Sur La Table

My frustration is actually with Sur la table corporation and not this store individually.
Company advertised a flash sale on some items. These are items that I had been wanting so I immediately called to place the order. I was notified by the customer service agent that the email was sent out prematurely and that they would not be able to sell any of the items that were advertised on the email. She said that I would have to wait until the sale was posted again;that the email should not have gone out.
I discussed with two customer service representatives. Since the email went out it was already advertised at that price for that day; as far as I’m concerned that is false advertising and fraudulent business practice. If this were a Macy’s or a target or a Luckys or Safeway or any such store and they had advertised that price they would have to honour it; and when the stores sometimes forget to remove the signs they still will honour the price because the sign was left out and they take responsibility for it.
As a Result I purchased the item at a different price. I really wanted the item so I proceeded ahead however reflecting back I really think it was dishonest and not appropriate. it’s not our fault as customers if The company sent out an email advertising the sale prematurely. Any customers that call you are obligated to proceed ahead with the sale. The manager’s decision at the time to not honour it was not appropriate. I feel like this should be brought up to a corporate level because as far as I’m concerned that is false advertising. I am a frequent customer of theirs so this has really disappointed me. Other than that I am always happy with the service and happy with everything I purchased there. I’m just really disappointed in this.

I was originally skeptical of shopping at Sur La Table because I thought of it as too pricey… I felt I could find similar things online or shopping around for «cheaper.» It is definitely a higher end store, but their prices are comparable to other similar kitchen stores. One thing that cannot be beat is the service you get here. It is impeccable! I have a couple of stories that will keep me a forever customer. Both involving the employee taking care of me when I had an issue with my knives. One issue, they could have sent me to Shun and had me go through the whole return process because I was outside my 60day window… instead, she took my knife and swapped it with a brand new one. Basically, she took on the responsibility of sending it back for me and I was able to use a new one same day. I am getting ready to sign up for one of their knife skills classes which I am certain will also be top notch.

Sur La Table — has everything I would want in my kitchen. Thankfully, my kitchen and house are way too small for that to happen. Everything thing I need for my experimental baking attempts are here. It makes it hard to resist the items that are stocked. I also appreciate that most of the products are placed in specific order. It helps when you are looking for specific items. The staff is usually knowledgeable and will find a senior staff person if your query is not one they can answer. The only thing negative is at times, it is hard to find a staff person to help you on the floor, this usually occurs around the holidays.
For kitchen/​foodie want-​ta-​bes it is the perfect place to spend time (and money).

Let me start out saying between my two friends and I we have collectively probably taken 100+ classes.
I have taken classes from numerous instructors:
Chef Peggy is friendly and goes at a steady pace but keeps the class on time.
Chef Travis is fun and creative, he keeps things very entertaining.
Chef Catherine is straightforward and has dozens of ideas on how to tweak recipes.
Chef Tom is thorough, gives clear and concise directions.
Some of my favorite classes have been «Paleo,» «One Chicken, Three Dishes», and «Memorial Day Cooking.»
Today I spent the majority of my 4^th of July with my friend and my boyfriend taking two classes at SLT. Summer Sweets was amazing! However, «Spectacular Summer Pies» was anything but spectacular.
The instructor Chef Lauren Cohen was down right rude. Her lack of professionalism towards the customers and her kitchen staff was astounding. She openly snapped at the kitchen staff in front of a full class.
Chef Laurel Cohen started the class 15 minutes late and could not handle the time pressure. She made it quiet clear the class was under a time constraint and I know more than half the class felt rushed. The woman sitting at my table told me this was her first class and asked if all the instructors are like her. I assured her that Chef Laurel Cohen was in a class of her own in regards to rudeness.
This instructor made snide comments and remarks throughout the entire class. I brought up my plate and two others from my table to get a slice of the pies.
Chef Laurel Cohen: Three handing it eh?
Me: Yes.
Chef Laurel Cohen: people are that lazy they can’t get their own samples?
Me: No, I was being polite and offered to bring it to them.
Three other instances like the above occurred towards me in the class and I wasn’t the only one on the receiving end. All I can say is avoid this instructor. She’s not worth your time nor money.
The reason for my 5 star rating still despite this experience is because I know this was a fluke and I was told the instructor is from another store. Although, if SLT LG wants to keep it’s good Unilocal ratings I would make sure Chef Lauren Cohen stays at the other store (or finds employment elsewhere).

My kids and I have taken cooking classes here. My kids took the summer cooking class last year and had a great time. They learned how to chop, make pizza dough and pasta from scratch, sauté, and bake. I had taken the summer preserves class with Catherine Pla who is a Cordon Bleu graduate. I went to the farmer’s market the next day and bought some plums and made plum chutney based on what I learned from the class and it was successful. I recently took the Mother’s Day macarons and Mommy and Me tea class with my daughter. Making those yummy macarons, madeleines, scones are no longer a mystery. I signed up the kids for another cooking camp in August and I’m signed up for the Vietnamese 101 class. Each time you take a cooking class, you get 10% off the store to shop for the day of the class and then Sur La Table will send you another 10% off in email so you can use that for a future cooking class that you pay for within a week. Parking is not too bad and there are several lots around University Ave. The kitchen classroom is spacious, clean, and well stocked. And you can help yourself to some Nespresso coffee as well!

Mother’s Day wouldn’t be complete without a cooking class at Sur La Table. We came to the Los Gatos branch for a morning French Patisserie baking class and ambitiously tackled 3 different pastries within the 2 hour time frame:
— Raspberry Macaron with Earl Grey Ganache
— Lemon Lavender Sable Cookies
— Chocolate Dipped Madeleines
The class was highly interactive and my Mom and I were paired with another mother-​daughter duo. The chef instructor was very experienced and taught us a lot of science behind our dessert preparation, such as how to «balance» the macaron batter and also provided helpful suggestions that improved our mixing, folding and stirring techniques. Towards the second half of the class, everyone let their guard down and worked together comfortably.
Some areas that could be improved include actual hands-​on time. About 80% of the class consisted of lecture, watching the instructor cook and relying on multiple assistants to place our dish in the oven, and the remaining 20% was actual student participation (the fun part!). In addition, we ran out of time for the last Chocolate Dipped Madeleines, and the instructor had to speed through because another class was coming in. Nevertheless, we were provided the baking protocol and templates to practice at home.
Overall, my Mom and I had a lot of fun baking together for Mother’s Day. It was also cool to take home some of our baking creations and share with the rest of the family. Thank you Sur La Table for offering these cooking classes in your cute interactive kitchen space.

Oh how I loooooove this store! It’s like a candy store for people who cook… or pretend to cook ;)
I think a big part of the appeal is all the colors. it’s an exciting store from an appearance perspective. Lots of gadgets to check out, and there are a ton of colorful items. Hey, I like a bright fun kitchen. It makes cooking less dull.
Sales: they have a clearance section toward the back. don’t go in without checking it out. there can be some good finds there. they also have sales throughout the store, so i always make sure to take my time looking around. there can be some deals.
customer service: i always find the folks there to be helpful and friendly, but not pushy. they’ll help if you need it, but otherwise they leave you alone to browse.
oh, and they do some fun cooking classes, summer camps, and parties. my son used to do camps there and loved them. he learned great basic skills and had fun doing it. i’ve done a few classes, and they’re a good time too. parties are awesome.

My latest visit was for the Croissant Making class. I had previously attended another class, which was good, but I liked this one much more. In three hours, we went through the steps to create croissant dough from scratch, laminate it, roll it out, proof it, and bake it. Not only were all of the steps explained very well, but we had some good hands on time, to practice making our own. Best of all, we got to make our own croissants to bring home!
The three hour class was broken up into steps, just as you would make croissants, so it was easy to understand, without being overwhelming. We were then given a few breaks and a chance to peruse the store and use our 10% off coupon.
The last class that I took was at a different Sur La Table store, and I’m not sure if this experience was that much better because of the size of the store. Due to the size of this store, the classroom area is also much bigger. You don’t feel crowded, and have enough of your own work space to work in.
There aren’t that many other classes that I’ve seen on their list that I’m interested in at this time, but this one was well worth it!

[Review is ONLY for our cooking class]
It is a little known fact but something I’m willing to share with everyone who reads this. My lady is definitely at a different level when it comes to planning dates and activities. I’m sadly behind in many ways even when I’m trying my *best*. She planned this class under the theme of «visiting France» and I sure was excited when I learned about it. Cooking class… French cuisine… hands on… date night? AWESOME.
Parking was easy and straightforward when we got here. Everywhere else around this area was packed tighter than sardines shoved into tins. Was that pleasant? ABSOLUTELY.
The ambiance was great. We were surrounded by enough equipment to start several restaurants over. We were greeted and all questions were entertained and answered. We browsed the wares like we were children again in a candy store for the first time. It was JOYFUL. Friendly, helpful staff just added to that elated feeling.
So, yes, we were excited about the cooking class. There were quite a number of couples there for the «date night» class and we teamed up with a sweet older couple who came to these classes for their dates. They were DELIGHTFUL in every single way and sharing this moment with the lady with them was essentially the highlight of this cooking class. I definitely loved the activity with the lady and I sure enjoyed good additional company.
BUT here’s the thing: $ 80 per person for a barely hands on activity with a rather beginner level cooking class was what got to me. It was surprisingly limited. I left expecting a little bit more. It was REALLY simple and the oven did most of the work for us. I pretty much paid $ 80 per person to mix sauces, watch our instructor explain each dish, and eat a rather sloppily prepared dish with a heinous Béarnaise sauce that had WAY too high of a butter ratio to remain «Béarnaise».
So while I had fun with the lady and enjoyed our time with the older couple, I’m just going to say that these classes (unless specifically mentioned) are really too simple and too «hands off» for people who do moderate amounts of cooking. Those who do will agree that mixing ingredients to make simple sauces, making a faux-​Béarnaise (IMO) sauce, a class that is essentially «Par le Four», and completed dishes that came out underwhelming just isn’t worth the time and price.
3 stars for their potential as well as to remain objective for those who seriously don’t know how to cook and want to consider a place to start.
15/​05LR

We have shopped her several times before, staff has always been super helpful, and the location is great. The only downside is the parking, but thats los gatos for ya.
My boyfriend and I took one of the classes here yesterday and our instructor was awesome, we took a knife techinique class and we recently invested in some really nice knives so we figured we should try it out and see if we could learn a thing or two. It was a very engaging process and again, our instructor was fantastic. I really enjoyed his energy and passion. We are excited to come back for one of the cooking classes next month!
The store also has a great clearance section that I always poke around in. After the class we got a 10% off coupon so we got a couple of really nifty tools, a new garlic press (do not judge, its pretty neat) and some other go to kitchen items that the chef used and I figured I could not live with out. I should make a point to say I did not feel pressure or obligated to buy something after the class.

–Class review: Took their Sat class with a group event of 15 people on how to make macarons, the sand which looking pastries. Not to be confused with macarOOns which are the coconut clusters. Fun class! Hands on! Seriously you get to directly make them with the cream filling and ganache them. Get to take some home too! 10% coupon for the store for that day only. Take home instructions and recipes. Clear instructions with an instructor trained in France at Le Cordon Bleu. One of the assistants looked annoyed that most of them didn’t turn out well. I thought that wasn’t good to show that on her face she kept shaking her head as she transferred them onto the cooling tray. We ain’t professionals yo!
–Parking: 2hr parking everywhere so gotta move it after 2 hrs into your 3 hr class.
–Store review: clean store. Prices seem high I think? I’m not a cook so I’m not sure but I compared a kitchen scale and I can find one online cheaper.

A clean, nice store. I wasn’t a fan of the customer service as we were told «Here’s the book, I need to go back up to the front because that’s where I need to be.» She could have at least offered to get someone else for us.

Very good collection and unique items. I visited here for my daughters friend birthday. Party and it was very well conducted, although very pricy.
I liked people helping here, very friendly.
Store is very very clean and well organized, and have very unique kitchen ware and spices, etc
I recommend to visit this store…

Ok im a sucker for nice cooking gear, especially nice pots and pans. Unfortunately Im not nice to them they go the distance. Luckily, things like Le Creuset and All Clad can take the abuse butafter years they show their wear. Im always drooling over upgrades and SLT is certainly got a lot of those. Good thing I have some self control but one of these days a new ceramic glazed cast itron and copper sets are mine!

Found exactly what I was looking for and more.

Well, today was a first. I actually witnessed not one but two salespeople tell a customer, «I don’t want to do it,» when she asked for help finding something. That customer was my mother who asked for help finding a cookie cutter at Sur la Table. Wow.
The guy who was forced to help us find a shark cookie cutter from the bin told me I could use the porpoise since it is «basically the same.» When I held the porpoise up to the shark cookie cutter photo to explain how different they looked he said – I’m not making this up – «I’m a biology major. I know the difference between animals.» He repeated three more times that I «could just use the porpoise. It’s close enough.» Apparently, a year of biology at SJSU makes him an authority on the suitability of substitute cookie cutters. (I’m sure those San Jose Porpoise cookies will be a big hit during the playoffs!)
I complained to the floor manager and asked for the store manager. He said she had just quit so they didn’t have one but I could call customer service. Hmmm. Finally, the assistant manager came out who also explained that they didn’t have a store manager so sorry but without a manager…
I guess without a manager to let him know there’s at least one biology major who isn’t aware that when your job is customer service, you are actually expected to help customers from time to time.
The Santana Row store is closer to my house anyway.

They don’t always have *everything* I’m looking for but pretty damn close. Customer service is helpful and down to earth. Parking can be a bit of a challenge. Avoid mid-​day weekends if you can help it.

Holy hella-​pricey, Batman!
I have to be really careful when I come to this place. I’m SORT of a foodie and home-​chef, so I see all sorts of shiny and wondrous things when I come here… WANT! Last time I came here, it was for kitchen shears. I had 2 options: Cheap and crappy, or expensive and awesome. I went out of there with $ 50 kitchen shears. *sigh* They worked great, and it was easier to say «no» to all of the other stuff in there that I wanted so bad. They have a good clearance section in the back, but it was still a little too pricey and I really didn’t NEED anything…
They offer all kinds of classes here. My daughter would probably love it if I enrolled her in some sort of kids’ class. Just so you know… they have classes, but I’ve never patronized them, so I’m not sure how they are. :)

Love, love, love! They will have almost any kitchen gadget and knick knack that you need. They carry pre-​made mixes by Barefoot Contessa and a few other brands. The store is large and loaded with goodies but organized. There’s a back room where cooking classes are held so you could be temped with amazing smells as you shop around the store. Prices are a bit steep; however, the store is fully stocked with all the best brands in cookware.

***This is a very nice Sur La Table; the huge back room looks very inviting; I imagine it is a great spot for cooking classes and exhibitions; the selection was good and the staff was pleasant***
This Sur La Table is located in the very busy shopping area of Downtown Los Gatos. You can find free parking on the street or via one of several public parking lots that are located throughout Los Gatos.