Sur La Table

I couldn’t believe some of the lower ratings for this store and felt compelled to write this review to set the record straight. Customer service at this chain, and particularly this location, is unparalleled. Rick and Dean were extremely helpful, offering their advise and showing discount and/​or clearance items to help me save money on quality merchandise throughout the store. I ended up spending more than I planned and likely you will too. This location is quite large, with a vast and varied selection of supplies. They even offer cooking classes… I’ll definitely be back. Just go. You won’t regret it.

I’m very disappointed in the way this place is being run.
I recently purchased cookware sets and some other items and have been bombarded with their spam emails about sales and discount codes and such, so I decided to try to take advantage of the discount code. My purchases were recent and I figured I might be able to return the items and repurchase them with the discount. Instead of actually bringing the items in, I thought maybe I could save everyone a hassle and just bring the receipt so we could ring things up as if I had the items with me. Of course I offered to bring the items in as well if necessary.
Turned out the items I purchased were «sale» items, not «clearance» items; therefore, the particular discount coupon could not be applied. I was fine with that (but honestly, how was I supposed to know that sale items aren’t the same as clearance items?) Anyway, I did not argue or behave rudely in any way. I accepted their explanation and decided to continue shopping. When I came back to the register to ask for assistance with the espresso machines, I found the cashier who «helped» me talking smack about me behind my back to her shift manager. I calmly stood there waiting for them to notice. When the manager finally saw me, he cleared his throat in an attempt to tell her to stop, but of course it was too late.
I calmly asked for assistance with understanding all the different espresso machine options. But as I continued shopping, I felt my anger building up, so I told the manager that I did not appreciate his cashier talking behind my back. I asked for a face-​to-​face apology from her. He apologized, went back to ask her to apologize, came back, and told me, «she can’t come out to apologize because she’s on her lunch break.»
He offered to have her call or email me, but I insisted on an in-​person apology. I called a week later and spoke to the shift manager again. He said he would tell the store manager of the situation and that the store manager would get back to me. It has now been a week and I’ve received no call.
I’m not saying that my attempt to take additional discounts should have been honored. I get that there was fine print that I missed. However, my purchase was recent and I was getting bombarded with ambiguous discount coupons. I believe it was reasonable for me to inquire. I’ve shopped at other stores, where their customer is extremely friendly and they would have honored the discount.
This location apparently allows their staff to be rude and talk poorly about customers behind their backs. I’m simply asking for an apology directly from the clerk who was rude, and they can’t or refuse to do that.
Unfortunately I have a lot more money to spend at Sur La Table from my wedding registry, and I will need to go out of my neighborhood to spend it. I can’t support a store that is rude to their customers and then fails to apologize when caught.

Highlights
— I LOVE the cooking classes that they offer at this location!
— Looking for the best date night idea? I guarantee you will earn some brownie points booking a date night session here!
— I took two classes, both date nights and they were fun, informative (you learn cool techniques), and delicious.
— You pair up with another couple at your own station and it’s a team effort to make the whole meal: app, entrée, and dessert. Even more fun if you get a group of friends to do it with you!
— BYOB, wining and dining at it’s finest! How can it not be fun with some wine while you cook and enjoy it while you savor the food you made?
— You get the recipe for everything you made so you can fully enjoy the experience of cooking and having fun. Everything is pre-​measured during the cooking class, so it saves so much time.
Improvements
— Having your own station per couple would be better so you really get to work together through all the steps. It can get awkward if you have a group of friends and one random couple joins, but the more the merrier!
— I took a late class and we didn’t end up eating until after 10PM. The earlier classes would have been better, since you don’t feel as rushed, starved, and worry about the store closing if you want to browse and purchase items afterwards. (FYI, you get a discount coupon after your class!)
— All of our gas stoves had to have the gas canister replaced at one point or another, which put us back when others were finishing off their dishes.
Tip
— Street/​metered parking around. It can be a pain during busy lunch and dinner hours, but not too bad during the time we arrived.
— Free Nespresso before and during class. They happily demonstrate how to use the machines and make a cup for you. Delicious!

Review for Cooking Classes
Had a good time learning some new techniques and recipes, but not really «hands on» as I would have hoped. I understand that they state that classes are only two hours long, but was hoping to spend more time prepping and actually cooking. You are paired with 2 – 3 other people per station and you share the work and the cooking.

The products and store are great, but the online wedding registry is annoying. It shows already purchased items again if everything is purchased from the registry, so we got duplicates of everything when our registry was fully bought out already. It only shows in teeny tiny fine print that it was purchased already and is easy to overlook. We are now a year out from our wedding and still have hundreds of dollars in store credit after returning all if the duplicate gifts. I emailed and went in store multiple times and the store was not responsive. They let me return the items for credit but didn’t seem to care that their website encouraged my guests to rebut already purchased items. Great for everyday shopping, BUT NOT FOR REGISTRIES!

Had the best date night! We took the «under the sea» class with Carie. She was warm, encouraging and knowledgable. We made seafood stew, a potato leek dish, orange fennel salad, salmon and chocolate crème brûlée. Everything was delicious and fairly easy to prepare. We learned new tips and tricks as well. We’ll bring wine next time though. The rest of the staff was helpful and very friendly. We’ll definitely be back.

Wait, I’m sold a defective espresso machine and then get snark when returning it the next day?!? Are you kidding me?!?
Check your bad attitude at the door, Kyle: people shop at Sur la Table for the high quality items and excellent service. I received neither and will be taking my business elsewhere.

I forgot. I got to attend a cooking demo here with James Beard award winner Paul Qui from Austin, Texas & of Top Chef show fame. It was a lovely event with food sampling + recipe. Met Paul’s family members in the audience too. Very cool!

Very poor customer service. Employees seem uninterested in honoring sale prices. I was not given the sale price of my items and had to ask for the sale prices to be honored and prove that the items were on sale. Not worth the argument– especially after watching another employee do the same thing to a customer after me. I love Sur La Table but will not visit this location again. The store itself is nice large spacious store. The cooking store looks nice too, I’d hope the employees there are more like the ones in the south bay Sur La Table stores which are always helpful and courteous.

Review for the store.
I’m so happy I noticed the new/​ish Sur La Table on Union Street today. I’ve needed to replace my horribly old and warped Revereware for many years. I do cook 3 – 5 times a week but I’m nowhere near a daily pro. Still the warped pans I’ve been using have been getting me down. Luckily there is a huge sale going on at SLT right now!
I walked in and looked around with a friend of mine. There were several customers and when a sales associate did not help us right away I went and got one. I read another review where the reviewer felt slighted (my word not theirs) because no one helped them while they were browsing. In the store’s defense there are times when I like to browse and not be «helped» or bothered and that’s most of the time I’m shopping. If I have a question or need help I ask someone. Novel I know. Sales associates are taught not to hover or bother people because most people just look and don’t purchase. And if someone is interested in purchasing, they ask for help. Pretty simple.
After I approached a sales associate and asked for help I was treated to 5 star customer service! The gentleman that helped us was extremely knowledgeable and could instantly tell from what little I know of cookware and my need to replace my current warped pans, and my budget that the SRL brand was right for me. I ended up getting 3 skillets (and 8″, a 10″ and a 12″ with lids) and 1 small 1.5 quart pot (saucepan) with a lid for under $ 250! He explained the 3 clad «thingy» to me and I love the weight and handles and 2 glass lids!
Yes there are other «better» brands available at SLT such as All Clad and apparently one of the best brands is Demeyere but for what I need and my budget the SLT brand is eons above what I’ve been using and so affordable!
They even held my purchases for me while I continued to shop on Union Street, get my car and pull it up front. They told me to honk and they’d bring everything out and they did!
Lastly — I called an hour later to ask if there was lead in their product (since it’s made in China) and they assured me that there is not and they even do random testing.
I couldn’t be happier with the service and the exceptional products and the huge savings! :) :) :) I’m a fan and can’t wait to cook up a storm!

I took the How to Cook the Perfect Steak cooking class. Overall I’d say it started out as a 3 and ended at a 5 so I’m giving it a 4 to end up in the middle. Arielle, the instructor was great and I learned a few new tricks for cooking steaks. Bring you own wine! They don’t serve any even though the pictures on the website show a glass. We took a five minute break so we could go out to the corner store and buy our own.
Additionally, there was minimal hands on work compared to other cooking classes I’ve taken in the city. Most things were prepped and chopped, blended, etc, for us all we had to do was put them all together. This saved time for sure but did leave me feeling like I didn’t actually do much. We did cook and cut the actual steaks which I guess was the most important part.

I am really pleased that Sur La Table has opened a store close to my home, and I sincerely hope that this operation will succeed. That said.. .
My partner and I walked to this store last Saturday evening (02/​04/​2014) to purchase a very specific product (a Scanpan fry pan). When we arrived, we were impressed with the size and layout of the new store. However, after waiting around the Scanpan section for a few minutes, we began to wander elsewhere. I would say that we were in the store for approximately 30 minutes.
During our visit, not one sales representative greeted or even approached us. Instead, they were busy talking with each other. Perhaps, they were tired. After all, it was near the end of the day. However, we noticed that other customers were also left hanging, until they made an effort to initiate contact with a salesperson. Really, it is up to the sales representative to politely (but unobtrusively) initiate contact with customer.
The neglect was palpable. After scoping out this store, we decided to leave and order our Scanpan fry pan online. There was no reason to allow any member of the neglectful staff to benefit from a sale.
I am certain that once the staff has been properly trained (or replaced), this Sur La Table location will do very well. Until then, I will travel out of my way to visit the Sur La Table store in the Ferry Building (or purchase or cookware online).

The staff are knowledgeable, congenial and extremely helpful. I compare a recent shopping experience with a nearby kitchen-​home store where the staff knew less about their stock than did the staff at this store. A beautiful, spacious space. HIghly recommended for a happy, satisfying shopping experience.

Since I fancy myself a culinary crackerjack, it gives me great pleasure to FTR the newest Sur La Table in SF.
As an appetizer: it’s cavernous. It encompasses two store fronts, with the left side partially reserved for cooking classes (within large glass view of window shoppers, so no licking your fingers, students!)
For the first course: you’ll be happy to find the usual Sur La Table plethora of gadgets you never knew you needed, but now MUST have having glimpsed them. (Potato scrubber-​and-​peeler in-​one, I’m looking at you!)
The second course features an extremely pleasant sales staff (no doubt all shined up for the recent grand opening) — friendly and not pushy, allowing you to savor the experience.
Crown the shopping experience with a bit of sweetness as manifested by the community events listed in their calendar (cooking classes, «date nights,» theme parties and cooking skills classes (i.e. Essential Knife Skills, coming up on ¹²⁄₁₇).
I don’t live in this neighborhood, but this store appears to be a very welcome addition to the Marina shopping district. You might spend a pretty penny, but the quality and novelty makes this a great place for gift-​buying, and sparking cooking/​hosting ideas.