Sur La Table

I took the Irresistible Croissant class at Sur La Table with Julie, and it was amazing! At first, I was a bit intimidated by the idea of making croissants from scratch, but Julie made the process so easy and fun. She explained everything clearly and gave us great tips along the way. I left the class feeling confident and proud of my pastries! Highly recommend this class for beginners like me.

Incredible!!! Absolutely above and beyond!!! Thanks so much Chef Katherine and Nathan!! Learned how to deep fry, learned how to do so many complex things. Going to be addicted to coming here now. What a fun, chill vibe and super nice people. And everyone loves food. 😍😍

Kristin is an absolute gem! My friend and I are total beginners (think: we barely trust ourselves with a frying pan), and she patiently walked us through scallops, scalloped potatoes, and even a salad with homemade vinaigrette. She never once made us feel silly for asking “wait, which side of the knife again?” and kept the class fun and relaxed. By the end, we felt like actual chefs instead of kitchen hazards—and the food was delicious! If you want a teacher who’s kind, patient, and will keep you laughing while you learn, Kristin’s your person. Highly recommend!

I did the 2hr Sur La Table 53rd Anniversary French feast class where we cooked a whole chicken roast, mashed Potato, frisée salad & chocolate Soufflé with Chef Justine. All ingredients were very well arranged before our arrival, and the staff in the room(Andrew) was very helpful with quick cleanup too. Chef Justine is the best chef you could have a class with. She made sure she told us the “why” of everything before we followed the different steps of the recipe to cook the different dishes. We asked a ton of questions to her about general baking & cooking and she happily shared tips with us patiently. Our end products were a feast to the eyes and our stomach !! Totally recommend this Sur La Table’s Cooking class !

I did an Italian cooking class with Elaine to celebrate an anniversary. I highly recommend it! It’s a wonderful bonding experience. We made steak with pesto sauce, a really nice bread salad, and a super delicious desert called zabaione! We even learned how to properly double boil and grill vegetables. Overall, I would definitely do this again, especially with friends!

Incredible evening with Chef Michael and the crew in Palo Alto. Thank you Nicole for hosting. NY Steak, creamed kale, popover and creme brulee! Excellent!!

Great store with cooking supplies and also a space where they provide cooking classes. Took one and is very well organized, good logistics and great results. They open every day of the week and the calendar of the lessons gets updated every so often, the only problem was the AC wasn’t working and was really hot inside.

If you’re thinking about doing a cooking class at Sur La Table—do it—and if you’re lucky enough to get Katherine as your instructor, you’re in for a seriously amazing time. We did the French Dinner Date Night (scallops, salad, and potatoes), and while we went in expecting a good meal, we walked out with full bellies, tons of new skills, and more laughs than we ever imagined having in a kitchen. Katherine was fantastic from the jump—super friendly, full of energy, and clearly passionate about what she does. She somehow managed to make the whole class feel both professional and relaxed at the same time, which is a hard balance to strike when you’re trusting us not to burn scallops. First up: the salad, which wasn’t just “throw some greens in a bowl.” Katherine taught us how to make a killer vinaigrette from scratch, plate it like we were competing on a cooking show, and even gave us tips on how to chop like a pro (without losing any fingers—bonus!). Then came the scallops—the star of the show. Neither of us had ever cooked them before, and they’re kind of intimidating, but Katherine broke it all down step-by-step. Searing them to that perfect golden crust suddenly felt totally doable, and honestly, they turned out so good we were high-fiving like we just won “Top Chef.” To finish it off, we made crispy herbed potatoes that might’ve stolen the show. Katherine showed us how to get them crispy without turning them into sad little hockey pucks. We learned about flavor layering (yes, it’s a thing), and now we’ll probably be judging all future potatoes by her standards. But the best part? Katherine made it all fun. She cracked jokes, kept the vibe upbeat, and created an atmosphere where we could mess up, learn, and laugh about it. It felt like cooking with a really talented friend who also happens to know everything about French cuisine. If you’re looking for a night out that’s different from the usual dinner and drinks, this is it. Huge shoutout to Katherine for being an absolute rockstar chef and making the whole thing a blast.

Took a Croissant class with Chef Andrea. It was fun because we made it fun! Being an instructor (not for cooking) myself, I know it can be hard to teach people. You have the know-it-alls, the super-serious, the class clowns, etc. Chef Andrea shifted gears between the personalities of this small class with ease and professionalism with a little bit of candor and playfulness. I would recommend the cooking classes as they teach the basics and everything is prepared mis en place for you and they clean up after you AND you get to take the food home! AAAAND you get 10% off in store for the day! The sales staff was kind albeit a little pretentious. But what do you expect at a town & country in Palo Alto? LOL... I am saddened about most of the Sur La Tables in the South Bay Area closing. I wish they would open back up. With all the food delivery platforms out there, I guess people of lost their passion or even willingness to cook for themselves.

Took a private cooking class at Sur La Table for a team bonding event. I enjoyed the time we spent together, and the end result of tasting the fruits of our labor! Our chocolate souffles turned out good for some of us first-timers. However, our lead chef didn't seem like they wanted to be there. They spoke incredibly fast, yet was short with their instructions and rushed us at every step. They were very bossy to their assistant who was helping out to provide materials and wash utensils/dishes. The dynamic between them was distracting and disrupted the vibe a bit. What was even more distracting was that the instructor kept picking on someone on my team, and called on their name in almost every sentence at one point. I thought this was very unprofessional considering this wasn't done in a friendly manner. The energy was just off.. Although we came for a team outing, I probably wouldn't come back to this location as the energy/vibe of the session left a lasting impression on me. Location: Tucked away in the "Town & Country" Plaza in Palo Alto. Parking is TIGHT and definitely hard to find a spot during lunch time.

We attended at the "Taste of Thailand" course at the Santa Rosa site. It is a nice idea for "date night", but overall it was underwhelming. There is no complaint about the format. The chef was nice and the 2 assistants were stellar. 16 people attended and we were paired with a nice lady and her daughter. Enjoyed their company. The unfortunate part is there was really no added value to the class. We could read and follow the recipes on our own and end up with the same results. So in our opinion it was quite pricey ($89 per person) for what it was. I don't see us repeating an in-store class, however, we are going to try an online course to see if there is any added value there.

This is for a cooking class that my mother and I attended for Mother's Day so it's a bit old (I forgot to finish the remaining 10%). The email stated "class will last between 120 to 180 minutes" but in an attempt to squeeze out profits, I guess Sur La Table crammed the schedule too full because we were rushed out after 150 minutes and didn't get to finish the chocolate-covered caramels, so we ended up with separate blobs of caramels that started leaking butter as soon as our hands warmed them up. I had a very old gift card that covered the full cost of the class for both of us, but definitely would not have paid $99 per person (for some reason it was more expensive than the usual price of the classes) for this experience. But the other treats we made were great. As expected, much of the cooking portion was shared between groups due to the limited space, but we each got to bring back a decent box of desserts.

Just took a Thai-food cooking class with my husband and we had so much fun! Our instructor was Shabeen, and she was great. She taught us some skills such as proper ways to hold a knife for various cuts. The food all turned out delicious and we were even able to bring home leftovers. We'll definitely be back to try another class in the future.

One of the last few locations close to the South Bay. I miss their Santana Row and Santa Clara locations. I was able to purchase a few items for gifts. They even had free coffee at the Nespresso demo. I like walking around to see what's new and what's on sale.

11/30/24 - My boyfriend and I took a cooking class here for my birthday and it was so fun, but next time I'd join a smaller class as we did want more opportunities to make the dish ourselves on our own induction stove. I would recommend anyone to try a class here!

I recently took a cooking class at Sur La Table and it was Autumn in Italy themed where we made chicken marsala, polenta, endive salad, and homemade. The class did feel a bit rushed with only select people participating in parts of the cooking but overall it was fun. The instructor is helpful but doesn't provide that much guidance if you're really looking to hone your skills. Instructions can be difficult to follow too but for a short class this was a fun experience and it's always nice to be able to eat your final product.

Took a cooking class here with Chef Lenette and it went well! We took the Italian Steakhouse class and learned how to cook a steak with caramelized shallot sauce, and gnocchi with brown butter sage and butternut squash. It was a fun educational activity to do - I did it with friends but people were there alone or on dates as well! I would definitely take another class - maybe the knife skills one, or the one where you make kouign aman!

Came here for a cooking class that was a Valentine's Day gift from my boyfriend and had so much fun! In our class we made a strawberry cake, sticky toffee pudding, and pork wrapped in pastry dough. Our teacher was super friendly and helpful. He showed us how to do each step clearly and let us do most of the work by ourselves, but was there when we needed help. I feel like they did a good job at picking the recipes since we did a bunch of different steps and it didn't feel like we were doing the same thing over and over again. We made caramel, made the pork mixture, sliced and decorated a cake, etc. I took away a star because you have to work in groups of 4 but I noticed that most people in the class came in a groups of 2. It was fun working with other people but the class isn't cheap and for the amount they charge, I feel like you should be able to choose if you want to work with just your group. I will say that you come out of the class with a lot of pastries to take home. I think this is such a cute date idea, activity to do with your friends and/or kids! It's a little pricey but I still think it's worth it and they have different recipes on different days.

I highly recommend the cooking classes at Sur La Table. For about $100 per person, you get a fantastic two-hour culinary experience. I contacted their executive chef, who helped organize a private event for my group of nine, and the team was very accommodating to the vegetarians in our party. It was an incredible experience! We prepared a delicious salad, pappardelle bolognese, and ricotta egg ravioli. You can even bring your own alcoholic beverages to enjoy during the class. Plus, all participants receive a 10% discount on purchases!

I was in the store for a workplace team building event. We took a cooking class and it was incredible! Definitely coming back and doing this again. All the staff were helpful and friendly. Such a great place!

Celebrated my best friend's bridal shower and attended a cooking class. Our chef was awesome and everyone in the class was friendly! It was a sushi making class and the chef was very knowledgeable! She made the class enjoyable! I would come back for a different recipe!

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.

Elaine was a great instructor. She made sure everyone got a chance to practice knife skills and participate in cooking our meal. The class ran overtime and it was well worth it. We all enjoyed participating rather than just watching someone else cook.

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.

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.

Just took a super fun cooking class with Andrea. We cooked a French dinner. A tart, chicken, asparagus and pot d'crème for dessert. Delicious if I may say so myself. The store and staff are cool.

Bearded guy at the desk should not be dealing with customers. He literally is looking to argue. Not everyone is meant for sales or even retailing work. As luxury kitchen supply store customers aren't willing to tolerate such things when just around the corner is Williams sanoma where everyone's smiling rainbows and very happy to take money for overpriced goods. Just sayin

So disappointed : ( I bought this as an anniversary gift for me and my boyfriend. We love to cook so I didn't mind shelling out $200 and driving over an hour to attend this class and learn something new together! We signed up for the Tuscany "date night" with Chef Andrea (who was nice). When we showed up all of the food was precooked and prepped. Zucchini grilled, pasta boiled and the donut dough risen. Most ingredients we were told came from Costco. We stood and watched as Chef Andrea made the donuts. There was very limited space at the worked stations and the class felt very packed. 4 stations for 16 students and 3 staff. We took turns with the couple at our station to season the food, assemble the dish and plate. The cutting board and knife were used once the whole night and didn't get to make any part of the dessert. Here is what I was able to participate in: Adding lemon zest (already zested) Adding 2 tbsp of cream (pre measured) Adding salt Cutting zucchini into bite size chunks Turning over half of the scallops Adding ricotta mix to pasta All in all I think this is a class for folx who do not feel comfortable in the kitchen and may need more guidance. If you love to cook, just put this money towards nice ingredients or a new kitchen gadget and try a new recipe at home.

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!

I signed up for a cooking class this afternoon for a 7pm dinner for 2 people on the cozy meal website. This class was at the Sur La Table in Palo Alto. My sister was in town for her birthday and we had a whole evening planned out. After I booked it, I received an email saying it was pending chef approval. I then called the Cozy Meal 800 number and wanted to confirm it was in fact booked and not pending. I was on the phone with the rep who told me the chef had just approved the class for us both. I was charged $187. We canceled our other plan as we really wanted to do the cooking class and were so excited we got in. We arrived to Sur La Table in Palo Alto at 7pm sharp. We walked into the cooking room, were greeted, put on aprons. We then noticed we didn't have name tags. We walked up to the chef who told us she had us on NO reservation, she did not have our names nor did they have space for us or ANY extra FOOD for us to even join the class. I showed her our booking made through Cozy Meal, and she said she didn't know why there was a lack of communication to her and it was Cozy Meal's mistake. I have honestly never had an experience this poor. I am honestly still stunned by the experience and operation of this whole thing. We drove 73 miles to get to this class on time, we were doing this as part of a birthday celebration. When I called Cozy Meal, the woman apologized, and said she would issue a refund and told me to have a good night. Unfortunately, this experience was not repaired by issuing me a refund after wasting 3 hours total of my life. This is absolutely unacceptable, and I am sad a company like Sur La Table has partnered with Cozy Meal if this is how operations work. I was a HUGE fan of Sur La Table, but this experience was absolutely unacceptable.

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.

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.

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.

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!!!!

I had an amazing time at my Sur La Table Cooking Class with Chef Julia! She taught my French Pastry class today and I learned so much about dough, lamination and book folds! I was so impressed with own apple turnovers, kouign amann and palmiers; who knew I would make something so delicious? Thrilled to finally try a post-covid in-person lesson and it exceed my expectations tenfold. Highly recommend!!!

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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!

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.

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!!