Sur La Table

For being the only Sur La Table in Minnesota, the Edina location has terrible customer service. Carrie, a sales associate was rude, a bad listener, unknowledgeable and overall a slacker of an employee. I was looking for specific items and asked for her help. Immediately, she tried to pawn me off on another worker who was clearly helping another customer. I explained what I was looking for and she told me that I wouldn’t find that here. She said I should try Target or Bed, Bath and Beyond. Frustrated, I decided to look on my own. Low and behold I found the items that I specifically came to Sur La Table to find. Later as I was checking out, I saw Carrie hovering over the sample food table. She was more concerned about eating the samples set out for the customers than actually doing her job.

They have a lot of kitchen stuff. I don’t know what half the things did but I definitely want then. The only thing they need are some couches and TVs for the guys to hang out when they get bored.

My wife and I went here before lunch at a Japanese place on 50^th and France, we walked in and there is a deluge of cool kitchen stuff everywhere. They are a little high priced, but it is awesome stuff.
We bought a cool vegetable stringer thing that curled strips, a cleaner brush that holds soap inside it, and we could have spent another 40 minutes in there looking around.
Great kitchen gadget shop!

I really, really wanted to like Sur la Table. I went in seeking edible gold leaf, to be used for decorating desserts and drinks. I checked their website first, which listed several options for both gold and silver leaf. I was quite disappointed that there was none to be found. That could be forgivable.
The poor service I received, however, was not.
I was shopping for other things, too, and was having trouble finding them. I was there a good 20 minutes before I finally sought out a salesperson for guidance. They were fully staffed — at least 6 or 7 employees were on duty, if not more — but rather than greeting me or offering help, they seemed inconvenienced by my presence. Out of all those employees, not a single one of them acknowledged my presence except to give me annoyed looks as though I was standing in their way while I was shopping. The kicker was after I had made my purchases. The bored sales clerk rang me up listlessly, moving at a snail’s pace and directing her attention to everything else besides me and the transaction. When the sale was complete, *I* thanked *her*. Her response? «Mmm-​hmm.» Really?
I have worked many years in retail, and in fact have worked for one of Sur la Table’s biggest competitors. I don’t expect to be treated like a celebrity every time I walk into a store. But I do expect some customer service basics, especially in an upscale store such as this. I was a little shocked to find the employees here to be not only unhelpful, but at times downright rude.
They have lots of cool stuff here, and at some point I will probably end up grudgingly giving them another chance. But this experience has left a really bad taste in my mouth. I won’t be back anytime soon. I can pay top dollar for expensive kitchen equipment somewhere else, thank you. Mmm-​hmm.

This is one of three reviews I am writing of the cooking hardware stores I shop at. These are Cooks, Kitchen Window, and Sur la Table. I usually try Cooks and Sur la Table first as they are closest to my home but recently parking in the 50^th and France area has become so problematic that I have decided to pay the ramp fee and go to Kitchen Window first because of their larger selection and better staffing and service. Sur la Table is a chain and I like to patronize locally owned businesses such as Cooks when possible, but I sometimes find that they offer the same item at a considerable lower price than Cooks which is a few steps away. Curiously, although it is a chain, I find the selection at this particular store limited. Maybe because of its small size. With some exceptions I have not found the staff to be particularly helpful or knowledgeable. I was recently in to buy a gadget and when I asked for help, the sales person wave vaguely in the direction of where the devices were located. I managed to find what I wanted with no help from the staff. They do occasionally have some nice sale items however you have to find these in the brochures they send periodically.

So much fun. Sur La Table has some amazing gadgets. Going into this store you think you have an idea of what you want and then come out with gadgets you didn’t know existed but suddenly cannot live without.
This is like a toy store for cooks and bakers. If you can’t find what you need here or at their online store, it doesn’t exist. That being said, you will pay a large sum of money to acquire many of these tools. They do have sales on occasion, especially after the holidays, so you can get some good deals.
What can you find here? Herb peelers, every garlic tool known to man, olive oil spritzers, champagne caps, a dozen different styles of cheese spreaders, cake decorating tools, egg poachers, fruit zesters, pasta makers, and so much more!
Upon entering the store I was greeted by a friendly member of the staff who offered to help me find what I was looking for and point me toward the sale items. Throughout my shopping adventure there were plenty of staff members around the store to help. Even when I had to resort to using my hands to describe that gadget thingy that helps make that stuff and they knew exactly what I was talking about. Now that’s service. :-)
Be prepared to wander for at a least an hour while you take in the world of kitchen tools this store has to offer. And bring your platinum credit card — you’re going to need it.

oooooh SLT. I could wander your boutique aisles for days.
mary jo is a fantastic saleswoman with a sassy little attitude and great eye.
They’re currently having a ridiculous summer sale and I was able to get four beer mugs, two coffee mugs, four adorable polka dot bowls and four plates, as well as six stackable italian glass cups for… wait for it… forty bucks.
run, dont walk.

I’ll be the first to admit that when I see a kitchen store, I automatically do a mental review of my bank balance, as I’m likely to spend way too much while there. For a long time, I’d held out on Sur La Table simply because it’s a much larger national chain and we already have the much more local Kitchen Window, Cooks of Crocus Hill, and the sadly departed Let’s Cook.
However, I checked it out this Christmas in looking for a tagine pan for my mother (long story) and a few other sundry goods. It was indeed impressive. I must have spent easily 45 minutes, meandering and thinking of how great my life would be with a ravioli crimper or a wine aerator or a machine that will carbonate water for me. We’ll say they have a nice selection of products, although admittedly not that different from what you would find in any other kitchen store.
Prices seemed reasonable. As much as I like Cooks of Crocus Hill, they tend to be rather pricey. Probably on par with Kitchen Window, come to think of it. The layout was easy to follow and thoughtfully placed out, and the room feels light and open, due to the expansive bank of windows looking out over 50^th and France.
I’d say go and check out Sur La Table, but don’t forget our local roots.

my dad loves cooking. but he loves shopping for kitchen gadgets as much as cooking with them. he had been looking for a good paring/​peeling knife and the people there pulled out what he wanted to look at and gave him a potato to try it on. That made him pretty excited and he ended up getting the knife. I got some cool skull and cross bones cookie cutters for Halloween with nice dark frosting dies and orange glitter frosting gel. The prices are better than Cooks of Crocus Hill. (down the street). The staff are very helpful, and if you spend over $ 50 you get a free years subscription to a cooking magazine

This is a very nice store. A nice variety and they also carry many of the larger appliance type items. such as expresso makers. I have gotten free expresso as they explain the machine to me.
The back wall of the store has some incredible marked down deals. It usually involved there being only one of a item or discontinued item.
I always check it out and it constantly changes.
Some items seem impractical I know when I think how many times will i really use it. But always fun to browse for new ideas and ways of doing things in the kitchen. Great selection of cookbooks. sauces and spices too.
And surprisingly, I find this store offers a different enough variety that I shop here and Cooks of Crocus Hill. Sure some things might be duplicated, but each store has its areas of strength in what it carries.
Staff is always friendly, One time they went out of their way to specially pack items I was purchasing for a non-​profit. organization.

Sur La Table, I love you!
Despite all the Edina moms shopping here on the weekends, this store is pretty neat-​o! I’m in love with expensive kitchen stuff and what not, so I come in here… oh, probably three times a month to check out what is new!
The staff it okay, they seem educated, but probably don’t care about anything except themselves… I would too though!
as for the products… a variety of different brands, be prepared to spend about 45 mins here if you are looking for something in particular, or just browsing!
I come here alone, so no one sees what I spend my time touching and playing with in the store (not like its gross or anything. but, I like to pretend in my head!), but sometimes I bring my boyfriend… and you know that tone Martha Stewart gets when she is explaining something to a «new to the kitchen» friend? well… this is the perfect place to get your Martha, or «I know everything about cooking» on!

I prefer the Sur la Tables in other cities. I think it’s because the smaller footprints of the one’s in DC and Seattle make them feel like there is more to «discover». This footprint occupies a large corner in the 50^th and France area. It’s light and airy and, unfortunately, located near our local store Cooks of Crocus Hill (I feel so badly for them).
La Table has a nice selection of kitchenware and often has pretty decent sales. If you are a cookie maker, they seem to have loads of cutter available. I always think that someday I might get motivated to use them, but my laziness usually makes even chocolate chip cookies an effort.
Today I purchased a couple of au gratin dishes that were 20% off… which was an added plus since I had specifically gone here for au gratin dishes. Yay!