Sur La Table

This is an awesome store for cooking enthusiasts of all levels — whether you are the weekend baker or the serious «from scratch» home main chef, you will find something (or may things) that you will automagically have a need for once you browse the aisles of this store. Its true, that I end up buying more than what I came if for every time I shop at Sur La Table.
A major part of my kitchen is sourced from this store — be it the Vitamix, or the baking dishes, or the ramekins, or the cooking spatulas, or all of my knives, etc.
The staff is generally very knowledgable of the stuff they are selling and will provide honest opinions of the products. A few times they have saved me from over spending on products based on their experience and I thankful for that!
Since they have a lot of new products, the prices may be higher than other stores, but you do get to use the products before they are released to the bigger outlets like Bed Bath and Beyond, etc.

It should have been simple. I wanted to get my arthritic mom a salt grinder. Hers either hurt her hands or yield chunks of salt even on the «fine» settings.
You might imagine an inquiry like mine would be something the Wisconsin Ave. SLT staff’s combined expertise could address. And, if not, surely testing one of their salt mill demos would tell me everything I needed to know, right? Nope.
The store was understaffed by employees who couldn’t answer questions about the products I was interested in. So, I had the privilidge of waiting forever to discover nothing. I tried asking one person after another — all but one shrugged their shoulders and referred me to their manager whom they said was busy with another customer. Turned out, the manager was the first person I’d spoken to; I’d been thrown off by the fact that she said she didn’t have the authority to refil a demo grinder with salt.
There’s something wrong with upper management when even a store manager isn’t permitted to fill an empty salt shaker.
If anyone had even tried to bs me a little, I would’ve gladly accepted any recommendation that would’ve allowed me to check «Mom’s birthday present» off my to-​do list. And in case you’re thinking «What kind of 42-​year old gets the woman whose womb she occupied for nine-​months a stinking salt grinder for her birthday?», well, I was thinking the same thing. I would have dropped another $ 200, easy, if someone had taken the time to help me. $ 250 isn’t exactly Pretty Woman «Big mistake» money, I know… but why am I even justifying this? A shopping experience shouldn’t end in Pretty Woman revenge fantasies.

I like this place. The kitchen items are colorful and fun. There are so many interesting gadgets. The employees are helpful. Parking can be tricky.

It’s a great store for those that love to cook. They have a lot of everything kitchen related crammed in a small space. From knives to cookware to small gifts, they seem to have it all. In comparison to WS, they have similar items, but seem to have more sales. The staff in the store was very helpful. I actually think I like this store better than WS.
Parking is a bit difficult because there is only street parking. That would probably be the only down side of going to this store.

What an AWESOME store. They have everything you could possibly think of for the kitchen. Great gift ideas for anyone you may know who loves to cook or bake or grill or basically anyone who enjoys preparing food. I didn’t know what a lot of the things were for, asked a few questions and the salesperson was very informative in explaining and suggesting items I may want to get someone as a gift. They had so much of everything it was a bit overwhelming. Now mind you, I am no chef, I enjoy cooking simply and don’t need much and I loved this place. Imagine how someone would feel who loves kitchen everything, this would be their toy store for sure!
Lovely place, super organized, lots of cool things. Take your time and do not rush.
* I went to the store in Alexandria on King St. but did not see a listing for it on Unilocal

I remember this store more cluttered and dim couple years ago. Not anymore! The store is still too small for what they carry, but it’s more organized and less clutter, and unique kitchen gadgets are easier to be found! I like Sur La Table because they have unique cocktail napkins, cool kitchen tools, cute aprons, much cheaper dishes, and you will find a great buy in the clearance section. The only thing is that the parking is hard to find in this area, and meter people go around quite often. And I think meter is running on Saturday as well. It is close to metro station but if you are considering a serious shopping here you probably want to drive there.

Oh my goodness, this place is amazing. Boyfriend and I had started off in search of a pie pan and by pure chance we passed this place. I think I have a new favorite Wisconsin Avenue store!
As other reviewers have said, nothing comes cheap here, but you can’t help but want EVERYTHING. There’s everything you could possibly need in a kitchen, in every color you can think of. (I want that enormous rainbow colored whisk on the display table when you first walk in… too bad I don’t have a pot big enough to match.)
As a plus, the staff is incredibly kind and knowledgeable but not pushy. I love it! If only everything wasn’t so pricey… but that’s how it is for the good stuff!

For someone who cooks frequently, you can find just about anything for the kitchen. They carry high end cookware including the enameled cast iron pot, the new espresso maker and even the sous vide machine. I love coming here and secretly wish it was the supply store behind my kitchen! They packed so much of everything in this little store it looked a little overcrowded. The space for the cash register was tight especially with a few people waiting to pay for their items. The over-​zealous lady who helped us look for an item had way too much opinions on the products.

I came here after receiving a gift certificate. I think I’m in love. However, I don’t think my paycheck is in love enough with it to shop here regularly. Staff is super helpful and they have everything you could dream of in multiple colors (I’m admiring my lavender silicone pastry brush right now.)

What a great Italian cuisine class! Edward was our instructor. My group had 5 people (random co-​workers we interact over the phone or email but never see face to face! neat ideah huh… hmmm NOT!) and we all shared the steps of the recipes. All the ingredients were pre-​cut, pre measured… did they suspect we were going to mess up? Well, they were SO RIGHT! so we learned the basics. I poured the oil before the pan was hot… oh well, onions, carrots, bay leave… all ready… added the chicken… then the salt. Problem that was supposed to be a pinch of salt… one of my colleages dumped the whole small bowl of salt into the pot. What was she thinking… what about «a pinch of salt!!!»…ahhhhhhh. We finished the recipe… the instructor came in and let the whole class take a break… or «shop» and of course you can’t help to grab at least 2 – 3 things. The break was super long. almost 45 minutes. So we wondered… why such a long break… the instructor whispered that he had to «redo» our dish to be edible, no wonder the long wait… PLOP! Great recipes… great forgiving instructor! got to try a few things during the class… and I bought the best 12y aged balsamic vinegar…$ 29.95 a bit sweet with a syrup like consistency. I can’t wait to use it over tomatoes, pizza. salads…Awesome place to take a class… but next time I’ll stay away from that chick!

Good store with an impressive selection of kitchen stuff. However, what I’d like to talk about is the staff. The folks here just do a great job. Every time I’ve been there they have been friendly, knowledgeable, and extremely helpful. The only problem I’ve had here is that sometimes there are not enough people to help all the customers, which can leave me just standing around waiting for an employee. However, this is really not a knock on the staff so much as an observation. Truth be told, the reason you have to wait every now and then is because they are being so attentive to other customers.

If I am having a bad day I will come to Sur La Table and leave completely contented and at one with the universe.
This is a cook’s paradise. You can find absolutely anything that you need, and probably in multiple colors. Granted, the store is on the expensive side, but quality tools breed quality meals.

I was professionally trained to cut things with disposable blades… so I’m not used to having to sharpen them. My favorite knife of all time, my yellow Kuhn Rikon (purchased at SLT), has been so over-​loved that it has become a bit dull with use. Saving you the details, let’s just say that even the best knives need to be sharpened, so get a sharpener, like I did today after ‘my little accident.‘
SLT is my favorite kitchen store ever. Yes — it’s better than Williams Sonoma. I walked in wounded, and the staff was very helpful, as they always are, explaining to me how the sharpeners work, which one was made for me, and also telling me about their knife sharpening service if and when I want to bring in my knives, and for some paltry fee they’ll ‘put the edge back on’ with their very special sharpening machine out back. They also told me that «The guys at Café Atlantico love those knives, too.» (The Kuhn Rikons)
Now on to the rest of the store: Well there simply isn’t space to describe the wonders… They only stock the best of everything, nothing cheap, but they still have affordable things like pots (the SLT brand) that are made exactly like All Clad pots for a third the price. So you never have to waste money on garbage. And if you need a microplane, a cheese wire, a cake form, a 25 year old balsamic vinegar (yum!), or some of the most gorgeous placemats I’ve ever seen in my life… I mean you could hang these on the wall good, then come here. They deserve 5 stars, but as I’m cash poor, I took one star away for their damned exclusivity… which should probably add a star — so maybe they actually get 6 stars… but that’d throw my rating distribution all off.
Aw — who am I kidding? i love this place. 5 Stars.

Good stuff, good people … but times are hard, I guess. I had purchased a few months earlier two black potholders that had a thin fabric on one side and a textured rubbery surface on the other. They seemed fine, till one day I picked up a pan under the grill and the potholders stuck to them. I had to peel them off the pan (under a grill at 350 – 375 degrees F). I took them back to Sur La Table and told her what had happened and suggested that they might be defective; she hemmed and hawed and said they must have touched an element. I showed her the marks burned into one of them, where my finger were, the clear outline of the edge of the pan, and said the pan itself had a permanent mark from the material that had burned onto it. She repeated that had grabbed the element … I know times are hard, and I sympathize – but she in effect said I was lying. So told her she could keep them as I no longer had use for them and left. Would I go back? Not to this outlet … cannot recommend.

I love kitchen stores… I love to wonder around and dream about my fantasy kitchen and all the gadgets that I’ll have. Sur La Table is a place that can suck you in… If you’re looking for a fantasy experience, this is the place for you. HOWEVER for your everyday stuff, head up Wisconsin 2 blocks to Linens n Things, Williams & Sonoma, or World Market… prices are much better, and they’re actually open on weekday evenings.

When you need an ice cream scoop– and need to chose between seven different kinds of ice cream scoops– go to Sur La Table. Really– 7.
But when you don’t want to spend $ 30 on an ice cream scoop, go somewhere else.
That is Sur La Table in a nutshell. Anything and everything you could want for your kitchen at prices that make me want to go out to eat all of the places that I’ve given 5 stars on Unilocal.;-)

They have just about everything you have ever seen and wanted on a TV cooking show! :P
The prices, unfortunately, are on the expensive side, but I find that the selection can make it worthwhile!

Food Network Junkies, beware! Sur La Table will captivate you for hours.
I love this store for everything they have… which is every thing you could ever imagine you would ever need in your kitchen. And plenty of unique gifts, too, for anyone who likes to think they have a knack for cooking. Or, for those who haven’t started cooking yet… if memory serves me right, they sell some cute child-​oriented things as well.
The downside was the price, but this is to be expected– all stores which center around cooking will make you max out your visa.

I would move right into this store if I could. I love it. Even when the catalog arrives in the mail — I pour over it as if I hadn’t already memorized the sku numbers of the previous catalog. It’s a sad state of affairs, really. I love to cook, so this place is an absolute haven to me. Years ago (I had my first professional quality Cuisinart at age 17), my store was Williams-​Sonoma. That is SO a thing of the past. Sur La Table is it! For a while, when I had a long standing restaurant contract (I’m a marketing & events consultant) they gave me a 10% discount. You would not believe how much CASH I spent at that store during this period. Ridiculous. What do you need? A baby whisk, a zester, the newest high-​heat spatula, a juicer, an electronic cow cup that makes chocolate milk for kids (or really kid-​like adults), a waffle iron? They’ve got it. Need to find a specific cookbook, cloth napkins to match your new dish set, or a heart shaped cake pan? They’ve got that too. Honestly, they have it all! Do yourself a favor, skip WS and head straight for Sur La Table for your next cooking item ‘need’ (which is somewhat tongue-​in-​cheek for me since I always conjure up a new ‘need’ when I walk though the door). PS. They also offer cooking classes.