West Palm Beach: Downtown Food Tour & Local Tastings Walk

4.97

(734 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I almost bailed when I realized the first stop was a Cuban bakery — I’d just had breakfast, but our guide (her name was Carla) handed me this flaky guava and cheese pastry that was still warm. I took one bite and forgot about my full stomach. The smell of sweet bread mixed with salty sea air from the waterfront park nearby. Carla joked that locals judge bakeries by their pastelitos, and now I get why.

We wandered through downtown West Palm Beach, weaving past murals so bright they looked like someone spilled paint on purpose. Every few blocks we’d duck into another spot — Pistache French Bistro had these little croque monsieurs oozing cheese. The owner waved from behind the bar; he seemed to know Carla well. She told us a story about how the bistro survived hurricanes (and a mayor’s bad taste in wine). It felt like being let in on a neighborhood secret.

The shrimp and grits at the next place were so good I kind of zoned out for a second. Someone at my table said it tasted like “old Florida,” whatever that means — but I think it was the creamy grits and the pink shrimp together. We got a Palm Beach spritz too (light and citrusy), which made the afternoon heat feel less sticky somehow.

Jaime at Salento Coffee showed us how he makes Colombian coffee — he grinned as we tried to pronounce “tinto” right (I definitely didn’t). There was this moment where everyone just went quiet sipping coffee, watching sunlight hit the tables through big windows. After that came a coconut-cutting demo outside; bits of shell flying everywhere while Carla laughed about tourists trying to open coconuts with hotel room keys.

The Key Lime Pie at the end wasn’t green (apparently it never should be), just pale yellow with this tartness that made me squint. I still think about that first bite sometimes — maybe because it tasted like summer or maybe because we’d all started talking like old friends by then. Funny how food does that.