Tour Partners
Aabha Indian Grill
Join us at Aabha Indian Grill, a locally-owned Indian restaurant that’s always one of our customer’s favorites! Come hungry as you sample a variety of Indian flavors, capped off with some mango lassi to wash it all down.
Adventures by the Sea
Whether you’re interested in kayaking out in the bay or taking an e-bike around the peninsula, Adventures by the Sea has you covered! Let us show you some of the best sights in the area while tasting some of the finest food around.
Alma Superfoods
If you like to cook at all, you’ll probably know there’s something that always comes in handy — BUTTER! Add some extra flavor to your meals with Alma Superfoods’ nut butters options! Between sweet options like Lucuma and Almond and savory like Chipotle and Cashew, we have a feeling we can find you something you like!
Almighty Kombucha
One of our Farmer’s Market favorites, Almighty Kombucha also has a couple of flavors on tap at Alta Bakery. On our tours, we offer it as an option for a non-alcoholic substitute. And hey, if it’s good enough for Zoe Kravitz in Big Little Lies, it’s good enough for us.
Alta Bakery
Located in the historic Cooper Molera Adobe, Alta Bakery features from-scratch baked goods and chocolates for you to sample on the tour. If you visit the coffee shop itself, be sure to check out the chef’s garden in the back!
Big Sur Salts
On our Old Monterey Tour, enjoy some pure California salt from Big Sur Salts. We find the salt pairs well with some of our cheese options, and their Morada blend even includes Elderberry Syrup from another of our partners, Carmel Berry Company.
The Bitter Ginger
These bitters are produced by the ginger himself, Brian Mazurek, down in Big Sur and produced in small batches. They’re also sold in the Joseph Boston Store, and go great with any mocktails or cocktails with eight different bitter flavors to choose from.
Bradley Photographic
On our Something Wild Mindful Food Tour in Pacific Grove, stop by Bradley Photographic to enjoy some wine from Comanche Cellars and baked goods & chocolates from Alta Bakery. The shop is owned by Jason Bradley and features some of his own photography as well as other local artists.
Carmel Berry Company
We love anything elderberry, and Carmel Berry Company delivers an elderflower cordial and elderberry syrup that boasts all the “elder” flavor. The elderberry trees are native to California, and they’re believed to have 3 times as many antioxidants as blueberries.
Chai 5 Tea
Chai 5 Tea Company offers three different types of chai — the original chai, the turmeric golden chai, and the decaf moon chai. Each recipe is created in small batches, and the blends are based on authentic family recipes. The chai blends are all 100% organic and ethically sourced.
Comanche Cellars
No tour around Old Monterey would be complete without a sampling of local wine, and we couldn’t be happier to end our tours with a tasting from Comanche Cellars. We often serve a Pinot Noir from their Dog and Pony label, and on the tour we share a fun anecdote about how the label received its name!
The Dali Expo
There’s no shortage of museum-like activities in the Monterey area, but we love stopping off at The Dali Expo on our Old Monterey Food Tour! Here, apart from the insanely-awesome art, enjoy samplings of nitrogen-infused draft coffee from Nitro Cycle.
Eddison and Melrose
Eddison and Melrose has a tea room in Pacific Grove, but also sells their products at the Joseph Boston Store. Their bakery is in a little cottage, and they also offer classes about different teas and becoming more mindful of your surroundings.
Epsilon Fine Greek Restaurant
This Greek restaurant, family owned and operated since 1991, features authentic Greek recipes in an open and welcoming environment. You can enjoy a sampling of Greek food and wine on our tour, and you can read more about the forming of the restaurant here.
Fieldwork Brewing Company
Fieldwork has a small chain of breweries, with the headquarters located in Berkeley. It’s an outdoor beer garden serving beers on rotating taps, and on our tour, you’ll sample two of the current favorites along with deep dish Chicago-style pizza from Heirloom Pizza.
Friend in Cheeses
Friend in Cheeses has a line of specialty jams, jellies, marmalades, and butters that are all specifically crafted to accompany cheese. While salted watermelon jelly might sound like a strange pairing with Monterey Jack cheese, a little dollop goes a long way and is sure to change your mind.
Gil’s Gourmet
With a wide selection of olives, sauces, spices, sweets, and oil and vinegars, Gil’s Gourmet has anything you need to make your next meal a surefire hit. On our Old Monterey Food Tour, enjoy sampling the artichoke and olive tapenade. You can read more about their products here.
Green Pedal Couriers
Green Pedal Couriers is a go-green delivery service via bicycle. They are exclusive to us at the Monterey Bay Food Tours, as well as Heirloom Pizza, Nancy Dean’s Restaurant, and Pacific Bowls and Rolls. We love having them deliver Heirloom Pizza to us at Fieldwork — especially since they’re closed for lunch apart from us!
Happy Girl Kitchen
Reese Witherspoon spent her off-time filming both seasons of Big Little Lies at Happy Girl Kitchen, and we wish we were there, too! They serve farm-driven foods like honey, jams, and spritzers. They’re vegetarian-based with some vegan options, located two blocks away from the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Heirloom Pizza
If you’ve ever had Chicago-style deep dish pizza, Heirloom Pizza will bring that memory straight to the forefront. If you haven’t, this will be a great introduction for you! Served specially for our tour, delivered by Green Pedal Couriers and enjoyed outside at Fieldwork.
Hellam’s Tobacco and Wine Shop
On our private and custom tours, you may enjoy a stop at California’s oldest tobacco shop. If cigars aren’t your thing, don’t worry too much. There’s also a selection of fine wine to enjoy, and since this is only offered on the private tours, the stop here is totally optional.
Joseph Boston Store
The first stop on our Old Monterey Food Tour, the historic Joseph Boston Store provides us with samplings from multiple partners. The building itself also hosts California’s first safe, and includes many historical artifacts — some that are even up for sale.
Melville Tavern
This locally-owned gastropub is literary-themed (think: Herman Melville) and serves Monterey’s only hard cider, Ratel Cider, who is also a partner on our tour. They offer a variety of different cuisine options, but we’re partial to their raviolis, which you may taste when you join us on the tour.
Monterey Bay Meditation Studio
We’re proud to partner with the Monterey Bay Meditation Studio for our Something Wild Mindful Food Tour. Check out the studio’s website for information on mindfulness classes, and be sure to try out their meditation room anytime you’re feeling a little extra stress.
Monterey’s Tasty Olive Bar
Fans of olive oil flavors will find themselves searching through this store for hours! With over 70 options of olive oils and balsamic vinegars, we’re happy to be able to feature a few on our Old Monterey Tour. Their storefront on Cannery Row also offers a handful of gift options.
Monterey Touring Vehicles
If you’ve ever thought about riding around in a DeLorean, Monterey Touring Vehicles has you covered. With 36 classic cars, this private tour option can either let you arrange to drive the cars yourself, or for a driver to let you cruise oceanside in any car of your dreams.
Nitro Cycle
Run by the same gentlemen behind Green Pedal Couriers, Nitro Cycle offers Captain and Stoker nitrogen-infused coffee on draft. Taste the draft coffee for yourself when we stop by the Salvador Dali Expo on the Old Monterey Food Tour.
Osteria Al Mare
Locally-owned Italian restaurant right next to the Coast Guard Pier and the ocean? We’ll take it! Osteria Al Mare has unique Italian options, and the owner always makes you feel like you’ve been friends for years. The bay views don’t hurt the experience, either.
Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History
Join us at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History on our Something Wild Mindful Food Tour. The garden we spend our time drinking tea in also has a human nest and a wide array of native plants.
Paluca Trattoria
Anyone who has seen season one of HBO’s Big Little Lies will more than likely recognize the coffee shop spot where the Monterey Five spent their time. This mom and pop Italian restaurant also has great views of the bay, as it’s situated right on the wharf. You can read more about its inception here.
Paris Bakery
Why wait in the line at Paris Bakery when you can sample some of their bread? on our Old Monterey Food Tour? In all seriousness, though, we think the wait is worth it in their store just to see the wide variety of products and baked goods they serve. Too late for breakfast? No worries! They always have the best French onion soup in Monterey.
Puma Road
We’ll take any reason we can get to sip on some wine, and Puma Road’s is some of our favorite! They’re one of the few wineries in the area that sources from their own vineyard and control how their grapes are grown! Their tasting room in downtown is conveniently located along our Old Monterey Food Tour path, so come hang out there with us!
Ratel Cider
We’re excited to serve the only hard cider produced in Monterey from Ratel Cider on our Old Monterey Food Tour. Hard cider is on the rise in the area, especially for those looking for a good gluten-free substitute to imbibe. We think Ratel helps give hard cider a good name, but try it out for yourself! We promise you won’t regret it!
Venture Gallery
We often end our tours in this co-op art gallery featuring pieces from over 30 local artists. Sample wine and cheese as you browse through all of the paintings, jewelry, and sculptures. The only art you won’t find here is photography.
Revival Ice Cream
Revival Ice Cream is a small, locally-owned ice cream shop that makes everything down to the cones in-house. On our Old Monterey Food Tour, enjoy one of their award-winning Bee’s Knees Sundaes and head back into the kitchen to see how it all comes together. You can read more about the ice cream shop and its formation here.
Wild Fish
Our Something Wild Mindful Food Tour ends at Wild Fish, a 100% local and organic seafood restaurant that offers samplings of different plates with local wine. If you familiarize yourself with the flavors from Big Sur Salts, you might recognize those in the dishes at Wild Fish, as well.
Schoch Family Farmsteads
Schoch Family Farmstead is a 3rd generation Swiss family farm. They are only 1 of 3 dairies in California licensed to sell raw milk, and they serve the only Monterey Jack cheese that’s still created in Monterey County. As mentioned, their cheeses go well with both Big Sur Salts and any of the items from Friend in Cheeses.
Wine Experience
Ever had an interest in blending your own wine? With our private and custom tour option, go behind-the-scenes to create your own wine blends, and create some friendly competition in a blind tasting to determine the best blend.
Sweets of Eden
Caramels are some of our favorite sweets, and Sweets of Eden delivers arguably some of the best in the world! We can never decide on a favorite between the vanilla, sea salt, or coffee flavors. Perhaps you can try them out on one of our tours and help us decide?
*Please note that not every partner is featured on every tour, and tour itineraries are subject to change.