Tours start at Savor's headquarters at 2004 1st Ave, a block from the market, at times that vary seasonally between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., and finish within a few blocks of the start. Savor runs a no-tipping model, needs at least four guests for a tour to run and goes out rain or shine. Its full lineup also includes an Insider's Breakfast & Culture Tour (2 hours 30 minutes, 13 breakfast tastings and early access to the market, up to 12 guests), a Progressive Dinner Tour (2 hours 30 minutes, four courses with two half-pour drink pairings) and a Holiday Food Tour offered only in November and December.
Tip: Savor notes that cobblestones, stairs and crowds make parts of the route hard for wheelchairs and strollers, so contact the company ahead if you need an accessibility check.
Eat Seattle Tours: Chef-Guided Pike Place Market Food Tour
At Eat Seattle Tours, your guide is a working Seattle chef in a chef coat, and the two-hour market tour visits nine tasting stops drawn from a roster of about 16 market partners, so no two routes are quite the same. Past routes have included Pike Place Chowder, Market Spice, Beecher's, Chukar Cherries, indi chocolate, Hellenika Cultured Creamery and Maíz, and you will also pick up tips on choosing produce and judging fish the way cooks do.
Meet outside Simply Seattle at 1600 1st Ave, at the corner of 1st and Pine, about 10 minutes before your start time; the company points out that Simply Seattle has other locations, so double-check the address. The tour runs seven days a week, year-round, and every guest leaves with a 10% discount card for Eat Seattle's market partners. Vegetarians can be accommodated with 24 hours' notice, but gluten-free and dairy-free swaps are harder.
Early risers can book the Pike Place Coffee Crawl & Morning VIP Market Tour, a two-hour, chef-led walk that samples five small-batch Seattle roasters alongside breakfast bites as the market opens. It meets inside Anchorhead at 2003 Western Ave, with early-morning starts on the days it runs, and Eat Seattle suggests the Pike Place garage at 1531 Western Ave if you are driving.
Show Me Seattle: Pike Place Market Food Tour
Show Me Seattle's Pike Place Market Food Tour is a two-hour walk through the market's back alleys, narrow corridors and tiny storefronts, with 8+ tastings and a local guide sharing stories of the market's colorful history and characters. The lineup shifts with the day and partner availability, but has featured Honest Biscuits, Pike Place Chowder, Three Girls Bakery, Beecher's and The Truffle Queen. You get the exact meeting spot when you reserve, groups are capped at 14 people or fewer, according to the company's homepage, and tours run rain or shine.
Want the market before the crowds? The Early-Bird Food Tour of Pike Place Market is another two-hour tasting walk with 8+ samples that starts at 9 a.m., when merchants have more time to chat. Show Me Seattle discourages strollers and suggests calling ahead to talk through mobility needs, since some routes can be adjusted.
Secret Food Tours: Seattle
The longest of the market tours, Secret Food Tours: Seattle runs about 3 to 3.5 hours with seven stops and a cap of 10 people. Expect clam chowder, coffee from a market business that has been there since 1982, a centuries-old pastry recipe with an Indian and Russian twist, a German-inspired street food and one surprise "secret" bite. Meet next to Sur La Table by Post Alley at 84 Pine St, where the guide waits with an orange umbrella; the company lists a daily 10:30 a.m. departure and says the tour finishes in the heart of the market.
Food tours beyond Pike Place
South Lake Union street food tour
Eat Seattle's Street Food Tour of South Lake Union spends two hours on six tastings in the city's tech district, drawing from a rotating set of local spots and finishing next to the Amazon Spheres, which you view from the outside. It meets outside Maiz Molino at 2325 6th Ave, between Battery and Bell streets, and the company recommends the Doppler Garage on the 2000 block of 6th Ave for parking. Explore more of the area in our South Lake Union guide.
Seattle Center and Space Needle food tour
Called Noshes at the Needle, Eat Seattle's Seattle Center food tour is a two-hour, five-tasting walk through Seattle Center and Lower Queen Anne, starting at the Dog in the Park kiosk at 400 Broad Street, right under the Space Needle. Recent tastings have included a classic Seattle-style hot dog, oysters from Taylor Shellfish and a Northwest-grain pretzel. The tour does not go up the tower, so book the observation deck separately, and see our Seattle Center guide for what else is on the grounds.
Happy hour tour
For an evening out, Eat Seattle's Seattle Happy Hour Tour pairs three cocktails and a glass of bubbles with chef-chosen bites across five South Lake Union stops on Friday and Saturday evenings. It is 21 and over, with IDs checked at the first stop, and meets outside King Leroy at 2051 7th Ave.
How to pick the right tour
- Check for a market license. The Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority requires paid tour operators in its buildings to hold a license and caps groups at 16 people per guide. Savor, Eat Seattle and Show Me Seattle each say they are licensed.
- Match the time of day. Morning tours see the market waking up with fewer people, while midday tours catch the full bustle.
- Flag dietary needs early. Every company asks for notice, and gluten-free and dairy-free guests may have to skip a stop or two.
- Dress for the walk. Expect cobblestones, stairs, standing and Seattle weather, since tours go out rain or shine.
- Bring an appetite. Most companies describe their tastings as adding up to a meal, so skip a big breakfast.
- Plan for bags and kids. Eat Seattle has no luggage storage, and children who eat generally need a full ticket, while kids 2 and under who are not eating usually ride along free.
