Pike Place Market Food Tour: 10 Tastings & Hidden Stops

Ten Food Stops Through Pike Place Market with a Guide Who's Worked There Since 1987

You visit ten vendors across Pike Place Market's main and lower levels, sampling James Beard–award winners, smoked salmon, handmade biscuits, pizza, and Filipino cuisine. Your guide, a Market Family insider since 1987, takes you to exclusive stops and down into historic building levels most tours skip. The tour includes all samples, vendor discounts, and ends with dessert near the Sleepless in Seattle filming location.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Pike Place Market with food samples

• Meet at The Crumpet Shop sign
• Pass Can-Can Cabaret, learn market history
• View Piroshky Piroshky bakery operation
• Sample biscuits at Honest Biscuits
• Visit City Fish, taste smoked salmon
• Sample Filipino food at Oriental Mart
• Try pizza at DeLaurenti Italian Grocery
• Pass Pike Place Fish Co, see fish throwing
• Sample dried fruit at Simply Seattle
• Pass Don and Joes butcher shop
• Lunch at Secret Garden with views
• Sample teas at MarketSpice
• Visit Fairley Building magic shop
• Pass Golden Age comic book shop
• Pass Holy Cow records store
• See The Athenian lunch counter
• Dessert at Chukar Cherries

The experience

You're standing at Pike Place Market for the first time, or maybe the fifth, and you realize you have no idea where to actually eat or what's worth your time. The Market is nine acres of stalls, alleys, and levels that can swallow an afternoon without you tasting anything real. Supersonic John leads groups small enough that you're not herded, usually under a dozen people, and he's been working here since 1987, so he knows which vendors will actually hand you a sample and which ones are just for looking. The tour hits ten stops: Piroshky Piroshky's hand-rolled pastries, City Fish's alderwood smoked salmon (opened 1917), the O-Mart's James Beard–winning Filipino food where you meet Ate Lei, DeLaurenti's pizza counter from 1946, and a few places most tourists never find.

You start at the Crumpet Shop's sign (easy to spot, hard to miss), and work downward through the main section, past the Can-Can Cabaret while John explains how the Market survived and what it actually is. There's a stop at Honest Biscuits on the west side where you eat fluffy biscuits with Beechers cheese while looking out at Elliott Bay, and you walk by Pike Place Fish Co (yes, the one where they throw fish) without the chaos of the crowd. The tour includes a meat and cheese trail mix from Don and Joe's, dried fruit samples at Simply Seattle, and ends with chocolate-covered cherries at Chukar near the Athenian: the lunch counter from Sleepless in Seattle. The whole thing takes about two and a half hours, and by the end you've actually eaten, learned something about the place, and gotten vendor discounts you can use later.

What makes this different from wandering alone is that John stops at exclusive Tasty Tours spots (the O-Mart VIP experience, the DeLaurenti pizza counter), and he takes you down into the seven-level Fairley Building to the longest-running magic shop in the Pacific Northwest, a place you'd never find on your own. He also explains the role of the PDA, the Market Foundation, and the Historic District in keeping Pike Place one of the world's seven great public markets. Small groups mean you're not holding up a line of thirty people while someone takes a photo, and you're not fighting to hear the guide over other tours.

What’s included

• Ten vendor food samples from Pike Place Market merchants, including Piroshky Piroshky, City Fish smoked salmon, O-Mart Filipino cuisine, DeLaurenti pizza, Honest Biscuits with Beechers cheese, Don and Joe's meat and cheese trail mix, dried fruit samples, and Chukar Cherries dessert.
• Vendor discounts at all shops visited.
• A guided tour led by a Market Family insider with access to exclusive stops and lower-level historic locations.
• The tour takes approximately two and a half hours and includes all samples: no additional food purchases required.

Information

Lasts 2h, runs every day at 10:30, 13:00 and 15:30, from US$ 58 per person, with a live guide in English, in groups of up to 12 and with free cancellation up to 24 h before.

Days and timesMonday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday: 10:30, 13:00 and 15:30Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday: 10:30 and 13:00Another time? ›

GroupUp to 12

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends at a different place from where it starts.

Book up to2h before

AgesAdult (4 and older) · Infant (under 4): free

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 2 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortWheelchair accessibleStroller-friendlyInfant seats availablePets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Tasty Tours

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to actually taste Pike Place Market instead of just walking through it, and you'd rather not spend an hour figuring out which vendors are worth your time. The small group size and exclusive stops are what make the difference between a snack run and a real introduction to the place.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Infant (under 4): free.

How long is the Pike Place Market food tour?

Approximately two and a half hours, moving through the main Market and lower levels at a walking pace.

How many food samples do you get?

Ten vendor stops with samples included at each, ranging from smoked salmon and pizza to biscuits, pastries, and chocolate-covered cherries.

What is included in the tour price?

All ten food samples, vendor discounts at shops visited, and a Market Family insider guide. You do not pay separately for samples or entry to the Market.

Is the tour wheelchair accessible?

Yes, the tour is wheelchair accessible. Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller, and service animals are allowed.

What is the group size?

Groups are kept small, typically under twelve people, so the pace is manageable and you can hear the guide clearly.

Do you need to book food or bring money for samples?

No. All samples are included in the tour price. You receive vendor discounts if you choose to buy additional items.

Where do you meet for the tour?

At the Crumpet Shop sign in Pike Place Market, which is the official starting point and easy to locate.