Just did an excellent cooking class with Elaine. She was great - it was super hands-on with the right balance of lots of prep done for us, but we got to do all the fun parts of actually cooking. I feel like we learned a lot, and also got to eat delicious food. The pace was great - felt like the 2 hours flew by and she kept it fun and interesting. Highly recommend any class taught by Elaine. read more

Very disappointing. I read reviews from years ago and it seems like nothing has changed to this day. There isn't much learning here; everything is pre-cut, the classes are crowded (16 people for four cooking stations so you are always working with three other people), and only two stovetops. You're basically taking turns stirring things, throwing the seasoning, and pushing buttons, with basic instructions that feel like following a recipe online. This could be a good fit if you've never attempted to cook anything before (no judgment), as there's no way to fail since you're just watching and repeating. If you would like to learn new techniques and how a real kitchen works, save the $100 per person and find a different plac. read more

This was the worst customer service experience I have had in recent memory. Looking at other reviews makes me think this store needs a new staff or it needs to shut down all together. I bought a wooden cutting board. My wife soaked it in warm water to get some stains out. It promptly cracked through the middle and became unusable (please see photo). I went in to replace it. I showed them my credit card record of the purchase (please see attached) Note that that contains both the time and location of the purchase. There is no reason to doubt that board was from that store-it also says Sur La table on it. As soon as the person I was talking to realized I had no original receipt he entered into lecture mode. He used the socratic method to maximize the knowledge I retain. He said things like 'I have guidelines to follow. You have a job, right? You know how at your job there are guidelines? We have them too.' etc. I asked to talk to a manager. He said he is the manager. I asked to talk to his boss. He said I should come tomorrow (as if I have nothing better to do than to go and argue several times about a defective cutting board). Avoid this store. And mangers, please find people who have the temperament for customer service. read more

Sur La Table - credit card receipt - Home Decor Near Me - Palo Alto, California

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ZERO stars for online registration system. Do not register on the same day of class even though it lets you AND it says "4 seats left." The system will charge your credit card, give you confirmation, and lead you to believe you can attend. When in fact, you will NOT be on the list and turned away upon arrival. NOT NICE, SUR LA TABLE. The embarrassment of being turned away = my disappointment in not being able to partake. The instructor said this has happened before to others. read more

I signed up for the date night cooking class and was told when we got there that the cooking class was cancelled due to a plumbing issue. There was no attempt made by the company to inform attendees of the cancellation. Refund process took forever after multiple emails stating it was being processed but it was never processed because they did not have my cc. read more

I had a cooking class with Andrea and she was fantastic!! Very professional, kind and patient in teaching our pastry class. She went through the recipe carefully and explained everything!!! I really had a great time and hope to come back again for another class. Plus you get to take home delicious food you made. Thank you for a fun time!!!! read more

I did a holiday cooking class here as part of an early Christmas present. It was not at all what I hoped it would be based off of the online description. The room was jam packed - there were 24 of us! I believe they upped the attendance due the special holiday class. It was not hands on. Most of the time, we were all watching the main chef over her stove. We did not have stoves at our stations. When we were able to use a stove, we shared it with 3 other classmates. It was tough to feel like you were actually cooking. The dish we were making was a beef Wellington. Most of the components were made beforehand to save time. I think that deducted from the idea of the class. I was there to learn how to make the dish, not watch someone else ensemble it from pre-made ingredients. The chef was extremely sweet, which is why I'm leaving this review as 2 stars and not just 1. read more

Sur La Table - Home Decor Near Me - Palo Alto, California

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I bought holiday gifts. The customer service was 5 stars. I found everything I needed, and what the store didn't have in stock, I was able to order at the counter to have the items shipped to my house. The workers were so helpful to me and to each other. read more

The cooking class was amazing. We made delicious meatballs and zesty shrimp. The instructor was kind and patient. It was overall a great way to advance one's cooking skill and an overall fun thing to do. I definitely would recommend! read more

Tried to return a wedding gift i had recieved a few days ago and was told it was past the return window and they won't even provide store credit for the current price. They were honestly pretty rude about it. Not shopping here again read more

Took the Incredible Indian Flavors class that was a birthday gift from my daughter. I've cooked my way through many world cuisines but never Indian, Chef Shabeen was welcoming and bubbly. I had never taken a class there but the set-up and preparation taken by her helpers was stellar! There were 3 of us on our station and working together was fun. Chef taught us real well, including some secret ingredients I didn't know went into the food. We made rice,naan,chutney, butter chicken and toasted coconut shrimp. All the flavors were spot-on and we enjoyed our hard work after. I'm definitely going to make this for my husband in the future as everything came out as if from a restaurant! Going to keep an eye out for other Indian classes. As a French trained cook, ages ago, this was a lovely step outside my comfort zone. read more

Mary (older heavy set older woman) was the rudest Sur La Table employee that we have ever had to deal with. Physical description of her is being provided so shoppers can avoid having her ruin your shopping experience! The one star reviews of this store are really quite justified! My return was not being processed because a receipt was being requested. I was basically being accused of stealing the items even though I had an email confirmation of my order. Mary would not acknowledge that Sur La Table receipts are not included with direct shipments from Le Creuset! After having a very negative experience with Mary, we now understand why so many Sur La Table locations have shuttered up...it's the surly service! All of our holiday kitchen gifts will be ordered from Williams Sonoma and Amazon. Au revoir Sur La Table! read more

My daughter enrolled in Winter baking class in Palo Alto, Town & Village Center Location, for kids from Jan 1 2024 thru Jan 5th. She had a great experience the first day with teacher Shabeen. Unfortunately, she was mistreated today by the new teacher Jennifer through out the class. Examples of mis-treatment (which can be considered as soft-racism as she is the only brown skinned person in her class): 1. No eye contact: When she asked a question she would look at her name tag (in spite of the class being of just size 4) and then give a short and rude reply. On the other hand, she was extremely nice with the other children, including knowing their names without having to constantly looking at the name tag (my daughter's name has only two syllables and is pretty international and easy to pronounce and remember). 2. Multiple times when she would literally put her back to my daughter and face ALL of the other kids and give them instruction. That made her feel very SMALL and EXCLUDED. 3. When my husband went to drop her, the teacher Jennifer literally handed out the apron to my daughter and said your dad can help you with it. No smile. No Hello. Nothing. On the other hand, when the other kids went she unwrapped the Apron, gave it to the other parents with a smile on her face and looking at them in the eye. This in unacceptable, especially in Palo Alto 2024. These kind of teachers should not be teaching classes for multi-racial kids. We were forced to withdraw from the class as we didn't want her to face anymore of this non-sense and she was really looking forward to her baking class this Winter. Thank you. read more

bread baking class with julia is a must for anyone who wants to learn how to bake bread

I've purchased a set of 4 cups with specific washing instructions that were hidden in the smallest description. The store didn't explain the unique washing requirement and when I came with the cups (that basically lost their color), I was it's my problem... I will no buy there read more

I signed up for a Portuguese Cooking class to celebrate my Portuguese husband's birthday. He thought it was a thoughtful gift and was excited for the cooking date. Chef Virginie was personal and a good teacher. There were a total of 10 of us in the class if my memory serves me correctly. Chef Virginie did a good job delegating tasks to each member of the group. I got to microplane/zest lemons, roll out the dough for our dessert, fry some croquettes, and season the Brussels sprouts. The food itself wasn't exactly Portuguese as much as it was Portuguese inspired. The piri piri chicken used Thai chilis which we didn't find to be spicy at all (not enough of them were added to the marinade). I also know that in a group class you can't get too spicy because it has to appease everyone in the group. I was hoping that they would use piri piri hot sauce or something. The Portuguese tarts were supposed to be pasteis de nata, but they were not like that at all. My husband was really looking forward to these because pasteis de nata are his favorite Portuguese dessert. His uncle's sister-in-law owns a Portuguese bakery in San Jose, so my husband is a bit of a snob when it comes to Portuguese desserts. The pasteis de nata we made in the class were a major miss as far as looks and tastes go. The potato croquettes were good, but the recipe did not call for salt, so everyone in the group kept commenting on how bland they were. We all added salt to them as we ate because they were so bland. I'd say that if you're a newbie cook, then you might learn a thing or two from the classes. The class might not be worth the time for experienced foodies and cooks. We did take advantage of the 10% off to buy a few things we'd been wanting for our home. Thanks for a good day, Chef Virginie! read more

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Strange customer service experience especially with the caucasian male. Felt like I was slightly being followed around, and others were being treated much better than myself. read more

Called at 8:30 confirmed they had my item. Arrived 8:55 on the dot, but they locked the doors early. I waved to a man inside asking him to come talk with me. He came to the entrance, and I explained that we just spoke with Liz before we left, and she said we could pick up our item as long as we get there before they close... at 9p.... Which still it was not yet 9p. They refused to let me pick up the single item... after just driving all the way out. This was a 25min drive. *There is zero exaggeration in my story. This is a rude and embarrassing treatment of customers. I am happy to go into more detail if HQ wants to reach out to me. Update: just found the exact same item on Amazon for 85% percent of the price that Sur Le Table sells it... arriving tomorrow. read more

Sur la table was awesome. It had a beautiful location, great staff, a beautiful store, etc. The summer camps were so fun and enjoyable, I look forward to going there again! read more

A bit disappointed that we couldn't have our own stovetop etc to cook ourselves. Instead, there were about 8 of us sharing 2-3 dishes to cook. Small area for all of us to move around. Other than that, the chef was phenomenal. Learned a lot of cutting the right way to the right amount of spices to use for certain dishes. She was super informative and helpful. We came for a team building offsite with my company, getting to eat the delicious food we cooked was a treat. We received. Nice gift basket, menu on the meal we cooked and coupons for the store and a future cooking class with them. Honestly, I'm so happy I tried it with my company first because I'm not sure I would come back and pay an $80 fee only to share a stove top with possibly 4 other people again. I like to be hands on myself :) 'twas a great experience otherwise. read more

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My wife and I took the Thai date night cooking class which was taught by Andrea. There were 15 people in the class. Andrea was fantastic providing very useful hands on instruction and valuable cooking tips. The class was about 2 hours and the time went by fast. So much food there was plenty left over. Would definitely recommend. read more

I've looked everywhere for a new set of dinnerware that doesn't look factory-made. Even the "good stuff" at C&B and PB is boring. Suddenly, I realized I should look at Sur La Table. Which I did, and I found the perfect set. Unfortunately, that set is in short supply right now. The wonderful woman I worked with that day told me another shipment would be coming in soon. So today I called the Palo Alto store to see if my dishes had come in. Tony answered, and as soon as I told him what I wanted he took off to dig through inventory for me. Then he dug through the store's most recent shipment. I made some unusual requests, and instead of acting like a bored salesperson, he acted like my bestie and commisserated with my concerns. He even checked the website, and there was nothing there. Tony didn't rush me. He then urged me to call the Los Gatos store. Which I did... and the wonderful English-accented woman who answered told me they'd sold my dinner plates earlier that day... but that a new shipment would be coming in soon. Tony's and the other two women's customer service is the kind of thing that makes you love a store even more. Mine would be a low-end sale, but they still treated me like Atherton royalty. I don't get that anywhere else. I hope Sur La Table is able to save itself from the nightmare that retail has turned into. If you love clever, beautifully made homewares, it is a unique asset to our community. read more

If I order an item that shows is available online, the store attendant confirmed it's availability, sure charges my credit card then 24 hrs later, sends me an auto mesg saying my order is cancelled!! Why? I did not cancel it. What is even more weird, it lets me go back online and place the same order again... does not show me it's out of stock like some of their other items. Takes my $$ again! Seems like horrible customer service read more

Sur La Table - Continues to Show available on website... - Home Decor Near Me - Palo Alto, California

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This store does not treat people well. My cooking classes were canceled with less than 24 hours notice and then after 10 days they had still not processed my refund so I had to contact them. I should not have had to contact them but I wonder if I would have even gotten a refund if I did not. Then they told me that they were going to contact me when their kitchen reopened and give me classes at a discount (I originally purchased mine at a discount). It has been 3 days less than a month and no one has contact me despite numerous emails. What the heck is going on over there. We just want to take a cooking class. read more

Don't waste your time trying to get your knives sharpened here. On Tuesday morning I called to ask what the turn-around was if I dropped my knives off that morning and they said 24-48 hours, so I brought my knives in. On Friday morning I called to see if they were ready, but they said no and were a bit patronizing. On Saturday I called to see if they were ready and they said no and were patronizing again. Realizing that they felt no obligation to sharpen the knives and actually needing the knives back for Saturday dinner prep, I came in Saturday afternoon to pick them up. I asked to talk with the manager but he was the same patronizing person I had spoken with a few hours ago on the phone. I reiterated that on Tuesday morning they had told me 24-48 hours and he said "they should not have said that" and whined about how they were busy doing inventory now. Glad to have my knives back so I can go look for a real business that actually does the knife-sharpening that they promise. Two stars instead of one because they sell a lot of cool kitchen gadgets. read more

5/5 stars for the Santa Clara Sur La Table cooking class I took. 3/5 stars for the Palo Alto Sur La Table croissant class I took. The class itself was informative, educational, and fun but the instructor was something else. She started off the class by asking who in the class were engineers and proceeded to talk about all the qualities she had that were similar to engineers and how they'd get along very well because she was detailed oriented just like them. Okay, so she's trying to build some rapport. Sure. Throughout the class, she continued to talk to the engineers in the room like normal adults. But whenever she wanted to crack a joke, she would redirect them at the rest of us non-engineers. She tried cracking a joke about how my friend and I were too young to have experienced home economics class when we were young. She continued to make a few other snide remarks at the "youths" in the class. During the lamination demonstration though, she mentioned how to do a "letter fold" and suggested to me and my friend, literally the two of us, that we probably didn't know what letters even were and that we should "Google it." Cue the crickets and the end of my pity laughs. I'm flattered you want to call attention to the fact that you're old and that those of us in our 30's are just oh-so-young but it's not flattering, nor is it professional, to treat adults like ACTUAL teenagers. Was she deliberately trying to be rude?? At the end of the day, I can't make any definitive conclusions on whether or not bias came into play but somehow, my friend and I went home with only half the croissants we made due to an error made by the cooking team. They offered us the croissants made by another team but I had seen the filthy fingernails of the gentleman who had made them and declined. Noooooo thank you. read more

My boyfriend surprised me with a "Date Night" cooking class at Sur La Table in Palo Alto just before Christmas. Coming from out of town, we were both so excited for this experience together. Upon travel and arrival, we were told the class had been CANCELLED - WITHOUT NOTICE! I was devastated, and frankly furious. They had our names (we were greeted by name), 3 different email addresses, and 3 different phone numbers they could've tried but there was no attempt to contact us. Despicable. Being from the hospitality industry, I am disappointed in the "effort" (if you can call it that) shown - a refund, for the class they cancelled, without notice. This one star review goes to the young front sales associate who was brave enough to break us the news. read more

Had the BEST cooking class experience with Scott and Cora! The food was AMAZING and the entire staff was so much fun to work with!

I've taken cooking classes at Sur La Table on multiple occasions, including a macaron making class and, most recently, a date night class with the theme "Greece." The classes were well-organized and the set up and clean up (which can be the most annoying parts of cooking) were all taken care of, which was nice. Both were led by chefs who were obviously passionate about food and their trade, and therefore extremely engaging and charismatic. In terms of technique, I definitely took away the most from the macaron making class. Pastries and baking can be finicky, so it was enlightening to learn how to whip egg whites, create a batter, and, hardest of all, piping it out into perfect shapes (circles and hearts for Valentine's Day) that would bake up nicely. We made a chocolate ganache and a champagne buttercream for the fillings, and everyone got to take home a small box of the finished macarons! The date night "Greece" class was quite fun--on the menu were an appetizer of feta wrapped in grape leaves, chicken souvlaki with tzatziki sauce, and a baklava ice cream. In terms of technique, however, the menu items here were definitely less complicated, and the class turned out to be more of an opportunity to cook, rather than a place to learn something new and useful. For instance, for every dish we made, all the ingredients were already measured out and prepped--making the tzatziki sauce was as easy as mixing together all the mise en place into a bowl and tasting it to adjust for seasoning. Everything we made was delicious, but in the end, there was not nearly enough food for everyone, so we left and had to get more food for dinner somewhere else. While the classes at Sur La Table can be fun and engaging, they definitely are expensive for what they are. For someone less familiar with cooking, however, this can be a great experience to try making something tasty with no stress involved! read more

This isn't as much of a cooking class as it is a class where you take turns putting pre-made ingredients into a pan with a lot of other people. When I came in, they asked if I'd like a coffee. I enthusiastically confirmed, so I was surprised when 4 more people walked in and were offered and received coffee but I hadn't. I was, luckily, asked again if I'd like a coffee, and I affirmed again that I would. As the class was beginning to start, they asked the last few (late) arrivals if they'd like coffee, and I was asked yet again. "Sure." Do I have a really forgettable face? Unfortunately, class started and I never received any coffee. Class started and the overall instructions were given on basic things like don't try to wash your pans, if you touch anything other than food, wash your hands, etc. We were told what we'd be cooking and then were told that we'd be splitting into groups of two or three. Unfortunately, my significant other and I not only ended up sharing our group with one other, but shared it with and individual that was a regular class member, and followed instructions within nanoseconds of them being given. Turn on your burner to medium high-annnnd it's already done. Put in your first ingred-annnnd it's already done. We basically stood there and watched our third wheel make us food as we follow along on the recipe sheet trying to ask questions to slow things down long enough to understand what we were doing, let alone why. Even in the moments where we were able to do an action faster than our veteran team member, we had to take turns. We are a couple, but we both paid full price for this lesson. Is seems pretty ridiculous that we paid full price but only got to do 33% of the class. Did I learn something? Sure. Could I have done it at home just as easily? Just about. The benefit of the class is you don't have to shop for ingredients... Which isn't really worth $140. These classes should wayyyy smaller. 4 burners for 12 people is just not enough. You're better off ordering ingredients through Amazon and watching a YouTube video on your iPad. You might even get a coffee if you make one for yourself. read more

Sur La Table - Food was great, class was not. - Home Decor Near Me - Palo Alto, California

The staff are friendly and helpful. They carry quality merchandise and help you to find it in the store. They also have great cooking classes. I enjoy shopping there. read more

Literally a horrible experience. There was a BUG in the ingredients that the chef washed away. Another other ingredient - sweet potato was spoilt and had rotten parts of it that they asked to cut away. The weirdest cooking class I've ever been to and would caution anyone to never attend the Palo Alto Sur la table cooking class. Stay away!! read more

The Julia Child class was advertised as hands-on with 4 people per group which is similar to the half dozen other classes we have taken at other Sur la Table locations. What we got was not hands-on and there were 7 of us in our group. I highly advise against taking any classes at this location. The instructor, while knowledgeable, was authoritarian and didn't let us do much in the way of cooking, prepping, etc. I brought my daughter and 5 of her friends for her 15th birthday and I didn't touch anything to give the kids a chance to participate. I don't consider stirring for 30 seconds or folding for 30 seconds hands on. This was an expensive and disappointing choice to celebrate her birthday. At $69/person, this was not worth it at all. We were told not to place anything on the butcher block tables because we were going to do prep/cooking there. We only used to the tables to eat standing up at the end of the class when we were rushed because they ran out of time. Poor time management. The two gals helping were not pleasant nor were they helpful. They did all the prep work which should have been done by the participants in the class. At one point they chastised the kids for fooling around. The kids had been standing around doing hardly anything and had been very well behaved given the situation. I spent the class chatting with one of the gals from the other group (another birthday group of 4 women celebrating a 40th birthday) and neither of us did any of the "hands-on" work to allow the others to have a chance at something. My daughter and her friends were bored with nothing to do and at times no explanation of what was going on. I was bored. At one point the chef was adding something for the mashed potatoes and barely explained what it was or where it came from. It was prepped as part of the class but seemed to be an important ingredient. At the end with the chef and the helpers were plating the food (we didn't even get to do that), they miscounted and didn't have a plate for me. Fortunately they hadn't cleaned the pots and pans otherwise I would have been without even a bite of the food prepared. I had to point out that they were missing a plate. At one point I asked to see the manager out on the shop floor and a guy said he could help me. I told him about the experience and how disappointing it was especially based on my experiences at the Walnut Creek and Los Gatos locations and he apologized, took my name and number, and said he would look into some sort of a discount and have someone get back to me. That was Saturday morning; it's now Monday morning and no one has reached out to me. Avoid this location. read more

Hm. Not sure I'll do another cooking class. I really thought that, for the price, we'd each have our own cooktop to make our own meal. Instead it was ten of us sharing 4 cooktops making one family meal. I also really didn't like hearing that the recipes hadn't been tested before and we were the "guinea pigs." Ugh. I spent a lot for that test run. The food was yummy, and I learned one or two new techniques from the 4 recipes we made. If you really suck at cooking, and want basic instruction with not a lot of responsibility in making it (think: 3 people sharing the task of putting prepared broccoli in a pot ) then these classes are for you. If you're a really passionate cook, just follow a challenging YouTube tutorial at home for the same effect. read more

Sur La Table - Chicken Lo Mein, kung pao shrimp, and pork dumpings. Instagram @tabletopviews - Home Decor Near Me - Palo Alto, California

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It was a fun experience! Very overpriced considering the fact that unless you're attending as a foursome, you'll be paired with strangers. It was exciting to interact with new people but that wasn't specified during purchase; and other cooking classes we've taken are just amongst ourselves. I prefer handling my own food and having it be an activity between me and who I'm going to the class with. read more

This is our go to place for our caffeine fix! There is a Nespresso counter inside the store where you can buy your coffee capsules and also sample their latest flavours. I saved the little plastic sampler mug for my toddler and he loves it! Cool way to get him to start drinking water! Also love Nespresso for heir recycling program. They collect used capsules and recycle them! I also like Sur La Table for little knick knacks that make great presents for kids. I picked up an egg form in the shape of an owl and a pancake form in the shape of a smiley face which were both fun gifts. read more

The best first date ever, guys and girls! If you want to impress a lady (or a gentleman) take him or her to a cooking class where you can also eat what you cook (not just of theory we live). I took this class where we got some pre-cooked elements for us and the whole step by step cooking was fantastic. The whole class (I think we were around 10 people) was totally motivated and happy as the chef was very entertaining and engaging. We also got a printout to take home of what we were going to cook and we all had so much fun. It was also a nice discovery for me, since i don't frequent this shopping area a lot, so it was nice to go there for a change. I will definitively took another class at Sur la Table. Needless to say that initial date was just the beginning of a wonderful relationship! read more

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My kid was excited to take a French cooking class with friends for their birthday. It was advertised as "Hands On" and groups of four. It was neither. They were lumped into a group of seven and given little opportunity to get hands on. And then scolded when they were talking because they were bored. I manage a woodshop where we teach classes. If we taught classes this way we'd be out of business. Imagine signing up to learn how to make a cutting board, only to watch someone else make a cutting board, not be told all the steps and then handed a cutting board made by someone else. Nope. Suffice it to say, we're getting some money back on this one and not credit towards more stuff. This isn't the end. read more

If you like to cook, this store is like a candy store is to a 7-year old. So many quality items for cooking, as well as, for serving and to dress your table. You will find things that you absolutely need but didn't know existed until you saw them here. Did I mention the Varlhona cocoa and chocolate? They have specialty ingredients that will make your cooking more divine. Nice staff too! read more

The employees were nice but my daughter did a camp there and the head chef at the Palo Alto one was very rude to all of the kids. My daughter said that she would not answer their questions and she did everything for them. On Thursday, the kids made ramen. When my daughter came home that day she said it made her feel sick. My daughter also told me that she had been asking the chef what they were making the next day and the chef said "Can I just see you tomorrow?" and that made my daughter very upset. And when she said this the class had not ended. They also ended class early half of the week when we were paying for the full 2 hours. All of the other employees were nice and helpful it was just the head chef. read more