The Spice House

We would come here on occasion when visiting the city. The problem we always had was parking. When I lived in the city and took public transit, this would be an easy place to visit and in an area with lots of cool places to check out. But now that I live in the burbs, I don’t get many chances to shop at a place like this.
You will get a slight senses overload when you walk in. I loved the mixed spices they have with flavors like Chicago pizza and other unique mixtures. Those are great for gifts. I know we’ve bought garlic and roasted garlic here before and loved both.
Great place to shop, but don’t bring a car or you may be looking for quite a while to park and pay for a meter.

Wonderful helpful people! Amazing spices, amazing varitiety, this is so one of my favoriate places ever.

Every single product I’ve had from The Spice House is amazing.

This is one of those amazing hidden gems in Chicago. They have your typical spices, which I still need to buy, and they also have their own spice blends, all named after places in Chicago. I’ve tried quite a few and they are all delicious. I only have 2 complaints. I wish they put the suggested food pairings on the actual bottle. Not just on the description at the store. Also, I’ve been here twice and have never been asked if I needed help. This is one of those places where if you suggest a killer spice blend, I’m going to need to buy it and run home and try it. Some direction and suggestions would have been appreciated.

This place is awesome. Never thought I could get so interested in spices, but the staff was so friendly and knowledgable that I couldn’t stop asking questions.
Also, it smells amazing. So even if you’re not trying to buy something, just go in and take a wiff.

I have to agree with every Unilocaler out there… the The Spice House is spectacular! I have been a frequent customer since I moved to the city three years ago. I regularly purchase their Vietnamese Saigon cinnamon and love it for its sweet, spicy flavor and freshness. I use it in my morning coffee daily. I am an avid exerciser and used to get cramps in my feet when swimming and running but noticed since I started the cinnamon in my coffee no more cramping… not sure if it is actually connected… just sayin. Anyhow I divert. I don’t really cook much but I have bought countless gifts for friends and family (hoping they will cook for me… it worked once) as they have a great assortment of spice sets and you can mix your own set of Chicago neighborhood ethnic spices… such as Greektown «Billygoat» seasoning, Back of the Yards Rub and Bronzeville Rib Rub. They ship so great gift for exChicagoans to «rub» in their faces what they are missing here in this amazing city ya know?

i absolutely love the spice house! their seasonings are always fantastic. i love the chicago pizza seasoning, and one of my all-​time favorites is their jerk. i buy it in bulk! i have never tasted such an excellent jerk sauce from a jar, can, or bottle.

I am often looking for «Chicago» original gifts and this is perfect. Great for people who previously lived in Chicago, currently live in Chicago, or are loved by a Chicagoan. Really great for anyone actually. Sure to delight.
I first met the Spice House on a food tour and fell in love. Was lucky to sign up for their emails and catch a promotion around Christmastime. The quality of the products are great, but the price is a little steep for me as a student. So while they are hard to come by, a promo code was a big help.
Their products are worth it and make thoughtful gifts.

So, The Spice House is a pretty darn spectacular place.
Once you get up the stairs in front, you enter a world of small plastic bags, glass jars, heavenly scents and helpful employees.
Like to cook? Love to cook? Don’t hate cooking? This store can make your dishes taste better. Seasonings and spices are key.
They seem to have most anything you were missing, things you had no idea you needed as well as a plethora of new to you spices.
I love this store.
The Spice House has AMAZING original blends of spices that can make you rethink your taste preferences. For example:
I used to be fond of saying «I hate pepper.» I repeated those words often!
I can now be seen eating those words FREQUENTLY in the form of the Back of The Yards Garlic Pepper seasoning. This stuff is INCREDIBLE. I have to be honest here. I can bake. I can bake anything, but cooking, well… It’s a whole different skill set. Back of The Yards adds a great flavor my meat and chicken dishes were missing.
On my latest journey into the store, I happened to pick up a jar of the Sunny Paris, Salt-​free seasoning. This has been a gift from the gods for my homemade soups! It also is a great flavoring on vegetables. The salt-​free option rocks my world. Why consume extra salt?
I could go on and on and on but I think it’s clear. This place spices my world– from the help, to the smells, to the products-​it is all around wonderful! If you are not local or can’t easily make it to the store itself, the website is pretty great!
* the stairs in front are not steep but can be a bit of a challenge to those using walking devices.

My favorite place to buy spices. They have things that you can’t get in your average grocery store. I also love their events in which they make food with the features spices in it. If you sign up for their newsletter you will also get coupons.

This cozy place in Old Town literally has everything you could ever wish for in terms of herbs and spices ! Their selection borders on the absurd, all of it very fresh, and their staff are all super friendly and knowledgeable. From the moment you enter the place and take in the different smells to the time the staff is preparing your spice on their scale, it’s a wonderful experience.

Went in search for whole dried sage, not available in any major stores anymore.
The Spice House came through with it! The sales person was super friendly and smart, she took care of my order in a jiff. My gf bought a gift set of spices from around the city and it was reasonably priced and the couple we gave it too loves it. Support small business and head on down to Old Town to this great place.
Spice House is the tops!

This the best spice store I have ever visited! Since I moved to the old town area in September, I am regular! Prices are great and the staff are knowledgable and friendly. Go and enjoy, you won’t regret it!

If you are a foodie, and if you are ever close to Old Town, you MUST make a pilgrimage into the Spice Shop! Highest quality world spices, arriving into Spice House in bulk wooden barrels and boxes, and broken down by knowledgeable staff into manageable bags and jars, and all the way down to electronic-​scale measured grams for your saffron fix (2 or 3 diff kinds of saffron BTW), make this a unique and aromatic adventure. Marco Polo would be envious of all the spices gathered in one space.
What can I say that numerous others haven’t? Spice House is just an AMAZING icon of Old Town in Chicago and a true homage for cooks and foodies. 15 kinds of bar-​b-​q rub? Yes. 25 different salad spices and herb mixtures? Yes. Peppercorns? 8 different varieties… This place is a foodie’s dream.

This was our sixth stop on the Gold Coast & Old Town Food Tour so I got to visit The Spice House. It’s a cozy place filled with all kinds of different spices. The place is supposed to smell amazing since you can try the spices and dust it on the floor if there are any remaining spices that are left over. However, the smell was a bit strong for me and I didn’t enjoy the smell too much, but that is just me. But everyone else seemed to love it.
Anyways, this is the place to go to get all your spices to cook a lovely meal. Personally, I think they make great gifts as well.
I would recommend this place to anyone that loves cooking or just exploring and trying different kinds of spices that are out there. There were spices that I never even knew existed and I got to try it so that’s pretty cool.

My visit to the Spice House was… fine. I went specifically to buy a giftset and seasoning for my family members for Christmas. I found the giftset with no troubles, but the second spice was harder to find. I walked around the store for awhile looking generally confused before anyone offered to help me. The employees were fine: not particularly friendly or rude. I’d only go here to buy gifts or something really rare that I couldn’t find elsewhere.

This store is a treat for All 5 senses! Their blended rubs add vest and depth to those boring meat dinners. I love the Indian gift box this year. I am experimenting with a whole new flavor palate. I never miss a trip to the store when I’m in Chicago to take in the freshly ground spice aroma! You’ll never buy those mass produced grocery store spices again after tasting theirs.

The Spice House is a great option for buying spices. Most spices have multiple options such as black, white and green cardamom. You can buy them in jars or bags. The bags are the best buy. You get more than enough to fill up the containers you already have and it’s still less expensive than buying a jar.
There aren’t bags (or even jars) of all of the spices they have because The Spice House is a tiny place. For example, I might want green cardamom but only the black one is already packaged. An employee has to prepare it for me and they’re very busy helping nearly everybody in the store. What happens is that I settle for the black cardamom because it’s already packaged and more convenient.
I’m always caught off guard that a spice store can be bustling. The check out person explained it to me. Besides neighborhood customers, The Spice House is also a stop for a couple foodie tours and they host events.

One of the most fragrant places in all the land. They have an abundance of choices ranging from the most commonly used spices to the completely exotic. Forget Penzey’s and don’t even think about using McCormick’s.

One of a kind place. This funky shop is like a spice bizarre out of a dream. They make most of the items themselves and have a totally unique selection. They are a little pricy, but totally worth it.
I Personally recommend trying the smoked paprika, and the sriracha spice.
Come here on a date to have some interesting experiences, and walk around. There are plenty of free samples to try.

Just adding some more praise on to a clearly awesome specialty shop. With over 300 reviews and a 5 Star rating it was pretty apparent to me that The Spice House was going to rule. It definitely did.
Between the amazing smells when you walk in, the encyclopedic array of spices, the super friendly and hands on service, it’s hard to imagine another place like this that even comes close in town.
It’s perfect for a present for grandma, a coworker, or someone you don’t really want to give a gift to but have to. Heck, you may even leave wanting to season some of your own meat next meal. Stop in and see for yourself!

SPICE, SPICE BABY!
There’s an eschatological excitement to walking into The Spice House with a mural of spices and herbs from around the globe. The spices are beautifully displayed in canisters that look as if they are encased expensive international cosmetics, but in fact, contained spice blends that are ethereal parsimony to my eyes. Yo, VIP, let’s kick it, Spice, Spice Baby, Spice, Spice Baby! The spices smelled nothing like the time-​forgotten powdered spices in my kitchen pantry. The spices here were steroidally potent as I burrowed my nostrils like a tiny aromatic vole. After giving the Tellicherry black and green peppercorns a whiff, I felt as if someone had probed my sinuses with a tiny wire brush. It was then that I realized how ignorant I had been.
Did you know that pink peppercorns are not peppers at all, but dried Brazilian berries that are mild and sweet to the palate? There was an Indian pepper which tasted of pine resin and citrus, and wild Tasmanian pepper that elevated my tongue to a sweetly state. Did you know that white pepper is not really white pepper? It is actually black pepper, but it is put through a process called retting. They soak the peppercorn until the skin decomposes and then the seeds are dried. The white pepper at The Spice House smells ethereal. The texture is somewhere between rich truffle to good chocolate and followed by a mild flavor. Spices definitely intensifies the flavors of your foods, from meats to vegetables to salads and fresh fish. On the other hand, spices can be complicated if you are not sure about which spices to use with what, and on what types of foods.
Throughout the world, cumin is second in popularity only to black pepper, so I was glad I was able to find Spanish cumin here. I use cumin often for my Latin American home made cuisine. Then, there is the smoked Spanish paprika, which is rich, colorful and naturally smoked over traditional oak fires. I also enjoy cooking Indian dishes and I am still learning how to make specific Indian cuisine. Although, Latin American and Italian are my «specialties» when it comes to whipping up authentic, flavorful dishes. I purchased an Indian spice mixture of Tellicherry black and Mysore green peppercorns with white peppercorns from Sarawak. A little bit goes a long, long way so don’t go crazy using this spice or you may end up cleaning out your entire system. You don’t want to become a human fire torch and end up with a rear-​end on fire!
If you cannot find a specific spice here chances are you will not find it at your local grocery store. I like to grow my own herbs and spices during the warmer months in Chicago, but when I need the best of the best and it is the dead of Winter, I come to The Spice House. I’ve been coming for years, so my review is long overdue.
The price-​point is really dependent upon what kind of spice (spices) you end up purchasing. Some are a bit on the pricey side, but they are definitely high quality spices. For this alone, 5-​stars. However, my final rating is 4-​stars because parking is a pain in the ass in this area of the city — just insane!!! Yo, man, let’s get outta here! Word to your mother! Spice House, Baaaaby, Spice House, Baaaaby…

If Heaven has a smell, it will smell like The Spice House.
My first visit to The Spice House on Wells Street was almost 4 years ago, and they have been my Sole Spice Source since that time. I am so loyal to Spice House products, that when I run out of a certain spice I will make a different recipe rather than having to buy non-​Spice House spices. My first stop here was on a whim after I saw a positive review in a blog I used to read. My husband & I were in Chicago on an extended weekend, and we happened to be eating at a nearby restaurant. I loved that even on a drizzly day, you could smell the heavenly aroma of The Spice House from pretty far down the sidewalk. That first visit we walked out with almost a 10# shopping bag filled with amazing spices (which was a pain in the arse to haul around for the rest of the day, but I digress).
When I got home a couple of days later & began to experiment with my purchases, I realized that the spices I had purchased at The Spice House were the FRESHEST and best spices I had ever used in my life (I’m a pretty adventurous home-​cook). I have been a very loyal Spice House customer, since (although admittedly, mainly through their online store… due to the pains of heavy bags when playing tourist, as mentioned above :-)). A few years ago when we renovated our kitchen & designed our kitchen island from scratch, we had our island drawers specially-​designed to be the correct height to accommodate the standard 4oz Spice House spice bottles.
I have always found the staff to be Incredibly friendly, bordering on highly-​entertaining depending on the day. I wish we lived closer so I could stop in regularly. The gift boxes make great Wedding, Birthday, or Holiday gifts.
Tip: if you follow The Spice House on social networking (i.e. Facebook) or sign up for their e-​newsletters, you will be notified about Free Shipping specials. Since my sales tax rate at home is a bit friendlier than it is in the Chicago-area…this works out quite to my advantage :-).