Food Cart Tours

Get a taste of the streets of New York City on these 2-hour walking tours that explore the past and present of street food and the challenges of running these thriving but demanding small businesses. Each tour includes generous tastings from some of the best food carts and trucks in New York City—the menu rotates from week to week, but tastings on your tour may include falafel and lamb, halal chicken and rice, Bengali kati rolls, Belgian waffles, and Mexican tacos, all prepared in these curbside kitchens. But beyond the delicious food, you will also get the chance to meet working street vendors, understand the rules and regulations they navigate every day, and learn what to takes to launch and run a successful street food business. You will never look at street food the same way again! Tours are available in Manhattan’s Midtown or the Financial District, and check out our new Jackson Heights Food Cart Tour in Queens! 5% of all Food Cart Tour ticket sales are donated to the Street Vendor Project.

Tour Info & Highlights


      Tastings from some of the best street food vendors in New York City
      Learn what it takes to run a demanding food cart or truck from the vendors themselves
      Can accommodate many dietary needs
        FRI 12pm & THU 6pm // 2 hours
      Walking tour
      Manhattan & Queens.
        5 generous tastings included
      Tours support the Street Vendor Project

Health & Safety Guidelines

Our top priority is ensuring the health and safety of our guests, our staff, and the general public. Please review these guidelines before booking your tour, and feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

While on food tours, participants can remove their masks while eating and drinking, but are asked to please maintain a six-foot distance from people who are not in their immediate pod or group.

  • Everyone must bring a mask: Masks are not required on tours, but please bring a mask that fully covers your nose and mouth, as circumstances may arise in which a mask is required, such as visiting a business or indoor space that requires them. Please note that some staff may wear masks throughout the tour, and they may request that visitors wear masks, even when outside.
  • If you are feeling unwell either before or during your tour experience, please remove yourself from the tour and let us know so that we can refund your ticket or reschedule you to a future date.
  • We have a zero-tolerance policy for individuals who endanger staff, visitors, and partners by refusing to abide by these rules, or who engage in verbal or physical harassment, displays discriminatory or threatening behavior, or otherwise interferes with the experience of others. Tour participants who violate these policies may be asked to leave the tour without a refund.
  • Turnstile Tours may collect and retain the names and contact information of all tour attendees in the event that contact tracing efforts are necessary, and this information may be shared with public health authorities.
  • Even if you have received a vaccine, you must abide by all of these rules.
  • As in any public setting, we cannot guarantee that you will not be exposed to COVID-19. By taking a tour with Turnstile Tours and going outside, you voluntarily assume such risks.

Admission

Public Tours

  • General Admission: $60 per person
  • Seniors (ages 65+): $54
  • Students (full-time with ID): $54
  • Children (ages 5-12): $30
  • Children under 5 are welcome to attend free
  • Advance ticket purchase is required

Private tours are available on weekdays, depending on availability. Pricing for private tours is based on a minimum occupancy of six guests, and a gratuity of 8.5% is added to all private tour bookings.

Directions

Midtown tours begin in Bryant Park on the southeast corner of 6th Avenue and 42nd St.

Financial District tours begin in the public atrium in the Continental Center, 150 Maiden Lane.

Jackson Heights tours begin at Arepa Lady, 77-17 37th Ave, Jackson Heights, Queens.

Street Vending After Dark tours begin outside the Conrad New York Midtown, 151 West 54th St.

Please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page for complete directions and information on public transportation, or consult our transportation map.

Menu

This tour includes five generous tastings from different street food vendors. Because street vendors often change locations, this menu is subject to change, but dishes frequently featured on this tour include halal chicken over rice, Indian kati rolls, Greek souvlaki, Mexican tacos, and Belgian waffles.

We strive to accommodate most dietary restrictions and requests, including vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free diets, as well as allergies and food sensitivities. When making your booking, please be sure to indicate these so that we can make appropriate arrangements. Our team will strive to accommodate you as best we can, but we cannot guarantee all dietary accommodations. If you have any questions regarding the menu, please contact us directly.

Private Tours

Private tours are available on weekdays, depending on availability. Pricing for private tours is based on a minimum occupancy of six guests, and a gratuity of 8.5% is added to all private tour bookings.

Please contact us for more details on booking a private Food Cart Tour, or visit our Group Tours page.

Street Vendor Project

The Street Vendor Project is a membership-based project of the Urban Justice Center with nearly 2,000 vendor members who are working together to create a vendors’ movement for permanent change. The organization does outreach to vendors and stakeholders to educate about rights and responsibilities, campaigns for changes to laws and policies that unfairly target street vendors, provides legal representation to vendors in court, and helps vendors through small business training, loans, and direct assistance. Since we launched the Food Cart Tours in 2010, Turnstile Tours has donated 5% of all revenue from these tours to the Street Vendor Project, totaling more than $15,000.

Street Vendor Project Logo - a graphic of a food cart with an umbrella next to text and url: streetvendor.org