Round Table Tours

What Round Table Tours Is and Where It Operates

Round Table Tours runs specialized food and beverage tours in Montreal, Canada, with some experiences extending to surrounding areas. The company was founded in December 2012 by Mélissa Simard, who is described on the company's about page as "a certified Montreal Tour Guide and Professional Cook with an Honours degree in Canadian Studies from McGill". The site explains the company's philosophy as using "food, history and meetings with people from the food industry as an entry point to truly experience and understand this city", with the goal to "guide people through culinary adventures that bring them beyond the cheap clichés normally destined for tourists" and explore "Montreal's unique food scene, its cultures and neighbourhoods".

The company runs its own guided tours in Montreal, and its private tours page gives the location as "Montreal and surrounding areas." The about page says the company offers walking tours and, because Montreal is "the cycling capital of North America," cycling tours too. The footer gives an address at 1-199 rue Charon, Montreal, H3K 2N8, and notes that ticketing is "Part of the EzTix Community of Event Operators." The homepage states the company wants to "eat your way through Montreal" and "Connect with your senses, to place and people".

The Range of Experiences

Round Table Tours offers multiple thematic food tours with varying durations and price points. The Iconic Dishes Jewish Montreal tour, the original signature tour, runs for 4 hours and costs $145 CAD plus sales fees and taxes. The site describes this tour as exploring "the community behind some of Montreal's most iconic dishes while learning about their deep roots in Montreal's growth and history".

Montreal: Ultimate Chocolate Expedition is a 4-hour tour priced at $180 CAD plus sales fees and taxes, designed to allow visitors to "Satisfy your sweet tooth" and "Get behind the scenes with people who live and breathe chocolate". For cultural exploration, the Under the Surface Chinatown tour is 4 hours and costs $145 CAD plus sales fees and taxes, exploring "the evolution of Montreal's Chinatown, from its beginnings to its current mix of people, food and businesses" with a walking tour option noted.

Beer culture is represented by the Pointe-Saint-Charles Beer Tour, a 4.5-hour experience priced at $145 CAD plus sales fees and taxes, restricted to age 18 and over. The tour explores "Pointe-Saint-Charles: history, beer culture, and tastings" including "microbreweries to Montreal's beer origins".

For specialty beverages, Afternoon Tea: Le Total runs 5 hours at $175 CAD plus sales fees and taxes and covers "Chinese Tea, Japanese Tea, Tea sommellerie and High Tea" and how each shows up in Montreal. The Montreal Third Wave Coffee Tour, 4 hours for $185 CAD plus sales fees and taxes, explores "the world of third wave coffee in Montreal from roasting, to extraction, to cupping, to cold brew coffee".

For more adventurous palates, the Micro-Distillery and Mixology tour runs 5 hours at $225 CAD plus sales fees and taxes and is restricted to age 18 and over. The listing reads: "Visit a distillery, walk through the process of distillation and drink and eat at three unique and reputed cocktail bars." Sustaining City: Montreal's Living Table runs 5+ hours for $325 CAD plus taxes, exploring "Montreal's green initiatives and emerging styles of ultra-unique health-conscious plant-based and local in-season cuisine."

The shortest product, Afternoon Japanese Tea and Sweets, is listed at 2 hours with the line "Make authentic Japanese mochi and taste shincha (first spring harvest Japanese green tea)." Its price options start at $95 with pick-up in Montreal and include delivery in Montreal and in North America, and the site does not explain what is picked up or delivered. A guide named Mélissa Simard is frequently mentioned in customer reviews as leading tours and is noted for extensive knowledge of Montreal's cultural history and being flexible with scheduling.

The site publishes an "Eating Guide to Montreal" described as "all you'll need to plan a memorable meal-based trip in Montreal", priced at $7 plus tax.

How the Tours Work on the Day

The site indicates tours are led by guides with hospitality and cultural expertise. Mélissa Simard's profile notes she has "years of experience in the food industry, including working in restaurants, catering, conducting cooking workshops, and food blogging" and is "versed in planning highly successful food tours and creating customized culinary experiences for small groups and corporate events". Other guides on the about page include Patrice Lachapelle-Mongrain, a Polytechnique graduate and "trained guide at ITHQ," Darren Shore, who "studied political science and journalism, worked in communications and fundraising for non-profit organizations and a local university, and travelled to over 60 countries", and Amie Watson, described as "a heavyweight food writer and TV personality".

Tour participants encounter multiple food and beverage stops along each route. On the Jewish Montreal tour, one reviewer writes that the group "visited seven (!) restaurants, and were able to compare bagels and smoked meat with different styles," and another counts "Eight stops along the way with some REALLY delicious food!" Tours emphasize walking elements combined with culinary experiences. For private tours, the FAQ says the company can "adapt to dietary restrictions" and can arrange adapted transportation. One reviewer of a tea tour says the guide accommodated a mobility-impaired parent; that is one guest's account.

The private tours FAQ says the company can "accommodate in English, French, German and Spanish." The company takes pride in guide knowledge and customer service, with reviews emphasizing guide attentiveness and responsiveness to scheduling needs.

Booking and Terms

Scheduled tours are booked through the website's Book Now and Get Tickets buttons, and the menu also has a Calendar, a Compare Tours page and Gift Certificates. The homepage shows an EXCELLENT rating "Based on 244 reviews" and says the company has been awarded a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, without a year. Private tours, listed at 3 to 8 hours, start with a request form on the private-tours page, and the page says the company can accommodate "a single person to large groups" and curate a day around "a theme, a dietary need or a location," with a cooking lesson as an option. The site states "Send us a request and we will curate the best possible Montreal Culinary Adventure to meet your needs". Contact information provided includes a phone number +1 (514) 812-2003 and email melissa@roundtablefoodtours.com.

For private tours, the site states it "usually require[s] that people pay 4-6 spots on a tour for 2-3 people and a minimum of 10 spots for a customized private group tour". The private-tours page indicates "Adapted Transportation is additional and for very large groups, we often require a planning and coordination fee". The company notes it "have managed groups of up to 100 people and put them on multiple rotating tours" and "do private tours for VIPs and journalists on their own".

Private tour customization options include "we can offer anything from a cooking workshop, dine-around, bachelor and bachelorette parties, foraging outing, farm dinner or food tour". The site describes private tours as "a fun way for people to genuinely enjoy themselves and eating together" and states they "provide moments of pleasure, learning, and bonding around food" for corporate and team-building purposes. Hotel pick-up and drop-off, walking options, and cycling are mentioned as available accommodations. The private tours page notes "We can have adapted transportation, have hotel pick-up and drop-off, walk, cycle, be on a bus".

What the Site Does Not Settle

Cancellation and refund terms are not given on the tour listings or the private tours page; the menu links to a separate FAQ page. Deposit requirements and payment schedules for scheduled tours are not stated either. The exact inclusions and exclusions of each tour, beyond the food and beverage stops and guide commentary, are not specified. While dietary restrictions can be accommodated, the mechanism for communicating these and any limits on what can be adjusted are not stated. The tour listings do not give meeting points or start times for scheduled tours; the Calendar page holds the dates. Beyond adapted transportation for private groups, the site gives no accessibility detail for the walking routes. Group size caps for public tours are not specified, though private tour minimums are stated. The site does not say whether tips are included; one reviewer's advice is "Don't forget to bring a tip!"