Sur La Table

Don’t bother and save your money. I took the romantic Italian class. When you think cooking class, you assume you will be taught something. The instructor just ran around with the recipe in hand and told people what to do. «Cut up the greens» but didn’t tell anyone how it should be cut, what temperature to turn on the burner, how to test if things were done. We made spaghetti carbonara and there was cream in it! I know there should never be cream in an authentic spaghetti carbonara. I asked her and she said «yah I know it’s not authentic but that’s what corporate gave us». You’re better off buying a real good cooking book and just follow the instructions. You“d also learn more about what your cooking. origin, region, ingredients.

I took the Date Night: Romance in Italy class on Feb 5. Honestly this is the WORST class cooking class I have ever taken. We were offered dirty (filthy) aprons to start off with, and when I requested a clean one, I was told «we use them more than once.» Finally I got a different apron but it didn’t have strings on both sides so I had to makeshift a tie to keep it on. The instructor was less than professional and shouted the entire time because the fan was loud and the participants were super noisy. Nothing was really explained and the produce for the salad we made was old. The radicchio and the fennel were not fresh, but instead wilted and dried out. The class assistants were rude and we were rushed through everything. The class was supposed to be 2 hours but we were done in 90 minutes and then encouraged to «shop» in the store. This was a complete disappointment and with so many other cooking classes available locally, I will not be a returning customer. Sur La Table needs to re-​think this experience, and for $ 85 I would have at least expected napkins. I had to find paper towels to use and I commandeered a clean up towel from a counter because one was not offered.

Just got back after the French Bistro Winter Date Night cooking class, as a belated birthday gift for my boyfriend’s parents, thinking ‘wow, this could be a fun, interactive experience the four of us can share together.’ We all left, feeling happy to have spent time together, but disappointed in the cooking class itself. What a shame and where to begin… The thought of French Bistro food usually begets memories of beautiful, indulgent food like steak frites, moules, escargot, a beautiful salad… Etc. What we made was uninspired, corner cutting and butter laced corporate sadness. French Bistro? More like a washed out ‘executive chef’s excuse for a lazy bite to eat. How could you possibly mess up haricot verts that are pre blanched? Oh, just add about a cup of grapeseed oil to a tablespoon of mustard and a splash of vinegar to make the oilest salad I’ve ever eaten. The leftover cheese we had grated (and paid for) — could we take that home? No, go suck it, customer. Also, add one stick of butter and a block of ghee (clarified butter) to a small piece of beef. Enjoy that gastric bypass. Oh, and try enjoying your fatty meal (because you paid $ 85 for it, so you feel bad not scarfing it down) — you won’t be able to, because you have to eat with a tiny plastic fork while cooking your next course at the same time. And’ dessert ‘? Hot chocolate. They basically wanted to get us the F out quickly to make room for the next herd of food making cattle… I mean customers. Don’t waste your hard earned money on this — go to a Michelin star restaurant instead. Thank me later.

Just attended the Date Night Chef’s Table class with Chef Rebecca and it was so much fun! My hubby and I really enjoyed the 4 courses and the hands on instruction by Rebecca and her assistants. We worked in groups of 4 and got good advice on techniques and equipment (the 10% store discount is a great incentive). The class size of 6 couples was just right for observing and asking questions. This was an entertaining class and whether you’re a beginning cook or more advanced, you’ll enjoy it. The food was delicious and meeting other «foodie» couples made this a great night out. I think we’ll make this a regular «date night»!

My kids attended the «3-​day kids cooking class». My son and daughter, 9 and 10 respectively, loved each day. The staff is helpful and motivating and helped each of them find a passion for cooking and helping in the kitchen. The 10% off store coupon is a nice benefit as well. We’ll be back for more kid and individual cooking sessions.

Needed a knife to shuck oysters for New Years Day 2016. When you battle Olympia’s finest, you need a quality knife. Yes, a bit tad pricy, but you need a good handle and a keen point to release them tasty mollusks. A bit hard to find, but the ever friendly crew were happy to find me a $ 22 crowbar. You get what you pay for!

I had high hopes given the brand, but the cooking class at this store was the worst I’ve ever experienced. The instructors were nice enough but there was no introduction to the class plan, prep trays were incomplete leaving us begging for equipment, and the recipes were uninspiring. Time was poorly used and there was limited engagement with the class. The instructor made over half of the recipes instead of dividing up elements between the teams – she had plenty of helpers to make this work. The instructor made an entire recipe from start to finish because we were short on time. There was also very limited technical instructions and any that were offered were hard to hear over the exhaust fans. Unfortunately, the fans were connected to lights, so the choice was see or hear. I was offered a 10% discount only good for the day of class. It went into the trash along with the recipes as I exited the premises.

I love the Sur la Table, and I have been customer for many years. Nevertheless, customer service at the Walnut Creek store is «hit or miss». Sometimes I felt welcomed, like a valuable customer, but often ignored, or even less prefered.
Just want to share about my last expirience at Walnut creek store last weekend. I get emails from the company about special events, this particular was about demonstration of the KitchenAid spiralizer. Email stated that store is hosting demonstration on Saturday and Sunday. I was eyeing it for a wile now, and i really wanted/​needed one, but because of the mixed reviews, was not sure it will serve my needs, so I wanted to look and see it in action, may be ask some questions. I brought my husband with me too, to show how useful this gadget can be for our kitchen.
When we arrived, we have been ignored for a long time. I was actively searching for display or anyone to assist me. Finally, I found one of the associate and asked her about demonstration. She said, that she was not sure and went to ask someone else. Next answer I got that today’s associates not sure about the demonstration, today they had nothing, it may was yesterday. So, we left with nothing, very disappointed.

Yes I love the shop simply because I love cooking and this place has great collection of kitchenware. fav!!!

The Walnut Creek Store is pretty microscopic. They are expanding it I understand, but I believe that’s to add on a kitchen of some sort. The original in Seattle is, of course, the Gold standard. However, I was in one in Napersville, IL that was pretty amazing.
Service is overall quite good. Usually you can find some deals here; certainly it’s always easy to find something that will exercise your credit card.
Sur La Table provides nice balance to Williams Sonoma (and some good competition.) Both stores keep finding new, irresistable products for things that you really don’t need but that seduce you into believing you can’t live without them.

Really not a bad place but not my favorite. I mostly go for cutlery. Their selection isn’t too bad but they don’t have a good selection of really high end stuff. No kikuichi, takeda, misono, Zanmai, ect. They mostly have really commercialized things like Wusthof, global, shun. Not bad brands just not in any way special. I am a big fan of there miyabi knives however. Place is pricier than other cutlers but they are in walnut creek.

This location consistently has the absolute worst customer ever. Love Sur La Table’s products and it’s just unfortunate that the employees make it such a horrible experience shopping in their store.

Very helpful staff. Prices are good and quality is great (My quiche dish from 8 years ago is still looking great). Thx.

We have always enjoyed going to this store for the high quality products they sell, but Andrew makes the whole experience better. He was a professional pastry chef and gave us essential advice for a recipe that did not work. He explained the technique-​sensitive steps where we did something incorrectly. As a result, we made an exceptional dessert. Furthermore, he gave us advice on certain purchases and helped us apply coupons to achieve maximum savings. Thanks Andrew…

I just bought a Pixie Nespresso and had a few questions about the machine. Neither of the workers could answer my questions and refused to give me a plastic cup for a coffee sample but proceeded to give one to my friend. Shame on you ladies! Very bad customer service. The coveted plastic cups don’t come out of your salary so why ruin my customer experience over something so trivial! The location on 4^th Street in Berkeley is SUPERB!

I found this store accidentally. Love it. It has some of the best cookware and very knowledgable staff. Very helpful. The pans I buy are solid they really cook and clean well. They seem to have just the right pan or pot for what I need. YESsssssss.

I’m am literally hooked to stores like this.
And especially Sur La Table.
Sur La Table has been acquiring my business for years now. They have everything… and I mean EVERYTHING. Every little kitchen and dinnerware knick knack you can imagine, with most of the items being of a higher quality; along with some surprisingly quite reasonably priced items, depending upon what you get. It’s easy to say, that I could literally spend hours in here.
The service also always seems to be cheerful and chipper, adding great tunes to your shopping experience.
So far, this table will continue to provide me with some of my kitchen necessities, for hopefully years to come.

Had a really good experience today buying some cutlery. Can’t believe how much those folks have learned about what they’re selling. You can tell they have some sort of a training program established. Keep up the good work!

This place is awesome, it’s like a toy store for people who appreciate cooking tasty food. Went in yesterday to browse kitchen knives and saw the Vitamix I had recently purchased online through the Vitamix store. The Store Manager Robin was nearby giving out cups of tasty coffee samples and asked if I had any questions-​I told her I had just purchased the Vitamix online and regretted it since I didn’t realize I could have purchased local. She told me that if Vitamix hadn’t sent it she would be happy to match their price and throw in a dry pitcher at a discount, basically making the dry pitcher free, those things aren’t cheap either. Called Vitamix and spoke with a rep who said it wouldn’t ship for another week and they were happy to cancel my order.
I went back to Sur La Table this afternoon and Robin was there-​you can tell she definitely loves her job, her personality is great, she has endless energy and is super helpful. When I got there, she recognized me and was happy to see I had returned. She also had one of her associates help me in the knife section since now that I’ll be making awesome smoothies & stuff I’ll need some fancypants knives. I forgot to get the name of the guy that helped me but he was super friendly and helpful and wasn’t impatient with my super girly requests to touch every knife and see how I liked them in my hands.
I left the store, one Vitamix and one amazingly samurai sharp set of Shun knives later feeling super happy that I was able to shop locally and get an amazing deal all while getting great customer service.
The thing that struck me is, I made a couple pretty major purchases today but while I was there I saw the same exact customer service given to the few dozen different customers that were coming and going while my friend and I were in the store as I sampled the tons of knives making my decision. It didn’t matter if you were buying a full set of knives, a $ 5 paring knife, or even just browsing. The staff there were super helpful and friendly but not overbearing.
I will definitely be back as I add to my knife collection and need new toys for my kitchen…

This place is loaded with tons of cool cooking gear and a friendly staff! Not sure what more you’d want, but this place is like a cook’s toy store. Admittedly, I don’t spend a ton of time cooking, so what do I know? Maybe nothing… cool store though.