--- title: 'Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour' url: 'https://stage.ignitours.com/experiences/san-francisco/berkeley-food-and-culture-tour' markdown: 'https://stage.ignitours.com/experiences/san-francisco/berkeley-food-and-culture-tour.md' lang: en date: '2026-05-11' description: 'Berkeley gets overshadowed by its bigger neighbors, but a lot of what people love about American food and a fair chunk of modern political life started right here. We’ll walk you through it on foot, with five food stops along the way. We start in the Gourmet Ghetto. In a few short blocks in the lat…' taxonomy: city: - san-francisco type: - walking tag: { } occasion: - sunday-morning - celebration audience: - locals - couples - families --- Walking tour # Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour Taste the Berkeley revolution: food, free speech, and counterculture history. [ 5.0(3 reviews) ](#reviews) by [igniTours](https://stage.ignitours.com/about) ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/p/x/l/-/2/pxl-20250823-201648449-portrait-1314fba5.webp "Taste the Berkeley revolution: food, free speech, and counterculture history.") Taste the Berkeley revolution: food, free speech, and counterculture history. ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/i/m/g/-/1/img-1610-871c5902.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/i/m/g/-/1/img-1620-b81e85ae.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/p/x/l/-/2/pxl-20250823-205613364-portrait-2-82684117.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/p/x/l/-/2/pxl-20250823-211447801-portrait-ce0f1410.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/p/x/l/-/2/pxl-20250823-211613164-portrait-9e2e00f0.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/i/m/g/-/1/img-1555-afd29c98.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/p/x/l/-/2/pxl-20250823-184846950-ac8a3aea.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/i/m/g/-/6/img-6082-d5d851c8.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/i/m/g/-/1/img-1567-f67a528e.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/i/m/g/-/1/img-1615-cc792ed9.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/p/x/l/-/2/pxl-20250823-191034283-portrait-372ccb49.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/p/x/l/-/2/pxl-20250823-191704071-b45c2de4.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/i/m/g/-/1/img-1550-188ef7cb.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/p/x/l/-/2/pxl-20250823-192446751-8f6eb7e7.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/p/x/l/-/2/pxl-20250823-195922947-portrait-3-626f5166.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/i/m/g/-/1/img-1527-179f8b84.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/p/h/o/t/o/photo-7e8541f6-24c57f7d.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/p/x/l/-/2/pxl-20250823-180142570-ba6c80a9.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/i/m/g/-/1/img-1552-fe5b1c5a.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/p/x/l/-/2/pxl-20250823-191718605-68e01d38.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/p/x/l/-/2/pxl-20250823-191237327-8190cf28.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/i/m/g/-/6/img-6093-267556c9.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") ![Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/i/m/g/-/1/img-1572-8c216267.webp "Berkeley Food & Counter Culture Tour") - **Free cancellation**Up to 24 hours before - **Duration**2½ hours - **Small group**Up to 12 guests - **Live guide**English - **Distance**2 miles - **Accessibility**Wheelchair and stroller friendly ## Highlights - **A slice from the Cheese Board**Grab a slice from the worker-owned collective that bakes one pizza a day. Always vegetarian, sold by the half-pie, and routinely named one of the Bay’s best. - **Gregoire’s potato puffs**Duck into this tiny Berkeley sandwich shop for the crispy little potato puffs that built a cult following one bite at a time. - **The block that changed how Americans eat**Stand on the corner where Peet’s, the Cheese Board, and Chez Panisse all opened within a few doors of each other in the 1960s and 70s. All three are still going. - **The Mario Savio Steps**Stand on the Sproul Hall steps where a 22-year-old grad student climbed on top of a police car in 1964 and kicked off the Free Speech Movement. - **The UC Berkeley campus**Wander the first campus in the UC system, past the world’s largest Blue Gum Eucalyptus grove and up to the Campanile; a 307-foot bell tower with sweeping Bay views. ## The story A walking food and history tour through Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto, UC campus, and Telegraph Avenue. Five tasty stops, some of the best stories in the Bay, and a lot of ground covered. Berkeley gets overshadowed by its bigger neighbors, but a lot of what people love about American food and a fair chunk of modern political life started right here. We’ll walk you through it on foot, with five food stops along the way. We start in the Gourmet Ghetto. In a few short blocks in the late 60s and early 70s, Alfred Peet started hand-roasting beans and basically invented specialty coffee in this country. A few doors down, the Cheese Board Collective opened as a tiny cheese shop and ended up popularizing the French baguette in the US. And around the corner, a 27-year-old Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse and decided the menu would change based on whatever was fresh that week. None of these people were trying to start a movement. They just happened to be on the same block. The food stops on the tour change a little depending on what’s open, but expect a slice from the Cheese Board (one pizza a day, always vegetarian, no substitutions, and yes it’s that good), potato puffs from Gregoire that have a cult following for a reason, and a few other neighborhood favorites we’ll keep as a surprise. From there we cut onto the UC Berkeley campus, the first school in the UC system. You’ll walk through the largest grove of Blue Gum Eucalyptus trees in the world (planted by the university as a windbreak, now a fire hazard nobody can agree what to do about). We’ll look at the Valley Life Sciences Building, which was the biggest concrete structure west of the Mississippi when it went up in 1930, and the Campanile, the second-tallest clock tower of its kind anywhere. We’ll also stop at the Mario Savio Steps. In 1964, a 22-year-old Savio took his shoes off, climbed on top of a cop car so he wouldn’t scratch the paint, and gave a speech that lit the fuse on the Free Speech Movement. A few months later he gave another one on these steps, in front of 4,000 people, and got arrested along with 800 others. The steps got renamed for him in 1997. Heading down Telegraph, we’ll stop into Rasputin’s, the original Berkeley record store. The owner has a long and pretty entertaining feud with Amoeba Records, including a story about a suitcase of cash that may or may not be true. We’ll grab one more sweet bite at Cupcakin’, and then end at People’s Park, where in May of 1969 a peaceful protest over a vacant lot turned into Bloody Thursday. Reagan called in 2,700 National Guard troops. One bystander was killed, another was permanently blinded, and 128 people ended up in the hospital. ## Meeting point **Meeting point**Outside Saul’s Restaurant & Delicatessen: 1475 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94709Meet outside Saul’s 10 minutes before **Ends at**Ameoba Music: 2455 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704 [ Get directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=37.8806652699,-122.2691235001)Please arrive 15 minutes early. Tours start promptly. [Open in Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=37.8806652699,-122.2691235001) ## Important information ### What to bring - Check the weather - sneakers - bottle of water - hat - camera ### Know before you go - Tours run rain or shine. If we must cancel for extreme weather you receive a full refund. - Gratuities are not included but are always appreciated by your guide. ### Cancellation policy Free cancellation or rescheduling up to 24 hours before your start time. Within 24 hours we have already incurred costs, so we cannot refund or reschedule. ## Reviews 5.0 3 reviews [Leave a review](https://g.page/r/CU4v8ExYfOmGEAE/review) [Leave a review](https://g.page/r/CU4v8ExYfOmGEAE/review) ## Good to know How long is the tour? About 2 to 3 hours, depending on the group and how long we linger over the good stuff. Where does the tour start? We meet at Saul’s Restaurant and Delicatessen on Shattuck Avenue. Look for your guide out front. How big are the groups? We keep it small at 12 people max so everyone can hear the stories and we don’t overwhelm the spots we visit. Is the tour kid-friendly? Yes. Kids are welcome, and there’s plenty along the way to keep them interested (especially the food). I’m vegetarian. Will there be food I can eat? Absolutely. The Cheese Board pizza is always vegetarian, and most of the other stops have vegetarian options. What should I wear and bring? Comfortable walking shoes are the big one , we cover a fair amount of ground. Dress in layers, since Berkeley weather can swing a lot in an afternoon. Bring a water bottle and a little cash for anything extra you might want to grab along the way. How much walking is involved? Roughly a mile and a half over the course of the tour, mostly flat with a few gentle hills on the campus portion. We go at a relaxed pace with plenty of stops. Is the food included in the price? Yes , all five tastings are covered. You won’t leave hungry. Does the tour run rain or shine? We run in light rain. For heavier weather, we’ll reach out about rescheduling. Does the tour run every day? Schedules vary by season, and a couple of our stops are closed certain days (the Cheese Board is closed Sundays and Mondays). Check the booking calendar for available dates. Are gratuities included? Tips aren’t included but are always appreciated by our guides. If you think your guide did an outstanding job, a tip is a great way to show that. ## You might also like [Experiences in San Francisco →](https://stage.ignitours.com/experiences/san-francisco) ![Historic Bay Cruise with Golden Gate Bridge](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/i/m/g/-/3/img-3101-861dd5cd.webp "Historic Bay Cruise with Golden Gate Bridge") From $74 San Francisco · Boat cruise ### Historic Bay Cruise with Golden Gate Bridge Where stories, salt air, and skyline views all converge. 1½ hours 5.0 (67) Max 6 [Historic Bay Cruise with Golden Gate Bridge](https://stage.ignitours.com/experiences/san-francisco/historic-bay-cruise) ![LA Coliseum & Exposition Park Museum Row Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/i/m/g/-/4/img-4830-edit-e4d8766f.webp "LA Coliseum & Exposition Park Museum Row Tour") From $44 Los Angeles · Walking tour ### LA Coliseum & Exposition Park Museum Row Tour Explore LA history, dinosaurs and spaceships on this hour and a half walking tour with an expert guide! 1½ hours 5.0 (9) Max 12 [LA Coliseum & Exposition Park Museum Row Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/experiences/los-angeles/expo-park) ![Melrose Avenue Arts & Culture Walking Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/images/i/m/g/-/6/img-6016-559711b4.webp "Melrose Avenue Arts & Culture Walking Tour") From $44 Los Angeles · Walking tour ### Melrose Avenue Arts & Culture Walking Tour Discover Culture & Creativity 1½ hours 5.0 (1) Max 27 [Melrose Avenue Arts & Culture Walking Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/experiences/los-angeles/melrose-avenue-arts-and-culture-walking-tour) Private & corporate ## Want it just for your group? Every experience can run privately, and we build custom itineraries for teams, celebrations and school groups. [Plan a private experience](https://stage.ignitours.com/private-tours) From$79 per person [Check availability](#book) --- ## Navigation - Parent: [San Francisco](https://stage.ignitours.com/experiences/san-francisco.md) - Next: [Downtown SF Architecture & Public Art Tour](https://stage.ignitours.com/experiences/san-francisco/downtown-architecture-tour.md)