The experience:
We took the Nosh food tour at SLS with tour guide Joel and 8 other couples in May. Joel has been a local for many years and was knowledgable about a wide variety of facts and figures. The tour was overall enjoyable and gave us the opportunity to meet the managers at four restaurants who welcomed us with details and facts one wouldn't normally hear at the dining table.
One recommendation I have is to encourage people to introduce themselves or have a quick ice-breaker activity. It was a bit awkward to start our dining experience at a large table in a private room in Katsuya without saying much to the people across the table. Conversation was a bit easier at the other restaurants where we sat in closer proximity.
Before we came, someone had mentioned these tours allowed a glimpse into the kitchen areas and provided a lot of inside information on the culinary preparation. That wasn't the case with this tour. Perhaps I was mistaken with another tour company or location. We basically walked to four restaurants in the SLS and had a fairly typical dining experience.
The value:
We used a Groupon and I think the value was just right at $59 for two. Without the discount, I don't think we'd pay full price to do this again for $59 per person.
This is what I approximate the value of the food items (actual serving size in parentheses), price as shown on menu, then itemized Nosh serving price including tax and 15% gratuity per serving:
Katsuya:
(1/2) Baked Crab Hand Roll at $17 for 2 = $5.25
(2) Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna at $18 for 4 = $11.25
800 Degrees Neopolitan Pizza:
(1/8) Pie with Margherita base, mozzarella and basil $10.65 = $1.75
(1/8) Pie with Bianca base, mushroom and arugula $9.85 = $1.50
Ku Noodle:
(1) Shrimp & Pork Siu Mai with gold flake $9.88 for 6 = $2.00
(1) Chicken Siu Mai $9.88 for 6 = $2.00
Umami Burger:
(1/4) Truffle Burger at $13 for a whole burger = $4.00
Total in food, I approximate to be $27.75 including tax and tip. We also tipped our guide for a job well done -- understand he should be compensated for his time too! Overall, it was a nice experience and we were able to sample 4 restaurants in about 2 hours.