Booking choice: The NYPD mafia walk, from $79 per person. Check dates Compare the options below
Police Tours sells the New York Gangster Experience in two main forms. The mafia walk is three hours on foot with a full-size cannoli at the end. The mafia and food tour is three and a half hours and starts with a sit-down meal at John's of 12th Street.
Both are rated 4.9 by well over a thousand guests each, so neither is the weaker tour. The right one depends on your schedule and your appetite.
The quick answer
Take the $129 food tour if you want dinner sorted, a sit-down start at a restaurant with its own mob history, and an evening in Little Italy. Take the $79 walk if you are on a budget, prefer a morning, or plan to eat somewhere else. The stories and guides are the same.
How do the walk and the food tour compare?
Same guides, same route; the food tour adds a full meal and half an hour.
| Mafia walk | Mafia and food tour | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $79 | $129 |
| Length | 3 hours | 3.5 hours |
| When | Morning (10 AM, 11 AM) | Evening, and 11 AM |
| Meal | None at 10 AM; pasta lunch at 11 AM | Spaghetti and meatballs (marinara at 11 AM) |
| Cannoli | Yes, full size | Yes, full size |
| Meeting point | In front of John's | Inside John's |
| Max group | 35 | 37 |
| Rating | 4.9 (1,220) | 4.9 (1,495) |
Leaning towards the cheaper option? The walk keeps the NYPD guides and the cannoli for $79.
Check dates for the NYPD mafia walkWhat is the real difference?
The food tour starts with a full plate of spaghetti and meatballs at John's of 12th Street; the walk does not.
On the evening food tour you sit down first, hear the 1922 shooting story inside the restaurant, then walk it off. On the walk you start on the sidewalk outside and keep moving. Both end with a full-size cannoli at a Little Italy pastry shop.
Is the food tour worth the extra $50?
Yes, if you would eat dinner in the area anyway: a full sit-down meal in Manhattan easily costs that much, and it is included.
It is less good value if you are not hungry at the start, or if you want to choose your own restaurant in Little Italy afterwards. Remember that drinks are extra on both tours.
Want dinner in the price? The food tour seats you at John's before the walk, cannoli at the end.
Explore the NYPD mafia and food tourDoes the walk include any food?
Yes: a full-size cannoli at La Bella Ferrara near the end, and on the 11 AM option, pasta with tomato sauce.
The 10 AM walk has no lunch. One guest summed up the 11 AM start as "you eat right at 11:00", so arrive hungry if you pick it. Check the option at checkout, since $79 is the from-price.
Which is better in the evening?
The food tour: it is the evening option, and it ends as Little Italy lights up.
Guests who toured in September, before the Feast of San Gennaro, loved Mulberry Street at night under the lights. Morning walks have quieter sidewalks, which makes the guide easier to hear in a big group.
Which is better if you have plans afterwards?
The walk: it is half an hour shorter and runs in the morning.
One guest had to leave early for a Broadway show and advised leaving at least 3.5 hours. Tours sometimes run long when the guide takes questions, so do not book anything tight straight after either one.
Got a show tonight? The morning walk leaves your evening free.
Check dates for the NYPD mafia walkIs one tour better for vegetarians?
Both work: the food tour offers vegetarian meals on request, and the walk's only food is the cannoli and the 11 AM pasta with tomato sauce.
Ask for the vegetarian option when you book the food tour. Guests report the cashew "meatballs" are excellent.
What if neither suits you?
For food over gangsters, try the Chinatown and Little Italy food tour; for a shorter, cheaper mob walk, the gangsters and ghosts tour.
The Chinatown and Little Italy food tour has 8 tastings in a small group for $130. See the best mafia tours in NYC for the full comparison.
Here for the food more than the mob? Eight tastings in Chinatown and Little Italy, in a small group.
Explore the Chinatown and Little Italy food tourFrequently asked questions
Do the walk and the food tour have the same guides?
Yes. Both are run by Police Tours with the same pool of active and retired NYPD officers and detectives.
Is the route the same?
Yes: both start at John's of 12th Street in the East Village and end at Mulberry and Canal in Little Italy.
Which tour is more popular?
The food tour has slightly more reviews (1,495 against 1,220), and both are rated 4.9.
Ready to book
Choose your tour
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on every option. Prices are from-prices in USD and move with the season.
Mafia Walk with a Retired NYPD Guide
- Walking tour led by a retired NYPD officer or detective
- John Gotti and Carlo Gambino stories, a Gambino hangout and Sopranos filming spots
- A full-size cannoli at La Bella Ferrara; pasta lunch on the 11 AM start only
Mafia & Local Food Tour with an NYPD Guide
- Walking tour led by a retired or active NYPD detective or officer
- Full-portion spaghetti and meatballs at John's of 12th Street (the 11 AM start serves spaghetti marinara)
- A full-size Sicilian cannoli in Little Italy; vegetarian meals on request
