Off the Beaten Path Food Tours

Union Square Somerville Food Tour

Delight in the best of Union Square, one of the most popular neighborhoods in Boston.
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Our Tour’s Activities

Behind the Scenes

Meet local owners and operators, with behind the scenes tour of their eateries.

From Indian to Peruvian

Devour delicious authentic Indian and Peruvian street food packed with flavor, including Boston’s best samosa.

Marshmallow Fluff!

Fluff was invented here in Somerville, and we let you try it on a donut or torched ice cream cone! Mmm!


Food Tour Details

120 mins

1 mile

5 stops

$80/guest
(includes all food)

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Don’t see a date that works? Contact us about private tours.

  • Fun for adults, teens, and kids!
  • Most Tours sell out 48 hours in advance

As Somerville residents of over 15 years, this Original Somerville Food Tour was started in 2017 as a love letter to our hometown! Thanks for exploring the neighborhood with us — Boston’s new food scene where chefs are opening now! You love great food, and you’ll want to eat in Somerville, Boston’s fastest changing food neighborhood with chef-driven global food innovation.

Don’t fall for imposters, this is the Original Somerville Food Tour since 2017 – we can’t wait to meet you!

Join us for a fun foodie adventure in Somerville’s bustling Union Square neighborhood, part of the New Boston Food Scene. This unique neighborhood is bursting with culture, historical significance, and an exciting food scene!

Somerville is very close to downtown Boston:

🚇 12 minutes from Downtown Boston on the Green Line
🚗 $15 Uber from Seaport
📍 1 stop past Cambridge

Diverse Ethnic Tastes

We’ll spend the day sampling a diversity of foods from local favorites, ethnic restaurants, and hand-crafted specialty foods that are sure to wow. Savor neighborhood storytelling and tastings in the city that invented marshmallow fluff.

Why Choose Off The Beaten Path Food Tours?

✓ TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence winner
✓ 5-star average rating from delighted guests
✓ Local expertise from guides who live and breathe Somerville
✓ 95% of our guests book directly with us for the authentic experience

Book now and discover why Union Square is Boston’s hidden gem, no gatekeeping! Seen the Freedom Trail? Done the North End? Now eat where locals eat. This is your next Boston food experience.

Sample Itinerary

Food Tour Itinerary

What to Expect

  • Discover hidden gems together with a friendly guide in this exciting neighborhood brimming with incredible hand-crafted eats.
  • Bite into the best homemade Indian street food samosas and a mango lassi beverage at family-owned Masala Square
  • Savor peruvian roasted chicken at female-owned Machu Picchu
  • Delight in ethnic bites such as dobladas or momo at neighborhood fave
  • Sweeten your afternoon with unique marshmallow fluff torched ice cream at Gracie’s
  • Enjoy a sample of beer or kombucha at Remnant Brewing inside exciting outdoor marketplace, Bow Market

Note: Sample itinerary is subject to change based on availability.

Special Diet Information
Gluten-free and Vegetarian Diets

YES VEGETARIAN and GLUTEN-FREE diets can be accommodated on this tour.

NO although DAIRY-FREE and VEGAN diets can be accomodated on some stops of this tour, we cannot accomodate these diets for all stops of this tour. Contact us for more details.

About the Neighborhood

UNION SQUARE SOMERVILLE LOCATION

History abounds in Union Square, with George Washington raising the first American flag here in 1776. It’s also the birthplace of Marshmallow Fluff and home to the iconic Marshmallow Fluff Festival, quirky Union Square celebrates its diversity with many community events and festivals. Celebrating entrepreneurs of all kinds, creative new food concepts abound and a brand new local market home to 30 independent local shops recently opened.

Cancelation Policy

If you have to cancel, at least 48 hours notice before the tour start time is required in order to receive a refund back to the original payment method. Guests requesting a refund less than 48 hours prior to the tour start time cannot be refunded or rescheduled due to advanced preparation and scheduling commitments for each tour. Guests who arrive late or don’t show will also not be refunded or rescheduled. Should we have to cancel a tour, you’ll be refunded in full.

Per industry standard, private tours are not refundable. We look forward to meeting you. Thanks for supporting our small business, local guides, and independent restaurants!

Meeting Place

Meet OUTSIDE in the courtyard of Bloc Cafe

11 Bow Street, Somerville, MA

This Tour’s Food Guides

Emily

Bio & Tours

Emily

Emily is originally from Western Mass and moved to the Boston Area after graduating from college. Emily is an alumna of City Year Greater Boston, and she now works at an education nonprofit in the Boston Area. Emily is a lover of 60s and 70s music, the arts, traveling, trying delicious foods, and spending time with loved ones.

What she loves about Union: She loves how vibrant Union Square is-there’s always so much to do! On a given weekend, you can find vintage markets, live music, comedy shows, and of course, great food. There’s also such a neighborly and friendly feel here, which is so special.

Favorite food: It’s hard to pick one…but she’ll narrow it down to soup, ice cream, and pasta.

Favorite stop on the tour: She has fond memories of going to Barra with her family and her roommates. It has a really cool atmosphere, and the food and drinks are unique and great to share.

Favorite time in history: She is very interested in 19th Century Paris! This period of rapid change and modernity has had a lasting influence on art and culture, and she especially loves the way women artists shaped the Impressionist movement.

Super power she’d most want: Teleportation would be so convenient- she can’t imagine an easier commute!

Other fun fact: Emily worked at the Tribeca Film Festival upon graduating from college.

Tours:

Alex

Bio & Tours

Alex

What she loves about Union/ Central: Central and Union square both are so special to Alex for the huge mix of food, art, culture, and community. She loves how Union and Central have such a diverse array of food across different cuisines and type of restaurant. She also loves the emphasis or art in the squares- whether it’s murals, the great local live music scene, or the awesome local artist pop ups in the squares. She also just loves the community events that are huge in the squares- whether its their farmers markets, or events like block parties, outdoor music festivals, fluff fest and beyond!

Favorite food: Dim sum/ tacos al pastor/ ramen

Favorite stops on the tour: She has a soft spot for Machu Pichu! She also loves feeling like she’s been transported to Mexico City at Barra- it’s such a special place.

Favorite time in history: She’s really interested in Boston’s role in the civil rights movement!

Super power most want: Teleportation!! To be transported personally around the world to eat her way through it!

Other fun fact: She does a mean Britney Spears impression at Karaoke.

Tours:

Customer Food Tour Reviews

Off the Beaten Path ROCKS! I had so much fun. We met in a quaint coffee shop “Vault” room and they guides were so welcoming. 

I’ve lived in Somerville many different times for many different years and the cool stuff discovered right in the squares or “off the beaten path” was intriguing. 

They covered many different bases with many different cultures from spicy Indian to local Fluff. 

Thought the actual walking part of the tour was so informative yet a ton of fun. 

I DEFINITELY recommend any tourist, New or old to Somerville to take a trip!


Angela
★★★★★

We took the Union Square food tour today. It was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. The tour is well thought out and researched. Our guide led us around the neighborhood sharing stories from Somerville’s history. We visited several local food establishments and tasted a variety of food. I’ve driven through Union Square plenty of times but never stopped to explore it. I will definitely head back to the spots we visited


Jean Z.
★★★★★

My parents and I enjoyed a great food tour of Union Square. We tried samosas, quesadillas, and many other delicious foods ranging from Peruvian to Himalayn. By the end, we were stuffed! Along the way, we learned about the represented cultures and cuisines from both our guide (James) and the owners of the restaurants, but also about the history of Unoin Square, Somerville and the US. James was a wonderful guide, knowledgeable about the area and the restaurants, entertaining, and skilled at keeping the conversation flowing between groups of strangers. He also seamlessly adapted to not-so-fast walkers and not-so-native speakers, which was greatly appreciated!


Anders
★★★★★

We have done two food tours with Off The Beaten Path: the Harvard Square Chocolate Tour and the Union Square Food Tour. Both were wonderful and fun! There was a good mix of history about the area as well as multicultural food in both tours. Our guide for the Union Square food tour had great energy and taught us things we didn’t even know about Union Square, even though we had lived there for five years! The food was delicious and it was also a great social event. They were also VERY accomodating about…dietary needs. We had such a good time, our group + guide even hung out some more at Bow Market after the tour was over! Would highly recommend. Support local businesses!


Alden G.
★★★★★

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★★★★★

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