Old Quebec City Food Tour: 10+ Authentic Local Tastings

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Free cancellationTravelers' pickLikely to sell out

1/29

Duration3h

GroupUp to 16

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Five stops, ten tastings, one afternoon through four centuries of Québécois cooking

This three-hour food tour through Old Quebec takes you on foot through the historic neighborhood's cobblestone streets to five local restaurants and food stops, with 10+ tastings of Québécois classics — from Lion's Mane mushrooms and duck carpaccio to pea soup, pâté chinois, handmade gnocchi, maple taffy, croissants and poutine. Groups stay small. A live guide in English shares the stories behind the dishes and the 400-year-old architecture around them. On Sundays and Mondays, the gnocchi stop swaps for oat risotto with rock shrimp.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Old Québec and local tastings

Walk through Old Québec streets
Visit Château Frontenac viewpoint
See Québec City municipal government building
Stroll along Dufferin Terrace boardwalk
Explore smallest house and Ursuline Convent
View Québec City's Swiss clock
Enjoy 10+ authentic local food tastings

The Experience

You start in Old Quebec, the historic neighborhood where the tour stays contained within the walls. The route weaves through cobblestone streets past Château Frontenac — the grand hotel that dominates the skyline and is one of the most photographed landmarks in Canada — and along Dufferin Terrace, the wooden boardwalk above the St. Lawrence River. Your guide points out the Swiss clock and shares the contrast between the Ursuline Convent, founded in 1639 and home to the oldest girls' school on the continent, and the tiny building beside it often called the smallest house in North America. These stops frame the walking route, but the food is what anchors the afternoon.

The first tasting is earthy Lion's Mane mushrooms and duck breast carpaccio. Then comes the holy trio of traditional Québécois cooking: silky pea soup, savory pâté chinois, and fresh maple taffy — the kind locals have eaten for generations. At a 200-year-old home, you eat handmade gnocchi bathed in cheddar, cream, shallot, and white wine with a black garlic crumble (or on Sundays and Mondays, oat risotto crowned with a rock shrimp salad). A sweet stop brings sucre à la crème and what many locals call the best croissant in the city. The tour closes with poutine. Water is included throughout.

The walk covers a fair amount of ground, so comfortable shoes matter. Groups are kept small so every stop feels personal rather than rushed. The itinerary and menu can shift based on what the restaurants have available that day, and you should flag any dietary restrictions when you book so the stops can be adjusted.

What’s included

Lion's Mane mushroom starter and duck breast carpaccio.
traditional pea soup, pâté chinois, and maple taffy.
handmade gnocchi with cheddar, cream, shallot, white wine and black garlic crumble (Tuesday–Saturday) or oat risotto with rock shrimp salad (Sunday–Monday).
sucre à la crème and a croissant.
traditional poutine.
water throughout the tour.
live English-speaking guide.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearby

Operated by Local Quebec Food Tours

Is this one for you?If you're arriving in Quebec City without a car or staying elsewhere in the city, this tour starts and stays within Old Quebec's walls, so you walk from stop to stop without needing transport between tastings. The three-hour window fits a free afternoon, and the small group size means you're not herded through the neighborhood — you move at the pace of the food and the stories behind it.