Taste of Carlsbad Village
Thursday, October 8, 2026 | 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Taste of Carlsbad Village sold out in 33 minutes. Thank you for the incredible support of this event.
If you experienced difficulties purchasing tickets this morning, we sincerely apologize.
This is the first year we have experienced issues like this with our ticketing platform, which has worked perfectly for the past seven events, and we take what happened very seriously. The event’s growing popularity created an unprecedented volume of traffic, and despite implementing a “wait room” feature in response to attendee feedback from previous years, Stripe experienced unexpected credit card processing issues. We are working closely with our ticketing partner to understand what happened and ensure that this doesn't happen again.
Your Confirmation email (check your spam folder if you don't see it at first) is record of your ticket purchase.
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Carlsbad’s Most Delicious Night Returns!
The Taste of Carlsbad Village is sold out for 2026.
From signature bites and decadent desserts to craft beer, wine, and cocktails, this self-guided tasting tour highlights the very best of our local culinary scene. Restaurants, chefs, breweries, and beverage makers will be serving up their finest as you stroll through the Village —sip cup and spork in hand.
This event sells out every year, so be sure to mark your calendars and grab your tickets as soon as they’re available. Last year tickets sold out in under an hour!
From the essential culinary must-haves to the hottest new eateries, Taste of Carlsbad Village presents the best restaurants, chefs, wineries, craft brew, and specialty drinks the Carlsbad food scene has to offer. Carlsbad Village Association limits the number of ticketholders to 1,000 to ensure a quality experience for all involved.
What to Expect
This self-guided tour of our amazing downtown, complete with local musicians playing along the route for awesome ambiance, is fun for everyone! Whether you are dining solo, are a couple out for a night of fun, on a group date night or a girl's night out, or even a family adventure, Taste of Carlsbad Village is the place to be.
With a passport to guide you and a reusable, monogrammed stainless-steel spork (and sip cup if you are purchasing a Food + Sip Stop ticket) in hand, you will navigate your way through downtown Carlsbad, meet the restaurant owners, managers, and chefs, and enjoy tasty bites at each location you visit. For those with an upgraded Food + Sip Stop ticket, you will also be able to enjoy craft beer, wine, and cocktails provided by local beverage companies that will be located in retail locations along the route. The retail locations host the Sip Stops allowing you to browse, shop, and discover new small businesses that are sure to become your new favorites.
For Taste ticket holders, each ticket offers a unique experience:
The Food Only option includes signature bites from dozens of downtown Carlsbad’s finest restaurants, accompanied by a variety of non-alcoholic beverages.
The Food + Sip Stops ticket adds to the culinary experience with craft beer, local wines, hard kombucha, hard seltzers, and cocktails, creating the perfect pairing with the delicious bites from participating restaurants.
Adding to the excitement is the return of the VIP Experience sponsored by CalRes Homes. Limited to just 100 guests, this elevated package begins an hour early at 4:00 p.m. with a private reception at Comman Goods, a gorgeous home decor retail shop and event space. Live music, wine, and appetizers create a celebratory atmosphere before VIP guests head out into the Village with their Food + Sip Stop tickets in hand. There will be fun prize giveaways during the reception, and each guest will also take home a custom parting gift made just for this night by Max Glass.
Tickets are priced at $55 for Food Only, $70 for Food + Sip Stop (21+), and $120 for the VIP Experience (21+). This event is limited to 1,000 people.
Taste of Carlsbad Village has sold out every year since its inception, and 2026 promises to be no different. With its blend of culinary creativity, community spirit, and vibrant downtown setting, it is one of the most anticipated events on Carlsbad’s calendar. Foodies are encouraged to mark their calendars in order to secure tickets early!
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you offer a children's food ticket? We do not offer a separate ticket for our young eaters. This event is often "date night" or a "girls' night out" due to it being an evening event, but our youngest eaters can certainly join you and nibble on your samples.
Is this event dog-friendly? While Carlsbad Village is one of the most dog friendly downtowns, this event is not suited for dogs. Some of the restaurants serve from inside, where dogs are not allowed, and all Sip Stop locations are inside retail businesses which makes it very tricky to maneuver beverage sipping and leashes at the same time. Service animals are, of course, permitted.
Will there be non-alcoholic drinks available? Yes. In addition to water stations, we have non-alcoholic beverage providers on the route, available to all ticket holders.
Is this event ADA accessible? Absolutely! Taste of Carlsbad Village is a self-guided tour of downtown Carlsbad using sidewalks, ramps, etc. Consider it a night out in downtown Carlsbad.
Where will restrooms be available? We will identify restrooms on the route, including ones at the Village Faire Shopping Center for this event. All have ADA accessibility.
Where should we park? We highly recommend carpooling and Uber. In addition to street parking, there are public parking lots throughout downtown. Visit this PARKING link on our website to learn more about available parking lots.
How do we pick up our passports and wristbands for the event? Upon purchasing a ticket, you will receive pre-event and day-of passport pickup information. Two weeks prior to the event ticket holders will receive an email reminder with additional details on passport pickup, wristband station locations on the route, etc.
Are tickets refundable or transferable? Tickets are not refundable, but they are transferable. Gift them to someone if you cannot use them!
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