Food Hopping Through Chinatown and Little Italy, Eight Tastings
Eight tastings across half a mile. Chinatown steams its baskets, Little Italy sets a table, and New York keeps both.
Chinatown and Little Italy meet along a few blocks of downtown Manhattan, and the cooking does not blend at the seam. Dumplings are folded on one side. Cheese is cut and cannoli are filled on the other. Three hours and eight tastings carry you from one to the other, and the whole route covers about half a mile.
Ahoy New York Tours & Tasting has been working this pair of neighborhoods since 2009, and the company is woman owned and operated by its founder, Alana Hoye Barnaba. The route runs from Mott Street in Chinatown to Mulberry Street in Little Italy, with eight stops along the way. The walking between them is short enough that the afternoon is mostly eating.
Water and tea are included. Gratuities and transport are not.
Departures run seven days a week. Monday through Thursday they leave between 10:30 AM and noon. Friday through Sunday adds a 3:30 PM and a 5:00 PM.
On weekdays the last departure is noon, which makes the weekday version a long lunch and the weekend evening version something closer to dinner spread across two neighborhoods. Booking closes two hours before the start, confirmation is instant, and one booking covers up to six travelers.
Original NYC Food Tour of Chinatown & Little Italy - 8 tastingsAhoy New York Tours & Tasting · three hours · eight tastings · English-guidedwww.viator.comThe Chinatown Stops, Starting on Mott Street
The group forms in front of Silk Road Café at 30 Mott Street, between Pell and Mosco, across from the Church of the Transfiguration. Restrooms are there, which matters at the front end of three hours with no scheduled break.
Ahoy does not publish the eight stops in advance and says the lineup changes. What the route's own photographs show on this side: hand-folded dumplings, a tray of pork buns still glossy from the steamer, loose-leaf tea poured at a table.
The guiding carries the neighborhoods as much as the food. Ahoy's own framing puts the two on equal footing, with guides working through the history of both districts between tastings.
Crossing into Little Italy
The border is a few blocks wide and the change is abrupt. North of Canal, Mulberry Street turns Italian: specialty shops the operator describes as over a hundred years old, counters of imported cheese and cured meat, pastry cases worked through by the box.
This is where the seated part lands. Ahoy calls it a sit-down Italian meal, plated, at a table. Two to three of the eight tastings are seated, and the rest keep moving. Eggplant rollatini, imported cheeses and olives, and cannoli all turn up in the route's own photographs.
Eight tastings across three hours with a plated course among them is a different proposition from a tour built entirely around small bites. Ahoy's stated aim is guests who leave full.
The Handout, and the History
Every guest gets a printed handout for the two neighborhoods. Ahoy describes it as a map, recommendations and discounts. That is the part of the three hours that keeps working after the three hours are over.
Guiding is in English, by Ahoy's own guides, and the neighborhood history is not filler around the food. A February 2026 review on the operator's Airbnb listing put it this way: "we learned a lot about the history of NYC's Chinatown and Little Italy neighborhoods."
On Viator this listing runs close to five stars across more than 2,300 reviews. That figure covers this route specifically, not the operator's whole catalogue.
Settle These Before You Book
Dietary needs are the one item with a deadline. Vegetarian, gluten-free and most allergies can be accommodated, and the request has to reach Ahoy at least 48 hours ahead or they may not be able to swap a tasting. It goes in the special requirements field at booking, or by email to the operator.
- Walking: about half a mile in total across three hours, described as suitable for all fitness levels
- Weather: the tour runs rain or shine and is mainly outdoors. Dress for the day
- Children: under-threes go free and need no ticket, and are not served food at the restaurants
- Before you go: the operator's advice is to keep breakfast light
- Booking: up to six travelers per booking, instant confirmation
📍 Meet in front of Silk Road Café, 30 Mott Street, between Pell and Mosco, across from the church. Arrive fifteen minutes before the departure time. The route ends back at the same address, a loop.
By subway, take the 6, N, R or Q to Canal Street, walk east to Mott and turn south, roughly seven minutes on foot. The B or D to Grand Street works out about the same from the other direction. Weekend service changes are common on these lines. Leave room.
Booked through this listing, cancellation is free up to 24 hours before departure, for a full refund. Inside that window there is no refund. Booking closes two hours before the start.