Food Tours · Tour

Coffee at Pellegrini's and Noodles Being Pulled

Eight people, three hours, and it starts with gelato, which is an unusual opening and a good one. Then coffee at Pellegrini's, which matters more than the cup. Pellegrini's opened on Bourke Street in 1954 and is one of the places that taught this city to drink espresso; the fittings have not changed and neither, mostly, has the menu. After that the laneways, with a stop to watch noodles being made by hand, which is a fifteen-second process that takes years to learn, and a running commentary on the restaurants you are walking past and which ones to come back to. More tastings, then lunch at a local restaurant. The operator's own framing is right: this is a tour to do on your first day, because you spend the rest of the week going back to places you found on it. Eight people at most, in English, with the guide, the tastings and lunch. Moderate fitness. Vegetarian available and dietary requirements catered for if you say so at booking. No hotel pick-up.