The Outdoors are Great, but Don’t Sleep on a Chattanooga Food Tour

If you want to know where to eat in Chattanooga, go on a Chattanooga food tour for the best of what the city has to offer.   

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Why take a Chattanooga food tour?

One of the best ways to immerse yourself in a new area is by enjoying the local food.  There’s usually never enough time to find all the best food in town, so a Chattanooga food tour is a great way to sample what’s available. 

Chatt Taste offers not only the best Chattanooga food tour (5 stars on Google), but also one of the best food tours in the country.  This local company has been listed as a top ten food tour by USA Today. 

Highlights of the Chatt Taste tours

These tours do a great job of showcasing different local restaurants, learning their history, and engaging with the owners or chefs.  You might even get to try foods that aren’t on the menu yet. 

You’ll also have a chance to learn a little more about the city and neighborhood you eat in. 

There are a variety of tours to choose from, so there is something for everyone to enjoy. 

Chatt Taste food tours

Downtown Chattanooga Food Tour

This downtown food tour takes place in the centrally located West Village area of downtown.  On the tour you will visit three local spots over the course of 2-3 hours.  You will have 6 different food tastings, as well as 2 alcoholic (wine/beer/select cocktails) or non-alcoholic beverages. 

Historic Southside Food Tour

This tour takes you to four different bars and restaurants through the vibrant Southside Historic District. 

Chattabrunch Food Tour

Blend food, mimosas, art and history together for the perfect brunch cocktail. This tour will take you to three restaurants and a bonus stop at the end.  There are two optional alcoholic beverages included as well.  

Other tours offered by Chatt Taste

Food and drinks usually go hand in hand.  That is why Chatt Taste also has a few additional spirits focused tours.  You can take a distillery tour at Gate 11 with a flight of tastings at the end.  Or learn how to make two different signature cocktails in the cocktail making class.

Be sure to check their website for other specialty workshops, dinners and day trips. 

If these aren’t enough options, or you need something on a day that doesn’t typically have tours offered, reach out to set up private food tours and corporate tours as well. 

What should you know before signing up?

Each Chatt Taste food tour will generally be focused on one neighborhood near the city center.  There will be some walking between locations, but it should be no more than a few blocks at a time.  Weather in Chattanooga can be kind of fickle, especially in spring and summer.  Make sure to check the forecast and bring any weather appropriate items like umbrellas, jackets or hats. 

These are small group tours that are not offered daily, and may only offer the tour once per day.  Make sure to plan ahead when booking your reservations.

Their Chattanooga food tour prices are around $110 per person, and the cocktail classes are $52.

Location

Chatt Taste offers a variety of food tours in Chattanooga, but all will be in (or around) the city center.  They are either downtown in the West Village, or the Southside Historic District, near the Chattanooga Choo Choo. 

If you are not staying in that neighborhood, you can easily take the free downtown Chattanooga shuttle. 

Review of the Southside Picnic Crawl 

While at a conference in Chattanooga, we were offered a special picnic crawl through the Southside Historic District.  This is not a standard tour through Chatt Taste (yet), but they do offer private tours if you love this idea and want to do it on your next Chattanooga trip.

Our picnic crawl consisted of 4 stops in the Southside where we would learn about each shop before getting our package of food to take with us to the next location.  Once we reached the final destination, then we could enjoy our meal in one of the historic trains at the Chattanooga Choo Choo. 

This was a fun and easy way to see an area outside of central downtown and get to know more about the city through the local vendors.  This was perfect for a small group.  We had about 6 people in our group, which made it easy to 

Picnic stops

Stop 1: Bleu Fox Cheese company 

This is more than just a cheese shop, they have a small market to get all the accoutrements to accompany your cheese. You can also just stop by for a sandwich, or pick up a fresh cannoli. 

Stop 2: Main Street Meats

Like the Bleu Fox, Main Street Meats is more than just a butcher.  Beside the selection of meats, there is also a small selection of market items and quick grab and go food.  If you come back later in the day, you can enjoy their farm to table restaurant. 

Stop 3: Niedlov’s Bakery & Cafe

Niedlov’s is not only one of the most beloved bakeries in the city, it is also a James Beard award semi finalist.  Besides tasty carb treats, they have a full menu of sandwiches, salads, soups and pizza.   Enjoy your snacks inside or on their spacious outdoor patio.

Stop 4: Gate 11 Distillery

Gate 11 is a bar and distillery that brews small batch spirits and mixes up craft cocktails.  They are located inside the historic Chattanooga Choo Choo, so you can also enjoy the setting with your drink of choice. 

Additional Chattanooga tours to check out on your trip