Marco M.
Yelp
My girlfriend and I recently went on the Seafood Lover's Lunch in Portland with Maine Day Ventures with Kate as our tour guide. We had a nice time and the food was good, but there were several issues with this experience that would prevent me from providing a positive review. If you are considering booking a tour with this company, I encourage you to read my brief review and make an informed decision.
1. Tour Guide: Although Kate is a nice person and was clearly trying hard, her lack of experience and local knowledge was evident. We have gone on several food tours in cities around the country. Each tour guide had a unique local perspective and added an element beyond the food. While Kate was able to answer our questions to some extent, she was not able to go above and beyond and really give us a feel of Portland. Often times she would walk ahead of the group, look at her phone, and not engage with the group. I would recommend asking for a different tour guide if you decide to book with this company.
2. Food: To be fair, the food provided on the tour was good. Probably a solid 4/5 stars. However, when you compare this to the average food in Portland, it does not stand out. We went to several restaurants prior to the food tour and enjoyed the food at those establishments more (Sopo Seafood, Crispy Gai, Standard Baking Co.). Further, the portion sizes were quite small. After a good food tour, I am typically stuffed. My girlfriend, who is a very small eater, was able to eat everything and was still hungry at the end. When I booked the tour, we were promised to indulge in oysters, scallops, and other seafood specialities. However, we made no such stops to enjoy these delicacies. The only food we ate was one fish taco, a small seafood chowder, and a lobster roll, plus a few desserts. This may sound like a decent amount of food, but when you pay $150 plus tip, it no longer is. You could easily buy this food for less than $100. If the tour guide added value, this would be acceptable. However, this was not the case for us. Finally, the drinks were very small as well. You get 2 small portions of beer, each of which are about 4 oz. The total amount of beer is less than one bottle. Thus, the price for this tour is not justified in terms of the food/drinks provided, nor the service of the tour guide.
If you come to Portland, skip this food tour. You can easily find food just as good, if not better food and pay half the price.