How to enjoy a small group tour in your home town
Where to go on a small group tour
I discovered that I don’t need to go far to enjoy a small group tour: I can tour in my own home town of Canberra.
Last December I was invited to an office Christmas party - a guided tour around the eateries of Braddon. This proved to be such a delightful experience, I thought I’d share it with Planepack readers.
What small group tour
Eat Canberra is a new food tours business, run and hosted by Amelia. This is what she says on the Eat Canberra website:
"Eat Canberra Food Tours are a unique way to explore Canberra’s food scene! The tours are for locals, interstate and international visitors and are a great way to meet other people and enjoy a day out in the nation’s capital. The food tours launched in April 2017 and we’ve taken more than 100 people on our tours. We offer a range of tours and can also arrange private tours for all occasions including hens parties, Christmas parties, birthday parties, corporate events, team building events and more."
We were instructed to meet at a Braddon venue where the 12 of us settled around an outdoors table, awaiting food and instruction. Canberra has so many cafes and restaurants that I looked forward to Amelia guiding us through those recently opened in Lonsdale Street.
She informed us that we would visit six restaurants, walking up and down Lonsdale Street as she chatted about cafes and restaurants along the way.
At the first restaurant we enjoyed pork sliders and pizza, served with a choice of drinks: sangria or beer. Amelia took charge of the service, making sure we all got our drinks and food, keeping an eye on the proceedings.
Watermelon gin
Our second stop was at a restaurant specializing in gin. I quickly realized that if we were to be served a cocktail or drink at every one of the six restaurants, I’d better ration my alcohol intake. This wasn't an issue: from then on Amelia made sure the restaurants served non-alcoholic versions of the drinks - and excellent they all were.
A non-alcoholic cocktail
The food and drink blurred a little as we moved from restaurant no. 3, to no. 4 and no. 5 - but we all had such a good time, that it didn’t matter. I loved visiting and eating small amounts at a few restaurants, and walking between each course - and we got to chat to different members of the group at each venue.
Our memory of the food and drinks blurred by the time we reached restaurant no. 5 . . .
We finished off the afternoon at an ice cream parlour with a choice of exotic ice creams or sorbets - no cocktails at this venue. By this stage, we were all happily sated by the afternoon’s eating, talking, walking and visiting.
What to pack for this small group tour
The advantage of doing a small group tour in your own home town is that you don’t need to travel - other than driving to the venue - so no need to pack a bag. But if you’re going to drink alcoholic cocktails at all the restaurants, you might prefer to catch a cab.
I recommend wearing comfortable shoes to enjoy the walking as much as the eating. And as the tour is prepaid, there’s no need to worry about taking a wallet or a big handbag.
Details of this small group tour
Eat Canberra offers a few other tours but the details for this Braddon/walking foodtour are:
"This walking food tour start at 1pm from Braddon and it goes for 4-5 hours. We eat our way around (restaurant hop) and sample a range of food and drinks at 7+ stops. We will visit a combination of hot spots and hidden gems and eat our way around the streets of Canberra! The price is $145 per person and that includes booking fee, everything on the 4+ hour tour (all food, beers, cocktails and other drinks that have been organised as part of the tour, as well as the guide – no hidden extras!)."
In summary, I can highly recommend Eat Canberra's Braddon food tour, both to local Canberrans and to anyone visiting the city.
About the author
I'm Slobodanka Graham, digital publisher, content entrepreneur, and professional eater. While I don't have much experience making cocktails, I am known for my chocolate mousse . . .
