Gainesville Food Tour: A Walking Food Tour In Downtown Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville Food Tour is one of the best tours in Gainesville, Florida. On this walking tour through downtown Gainesville, guests get to know this foodie city by visiting multiple locally owned restaurants.
Gainesville Food Tour
Gainesville Food Tour is run by Caroline and Ryan Earls. After having attended many food tours around the world themselves, they decided they wanted to run their own food tour in Gainesville to showcase all of the amazing local eateries the city has to offer. Currently they are partnered with eleven restaurants and businesses in downtown Gainesville.
The Gainesville Food Tour typically runs for about three hours. In that time, guests will stop at five to six establishments. Although Caroline and Ryan don’t suggest skipping breakfast before coming to the tour, you will get a lot of food in those three hours and you will leave feeling delightfully full. We certainly did!
Before The Tour
We met Caroline and Ryan at the designated meet up at the designated time. There, we were given lanyards and cards and we were told to write down our favorite food along with our name. I was “Pizza Vicky.” After everyone in the group introduced themselves, we were told a bit more about the tour company itself and the restaurants in downtown Gainesville that we would be visiting.
Gainesville Food Tour Stops
And then, we were off…
Sweetwater Branch Inn
We were so excited when we heard that the Sweetwater Branch Inn was going to be our first stop! We had stayed at this adorable B&B during our first visit to Gainesville so we already knew how yummy the tasting would be. Cornelia Holbrook, the owner of the Sweetwater Branch Inn, takes pride in her cooking and every meal we ate during our stay was lovingly made and full of flavor.
For our tasting, we were served a French Toast casserole with apple compote and spiced apple butter. To top it off, some fresh whipped cream. When we say we wanted to lick the plate, we mean it!
Loosey’s
Loosey’s has a fun pub feel to it. The owners believe in keeping things simple with good beer and quality homemade food. They have local musicians playing weekly and visitors can hang out and play pool or darts. Loosey’s is also famous for their burgers.
For our tasting at Loosey’s we had Baconator Sliders. There was bacon stuffed into the beef patties and it was topped with cheddar, caramelized onions, and more bacon. We were also given a side of their twice fried French fries. Yum! We could have eaten a few more of those sliders!
Liquid Ginger
Serving “Asian Fusion” cuisine, the Liquid Ginger focuses on using quality ingredients in innovative ways. The location was once the home of the Gainesville Daily Sun, and we think it’s really cool that they’ve preserved that bit of history. Inside you will now find marble tables, and comfortable leather chairs. But don’t worry, the food is still affordable!
Our tasting at Liquid Ginger consisted of Pad Thai (you guys know I’m addicted to Pad Thai, right?), sauteed eggplant, and rice. We were already feeling a little full, but the Pad Thai was so good that we ate it all!
Patticakes
For dessert, we were treated to an assortment of cupcakes from Patticakes. It included red velvet, black tie, and vanilla cupcakes. Our favorite was the black tie!
Additional Tour Information
Here is some additional information on Gainesville Food Tour that you may find useful:
- – Tickets are $55 and must be purchased in advance so that participating restaurants can set up space and meals accordingly.
- – Water is served at all stops. Additional drinks can be purchased separately. Keep in mind that open containers are not allowed in Gainesville, so if you purchase alcoholic drinks they must be finished before heading out to the next stop.
- – Wear comfortable shoes as you will be walking from restaurant to restaurant. It’s approximately 1.5 miles of walking.
- – If you have any food allergies or strict dietary constraints, let GFT know in advance and they will do their best to accommodate requests.
- – Tours are held rain or shine so check the weather and dress accordingly. It’s Florida, so having both sunblock and an umbrella is a good idea, as ridiculous as that may seem. Trust us.
- – Private tours can be arranged by emailing GainesvilleFoodTour@gmail.com
Final Thoughts On Gainesville Food Tour
We think Gainesville Food Tour is one of the best tours in Gainesville. Not only do they introduce guests to incredible local restaurants, they also provide the history of the restaurants and the surrounding area. We think even locals would enjoy the tour because we’re sure they’d learn things about the city that they didn’t already know. They may even try a new dish!
So if you’d like to learn more about Gainesville’s local food scene and a little about the city itself, we recommend booking a tour with Gainesville Food Tour. You can find more information on their website, Facebook page, and Twitter. Tell them Buddy sent you! 😉
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**A big thank you to Gainesville Food Tour and Visit Gainesville for setting up our tour. Although we were guests of GFT, as always, all opinions are our own.**
Ginger Water, Loosey’s, Sweet Water – I like the names of these eating joints – very creative and easy to remember. My standard question for a food tour – What are the options for vegetarians like me?
Oh, that French Toast casserole with apple compote and spiced apple butter would be enough for me! I went back to look at your photo again, it really looks delicious. 😛
The whole tour sounds good, it really is a good way to introduce visitors to local restaurants, as you’ve said it in the post. And it’s good that they serve water in all the places, one must get thirsty after all those delicious meals and desserts. 😀
OMG are you as addicted to Pad Thai as I am? I could eat that morning noon and night! These Gainesville foodie destinations all sound great. Sweetwater Branch Inn sounds delightful – as both a B&B and for delicious (and decadent) food! I like walking food tours, because you feel like you’re walking off some of the calories you eat on the tour 😉
I think food tours are best way to explore the nuances of a destination and give deeper insights in the local culture.
Three hours and six eateries is quite a good number and it is so awesome to have your fav food on the name tag!! Quite innovative! That French Toast casserole with apple compote and spiced apple butter made me drool! Loved the pad thai too, looks so authentic and yum! But the icing on the cake were the CUPCAKES! Man, those certainly made me search the refrigerator!
The Gainesville Food Tour sounds fabulous, as do Caroline and Ryan – it’s so fabulous that they started the company and run the tours themselves. Shows a passion for what they do! Sounds like the tour took in some fabulous places, the Baconator Sliders at Loosey’s sound so good, and I could definitely go for some Patticakes afterwards!
You had me a food tour! I love to do a food tour in new cities and destinations as it helps we understand the place and also make sure I get a great meal! I think six places is a pretty decent number, gives you a feel for the food culture – but I loved the look of Sweetwater Branch Inn!
Food tours are a great way to get to know the local culture and cuisines and experience the authentic flavours and aromas of the place. It is nice to see that the Gainesville food tour focuses on the local eateries to give a real local feel to the experience. The Pad Thai and the Cup cakes seem to be the pick of the lot.
It’s breakfast time here and that French toast casserole so appeals right now. As do the cupcakes. The entire experience seems quite an amazing one with a lot of variety. Gets you to taste the best of everything
I am not a big foodie but I ma sure the Gainesville food tour can make even a non foodie like me a foodie. I loved the food you tried. Everything from their names to presentation to getting the local nuances seems so much fun. And, I am right now drolling on that French Toast casserole with apple compote and spiced apple butter 😛
I am sure Gainsville foout tour must be awesome. I just saw the photos of all dishes and I am already hungry . Pad Thai looks delicious and of course cakes from Patticakes can take care of my sweet tooth.