Toronto's International Food Tour - Kensington Market
Description
We are no longer food tour guides. We are Culinary Storytellers — the neighbourhood's insiders, walking these streets since 2017. We share the flavours of the families from around the world who now call Kensington Market home. Named the #1 Food & Drink Experience in Canada by TripAdvisor (Travellers' Choice Best of the Best, 2022). Country Winner, World Luxury Travel Awards. Featured in Condé Nast Traveller and National Geographic. Like fine wine, we have aged well. Same tour since 2017 — an evolved experience. Six stops, all family-owned, 8+ cuisines: a full meal's worth of generous tastings, hand-picked from friends we've known for nearly a decade. Small groups, no lines, stories you can't Google. Bienvenue. Welcome home.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Kensington Market is Toronto's most eclectic Heritage neighbourhood — a few square blocks where the whole world cooks. Once a rough-around-the-edges immigrant market, always honest, it has been our home away from home since 2017: the most diverse neighbourhood in the most diverse city in the world. We walk it the way locals do — counter by counter, friend by friend. Across six family-owned kitchens and 8+ cuisines, recent tastings have included fish and chips with kale salad, mama-recipe Jamaican patties, South American empanadas, Japanese pocket sushi, Himalayan dumplings with butter tea, and a sweet finish near Fika Cafe. The menu has changed over the years, but the spirit has not: these are the flavours our friends love, because they still remind them of the home they left behind. Small groups, always led by a veteran Culinary Storyteller. Come hungry — tastings are generous, a full meal's worth. Leave with stories you can't Google. Bienvenue. Welcome home.
On Kensington's eastern edge our walk brushes Toronto's Chinatown — by square footage the largest in North America, and one of four Chinatowns in Toronto. That a single city holds four tells you everything about how deep its diversity runs. We don't stop to eat here — six kitchens in Kensington will fill you — but we walk alongside more than 50 places to eat spanning 25+ nationalities of food: noodle houses, BBQ windows, dumpling counters, bakeries, bubble tea. Your Culinary Storyteller will point out where the locals actually line up, and guests regularly come back the next day with our shortlist in hand. Think of it as a preview of everything this city still has waiting for you. One walk barely scratches the surface of how Toronto eats — Kensington Market and Chinatown side by side are why we call this the most diverse neighbourhood in the most diverse city in the world: generations of new Canadians, cooking the flavours of home, next door to one another.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Infant meals not included
- Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Our friends cook their family recipes as they always have, so we can't accommodate gluten, dairy, or nut allergies, and we don't offer a vegan option. Vegetarian and pescatarian versions are available — just tell us when you book.
- We do not recommend this Experience for guests who have mobility issues.
Reviews(831)
This was an amazing food and history tour! Do NOT eat beforehand. 😂 Jessica was the best guide. It was evident how much she loves her city and the culture. We had a great time.
Our guide Jessica was excellent, very knowledgeable, kind, and pleasant. The reason I gave only 3 stars is that I did not think that the food we tasted was that good.. was very plain and not really enough variety. At the end of the tour I did not feel that we got a chance to try enough different foods considering all the options and choices there are at the market. It’s also kind of pricy. I would not recommend this to my friends.
Dear Dana, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback, and I’m truly pleased to hear how much you enjoyed your time with Jessica. She’s been with us since 2019 and is one of our shining stars. I’m sorry to hear the food tastings didn’t quite meet your expectations and that the variety felt limited. We appreciate the honest review — it’s been a while since we’ve received a 3-star rating, and it gives us a chance to provide some helpful context for future guests. A note for prospective guests: This tour isn’t for everyone. We feature authentic tastings from 7+ different countries across 5 continents (as of 2026: Canada, Jamaica, Chile, Peru, Japan, Tibet, South Africa, and Sweden). Most dishes are prepared by people from those very countries — immigrant families who brought these precious flavours to Toronto. From Chilean empanadas to Tibetan momos, each bite and sip is a taste of “home” for the families who run these small, family-owned businesses in Kensington Market. We walk through one of the most ethnically diverse neighbourhoods in the world’s most diverse city, and food that’s new or unfamiliar can naturally spark strong opinions. Since 2017, Chopsticks+Forks has proudly hosted this experience. Four of our six stops have been with us since Day 1, and our long-time team — Felicia (since 2018), Jessica and William (since 2019), and myself — are fixtures in the Market. It’s our honour to introduce you to our friends and the flavours that connect them to “home” they left behind. Taste | Learn | Discover Warm regards, Jusep Sim Founder, Chopsticks+Forks
Jessica was The Bomb! She made the whole experience fun, interesting and informative!! Highly recommend her !!!
Nan, "The Bomb" — Jessica may need that printed on a t-shirt now, and honestly, we'd approve the design. Fun, interesting, and informative is the whole assignment, and she nails it every time. Thank you for the enthusiasm; it's contagious!
This is one of the best food tours! Friendly and knowledgeable tour guide, Jess, and outstanding food! Thank you so much!
Neeta, thank you right back! "One of the best" is a big claim in a city with this much competition for your appetite, and we don't take it lightly. Jess brings that warmth to every group, and we're thrilled the food kept pace. Hope to feed you again someday!
Jessica was the consummate tour guide. Homegrown, you could tell she loves what she does. Toronto is such an ecletic city w a smorgasbord of cuisines and cultures. It was truly an international tasting experience.
Linda, "homegrown" is spot on — Jessica's love for this city isn't a script, it's her life, and it shows at every stop. A smorgasbord is exactly what Toronto sets out daily; we just help you find the best seats at the table. Thank you for tasting your way around the world with us!
This tour is a great way to learn the history of Kensington Market and taste some of the amazing international flavors. Felicia was an excellent guide. We highly recommend this opportunity.
Thank you so much for this — capturing both the history and the flavors is exactly what we want guests to walk away with, and Felicia's background as an AGO gallery guide is exactly why she brings that lens to Kensington Market so naturally. So glad the two of you had a great afternoon, and we'd love to welcome you back to Chopsticks+Forks on a future visit to Toronto. — Jusep, Founder, Chopsticks+Forks
Jessica was our guide—-and she was awesome! If you enjoy hole-in-the-wall places, this tour is for you. You hit about 9 different spots, and the walk in between is a full experience of the Kensington Market. A-1 experience—-you won’t be disappointed.
Thank you for such a generous review — and for capturing exactly what we hope every guest feels on the Kensington Market walk. Jessica has a gift for finding the hole-in-the-wall spots most visitors would walk right past, and she's right that the walk between stops is as much the experience as the food itself — that's very much by design. So glad it landed for you, and we'd love to host you again at Chopsticks+Forks next time you're in Toronto. — Jusep, Founder, Chopsticks+Forks
Jessica was a fabulous guide! We had such a good time learning the history of the market, meeting the vendors and of course, eating their food. Every bite was delicious 😋 It was a great tour
Thank you so much for the lovely review! We’re thrilled you enjoyed the Kensington Market tour and that Jessica made it so special — we’ll pass your praise along. It’s great to hear you loved the food and enjoyed meeting the vendors. We’d love to welcome you back to explore more of Toronto’s flavors. Thanks again for sharing!
Exploring Kensington Market is a fantastic way to get a taste of the diverse cultures and sample some delicious treats!
Thank you for the kind review! We’re delighted you enjoyed exploring Kensington Market and sampling its diverse flavors. We hope to welcome you back soon to discover even more of Toronto’s culinary delights.
Jessica led us on a tasting tour of some of the best food to be found in Kensington Market. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Favourite taste was the Japanese Aburi salmon pocket sushi at Koi. Highly recommend this tour.
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience! We're thrilled to hear that you thoroughly enjoyed exploring Kensington Market with Jessica. One of the things that makes the neighborhood so special is its incredible variety of flavors, and we're glad you had the opportunity to sample some of the area's standout culinary gems. It's great to hear that the Aburi salmon pocket sushi from Koi was your favorite tasting of the tour. Many guests discover new favorite foods along the way, and that's one of the most rewarding parts of the experience. We'll be sure to pass along your kind words to Jessica. Her passion for the neighborhood, its food, and its stories helps create memorable experiences for our guests. Thank you for your recommendation, and we hope to welcome you back for another food adventure in Toronto soon!
