I am so blessed to be able to call the South Bay home. Beautiful views, sunny weather and pure beach side bliss; what more can a girl ask for? I was thus so thrilled to learn about Manhattan Beach Food Tour, a new tour launching just in time for this summer. In this food tour, visitors go on a culinary journey all over Downtown Manhattan Beach.  Being a foodie and a beach cities girl, I was very happy to be part of the very first tour they had today.

Well known for their world class restaurants; Manhattan Beach is the perfect town to try out some of the best cuisines.

We started off our tour with a visit to Paradise Bowls and had the Gaucho Açaí Bowl.

The Manhattan Beach location is the very first location for Paradise Bowls. It first opened in 2013 in Manhattan Beach by UCSB alumni, Alex Graham and Justin Segal. The Gaucho Bowl is tribute to their UCSB days. Gaucho is the UCSB mascot and this bowl would do any UCSB alum proud. It’s a yummy treat with bananas, strawberries, blueberries, açaí and apple juice. This was the perfect start to a the tour.

Our second stop was Jimmy’s Kouzina. Here we had their delicious Cheese Boat.

This fresh baked cheese boat is a great representative of both the Italian cuisine and Greek cuisine that Jimmy’s is well known for. It is shaped just like a Greek sailboat and is topped with a Casera cheese and Parmesan cheese. Casera cheese is a creamy cheese from Northern Italy. I love how they make their own bread here at this restaurant known for both Greek and Italian delights.

The third stop of the tour Simmzy’s. Here we had one of their most popular dishes, The 15 Minute (but worth the wait) Wings!

This was definitely one of my favorite stops of the tour. The wings are not your ordinary wings and definitely worth the wait ;). They have both a little bit of spice and a little bit of sweet! They’re served with Simmzy’s homemade blue cheese dressing. The Simms restaurants are some of most delicious restaurants in Manhattan Beach and it was great to have Simmzy’s as part of the tour. It was even more special to have a chance to try their famous wings.

For our fourth stop, we went to Rock N’ Fish. Here we got to they their Coconut Crusted Mahi Sliders.

Rock N’ Fish is the first full service restaurant of Manhattan Beach restaurateur Michael Zislis. This restaurant is very popular for their seafood dishes and though it’s not often that I have seafood; I just had to try a dish here. I have to say these mahi sliders were a pleasant surprise and very enjoyable. The crispy mahi mahi was smothered with sweet chili aioli and topped mango slaw and avocado. I loved the mix of flavors.

Our fifth stop was our last savory stop of the day; El Sombrero. Who says tacos are only for Tuesday’s? We got to feast on some of Manhattan Beach’s best tacos today!

When entering El Sombrero; the owner’s first greeting is “Welcome home.” “El Som” as locals fondly call it has been a part of Manhattan Beach since 1975. The simple, hometown feel and traditional Mexican food is something that struck out from the moment I waked in. It really did feel like home and I loved their tacos! We got to try their crispy beef tacos and grilled shrimp tacos. Hearty, meaty beef inside with and crisp shell outside; these beef tacos are some of the best tacos I’ve ever had. The grilled shrimp tacos were also wonderful. These were served with soft, fresh tortillas. It is no wonder this place has been a favorite of locals for so long.

It truly was beautiful day and we had the sweetest ending. Manhattan Beach Food Tour’s last stop was Manhattan Beach Creamery. Here we got to enjoy their Cream’wich.

Manhattan Beach Creamery is the home of the original artisan ice cream sandwich. It’s so fitting we got to try their original Cream’wich. It was the perfect sweet ending for a sunny day and awesome tour. The Cream’wich we had was a delightful ice cream sandwich with two chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream in between. The cookies and ice cream are special to Manhattan Beach Creamery. The cookies are from their Karelia Bakery and the ice cream is freshly made in house.

Though Manhattan Beach Creamery was the official last stop of the day. We actually had a very pleasant surprise at the end when our awesome tour guides, Lauren and Amanda gave us a customized surfboard cookies from Becker’s Bakery.

The surfboard cookies are Becker’s Bakery’s signature cookies. I was so touched to receive these cookies! They were customized with my name as well as one for my mom; who was my guest for this tour. It was also special because it represented Manhattan Beach so beautifully.

It truly was a special day! I loved bonding with my mom in one of my favorite cities and it was lovely to be a part of the first ever Manhattan Beach Food Tour! The tour really showcased the beauty and diversity that Manhattan Beach has to offer.

For more smiles, please see my Yelp review on Manhattan Beach Food Tours.