Lip Smacking Foodie Tours Review

As veterans of the travel industry, we are blessed to have access to some of the most incredible experiences across the globe. With such a wealth of travel options, it is rare to hear such a wide array of travel professionals consistently recommending the same tour. But with a trip to Las Vegas on the horizon, there was one tour in particular that couldn’t come recommended more highly by my fellow travel professionals. Today we will be taking a look into Las Vegas’ foremost culinary and touristic experts, Lip Smacking Foodie Tours.

What Lip Smacking Foodie Tours Are Available?

From even the most brief perusal of their website, it is immediately apparent that Lip Smacking Foodie Tours offer a vast range of options. Whilst the primary experience may be a food tour, it is clear that the sight-seeing has not been neglected. Whatever your preference of cuisine, and whatever your touristic interests, Lip Smacking Foodie Tours will have something to match both your palate and your passions. After a brief chat with their head office, we chose to attend their Savours of The Strip tour. Whilst this sounded perfect for us, just a few of the alternative options included: –

• Downtown Lip Smacking Tour
• Bright Lights and Lip Smacking Bites
• Ultimate Steakhouse Tour
• Art District Lip Smacking Tour
• Lip Smacking Boozy Brunch
• Vegas Sights Worldly Bites
• Savoury Bites and Neon Lights
• Afternoon Culinary Adventures

Outstanding Cuisine, Sight-Seeing and Customer Service

We soon discovered that whilst this may be a food tour, it is a fantastic vehicle to see some of the wonderful parts of Vegas you would never even know were there! Our guide, Allen, met us outside The Aria, which is definitely one of my new favourite hotels in Vegas. Allen introduced each of us in the group and everyone was lovely. From the moment that we met Allen, he made it clear that his mission for the whole tour was to ensure that each of us had the most incredible experience possible, and I’m happy to say that he more than accomplished this goal. His energy and customer service was absolutely outstanding, and he had an extensive culinary background, having travelled the world as a chef before becoming a professional tour guide within Las Vegas. Allen’s skill set allowed us to not only experience, but to understand the delightful signature dishes. He was also highly knowledgeable about the sights and history of the city, allowing us to delve into the history, artwork, hidden passages and intricate details about every point throughout the tour.

Which Restaurants Do Lip Smacking Foodie Tours Visit?

Our first stop on the tour was Bardot Brasserie – a beautiful French brasserie in the middle of Vegas. We tried an array of beautiful French dishes and both the food and service were outstanding. For this particular restaurant, we chose to add the cocktail package to our tour. This is absolutely a top tip for all – you should definitely order the cocktail package! The cocktails were absolutely divine, and I would recommend them as the perfect complement to the food.

We then walked through the beautiful hotels to Manzo in Eataly. Many Europeans may have experienced an Eataly, but for those who haven’t, it truly is fantastic. The concept behind the restaurant is based on the classic Italian or Spanish food halls. Allen walked us around Eataly, showing us the different areas where fresh pasta was being made, aperitifs were being served, the incredible cheese stalls and so much more. Simply walking around here was a foodie’s dream! Following our tour of the various preparatory sections, were then taken to a private dining area in Manzo. The tasting menu was absolutely delicious! I would recommend the steak in particular, which remains unsurpassed in my estimation, and is the peerless dish which all my future steak dishes will be compared! The servers explained the history and detail of each dish, which really added to the experience.

We then moved on to the Best Friend, and do keep in mind that we are now in the Park MGM, and haven’t stepped outside. Just weaving through the indoor passages and seeing the artwork on route was something to behold. Best Friend is perhaps best explained by its founder, Roy Choi. “It’s Koreatown in a capsule – a portal to the streets of LA, but also rooted in what makes Las Vegas… VEGAS. Hip hop-to-bibimbop. Kimchi-to-spaghetti. BBQ and late-night food. My neighbourhood mixed with the Vegas good-good.” Best Friend was funky, it was delicious, it was fun, and it made us feel like we were in LA. Such a wonderful experience, and the cuisine is less a clash of cultures and more of a wonderful melding of the best of each!

Upon leaving Best Friend, we walked through “The Rabbit Hole” and past some incredible neon artwork, where Alan took the time to take group pictures. Just when we thought the tour couldn’t get any better, we arrived in NoMad. The NoMad restaurant is set in a soaring space, inspired by the iconic NoMad library in New York. The robust menu celebrates American classics in a grand and continental way. The cocktails were served with champagne bottles and Barbie dolls, which was certainly unique and quite a sight to behold! I would add that they were absolutely scrumptious!

The Best of Las Vegas, and Maybe the Best Food Tour in the World

Some of the party then went on to take the night helicopter tour of the strip, and I very much wish we had booked this. It was only another $100 and it definitely would have been worth it. However, even without this great addition, I can honestly say that this was our favourite experience from our time in Las Vegas. Moreover, I would actually go as far to say that The Lip Smacking Foodie Tour is one of my all time favourite travel experiences. I don’t think I’m alone in this opinion either, as some of their recent honours include: –

• “Best Tour”, “Best Food Tour” and “Best Date Night Spot”, as awarded by Las Vegas Review-Journal in both 2018 and 2019 and 2018
• “Best Food/Beverage Tour Operations (Land)”, as awarded by The World Food Travel Association 2018
• “Best Tour”, “Best Fine Dining” and “Best Brunch”, as awarded by Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2017
• “Best Tour”, as awarded by Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2016
• “Best Tour”, as awarded by INVEGAS Magazine in 2015 and 2016
• “Best New Tour”, as awarded by Thrillist in 2015
• Inclusion in TripAdvisor’s “Top 3” tours in Las Vegas
• The number one ranked tour on Yelp

Looking at their wealth of awards and the outstanding quality of their tours, it seems incredible that Las Vegas could be such a popular destination for UK travellers, and yet Lip Smacking Foodie Tours remains largely undiscovered by UK consumers. So, having discovered this hidden gem, I wanted to share with you all so that you too can spread the word about Lip Smacking Foodie Tours! There’s certainly a reason they are the name on everyone’s lips (pun very much intended), and for any traveller going to Vegas, this should be an absolute must!

To arrange your experience with Lip Smacking Foodie Tours, you can book through many of the PTS Suppliers, including JTA Travel and Do Something Different.