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 4,500 five-star reviews
All Reviews 5.0
-
Google 4.9
-
TripAdvisor 5.0
-
Airbnb 5.0
-
GetYourGuide 5.0
- Ben Kriegel12/05/2026Michael was an incredibly talented guide on my Sydney Walking Tour. He deserves to be recognised for his distinguished knowledge of the city, its history, and being an all out amazing guide. I could not more highly recommend Michael and Local Sauce Tours if you’re visiting Sydney or a local. I wish I had more time in town to do another tour with the company. There’s a reason why Local Sauce is the #1 tour company in Sydney on Trip Advisor, and my experience tells exactly that.read moreread less
- Amber Bond02/05/2026From start to finish we had a fantastic time on this tour. We wanted to go on this tour as a starting point for our trip to Sydney and was so worth it. Steve was fantastic and such a wealth of knowledge. We learned so much history and saw so many different sights while on the tour. We were a small group but a mighty group of ladies! We made friends on our tour and had a great time. We would recommend this tour to anyone on their first trip to Sydney or anyone wanting to know facts and information or just be there for Steve’s great jokes. Thank you for a fantastic time.read moreread less
Amber01/05/2026From start to finish we had a fantastic time on this tour. We wanted to go on this tour as a starting point for our trip to Sydney and was so worth it. Steve was fantastic and such a wealth of knowledge. We learned so much history and saw so many different sights while on the tour. We were a small group but a mighty group of ladies! We made friends on our tour and had a great time. We would recommend this tour to anyone on their first trip to Sydney or anyone wanting to know facts and information or just be there for Steve’s great jokes. Thank you for a fantastic time.read moreread less- Jamey Lee27/04/2026The Ultimate Aussie Food Tour was one of the highlights of my family’s time in Sydney. Our tour guide, Bruce, was not only knowledgeable, professional, and interesting, but also, funny, caring, thoughtful, adaptable, and attentive to each of our individual needs.
The tour is very well-structured, and food stops well-spaced and varied. To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the food on the tour; I hadn’t expected this based on reading the list of foods we would be trying. I still daydream of the flakey pastry and savoury filling of the meat pie. I also didn’t expect the crocodile and kangaroo meats to be so flavorful and tender.
You won’t regret booking this semi-private walking tour. It is worthwhile from start to finish.read moreread less - Gunter Bauer27/04/2026Relaxed walking tour, packed with a lot of information, but presented in a funny and entertaining way.
I did this tour 2,5 years ago already together with the owner and founder of this small business, Justin. I was excited! As I am my self a tour guide in Berlin, offering as well 3,5hours tours (but not walking, in my cab). This time I joined together with my partner and a second cousin, who studies momentously in Sydney. It’s a small group with maximum 6-8 participants. Justin took the time to introduce us to him and the others, to get something like “friends”, at least for the time of the tour. The tour starts at Customs House, and then leads through the important historical sites of Sydney City, the first Government House, including Royal Botanic Garden and Hyde Park, the old hospital there, as well the historical Mall on George Street. Then a walk through the rocks, seeing the origin of Sydney, done by convicts. But you won’t miss related stories about the first nation people, the Aboriginees, and how they got in contact to the British explorers. As well many anecdotes about those people in the past. Our guide this time, Steve, was excellent on telling these often funny stories, and how they often needed hundred of years to complete e.g. the Catholic Cathedral. The tour ends at the Squire’s Landing, with the view on Sydney Opera House, having a free drink of beer or a non alcohol beverage. Justin and this time Steve, both took pictures of the group, as remembrance on this beautiful and very interesting walking tour.
Between the stops there’s plenty of time of questions of interest or understanding, and our guide this time used any red light stop for a good joke.
It’s at all a more historic and architectural city tour (my favourites), but those which are more interested in food, art, and culture, are getting also a lot of additional information. Always told in a funny and relaxed way, so you can really enjoy. Go for it!read moreread less
- Ben Kriegel12/05/2026Michael was an incredibly talented guide on my Sydney Walking Tour. He deserves to be recognised for his distinguished knowledge of the city, its history, and being an all out amazing guide. I could not more highly recommend Michael and Local Sauce Tours if you’re visiting Sydney or a local. I wish I had more time in town to do another tour with the company. There’s a reason why Local Sauce is the #1 tour company in Sydney on Trip Advisor, and my experience tells exactly that.read moreread less
- Amber Bond02/05/2026From start to finish we had a fantastic time on this tour. We wanted to go on this tour as a starting point for our trip to Sydney and was so worth it. Steve was fantastic and such a wealth of knowledge. We learned so much history and saw so many different sights while on the tour. We were a small group but a mighty group of ladies! We made friends on our tour and had a great time. We would recommend this tour to anyone on their first trip to Sydney or anyone wanting to know facts and information or just be there for Steve’s great jokes. Thank you for a fantastic time.read moreread less
- Jamey Lee27/04/2026The Ultimate Aussie Food Tour was one of the highlights of my family’s time in Sydney. Our tour guide, Bruce, was not only knowledgeable, professional, and interesting, but also, funny, caring, thoughtful, adaptable, and attentive to each of our individual needs.
The tour is very well-structured, and food stops well-spaced and varied. To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the food on the tour; I hadn’t expected this based on reading the list of foods we would be trying. I still daydream of the flakey pastry and savoury filling of the meat pie. I also didn’t expect the crocodile and kangaroo meats to be so flavorful and tender.
You won’t regret booking this semi-private walking tour. It is worthwhile from start to finish.read moreread less - Gunter Bauer27/04/2026Relaxed walking tour, packed with a lot of information, but presented in a funny and entertaining way.
I did this tour 2,5 years ago already together with the owner and founder of this small business, Justin. I was excited! As I am my self a tour guide in Berlin, offering as well 3,5hours tours (but not walking, in my cab). This time I joined together with my partner and a second cousin, who studies momentously in Sydney. It’s a small group with maximum 6-8 participants. Justin took the time to introduce us to him and the others, to get something like “friends”, at least for the time of the tour. The tour starts at Customs House, and then leads through the important historical sites of Sydney City, the first Government House, including Royal Botanic Garden and Hyde Park, the old hospital there, as well the historical Mall on George Street. Then a walk through the rocks, seeing the origin of Sydney, done by convicts. But you won’t miss related stories about the first nation people, the Aboriginees, and how they got in contact to the British explorers. As well many anecdotes about those people in the past. Our guide this time, Steve, was excellent on telling these often funny stories, and how they often needed hundred of years to complete e.g. the Catholic Cathedral. The tour ends at the Squire’s Landing, with the view on Sydney Opera House, having a free drink of beer or a non alcohol beverage. Justin and this time Steve, both took pictures of the group, as remembrance on this beautiful and very interesting walking tour.
Between the stops there’s plenty of time of questions of interest or understanding, and our guide this time used any red light stop for a good joke.
It’s at all a more historic and architectural city tour (my favourites), but those which are more interested in food, art, and culture, are getting also a lot of additional information. Always told in a funny and relaxed way, so you can really enjoy. Go for it!read moreread lessJackie Brown24/04/2026Our guide Roger was well informed about the history of Chinatown. The tour was well organised, the tastings were authentic Chinese streetfood, the ingredients being fully explained beforehand, as well as family culture and traditions of foods sampled.
The pace was leisurely enabling plenty of time for photos and questions.
We now feel more informed about where to eat and where to go to appreciate the culture of Chinatown. We highly recommend this walking tour.read moreread less
Navigate0845321973320/04/2026Our Local Sauce tour in Newtown/Chewtown was outstanding and one of the highlights of our Australia trip. First, it was great getting out of the Sydney CBD and into the cool and quirky scene of Newtown. Justin was an amazing guide! His genuine enthusiasm and knowledge of the street art and food scene came through, and he was happy to share it with us. While feeling relaxed we made it over a dozen street art locations with interesting story behind each. We made four food sample tops during our walking art tour and finished up with a beer in a local brewery. It was all outstanding!read moreread less
Jennifer H13/04/2026The Refugee Chef Dinner Banquet is such a wonderful opportunity to have a great home cooked meal and to support an important cause. Lucy was lovely host who kept the evening moving and made sure everyone was enjoying themselves. I made a lot of new friends and had delicious Tamil food. This is an excellent event if you’re looking for something different with a personal touch. Thank you, Lucy and our guest chef!read moreread less
Jennifer H13/04/2026This was an amazing experience and I highly recommend it! Melinda, our guide, was an expert on street art and provided so much context and information about the area and the local artists. We really felt like an insider traveling through back alleys and side streets to see the changing art form. Not only was the food great, but we left with even more recommendations of where to visit next. Do this tour at the beginning of your trip, since it’s a wonderful way to spend an afternoon off the tourist track and to get to know a vibrant neighborhood in the Inner West!read moreread less
Dennis R12/04/2026Really nice tour. Overall great introduction to the Newtown neighborhood. The quality of the street Art is, at times, amazing. There are endless food choices, and the vibe of the whole community is a gritty rebellious fun. Highly recommend, and if you can get Melinda, that’s a bonus. Shes absolutely the best.read moreread less
Harvey C07/04/2026We had an excellent tour with Matt today! He was happy to answer any questions we had and we covered all the main areas in Central Sydney during our 4 hour tour. The tour group was a good size. Highly recommend doing this tour to see how all the areas of Central Sydney fit together!read moreread less
Amber01/05/2026From start to finish we had a fantastic time on this tour. We wanted to go on this tour as a starting point for our trip to Sydney and was so worth it. Steve was fantastic and such a wealth of knowledge. We learned so much history and saw so many different sights while on the tour. We were a small group but a mighty group of ladies! We made friends on our tour and had a great time. We would recommend this tour to anyone on their first trip to Sydney or anyone wanting to know facts and information or just be there for Steve’s great jokes. Thank you for a fantastic time.read moreread less
Yoko&Shun26/04/2026We really enjoyed joining Local Sauce Tours.
We didn’t expect that such a compact and walkable area in central Brisbane could be filled with so many highlights, as well as insights into its history, culture, nature, and geography.
The tour was incredibly informative and helped us understand the city on a much deeper level, especially by showing us places we would have easily missed on our own.
They also answered all of our questions thoroughly, which we really appreciated.
On top of that, we got great recommendations for delicious bread and lunch spots, which was super helpful.
The tour was very well organized, with a thoughtful route and smooth pacing — we highly recommend it!read moreread less
Jody22/04/202610/10!
We had an absolutely fantastic time on this tour with Saskia. She was warm, engaging and incredibly knowledgeable, bringing Brisbane’s history and culture to life in a way that never felt like a “tour” at all.
The pace was perfect, relaxed and easy, with a great mix of well-known highlights and places we never would have found on our own. It felt really thoughtfully put together, with plenty of interesting stories, local insights and little hidden gems along the way.
Such a fun and enjoyable experience, and a brilliant way to get a feel for the city. Highly recommend, especially if you want something informative but still light, social and genuinely entertaining. We will now do their Sydney tour when next there.read moreread less
- Robert10/04/2026Roger our guide was awesome! So passionate about the history and food scene. We tasted some delicious street food. Glad to support the local family owned restaurants. Thoughtful history of the Chinese community and what they endured over the years. Highly recommended!read moreread less
- Narelle10/04/2026We highly recommend the tour. Tom our guide was friendly and had a wealth of knowledge on the city and the fabulous artworks we encountered as we leisurely walked streets and laneways. So many art pieces to view, many we could have walked past if they weren’t pointed out to us. We also stopped in at hidden bars, all with their own unique vibe. These tour was most enjoyable.read moreread less




























































