The top 5 food tours in Milan

When I went to Milan, I really thought it was all about the shopping and also the history. But little did I know until I actually spoke to some of my family about things to do in Milan. They said you gotta check out the food. We actually spent about a week in Milan testing out all the best food tours in Milan.

To put it into perspective, this involved walking and walking and walking with some local experts checking out all their Italian food. They showed us places that you would just never find, or you might come across them, but you wouldn't know much about them. We got to try some fresh pasta on our Milan food tours, going to the local markets, and I really learnt how Italians eat in this city.

No time to read, these are the best tours

How we judged each food tour in Milan

So how do we actually judge each food tour in Milan? We kept a diary and a scoring system as we went through some of the best food tours in Milan. We paid for the tours ourselves; there were no freebies or special treatment. Being foodies ourselves, we looked at how authentic the food was, not the tourist places right next to the Duomo.

We also looked at how knowledgeable the Milan food tour guides were about history. Whether they spoke English didn't matter too much to us because we speak Italian ourselves, but for others, there are a lot of other cultures that come to Milan. We also checked whether the food tours in Milan went to areas outside the city, and we looked at the value, meaning how much all the prices were and how much food you got.

We favoured food tours in Milan that had smaller groups because that made it more intimate, and we noted how much walking was involved. Milan is very connected with the trains and the metro, but we tended to go on the walking food tours in Milan so we didn't have to get on and off, and we still checked out how much walking there was. Aside from that, we also spoke to other people on the food tours in Milan to check out their experience, and a lot of people were foodies as well, so it was great to talk to them. We also checked out how well they handled dietary restrictions.

Food to look out for on a Milan food tour

In terms of the food to look out for on a Milan food tour, we did some research, but these are some of the things we ate while we were there.

Panzarotti

One was the panzarotti. Panzarotti are like a calzone, a crispy half moon of fried dough stuffed with ingredients like tomato and melted mozzarella. You might have seen these in the Puglia region, but Milan is also known for them as well.

Milanese mondeghili

Then there is the milanese mondeghili, a street snack that you will find on a lot of the food tours in Milan. They look like meatballs, but they are fried meatballs, usually made from leftover meats and bread, mostly beef, and sometimes other meats like sausages, salami, liver or mortadella, which is naughty but delicious. It actually dates back to the sixteenth century, and it is great to eat in a bag while you are walking around.

Brioche con gelato

You might also find brioche con gelato, which originates from Sicily but is also in milan, so you may find it there too. This is a fresh pastry filled with your choice of gelato. You might find people having this with their morning coffee, although it is not traditionally from Milan; it is still a delicious treat you might come across.

Polenta gorgonzola

Another street snack from northern Italy is polenta gorgonzola. It is grilled polenta with gorgonzola cheese, a really nice snack served in paper cones, and you will find it around the Brera neighbourhood, which is the chic area of Milan.

Piedina

A more modern food is the piedina, which you may have come across around the world. It is quite popular, basically a thin flatbread with flat meats, cheese and arugula. This one actually originated from Romagna, but it has made its way to milan, and you will get some Milanese twists from some of the vendors.

Risotto alla milanese

Next up, something you will find on the street is risotto alla milanese. Just so you know, anything with milanese on it basically means milanese style. It is served in paper cups and is usually a saffron-infused risotto, which is delicious when you are going through some of the best food tours in Milan.

A map of the best food tours in Milan

We also put together a map of the best food tours in Milan so you can see where each one starts and which region it covers. This is useful for comparing against where your hotel in Milan is located, since the city is quite spread out.

Our favourite food tours in Milan:

1. Delicious! Milan's Favorite Food Tour

What makes this tour special

What I like about this tour is that it is very small and private, so you do not have to go with a large group. I saw so many other food tours in Milan with fifty to one hundred people, and you just do not want to be part of that. What I liked about this one is that it was personal, and the guide was going through a lot of the food culture but also the history, pointing out landmarks, so it gave an interesting perspective of the city.

Milan's Favorite Food Tour highlights

Some of the highlights are that you go and eat about five to six traditional Italian items such as pizza, gelato, cannoli and sandwiches. The extra touch is that they gave you Italian wine and bottled water with all the tastings, which was quite cool.

Tour languages: It also comes in different languages, English, Italian and French

Duration: It took about two and a half hours for this food tour in Milan.

Cancellation Policy: Free cancellation if you cancel at least 24 hours before the tour starts.

2. Milan Gourmet food tour - Do Eat Better Experience

What makes this Milan food tour special

Next up was the Milan gourmet food tour. Why I picked this one is the small group experience: a maximum of twelve people, though there were only six on the day I went, which was pretty good. What you get here is quite a few courses at the places.

Milan gourmet food tour highlights

Some of the highlights were multiple sit-down tastings, so you did not have to stand up; the risotto mentioned earlier; pizza; charcuterie, which was a little bit different as well; Italian pastries, coffee and even gelato. What I liked about this Milan food tour is that the guide really took their time to talk about the history and culinary traditions with each tasting.

Tour language: It was only available in english last time we checked

Duration: This one was a little bit longer, it was four hours

Cancellation policy: Free cancellation if you cancel at least 24 hours before the tour starts.

3. Best Street Food Walking Tour in Milan

What makes this tour Special

Next up is the best street food walking tour in Milan; that is literally what it is called. What I liked about this one is that it went through a lot of the stylish neighbourhoods in Milan and focused more on the street food. The guide was also very knowledgeable and gave me some different insights.

Milan food tour highlights

This tour took about three hours and took you to about four to five of the best street food spots in Milan. We had sandwiches such as speciality sandwiches from Venice, focaccia from Liguria, Sicilian pastries, artisan charcuterie, and these were paired with wine, beer and soft drinks, so we were not just drinking wine the whole time; we actually got some beer too, which was good. Because we were on the street, we also checked out some of the lesser-known sites, like some of the churches and hidden corners.

Tour languages: In terms of languages, it is available in English, Italian, and Spanish.

Duration 3 hours

Cancellation policy Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the tour starts (local time).

4. Milan walking tasting tour with secret food tours

What makes this Milan food tour Special

Next stop, we went on the Milan walking tour with Secret Food Tours. What I liked about this is that it was down in the south, in the Navigli district, so a little bit more outside of town and the touristy area, more of the actual dining scene of Milan. This covered some of the best places to eat, and the guide here was a real insider foodie. It was a small walking tour in the south.

Milan walking tasting tour highlights

Some of the highlights were that it was three and a half hours, and we had a variety of regional Italian dishes like arancina from Palermo, gorgonzola from Novara, panzerotto pugliese, pasticciotto, and then towards the end we had a fruit tart with an espresso coffee.

Tour languages This was a great food tour in Milan, available in englishglish

Duration 3 hours 30 minutes

Cancellation policy Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the tour starts (local time).

5. Eating Milan: Navigli Food & Drinks Tour

What makes this food tour in Milan special

The next one was also in Navigli, and we went to some different places. This was the Eating Milan Navigli food and drinks tour, and this was actually four hours, even longer. It depends on how long you want to go, and we had all the time in the world, so that was fine. The guide here took us to some places with hand-stretched pizza, so we actually got to check that out, and chickpea pancakes. What I really liked about this food tour in Milan is that you actually get to learn how to make your own tiramisu and customise it to your taste, which is why it is a little bit longer, because you get to learn quite a lot about the food.

Tour highlights

On top of that, some of the highlights are that you get to enjoy the streets in the building, and we got to check out the upper Milanese food, like the risotto. Also, the farinata, which is a cake made with chickpea flour, that was quite cool. We also learned about da Vinci, and they took us for an aperitivo that had polenta, mentioned earlier. This is probably one of the best food tours in Milan.

Tour languages. Last time I checked, it was only available in English.

Duration Approximately 4 hours

Cancellation policy Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the tour starts (local time).

FAQ's about food tours in Milan

What are luxury food tours in Milan

It has got to be the Eating Milan Navigli food and drinks tour, and also the Milan walking tour with Secret Food Tours. Both are very long, with lots of history, and they take you around the Navigli area.

Is there a Milan food and wine tour

While we did not specifically have a food and wine tour, the delicious Milan favourite food tour came with Italian wine, and they did discuss that with us. The same goes for the best street food walking tour in Milan; however, there was not too much history into the wine on that one.

What is the best food walking tour in Milan

Honestly, all the food tours in Milan that we talked about are walking tours. My favourite one, though, was the Eating Milan Navigli food and drinks tour, because you actually got to make your own tiramisu, so it was not just about trying different foods; you also got to learn how to make tiramisu yourself, which was pretty cool.