About Us

The Local Sauce Tours Story
My name is Justin, I’m the guy with the “tour guide hands” in the photo. I started Local Sauce Tours back in 2018 after escaping a corporate law career. I realised that I was working around a lot of unhappy people and I thought, “I want to work in a more enjoyable industry – let’s try tourism!”
From starting with one walking tour on a Saturday morning offered on Airbnb Experiences, we’ve grown to offer a wide range of unique tours and experiences, led by a team of amazing hosts.
In 2022 and 2023, we were awarded Gold in the NSW Tourism Awards for Cultural Tourism. We’re also ranked #1 for all Tours & Activities in Sydney on TripAdvisor, so you’re making a great decision to explore Sydney with us.
What our tours are like
Our tours focus on showing guests around Sydney with an expert local, weaving in entertaining stories about the area while visiting excellent, independently-owned bars, restaurants and cafes.
We limit our group sizes on all of our tours to 12 people, as we’ve found this is the magic number for guests to meet each other, bond and have a fun time. If you’re visiting Sydney or travelling solo, you’ll probably meet people on the tour to hang out with while you’re here!
You’ll quickly discover that a tour with us is a little bit different to a regular one, as we focus on making it feel like you’re just in a group of new friends hanging out and enjoying themselves, with your host keeping everything flowing and telling you stories.


Our promise
We love having each and every guest along on our tours. Whether you’re visiting Sydney or a local looking for something new to do, we know that you can choose from a million other activities – but you chose to join one of our tours and hang out with us!
We take that commitment from you seriously and will do everything we can to give you an amazing experience and the best possible introduction to Sydney. We guarantee you’re going to love the Sydney that we show you so much, you’ll be asking “when’s the next tour?” and booking again with us!
Since we started, we’ve received thousands of 5-star reviews on Airbnb, Google, TripAdvisor and Facebook. Check some recent ones out below.
We’ve received over 2,000 five-star reviews
All Reviews 5.0
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Google 4.9
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TripAdvisor 5.0
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Airbnb 5.0
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Facebook 5.0
- Andy06/03/2025This was a fantastic tour of Sydney! Steve, our host, was part historian and part comedian. He shared the history and sites of the city in a way that our family remembered and talked about for days. It also helped orient us as we explored the city independently afterwards. Highly recommend!read moreread lessKiah04/03/2025Dan was incredible! He was super knowledgeable and shared so many amazing and interesting facts as we took the tour! We walked a lot of the city center but didn’t really feel like it because Dan has us engaged and laughing the entire time! Even the Aussies on our tour learned some things they didn’t know! lol Don’t hesitate… definitely book this tour… you won’t be disappointed at all ♥️read moreread less
- Simon Meyers03/03/2025We’ve done a lot of city tours, and this was right up there with the best. Host Michael made it fun and engaging, and his passion for the city shines through. It’s not just facts, figures and dates but a truly informative take on the origins of Sydney, and beyond that Australia. The relationship between the convicts and their british masters is related through landmarks as you walk around. And this history of the indigenous first nations people is also very much to the fore – they are not airbrushed out at all (even though they are more of less invisible in central Sydney) Thoroughly recommended and special shout out to Michael who put so much into it.read moreread lessTiffany03/03/2025Great walking tour to understand Sydney and its history. It’s lot of walking so for those who cannot walk a lot, may want to think twice. Steve was our guide, a fun loving guy who likes to throw in jokes. Ended the tour with a beer, which was great for a sunny day.read moreread less
- Alicia02/03/2025Bunny is an incredible guide – great energy, very knowledgeable. We sampled a variety of street food from different regions of China while learning about the history of the Chinese community in Australia and Sydneys Chinatown.
What made this tour special was we stopped at places you might miss on your own and Bunny. seriously i would go on any tour she led.read moreread lessHeidi Zuckerman01/03/2025What an amazing tour led by Dan!! We have traveled all around the world and never had such a passionate, detail oriented, and knowledgeable guide. Dan shared fascinating stories, facts and information about Sydney and beyond. He is thoughtful, kind, funny and intelligent. The interesting and informative tour flew by and ended in a fun way with group drinks by the harbor. Can’t recommend Dan and local sauce tour enough!!read moreread lessGlory Elaine01/03/2025Dan was great! The perfect combination of educating and entertaining, we loved it! I enjoyed the personal touches like giving us a ANZAC biscuit (cookie) when telling us about the men who fought in WWll. I would definitely go on this tour again, highly recommended!read moreread less - s d Wisudo28/02/2025Had a great time with Justin exploring Thaitown Sydney, on a sunny Sunday arvo.. Had plenty to sample and our stop at Pontip Thai Market and tasting that pickled mango was super interesting.. and, after all the delicious spicy flavours during the tour it was perfect ending with ChatThai’s ‘mango, coconut pancake and sticky rice’ dessert! Yum.. Highly recommend!read moreread less
- Evan Rezansoff23/02/2025This review is for a food tour in Newtown. We had a lovely afternoon with Andrew. He kept the tour at a comfortable pace and incorporated some stops to feature local street art. He was knowledgeable about the history of the area and local culture. The restaurants featured were all hits. Would highly recommend to anyone visiting Sydney.read moreread less
- Surojit21/02/2025If you find yourself with an evening to spare in Sydney and aren’t sure what to do, this experience is definitely worth checking out! Justin and his team are incredibly responsive and genuinely passionate about making sure you have a great time. Bunny, our host for the evening was fantastic. She made us feel comfortable right from the start and took us to some really cool bars. She also had plenty of interesting stories to share, which made the night even more fun. I had a great time and would absolutely recommend this experience!read moreread less
- Amy Mason20/02/2025Had a wonderful tour with Steve. I learned a lot about the history of Sydney, and got to visit some places that I would otherwise have not seen. I really enjoyed the jaunt into the botanical gardens – especially the well timed kookaburra, and the corpse flower stories (I now have a mission to see one bloom with a nose plug handy). The pace was great, the beer at the end was nice – and we got a great recommendation for some tasty vegan tacos in Newtown after the tour. Plus extra bonus points for some top notch and also rubbish dad jokes. I also really appreciated the booking experience. Justin was very quick to respond to questions, and even helped us to successfully move our booking last minute due to a calender error! Thanks Stevie, Gerard, Jean, and Amyread moreread less
- Simon Meyers03/03/2025We’ve done a lot of city tours, and this was right up there with the best. Host Michael made it fun and engaging, and his passion for the city shines through. It’s not just facts, figures and dates but a truly informative take on the origins of Sydney, and beyond that Australia. The relationship between the convicts and their british masters is related through landmarks as you walk around. And this history of the indigenous first nations people is also very much to the fore – they are not airbrushed out at all (even though they are more of less invisible in central Sydney) Thoroughly recommended and special shout out to Michael who put so much into it.read moreread lessHeidi Zuckerman01/03/2025What an amazing tour led by Dan!! We have traveled all around the world and never had such a passionate, detail oriented, and knowledgeable guide. Dan shared fascinating stories, facts and information about Sydney and beyond. He is thoughtful, kind, funny and intelligent. The interesting and informative tour flew by and ended in a fun way with group drinks by the harbor. Can’t recommend Dan and local sauce tour enough!!read moreread less
- s d Wisudo28/02/2025Had a great time with Justin exploring Thaitown Sydney, on a sunny Sunday arvo.. Had plenty to sample and our stop at Pontip Thai Market and tasting that pickled mango was super interesting.. and, after all the delicious spicy flavours during the tour it was perfect ending with ChatThai’s ‘mango, coconut pancake and sticky rice’ dessert! Yum.. Highly recommend!read moreread less
- Evan Rezansoff23/02/2025This review is for a food tour in Newtown. We had a lovely afternoon with Andrew. He kept the tour at a comfortable pace and incorporated some stops to feature local street art. He was knowledgeable about the history of the area and local culture. The restaurants featured were all hits. Would highly recommend to anyone visiting Sydney.read moreread less
- Amy Mason20/02/2025Had a wonderful tour with Steve. I learned a lot about the history of Sydney, and got to visit some places that I would otherwise have not seen. I really enjoyed the jaunt into the botanical gardens – especially the well timed kookaburra, and the corpse flower stories (I now have a mission to see one bloom with a nose plug handy). The pace was great, the beer at the end was nice – and we got a great recommendation for some tasty vegan tacos in Newtown after the tour. Plus extra bonus points for some top notch and also rubbish dad jokes. I also really appreciated the booking experience. Justin was very quick to respond to questions, and even helped us to successfully move our booking last minute due to a calender error! Thanks Stevie, Gerard, Jean, and Amyread moreread less
- LauraGrace112618/02/2025Justin is the bar to measure all guides by! We are overdue on writing this review. Upon arriving in Sydney over 2 weeks ago, we started our trip with this tour by Justin. His personality and storytelling had us enthralled. Every person in our group was so impressed by him. If only we had teachers like him in school, perhaps we’d actually remember what we were taught! We expected that every guide in Australia would be of this caliber, but sadly, he ruined it for us. Not one has come close to Justin’s delivery and in depth subject knowledge. There have been so many tours in the last two weeks, where we’ve looked atone another, shaken our heads and said, “he’s no comparison to Justin”!Book this tour with Local Sauce ( and Justin). You won’t be disappointed! Laura and Mikeread moreread less
- LauraGrace112618/02/2025We are overdue on writing this review. Upon arriving in Sydney over 2 weeks ago, we started our trip with this tour by Justin. His personality and storytelling had us enthralled. Every person in our group was so impressed by him. If only we had teachers like him in school, perhaps we’d actually remember what we were taught! We expected that every guide in Australia would be of this caliber, but sadly, he ruined it for us. Not one has come close to Justin’s delivery and in depth subject knowledge. There have been so many tours in the last two weeks, where we’ve looked atone another, shaken our heads and said, “he’s no comparison to Justin”!Book this tour with Local Sauce ( and Justin). You won’t be disappointed! Laura and Mikeread moreread less
- Dwain M17/02/2025Steve was great at explaining the city, but his jokes were terrible, and I begged him to stop halfway through. The walk is quite long, over three hours, but I think it’s a good way to see the city. You can grab a coffee halfway through and finish with a beer. You come away with a firm grasp of the rich heritage of Sydney.read moreread lesschicagostewardess17/02/2025Our guide was Daniel. He was at our meeting point early and with a smile. A smile that lasted the entire 3.5 hour tour. He shared with us his enthusiasm of learning Australian and Sydney’s history. And making his tour entertaining, interesting and coherent. Daniel had so much information that he had to stop himself for fear of making the tour much longer. The route of the tour gave us a fantastic overview of Sydney’s history from the almost original buildings like the hospital, custom house and barracks. The pace of the tour was perfect and Daniel kept up his energy the entire time while talking. I felt that Daniel far exceeded our expectations and I can’t encourage you enough to take this tour. You will learn a lot and have a better understating of Sydney and Australia. And if Daniel is an option to lead the tour, I guarantee that you will have a fun, informative guide, with a genuine smile, for the whole 3.5 hours.read moreread less
- Joseph S13/02/2025It was a walking tour that felt less like a chore and more like a friendly stroll with an old mate who just happens to know a hell of a lot about Sydney. Michael, our guide, was a treasure trove of stories, weaving together the city’s past with the kind of passion that makes you lean in and listen a little closer. He had a knack for bringing to life the rugged tales of Terra Australis—from the indigenous history to the colonial misadventures that shaped this vibrant metropolis.As we wound our way through the streets, the pace was just right—not too rushed, but never dragging either. And then, to reward our wanderings, we were guided to the final stop which was at a brewhouse at the end of the tour, cold craft beers in hand. The view? A breathtaking panorama of the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House, glistening like a postcard you never want to leave behind. Whether you’re flying solo or rolling with a group, this tour is a gateway into Sydney’s soul—a brilliant introduction to a city that has a way of wrapping itself around you. Cheers to Michael for guiding us through it all. Highly recommend it.read moreread less
- T K09/02/2025I had an amazing tour with Steve! He was very informative and I’m super thankful that he was happy to go on a slower pace to answer our questions and give us more information when he found out what interested us. Because of this, we went over time, and he was happy to do so. One of the best walking tours I’ve ever been on!read moreread less
- Andy06/03/2025This was a fantastic tour of Sydney! Steve, our host, was part historian and part comedian. He shared the history and sites of the city in a way that our family remembered and talked about for days. It also helped orient us as we explored the city independently afterwards. Highly recommend!read moreread lessKiah04/03/2025Dan was incredible! He was super knowledgeable and shared so many amazing and interesting facts as we took the tour! We walked a lot of the city center but didn’t really feel like it because Dan has us engaged and laughing the entire time! Even the Aussies on our tour learned some things they didn’t know! lol Don’t hesitate… definitely book this tour… you won’t be disappointed at all ♥️read moreread less
- Tiffany03/03/2025Great walking tour to understand Sydney and its history. It’s lot of walking so for those who cannot walk a lot, may want to think twice. Steve was our guide, a fun loving guy who likes to throw in jokes. Ended the tour with a beer, which was great for a sunny day.read moreread lessAlicia02/03/2025Bunny is an incredible guide – great energy, very knowledgeable. We sampled a variety of street food from different regions of China while learning about the history of the Chinese community in Australia and Sydneys Chinatown.
What made this tour special was we stopped at places you might miss on your own and Bunny. seriously i would go on any tour she led.read moreread lessGlory Elaine01/03/2025Dan was great! The perfect combination of educating and entertaining, we loved it! I enjoyed the personal touches like giving us a ANZAC biscuit (cookie) when telling us about the men who fought in WWll. I would definitely go on this tour again, highly recommended!read moreread less - Surojit21/02/2025If you find yourself with an evening to spare in Sydney and aren’t sure what to do, this experience is definitely worth checking out! Justin and his team are incredibly responsive and genuinely passionate about making sure you have a great time. Bunny, our host for the evening was fantastic. She made us feel comfortable right from the start and took us to some really cool bars. She also had plenty of interesting stories to share, which made the night even more fun. I had a great time and would absolutely recommend this experience!read moreread less
- Jeff15/02/2025This is a must do experience. It was easily one of my favorite tours not just in Sydney, but that I’ve done anywhere. Dan, the host, was incredibly social and did a great job of creating a fun and comfortable environment. Every bar we went to was cool and didn’t feel touristy which was amazing. I can’t recommend this enough.read moreread lessLyse15/02/2025What a great day spent with Daniel. He is super friendly and attentive. The knowledge Daniel has of his city is impressive. Little attentions. It is easy to see that Daniel loves history and his city. We finished off with a beer at the Squire Landing. I truly recommend this tour.read moreread less
- Ben Scott05/02/2023Awesome experience doing the Chinatown food tour today! Both my parents couldn’t stop raving about this experience and the food they would never of eaten plus the local art work we would have just walked past/ history of the area.
This was a great experience and could recommend this tour highly enough. As a Sydney sider I was gob smacked with how good the tour was! Definetly will be back for more tours! Thanks for the awesome hospitality Justin!read moreread less - Melis Akiz14/01/2020Aussie You’s Secret Bar Crawl covering the Darlinghurst and Surry Hills neighborhoods was easily the highlight of my time in Sydney! Justin took us to some really unique places and made sure that everyone in the group connected well that most of us chose to continue our night after the tour was completed. You should definitely try this tour and I promise you will not just have a blast but also enjoy a unique experience with a knowledgeable and caring guide that you will not forget.read moreread less
- Kate Chen14/12/2019Justin的bar crawl非常值得來參加!整個晚上就像是有個當地朋友帶你去只有當地人才知道的酒吧去玩,他選了風格不同且都很獨特的酒吧,是我們不會知道要去的地方。
Justin人非常友善及幽默風趣,讓你覺得很自在放鬆且有趣!
另外他中文説得也很不錯,所以不用擔心英文不夠好。很推薦參加Justin的bar crawl tour 完美體驗當地夜生活 :)
Justin’s bar crawl is so much fun! It’s like a local friend showing you around the coolest bars while you visit his city! He picked the bars that you would not go by yourselves and he is very friendly and fun to hang out with! Perfect for solo travelers to meet new friends and enjoy local night vibe! Highly recommended!read moreread lessBen Ridding11/12/20195 out of 5 stars. Joined the hidden bar tour after finding a flyer for AussieYou Tours in the hostel I was staying. Tour was great, got to see a completely different bar scene that you would just not find from google searches or normal research methods. Pretty sure that most Sydney residents would not be aware of some of the bars we went to. Justin was a fantastic host, as well as taking the group around cool bars he kept the group entertained with interesting history on Sydney and teaching us Aussie Slang. Would recommend this tour for anybody visiting Sydney and for Sydney residents who want to see a side to the city they might not have been before.read moreread less - Sarah Ann12/04/2019I went on Justin’s secret city bar crawl tour in Sydney with a friend. We had such an amazing time that we had to book the secret Surry Hills bar crawl as well! Both nights were exceptional and Justin is a really good host! The bars we went to were really cool and I definitely would not of stumbled across them!! I really do recommend going on these tours if you are in Sydney, you won’t be disappointed!read moreread less