5280 Tours

I’m writing this review to express my extreme dissatisfaction with the LoDo Food tour on 4÷12÷12. I have experienced several other tours that were handled in a very professional manner and I have to say that this one was the worst. For starters the tour started late and the guide was «just to take us from place to place» and not their to give us any history about the places we were going or the area we were in. There were too many people on the tour (about 25) when they are usually limited to a manageable number like 12 or 16. We had to take a bus between locations which could have been a logistical nightmare if we got separated since no one knew where we were going. The first restaurant was unprepared for the crowd of us that showed up. They passed around plates to share at the main table and expected those who didn’t sit at that table to reach around and grab food from plates off the table. In all my past tours we were served individual samplings and not off a community plate. I will say that on a positive note, the food was very good and the restaurants were trying to make the best of a bad situation. We would never have gotten any explanation of the food or history of the facility unless I mentioned to the restaurant manager that they usually provide that information. Once again not a word from the tour guide other than it’s time to go to the next place. The next 2 locations were better organized and within walking distance of each other which is more in line with previous experiences. We were supposed to go to 4 locations and only went to 3 which was somewhat disappointing. After the final location, the guide just left and didn’t ask if there were any questions or any comments. There were at least 8 – 10 of us that were giving off the same vibes indicating that this was less than a stellar tour. We also had to figure out how to get back to the starting point of the tour without any direction from the guide since he was gone and we were about a mile away. I sent this letter to the tour company and never heard back from them, I would rate them a total ZERO but 1 star is the lowest you can enter. Too bad that Denver can’t get a food tour going like all the other large cities in the U.S.

Asked friends to go with us on the Highland tour. Thought we would be having food and wine tastings at different restaurants. I also thought we would be learning about the neighborhood. Not so. Out of the four places we visited, one actually had enough food to make it a tasting but no wine in sight.
Our tour guide was friendly, but just basically walked us to the different restaurants.
I was disappointed and embarrassed to let down my husband and friends.
I’m glad we paid the groupon price, because it certainly was not worth the full price.

I have been on this and one other gourmet tour. This was inferior to the other, but we still had fun.
Things we liked:
of the 3 restaurants we visited, 2 were new to us
the chef’s and GM’s who talked to us were informative and passionate
the food was delicious
Things that could be improved:
Our tour guide lacked the knowledge to be a great guide, she basically just shuttled us from place to place but did not add any value; in fact, the questions we asked were met with blank stares and hair twirling.
The menus were poorly planned; we had bruschetta at 2 of the 3 restaurants and risotto cakes at 2 of the 3 restaurants. I think there should be better variety, it would be more fun for the diners and also better for the restaurants, since having the same item inevitably leads to comparing or ranking.

Had a groupon for the tour. Chose the Highland tour and was excited to go. Started at two. Everything I had read indicated that we would be touring the neighborhood and experiencing four fine restaurants with tastings and demonstrations. We started off at a meat market (it was cool but not expected as a fine dining place), next was Lola’s and that was nice but hardly a tasting, after that a yoghurt shop. Not what I would call a restaurant. Last was Pasquini’s and it was just ok. I am relieved I only payed half price and at that I still don’t feel we got our money’s worth. Will not be recommending