platter, and the knowledge of where to shop when you come back alone.
Step-by-step itinerary
Guided walking tour of Queen Victoria Market
- Meet group at Queen Victoria Market
- Explore market laneways and stalls
- Visit Deli Hall and specialty shops
- Taste fresh seafood and local cheese
- Sample grilled peppered kangaroo and octopus
- Enjoy hot jam doughnuts and gelati
- Receive Market tote bag
- End tour with fruit platter
What’s included
Your two-hour tour includes a local guide, generous tastings of seasonal produce and specialty items from market vendors, a Queen Victoria Market tote bag, and a fruit platter at the end. The meeting point is outside Mary Martin Bookshop, and public transport options are nearby.
Times
- Friday and Saturday 10:00
Before you book
Operated by Queen Victoria Market
Prices and times updated today
Traveler reviews
The experience
You'll meet your guide outside Mary Martin Bookshop at the corner of Queen Street and String Bean Alley, and within minutes you're standing in front of a vendor who's been selling the same cut of kangaroo for twenty years. He grills it right there, peppered and hot, and hands you a piece. That's how the Queen Victoria Market food tour works. You don't read about what's fresh, you taste it. The market itself opened in 1878 across two city blocks, and five days a week the laneways fill with produce crates labeled by region, honey stands, spice vendors, and the kind of chaos that only makes sense once someone who knows the place walks you through it.
Your guide points out details you'd miss alone. The Deli Hall, also called the Dairy Produce Hall, where pates and local cheeses stack up behind glass. The Traditional Pasta Shop with handmade shapes you've never seen. M&G Caiafa for gourmet bread, the American Doughnut Kitchen where the hot jam doughnuts come out of the fryer. Two hours sounds short until you realize you're tasting Coffin Bay oysters, pickled octopus, goats' milk cheese, fresh dolmades, Victorian olives, and seasonal gelati, all while learning how traders choose what to stock and how to shop like someone who actually cooks. The tastings shift with what's in season. That's the deal with a real market, not a museum version of one.
Groups stay under ten people, which means you're not shuffling behind a flag or straining to hear over a crowd. At the end you get a market tote bag and a fruit platter, and you leave knowing which stall to come back to and what to ask for. The market's near public transport, it's wheelchair accessible, and the whole thing takes two hours including the walking and the eating. Bring comfortable shoes and your own water bottle. The market has refill stations, and they don't do single-use plastic.
Is this one for you?Book this if you want to taste what's actually selling at the market that day and learn which stalls to return to, without spending hours figuring out where to start or what to ask for: the guide and the small group size handle both.
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Top questions
Can children come?
Yes. Ticket types: Child (5 to 14 years); Infant (under 5): free.
What time does the tour start?
The tour meeting point is outside Mary Martin Bookshop at the corner of Queen Street and String Bean Alley. Specific start times are confirmed when you book.
Can I do the tour if I have dietary restrictions?
No. The tour is designed around seasonal tastings, and individual dietary requirements cannot be accommodated.
How long is the tour?
Two hours of guided walking and tasting throughout Queen Victoria Market.
What's included in the tastings?
Tastings change based on what's fresh that day, but typically include oysters, grilled kangaroo, cheese, olives, dips, doughnuts, and gelati. A fruit platter is served at the end.
Is the market accessible by wheelchair?
Yes. All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible, and infants in prams or strollers are welcome.
How many people are on each tour?
Small groups limited to 10 people per guide.
Do I need to bring water?
The market doesn't provide bottled water. Bring your own bottle and refill at water stations around the market.
What should I wear?
Comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
Melbourne: Queen Victoria Market Food Tour & Tastings
2h · EN
from AU$ 109 per person
≈ US$ 78 in your currency
Next, you choose your date and number of travelers and see the final price.