Lisbon Awakens: A Culinary Crossroads, Reborn.

Kika was fantastic. So knowledgeable and personable. A great teacher and gave us great insight into the history and current culture of Portugal and Lisbon. So much food but everything was great! We will definitely opt for Culinary Backstreets whenever we can!

With Lisbon offering endless experiences and having just limited time during our stay, our goal was to maximize exposure with a local tour. We are so delighted with our first Culinary Backstreets tour on the 24th of October that we’ll look forward to another of their tours that are offered across the planet. The tour experience was elevated beyond what was described, and this is due to our local guide, Kika. The meeting place was simple to locate and our welcoming guide was awaiting our arrival. Kika, approached each neighborhood, topic and food experience with passionate authority, that was thoughtfully presented for quick comprehension. It was very special to experience a glimpse of the local life, how the importance of food and beverage is as a social binder for mutli-generations of locals. Kika’s presentations were masterfully woven throughout the day, that started with elements of food and history, and continued to build into a tapestry of details which complemented each food experience and each location that we visited. Consideration was not afforded to the possibility that we’d meet such pleasant people, guests and guide included, from across the globe who shared the tour with us. This Lisbon Culinary Backstreets experience was outstanding, with a stunning architectural backdrop, Kika provided a delightful day that would be impossible if attempted without Kika’s deep shared experiences and personality. This will be a glowing experience memory for a lifetime. Thank you!

Truly unique and educational! Our fabulous guide Kika managed to strike the perfect balance of history, culture, and of course food in an area that was so wonderfully apart from the standard tourist fare in the city center. Book the tour - you won’t regret it!!

Our Guide Kika was exceptional and knowledgeable of the area. We where very fortunate to have only the 2 of us on the tour so we had a very person and private tour Thanks for the Food tour and the recommendations for meals on our trip through Lisbon and Porto. This for us was the food tour that keeps giving and hopefully our paths will cross in the future. Many Thanks Steve and Karen

Kika was a phenomenal guide and host of our tour. She gave clear explanations and shared her passion for Portugal, its food, history, and the people. She was also curious about each person in the group and helped us become a unit for the day. I look forward to other Culinary Backstreets experiences!!

An amazing tour. Kika was fantastic! We learned so much about Portugal’s extensive contribution to the culinary world & how they superseded the ancient spice routes (aka Silk Road). Not only was she extremely knowledgeable & articulate but also a delight to be with. Kika wove the local history and architecture with the larger 500 year naval history with food in a seamless way. We experienced the best Pastel de Nate and Vindao ever. Had an excellent overview of Portuguese wine regions. We can’t recommend this tour enough

Francisca, (Kika), provided a truly excellent experience: delicious food stops, historical context told in a captivating way, and she wrnt above and beyond to offer recommendations in Lisbon and Porto as well. This was our first Culinary Backstreets tour and we went ahead and booked another in Porto because it was so top notch, professionally done yet personal. Kika herself is a special person: fascinating, engaging, smart and so thoughtful.

We arrived at the entrance point 10 minutes before the tour started. We waited close to 30 minutes, calling and messaging the tour operator with no response. The tour guide never showed up. To say we’re disappointed is an understatement. We’ve done 10+ food tours across Europe and the US and it’s always the highlight of our trips. With so many tours to choose from, this one stood out with the combination of history and “backstreet” stops. It was different from the others, and the 5 star reviews were all stellar. I’m more upset that the operator or the tour guide (Gisele) has still not answered messages or phone calls almost 2 hours later. Even Viator cannot get through to them. Now we’re left scrambling to figure out what to do on a self-guided tour in an unfamiliar neighborhood on our first day in Lisbon, when we should have been on a 5-hour professional tour. Thank you culinary backstreets for ruining the beginning of our trip.

We learned so much on this food tour and ate incredibly well! Definitely go hungry, because you will leave very full. Through food, we learned the about the history of Portugal, Lisbon and Campo de Ourique, the lovely neighborhood where the tour took place. You would likely never find these spots on your own, and I mean that in the best way possible. Highly, highly recommend!

What a lovely experience for my first day in Lisboa. Kika crafted a perfectly tailored experience, not only the places were amazing but the historical commentary perfectly gave us a full immersion. For a normal tour, I think Kika went above and beyond her duty.

Kika, our guide, was truly wonderful. So knowledgeable in history, food and the local area. I didn’t expect the tour to go for a full day and I had the best time. The small food was great, the food was lovely and Kika’s attention and knowledge made it simply the best. I recommend to all!

I have done 2 other Culinary Backstreet tours. Lisbon Awakens led by Kiki was by far the best. Kiki was great at explaining the history and past of the Portuguese people. By touring key areas we were able to appreciate the strong connection with food. It was clear that Kiki was very keen to support the local restaurants and businesses. I would highly recommend this tour!!

Another fabulous Culinary Backstreets tour! Inez was amazing- she has so much knowledge about history and food- and of course the fact that we were in the neighborhood she grew up in just added so much to the experience. I had been to Lisbon twice before but hadn't really explored this neighborhood and loved it. I learned so much and loved exploring all the nooks and crannies that she is so familiar with. And so sweet that she knows the people who live there, not just where we ate, but on the street. Can't wait for my next tour- thanks to everyone for creating these opportunities.

This is our second food tour with Culinary Backstreets and won’t be our last. What a great company with amazing guides. Gisela was amazing. She is so passionate about food, Portugal and Lisbon and how that comes together. Great amount of knowledge and information shared with us. Gisela even shared some insights for our onward journey to Madeira. Thanks again Gisela and the Culinary Backstreets team.

This tour was an exemplar of why we always try to walk with Culinary Backstreets. Kaki was so knowledgeable on history, culture and food. She let the food and the establishments we visited tell the story. We learned so much about Portugal and its food traditions. Our small group was a mix of younger and older couples and a family with wonderful young teens. The pace was good, length was just right for tiring walkers. Don’t change a thing!

This was a fantastic day! Kika was an incredible guide who seamlessly wove the history into the food experiences. I can whole heartedly recommend the tour.

Andre was awesome. The food was good. His history lessons were very educational.

Exceptional Lisbon food tour with Laura. I cannot recommend this experience enough. Well worth the higher cost than other food tours, given the quality of the guide, the food, and the wine. This was our first experience with this company and we will now actively seek them out if we travel to other destinations where they operate.

Kika was an amazing tour guide. Her knowledge of the culinary history of Portugal was so impressive as was her ability to convey that information. Her teaching background shone through. The restaurants and tastings were varied and delicious.

Kika was a wealth of information—about the history of Portugal, the evolution of the cuisine and the local culture. Her teaching background shone through as she explained things both verbally and with clever illustrations on placemats as we enjoyed tastings and meals in unique eateries around the neighborhood. We would highly recommend this tour and Kika!

A fun way to learn about the culture and food of Portugal. Ines, our guide, was outstanding in her knowledge about food and the history of Portugal. She has a great sense of humor and easily engaged our small group (we all loved her map of spices). For 5 hours we ate, drank, learned and laughed. This was our third experience with Culinary Backstreets (Istanbul & Barcelona) and we highly recommend making reservations with Culinary Backstreets when you want to experience a unique and fun filled culinary adventure.

Exceptional tour! Recommend this tour and guide. Kika, our guide, gave our small group a condensed and appropriate lesson in Portuguese history, culture, food, wine and way of life. She was engaging and facilitated individuals in our group to get to know one another as well. A thoroughly wonderful experience. I will look for Culinary Backstreet tours in locations I visit in the future.

Rick steves recommended this company, as I was skeptical to use recommendations on the web /AI . It was wonderful, the mix of history with the food flavors was quite delightful. I appreciate the knowledge of our guide and the stops along the way that get an authentic local feel.

We really enjoyed this food tour. Kika was friendly and easygoing, and she shared a lot of interesting history about Portugal and Lisbon along the way. Her handmade maps and diagrams were a lovely personal touch that we especially appreciated. The food was excellent, and there was plenty of it. We’d suggest coming hungry! If you’re visiting Lisbon, we wholeheartedly recommend this tour.

Celia was a wonderful guide and introduced us to wonderful food and places we would not have experienced on our own. This tour was a highlight of our trip to Lisbon! Not to be missed. We love Culinary backstreets!

What an amazing experience! Celia is a knowledgeable and professional guide...great insights and great personality. Not only was the food excellent, but the history behind each stop and offering nicely added complexity to the flavors. And it's always a plus to discover locations that you would otherwise never notice. I would do this tour again in a heartbeat.

Celia was wonderful! She started with a quick and entertaining history of Portugal’s world exploration and its impact on cuisine in the country. The we walked around a beautiful residential height and tried about 8 small bites that illustrated the world influences on the food. Finally we had a meal together at a lovely authentic Portuguese restaurant and then to a bakery for dessert. All the food was excellent and our guide provided interesting and informative context to each bite. I highly recommend this one!

Kika is an incredible guide! She started our tour by explaining the history of Portugal through drawing, which was such a creative and effective way to absorb and understand a lot of information. We explored a less touristy part of the city, where we truly felt like locals and got to experience everyday Lisbon through its morning coffee and lunchtime rituals. We enjoyed an amazing variety of foods, from fresh cheeses and fruit to fish stews, tinned squid, Indian food, candied nuts, and delicious pastries. The group size was perfect, the amount of food was just right, and Kika even managed to avoid too many hills throughout the day! We would absolutely recommend this tour to anyone looking to experience the hidden gems of Lisbon and get a genuine feel for the city beyond the typical tourist spots.

We had a great guide, and on top of that, another guide was visiting from another country and joined! The restaurant stops were fun. Such characters! Don't eat much before you go on the tour to have room for the great food and drinks!

Great food, amazing guide who wove the story of the food, Portugal and its history all together.

We had a wonderful food tour with our guide Kika. We got to try traditional Portuguese food while learning history and discovering different areas of the city.

This tour with Kika was a 15 out of 10. It over exceeded our expectations! Not only did we get a wonderful taste of Lisbon, Kika gave us amazing history, religion and cultural lessons of Portugal. We would highly recommend this tour. Try to do the tour on one of your first days in Lisbon as it will bring the rest of your trip to life. Kika also gave us many restaurant and cultural recommendations that we took advantage of throughout our vacation.

Amazing experience. The guide was fantastic with so much knowledge. We went to places we would not have found otherwise.

Wow. Just wow. What an EXCEPTIONAL tour. It was definitely the highlight of our trip to Portugal. Kika is so knowledgeable about not just food but the culture and history that shapes it. You'll see incredible spots (not to mention try some of the best food out there!).

Fantastic tour, great food and conversation, with many unique restaurants we would not have found on our own. We had a great group of fellow travelers we met on the tour that made it even more special. I highly recommend trying their service out!

One of my favorite things I did in Lisbon! Francisca was an amazing tour guide – she showed us so many great spots and hidden gems that showcased the culture and the food was AMAZING. I would have never found these places on my own. She was also incredibly knowledgeable about the culture of both the past and present and provided a realistic, rounded view of Lisbon today. There's a lot of great food on this tour, but it's not just food – it is a great way to learn about much of the history as well. Skip your meal before this tour though and be ready to eat!!!!

Amazing food tour and highlight of my trip to Lisbon.

Celia, our guide, was great. We enjoyed a great variety of food types, some quite local with rich cultural context and others that were just interesting and fun. Celia provided context, interesting facts, and observations about architecture and recent history. It was a very worthwhile outing overall.

Laura was an amazing guide! We learned so much about Portuguese history and how it has impacted cuisines around the world. The food was amazing! We had fun walking around the Campo de Ourique neighborhood and getting to know the other people on our tour.

Laura was a great tour guide, and very knowledgeable and friendly. She explained the history of the history of the country and how the foods related. She taught us how to properly eat sardines, and we successfully had them for lunch ourselves during our trip. This is the best way to start a vacation!

We had an amazing day with Laura as our guide. She explained a lot of Portuguese history, the evolution of Lisbon and how that relates to the food we ate during the day. Her connections with the restaurants/vendors was special to experience. I have celiac and she paid special attention to the food I received. That was so appreciated. Overall, I can’t recommend this tour enough and Culinary Backstreets always!

We had a wonderful time on this tour! Our guide, Kika, was super knowledgeable, friendly, and just lovely to spend the day with. Highly recommend if you’re looking for a way to understand Lisbon’s culture, history, cuisine, etc.!

The crossroads tour was simply amazing. Our guide Laura was so vibrant and excited to share the city of Lisbon with us. The history behind the food, spices and how the Portuguese really influenced the world of food of today. Every stop and bite was amazing. If you’re a true foodie, this is the tour for you.

This was a fantastic tour. I learnt so much about both the history and the food traditions of Portugal. Kika was an amazing guide, she explained Portugal’s history and cuisine with so much clarity and passion. Thank you!

This was phenomenal. Laura is a wealth of knowledge and the food was outstanding. I highly recommend. Come with an empty stomach!

Andre was a wonderful guide to a city he so obviously loves and knows well. He shared his knowledge of foods, customs, and history of Lisbon in an engaging and entertaining way that made the time spent with him a joy. We wandered through a local neighbourhood that felt more real than the tourist heavy historical districts and tasted the foods that are the fabric of daily life. Not to be missed!

Wow! We have done food tours in multiple cities now, but this was the first one with Culinary Backstreets - and it won’t be the last! Our tour guide, Kika, was absolutely wonderful - so personable and clearly loves what she does, and her love of food, history, and neighborhoods of Lisbon comes through so clearly. The other travelers on our tour have done multiple tours with her now, and we can see why. We loved the blend of history and trying so many types of food we had read about being popular in Lisbon, and many we hadn’t! Getting to try food from Goa was a highlight and a surprise. Can’t recommend the tour enough, and you will leave full and happy!

Kika was amazing! I loved the map she drew with the spices. Great experience to start the trip and familiarize yourself with the city. Wonderful history lesson too!

We had a fabulous day with Kika! She is incredibly knowledgeable and we learned a lot about Portugals history and food. She explained everything in a way that is easy to understand. There was so much that we would never have experienced without her insider knowledge. We can’t thank her enough and highly recommend this tour.