Savory Spice Shop

Sooooooo… This place rules. It’s my secret to delicious meals. No crappy McCormick grocery store mass produced «spices» here. The owner Laura is really awesome and is beyond helpful. My favorite is the ghost pepper salt, but I enjoy every spice I have bought here. If you care about your cooking, do yourself a favor and stop by. I guarantee you’ll be just as hooked on spices as I am. They have anything you can think of and sell in an assortment of sizes. Thank you for being so close and always having everything I could ever need.

I’ve been on a pretty strict diet for the past six months or so, which generally means bland chicken and veggies on the reg — that is, until I discovered Savory Spice Shop! This place is awesome. They pretty much have any spice you are looking for from Chile Lime to Jamaican Jerk. It is a great way to «spice» up your food to help with the monotony, especially when on a diet.
The staff is also extremely helpful and friendly. They are always willing to provide recommendations depending on what you are looking to cook. The prices are also very reasonable and they offer all different weights of spices from 2 oz to a whole bottle.

I just went into this shop to purchase a gift card. The $ 75 was taken out of my debit card but they were unable to give me a receipt. The cashier, Ryan asked for my email and said that the receipt would be sent that way. I waited and waited for the email to be sent to me. He finally said that it could take awhile. I finally did receive the email 15 minutes later. It just felt strange handing over money and walking away without being sure that the gift card was activated. I printed off the receipt once I got home so all is well.
The place was busy and I overheard that no one was able to get receipts. They just got a new computer system in. Hopefully they will get this kink fixed soon.

We have bought several times from this store, but recently we attempted to get some pickling spices. They were out but assured us they would get more from their Newport location. They took our name and we waited for a phone call that never came. Finally, when they picked up the phone, the clerk apparently never submitted our name, but did not follow up and order the spices. He would have some in by Saturday, but that day came and went. Called again and were told they’d have them in Saturday, but by then we were out of time. I called the Newport store who had plenty and assured us they would send them over that afternoon. Don’t know if they ever did as we managed to locate what we needed at Sprouts. Poor customer service and no follow thru loses customers. We’re going back to Penzey’s, a first rate outfit that never fails to provide 5-​star everything.

I got tired of the stale spices at the market, so I searched around and found this little gem. These spices are as fresh as fresh can be. I got some lovely paprika, pink salt crystals, nutmeg nuts, and cinnamon sticks. I’ll be coming back for other spices once I run out of what I got from the market.

They got everything you need. Great range of spice for everyday use. Hard to find stuff like aleppo pepper and harissa. They have tons of other everyday things that are much better than you’d find elsewhere like cumin, peppers, salts, cinnamon, etc.
You’d be crazy not to get your spices here.

With a great selection and amazing prices you can go wrong! I want all their spices in my collection. You can get everything from everyday to exotic and hard to find. The staff is always friendly and super helpful!

I was checking out the OC Mix because I heard they had some pretty cool shops boasting locally made cheeses and artisan goods. I was actually searching for some wine for my sister. However, I noticed this little spice shop and remembered my spice cabinet was nonexistent so I walked in. I was the only customer so the friendly fellow behind the counter asked my if I was looking for anything in particular.
While I love to cook, sis LOVES to bake. So I asked him if he had any recommendations for gift ideas. Turns out they actually had a gift set with cinnamon sugar and seven other cool baking spices. PERFECT! Sis loved it.
I also got some spices for myself too. Normally, I mix my own spice rubs for meat and such but my spice cabinet was basically nonexistent and the jars here were so convenient. I got some turkey spice rub (pretty solid) and some awesome kansas city bbq seasoning. They have a slew of other bbq seasonings, a friend chicken seasoning, and some curry powder. Their curry is on point!
Employees seemed to be pretty knowledgeable and can help you find whatever you are looking for. They can even throw in some suggestions for uses and preparation and such.
All in all, I was very pleased. I’ll probably stop by again to stock up. You guys should check them out if you have the chance!

If you are interested in cooking or mixing quality cocktails this is the place for you. The best quality spices I have ever tasted, and the selection is incredible.

This is my favorite place to get spices I just love this little shoppe and I like that I can ask most people advice and they know what they are talking about. Also you can make sets and also they have arranged ones as well.
Currently I am on a vindaloo kick and just love it, also I got the Mayan cocoa which is pretty nice, a great flavor enhancer. Oh and the Ghost Pepper/​Salt which is quite tasty and spices up my dishes in a second!

I’m not a big fan of OC mix mart itself but I love to visit this shop.
There’s a huge variety of spices available and you could sample each one of em’ before deciding whether or not you’d like to purchase it.
The prices are quite reasonable as well.
Why a 4 star instead of 5?
Customer service was lacking. They didn’t greet me nor asked if I needed help.

i was in the OC mix mart and really needed to replenish a few of my spices that were running out. i knew savory spice shop was there but was reluctant to go in, having had a very negative experience at their corona del mar location some time back. wow, am i glad i gave this location a chance, because i had a wonderful experience there!
laura greeted me kindly and was happy to help as i perused their expanded selection of bulk spices (previously i had only seen already packaged bottles rather than being able to buy however much you wanted). they had several things i haven’t seen in other spice shops (including Penzey’s), such as ground guajillo chile, aji amarillo, and tomato powder (exactly what it sounds like: powdered tomato).
i ended up purchasing about 9 different spices — all bulk and in different quantities — and laura was more than happy to fill the bags and label them nicely. another cool thing about savory is that they list the jar «refill» prices on the bulk canisters so you can see how much you save by reusing and refilling your spice jars rather than buying new jars — good for the environment AND your wallet (and i like it since i have my spices organized in a rack already). the prices of spices are comparable to other spice shops and are way less expensive than your crappy run-​of-​the-​mill supermarket brands which are often low quality and stale.
i can’t believe how different my experience at this location was compared to my previous experience in the CDM location. is it the new location, different clientele, and/​or working on improving customer service based on Unilocal reviews? i would say all of the above.
thank you savory for a wonderful experience. you’ve changed my opinion of you entirely, and i now look forward to my next visit!

I’m tired of buying store bought spices and seeing them get tossed with ½ the contents in them. While walking around waiting for my appointment at Lollipop I remembered I needed some spices for my Salmon & Rice dish I was making for dinner that night.
The girl was super cool and new exactly what I needed the California Coastal Spice — let them tell you it was AWESOME on my salmon still loving it for lunch.
Added some Dill to the rice it tastes like I added fresh dill you cannot tell the difference at all… I have a new favorite place.

— Locale Destination —
It’s in OC Mix at SoCo. «OC Mix» is a big building complex that houses so many little shops and café in «SoCo». «SoCo» is a mini-​shopping mall right by 405 freeway and Harbor Blvd in Costa Mesa.
Right close to the café in Black and Yellow. It’s small yet tons of spices are all over and well organized. The décor is very simple but who cares? You see bunch of spices. The lady was very friendly and helpful. They do have lots of testers for you to try them out. Do it!
You can buy from 1 oz to the bottle and bigger if you want. Each jar has prices on it. FYI: Once the spice was grounded, it will lose the flavor very quickly. So I don’t recommend to buy a lot at a time unless you plan to use them soon. You better buy it fresh when you need them. That’s why freshly grounded black pepper taste a lot better than the one sit on the table forever…
— Gluttony Expedition —
They do have simple single seasonings — like «thyme», «onion powder» etc. But their original mixed seasonings are BOMB!!! They have sections and well organized:
— Salt: from all over the world. Hymalayan, their own seasoning ones, you name it!
— Peppers: all colors, from coarse to grounded
— Standard ones: lemon peppers and some dried green onions etc.
— Chili: red peppers, peruvian chili, hot sauces etc.
— Chicken&Seafood, BBQ (rub)
— Curry: single curry powder to mixed ones like Indian like «Vindaloo», Thai (Red curry), and more.
— Herbs: Rosemary etc.
— Dipping: For nachos and dipping sauce
— Baking: Cocoa, cinnamon etc.
— Exotic: Juniper berries, Kirr lemon leaf (for Indian cooking) etc.
I tasted a little more but was a bit tired from Unilocaling a lot ;p
— CA citrus rub: Nice kick by black peppers and mild citrusy flavors. Great!
— Black dust coffee spice rub: Coffee flavors with a hint of spiciness. Good!
— Alderwood smoked sea salt, coarse: Very mild and smooth smokey flavors. I’ve tried those from Hawaii before, but it was way too smoky. This was very elegant smokiness to enhance the cooking. Great!
— Black truffle Italian sea salt: great! Very sting truffle flavors! Amazing!
— Chardonnay fume de sel: very mild and flavorful Chardonnay salt! Good!
— Conqueror’s Deduction —
I LOVE this place!
I do cook and use lots of seasonings from all over the world.
Their seasoned salts — OMG! Sooooo GOOD! I just wanted a simple steak and sprinkle of those salts. So TASTY! «The Playground» in Santa Ana should buy their seasonings and use them on their food ;p AMAZINGLY TASTY! Their unique and tasty flavor combinations are totally something else. They do have a set that contains several seasonings as well (several combinations). Highly recommended!

Variety is the spice of life!
I found this most awesome shop in the whole Mix Mart a couple months ago at a Unilocal holiday mixer. And I must say Savory Spice Shop rocks!
Forget the coffee, oysters, EVOO, and vintage stuff you’ll find at the Mix Mart you gotta visit Savory Spice to spice up your life and your food! This place should be on the top of every chefs, cooks, and wannabe’s (like me) list.
First of all they have more spices than you could ever imagine, shelf after shelf of salts and peppers, herbs, chili’s ,
onions, organics, garlics, flowers, seeds, mixes and extracts.
Not only do they have every kitchen’s dream spice cabinet. They’ll let you try any of them before buying. They also have a very knowledgeable staff that are eager to help you select from the multitudes of flavors to suit your tastes. They also will help you pair spices to your cooking style to make a great meal.
Ever needed a tsp of an exotic spice for a new recipe? Then go to your local grocer to find it at $ 9 a small bottle? A year later it has lost its flavor and its garbage. At SSS you can buy an oz or so and save yourself some bucks while getting a dose of fresh spice to add to our recipe. So much better and flavorful than the bottled jars of spices you’ll find at Vons or Ralphs. Yes people this is the real deal.
I’ve tried many spices and dusts from SSS. The smoked salts will kick up a steak to perfection while the Ghost chili powder
will add fire to almost anything. The garlic salt and the truffle salts are a match made in heaven for snack foods. They also have many BBQ rub mixes for your BBQ fare. Santa Maria, St Louis, and more they’ve got some great rub mixes.
Need a cool and unique gift for the foodie in your life? SSS has prepared spice gift boxes and baskets or you could design your own creation out of the vast selection, and surely impress the cook in your life. They also have on line shopping if that’s your deal, but I suggest adding a little spice to your life and visiting them in person. You cant taste or smell over the Internet and the Mix-​Mart is a fun little shopping center.
Give SSS a try you’ll be glad you did.
I’ll be back!

I love this store but I absolutely HATE the location (OC Mix Mart —
).
Came in to buy a few different spices to try out for dinner. The staff is pretty inattentive but then again, it’s a small store and there’s not much the staff can do until you either look really confused or ask for something specific.
I wandered around for about half an hour before starting to give serious consideration to picking out a spice or two. I bought one for fish, one for chicken, and one for red meat. I want to come back and try one of their smoked salts but dammit if I can’t bring myself back to this building.
I love Savory but I don’t think I’ll ever return simply because of the location.
But a strong 5 stars for my one and only visit, and I’ll probably go online to order their items.

I had a horrible experience at the Savory Spice Shop in Newport Beach
and due to the horrible customer service I swore I’d never give them another chance. Well… this is a new location so what the hell, let’s start over with a fresh slate.
Customer service here is 100% opposite from the other location. Instead of rude horrible service where employees physically shove you out of the way so big spending customers can look at what you are looking at the employee here spent time answering all our questions and was happy to give her recommendations. Only downfall at this location is it seems much smaller with less selection than the other one but I’ll take quality over quantity.
One of my favorite hot sauces is their serrano garlic hot sauce. I picked up a bottle and noticed a ghost chili hotsauce. While my wife was browsing I took a shot of their sampler of it and damn was it frickin’ hot. I’ve had ghost chili before and knew what to expect but this stuff burned for a good 20 minutes. I’ll stick to the serrano. We also picked up some dry rubs and a nice wooden spice rack that we mounted to our pantry door. I’m happy by our experience and will be back. I need to refresh the basic herbs and spices that I’m running low on.

If you’re testing out ANYTHING, this is the place to be. From baking, barbeque, cooking and everything in between… I cannot love this little shop enough. It is a little store but it rivals Penzys Spices.
The gift boxes are great for on the go but in particular I love that you can get everything in this shop custom bagged to your needs. In other words, you can try out something that you were scared to commit to in a 1 lb jar! The staff was great and I can’t wait to try out the lavender sugar, spicy jamaican jerk rub and madagascar vanilla bean powder. A great idea for fancying up camping or tailgating if you can’t bring liquids on the go! I also picked up a bottle of dehydrated blu cheese powder… I sprinkled some on my salad and I’m counting down for movie night to test it out as well. For something that is already moldy, I always tend to let it go bad (?). This is great! It will stay indefinitely forever!

Do you find yourself going thru your spices like crazy? Having to run to the store every time a dinner party takes place to only find you’re completely out of what you need? Well, as much entertaining as I do, I constantly stock up on spices and when my food calls for a special spice, I used to drive around for hours and on some days, looking for that specific spice will take a few stores to finally track it down on a shelf! But I don’t have that problem any longer… thanks to The Savory Spice Shop. All I need is under one roof, well a roof of a bigger roof to be exact!
I’ve been able to make my own spices up. Can you believe it, I made my own special concoctions and they just smile and put it in a great bottle or if you buy in bulk, they will bag it up! Did I mention you can even try out your blend or their blends or anything you’re curious about. Needless to say… SERVICE IS EXCELLENT!
I just love their concept, come in and look, sample, buy in tiny bits or gigantic bits!
Parmesan Pesto Sprinkle
Rogan Josh and Madras Curry Blends
Loose spices that I use a lot
My Prime Rib Rub — my own concoction… my ancient Secret! Only the friendly guy there knows it but I doubt he remembers it. lol…
Just love love this place. It’s a great gift idea for any of your Aggressive Cooks or the Laid Back Chefs. I’m a chef in my own kitchen. Check them out… you’ll love this GEM at the OC Mart Mix.

This place is an Olfactory wonderland!
They have so many fun blends and gift packs featuring these blends like a BBQ set, a coffee spice set, an Asian cooking spice set, etc.
I love that they let you customize gift sets too. I picked up a custom set for one of my besties who happens to be in an SCA cooking guild that wins many awards. This shop is one of the finest places I’ve found that has herbs and blends perfectly suited to her needs.
The service here is incredible. The representative who helped me, Elaine, was able to pick out perfect items when I described what I needed to her. She was very helpful to everyone in the shop who had questions.
What makes the store so unique is that it is set up in a way that makes you stroll slowly through the shop, smelling the the spices and blends. From the earthy, to the sweet, to the spiciest of aromas, this shop will leave you intoxicated in the most pleasant of ways.