Sur La Table

I seem to visit Sur La Table at least every other week to see what’s new. I DEFINITELY prefer it over Williams-​Sonoma. I find Sur La Tab much more affordable and their staff more knowledgeable. They even have a better return policy than Will-​Sono. 60 days is adequate enough to aid in my decision making compared to 30 days at the other place. Plus Phipps & Sur La Tab in general are much more quieter than the hell we’ve all come to know as Lenox…
Received wonderful customer service from a young lady, Ellen. Even offered me some samples of deliciousness and tips on how to prepare at home. For these reasons, I am a loyal customer.

If you want a cooking experience that violates Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, then Sur La Table is the place for you. My surprise birthday date for my fiancé was ruined after we repeatedly witnessed one of our tablemates playing in her hair while preparing the food for our table. This unsanitary food handling was one of many issues I witnessed, as picture taking with cell phones while handling food was also common. Most people have probably seen media reports indicating that our cell phones carry the MOST germs (
). However, this was not a concern for our chef at Sur la Table. The chef, who was often busy with other students, was inattentive to food preparation and she offered NO cooking advice or tips. Instead, we were directed to read a 10 page packet that included the recipes for our meals.
I only survived 30 minutes of the 2.5-hour course due to unbearable unsanitary conditions in the cooking class. In an effort not to draw attention to my dissatisfaction, I decided to privately discuss my concerns with Charlotte, the store manager. Charlotte advised me that the culinary manager would contact me on the following morning to address my concerns. However, similar to Sur La Table’s flawed cooking class design, inexperienced assistant chefs, and reckless chef, the negligent culinary manger failed to respond to my concern. Thus, I followed up with the store and spoke with an extremely rude culinary manager, Pachelle, who showed no empathy for the situation. Her lack of customer service was demonstrated when she immediately advised me that my money would not be refunded because «the class description indicates that you will be cooking with other students.» Pashelle should refer to the class description as well because it also indicates students should «have long hair tied back». Furthermore, the description only states «you will be cooking with other students», not that the other students will prepare the food you will consume. I’ve attended other communal cooking classes, Cook’s Warehouse, where attendees prepared their own food while only sharing the working station.
The FDA provides health regulations for Personal Dress and Hygiene, Food Handling, and Utensils and Equipment for establishments that prepare food for others. I witnessed several FDA violations during my cooking class. First, the student cooks who are preparing food for others were not required to wash their hands at critical points such as after handling raw eggs, touching cell phones, or playing in their hair. I witnessed my tablemate restyle her hair during food preparation. She parted the back of her hair with her fingers and then rearranging it onto both of her shoulders. She also scooped her long hair into both hands and proceeded to rub it from top to bottom. I then witnessed my tablemate continue to prepare the food that would later be served to our table. Second, hair restraints were not worn by anyone during the class. Third, utensils were not properly stored or handled to avoid touching parts that would be in direct contact with the food. Students’ unclean and ungloved hands touched the utensils that were on display face-​up which would later make contact with the ingredients. Fourth, work stations were not washed and sanitized between uses. I mentioned to the chef assistant that the cutting board was dirty and she advised me to flip it over to the other side.
It should not be the responsibility of the student cooks/​customers to advise other students or the chefs of unsanitary food handling. Instead, Sur la Table should provide more instruction and oversight during the class.
Please be mindful of my experience if you choose a cooking class at Sur La Table.

Sur La Table is stocked full of stuff you need and don’t need, and some of it is expensive and some of it isn’t.
Their return policy is particularly bad. You have 60 days to make a decision on a product and after that you’re stuck with it. The store manager has his act together and will do what he needs to in order to make it right, but their corporate office is clearly not full of people who have had to work with the customers on a regular basis.
Best reasons to go to this store: the cooking demo/​class room is good and the topics are interesting. It’s a good place to go for gifts.
Reasons not to go: it’s so full of stuff that anyone with OCD might lose their mind. Return policy is crap. Some junior staff aren’t the most proactive.

I love Sur La Table! I was introduced to the store by a friend of mine in North Carolina. We went to get these caramel marshmallows and they were simply delicious! Being a junk food junkie I couldn’t wait to get back home to buy them. And I did! I go every so often and usually that’s all I go for. The mini taste of heaven are right at the register, so I’m in and out. However, on a recent trip there I was treated very rudely by the sales clerk Sonya. Initially, I was in the store with my seven year old daughter and asked where the cornstick pans were. She pointed to where they might be and she was right, but after I found them and my candy, she had me wait. She decided to go tinker with a coffee machine that was on display. I would think a paying customer would get service over a display item. My husband and son walked in and my husband asked what’s going on? I explained how I was waiting to cash out, but she was too busy. Being frustrated I just walked out. We all did, but then my husband went back. He said he asked Sonya for her manager and now all of the sudden she was able to help. The manager (who was helping a customer) looked unconcerned with the matter. My husband walked out disgusted and in disbelief with their customer service, especially since the store is located in a high-​end Mall. Why should I have to explain to my 7 year old about her brown skin? Ridiculous…

By far the best Sur La Table I’ve been to.
Greeted by 2 employees within 10 minutes with offered assistance.
The manager was busy walking around, but had the time to stop and greet customers including myself and see if we needed help with anything.
I was looking around for some coffee equipment and found it all here.
Even if they didn’t have it; it can always be ordered online.
Friendly service! :)

very nice store. staff was friendly and helpful. picked up a cooking class schedule and I am dying I try one of their classes. each class has a max of 16 students and the food you cook seems very interesting — they have Indian, Korean, Mediterranean, and Italian choices.

I love this store so much and all the employees are so professional and helpful. They offer coffee while you shop but not just any coffee but very high-​quality lattes and espressos. Never have I felt more welcome in a store! Many great gifts and housewares have been purchased here and i’ll continue to visit!

I have mixed feelings about this location and prefer the one at the Perimeter mall. Yes, this location is stocked with cooking equipment, much of it imported from Europe. I love little Eiffel Towers and Paris-​themed aprons and cocktail napkins. They also offer cooking classes, so it often smells nice. However, staff is not friendly and seems obsessed on trying to get you to purchase. I’m turned off by this aggressive salesmanship and thus make my purchases at the Perimeter location. They also offer you Nespresso coffee there, and the Vitamix sales rep here is not very polite/​friendly. Sad how staff can make or break a place. In the area, I prefer Williams and Sonoma for this reason.

Exquisite. That’s one word summary I would give to this shop. Of course, you should know that this word naturally brings a high price tag, but then again, what did you expect in Phipps Plaza?
They have some of the most interesting cookware I’ve seen, accessories that I’ve never imagined existed. In a recent example, I found a great little tea infuser here that is just a wire bulb that can be filled with tea and a little chain to pull it out of a tea cup. Perfect for a one cup preparation if you don’t want to bust out the teapot. The quality of items is also phenomenal throughout, so I don’t think you’ll regret your purchase. Service was quick and easy, lots of employees available to help.
One more thing, they do knife sharpening for Wusthof for $ 5 a piece I believe. So, if you have nice knives, look no further.

Yes I like this store there are so many things to look and admire, to want or decide you need. Hey if you can’t have it now well maybe later this is why wishlists are made.
Some will argue that we all have an «angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other» walking into Sur La I know an argument with myself will begin within minutes of entering.
Oh how cute = put it back.
Wow this is neat = put down.
I’ve never seen one of these = and shouldn’t have or you probably can’t afford it.
Ya, ya go ahead and laugh.
Cocktail napkins and smoking chips are just some of the recent purchases and am seriously looking at some of the cooking classes !
If you don’t see it or can’t find it just ask the staff is most helpful.

I’m a Williams Sonoma snob, and the fact that this location replaced a William Sonoma makes me not want to like it just that much more.
When I go into this location, it just looks like someone took a crap load of kitchen gear and threw it in the store and where it landed is where it stayed. There is stuff piled on top of stuff in this location.
At the cash register, its like, do you mind in if move all this crap you have sitting up here to put my purse down and pay you.
The staff is a little more laid back than the Williams Sonoma crew, but IMO that doesn’t make a better customer service experience here either. Most times, they wait until you ask them a specific question before they will greet or address you.
I have stood inside and wondered if that huge kitchen area to the rear of the store would be a good place to take cooking classes, but in the 3 times I’ve been to this location, no one has ever mentioned the cooking classes or invited me to one.
Not only did Williams Sonoma offer complementarity classes on Sunday, they also had paid classes and you could see them on a board in the front of the store or they had hand outs with the various classes listed.
I went in today and they had something cooking, I asked what’s that smell, neither of the two associates that were standing near the register have answered me yet. insert another Williams Sonoma comparison… they would not only have a sign telling you what was cooking, but they practically force a sampling on you at some point in time in your shopping experience.
I did give them a an extra star for cookie cutters. Leave it to me to want heart shaped cookie cutters the day before Valentines. Everyone else is selling them at $ 5 a whop or they are out of stock, and Sur la Table has them in two sizes and prices range from $ 1– $ 1.25
14 of 100

I love, love, love Sur la Table stores in general. Every time I enter one, it makes me want to become a professional chef just to have an excuse to buy all the expensive, unnecessary but oh-​so-​pretty tools, pots, pans, knives, strawberry corers, grill baskets, blenders, and espresso machines.
Sur la Table is pretty overpriced for even the most basic of kitchen necessities, but the high end kitchen ware brands like La Creuset, all copper pots and pans, unusual sized cake and cupcake molds, cookbooks, fancy-​schmancy chef branded mixes and cookbooks and olive oils, grilling molds for items you never even knew needed grilling, and 1,500 different plate and place mat designs plus matching cocktail napkins more than makes up for it.
Oftentimes, they often have cooking or tool usage demonstrations in-​store and samples of coffee or other goodies whipped up on site to try, that’s also a nice bonus. While I very rarely purchase anything, I very much enjoy looking at all the odds and ends and unusual products they have in stock. And whenever I do need something odd ball like an irregularly sized spring form pan or miniature eco-​friendly cutting board, I know where to turn. If Sur la Table ain’t got it, ain’t nobody else got it (not even Williams — Sonoma).

Yay! Sur la Table is at Phipps! I LOVED this store. First off, it’s a beautiful store. Second off, they sell ice cube trays (you’d be surprised at how hard it is to find ice cube trays in Atlanta). Finally, they have this beautiful demonstration kitchen for cooking classes and I am so excited to try a cooking class out. I signed up for their mailing list and got a personalized email thanking me for my purchase and my visit to Sur la Table. Best Store Ever.

When I heard they were closing WS at Phipps, I was somewhat distraught. I kept thinking to myself, «what are they going to put here that can surpass it?»
Sure enough, they were able to pull it off. They put a Sur la Table in its place. Over the years, I have always gotten catalogs but never had the chance to see the stuff first hand.
Now I have that option at Phipps (apparently at Perimeter as well, but I don’t go there as it is always mobbed), I can knock another item off my long-​ass «things to do list».
The store itself, bright, and spacious. The aisles are slightly narrow, but easy to get around. They also have a full kitchen/​classroom that is state of the art (damn I wanna teach some classes there!). The knife display is the biggest I have seen anywhere outside a knife shop, and they are quality German and Japanese steel (even some hardcore US ones!).
Hell, there are even public restrooms! It is amazing what they did with the space (as it seems WS didn’t utilize the space as much). I did realize though, they use topstock to reduce the size of the backroom stock (as WS kept the majority of the stock in the back, which I can see). But I like the idea of topstock, as that is what we used to do at Linens N Things (ahh the high school memories) — it just gives color to the walls and what not, and you can tell if they have an item in stock (assuming its in the right place).
They also have a huge baking selection here (beware bakers!), which can be hard to find around the city, unless you don’t mind travelling the distance and paying top dollar.
The gadgets are plentiful, and so are the clearance items. They have solid built name brand items as well (even cookware!). All in all, this is a stellar addition to Phipps.
I spoke with one of the associates, and told me that if you are a current culinary student or in the business, you can sign up and get 10−15% off your purchases! God, I love being in college for 9 years :)
Well done, Sur la Table, I have to hand it to you, this just opened a window of opportunity for me!