Big Onion's Multi-Ethnic Eating Tour of the Lower East Side

Big Onion has been leading walking tours of New York since 1991, and its guides are historians: educators and graduate students who research their routes rather than recite them. Its signature is the Original Multi-Ethnic Eating Tour, two hours through the Lower East Side that combine the neighborhood's immigrant history with tastings from the shops and markets that still carry it.

Public tours cost $30 for two hours as of October 2026, with lower prices for students and seniors, and advance booking is required for every tour. The eating tour runs on dates through the fall, including October 23, 2026, and there is a special post-Thanksgiving version. Come hungry but not starving, since the tastings add up. Wear walking shoes and dress for standing on corners. If the food tour is full, Big Onion's other routes, such as Immigrant New York, the Jewish Lower East Side and Historic Harlem, are just as well researched. Private tours can be arranged for groups.