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Categories: Specialty Food, Appliances, Kitchen & Bath [Edit]
Neighborhoods: Nob Hill, Union SquareMon-Fri. 10:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
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Have you been watching Top Chef and/or the Food Network, and been thinking to yourself "hey, that molecular gastronomy stuff doesn't look THAT hard - I wanna try making some spheres/foams/gels/etc and play with canisters and "meat glue". Or maybe you just want some of that Ras Al Hanout stuff or some good old white truffle oil.
Well Le Sanctuaire is the place to go (at least around here).
As mentioned by others, it's really more of a place pro chefs go to shop, and they'll probably ask you what restaurant you're with when you first go. It's honestly not really THAT much of a showroom (a few things to ooh and ahh over), so it's best to checkout their website first to see what you want, as a lot of stuff is "in the back".
That said, some of their ingredients are more....commercially sized. I now have jars of Sodium Alginate, Calcium Chloride, and Sodium Citrate that I'll probably never finish going through. However, I'm on my third bottle of white truffle infused olive oil from here...(great stuff that's organic, and actually HAS bits of truffle in the oil - unlike most "truffle oils" that use "truffle aroma" - google it).
From the warm and embracing welcome I got from Inne, to the Tour d'épice Irwan gave...my passion for what spice adds to life got an added boost. While foodies search their next culinary discovery...it lies right before their slightly upturned nose. Right here at Le Sanctuaire.
This is not a store. A quick scan indicates something deeper going on here...this is not a place to score the finest spices to flaunt before your friends. It is a pocket of insight, wisdom and deep knowledge of the role of spice in history, culture, food and art. Jing is at the forefront of something big, and a visit to Le Sanctuaire will make the journey an enlightened one.
I used to be a fan of this place. But that was before they made you make an appointment to visit even during the limited totally inaccessible hours that you can even make that appointment within. I've been trying to get materials for spherification from them for a couple of weeks now, and have been unsuccessful on 3 tries now. These are the most common of the "molecular gastronomy" ingredients and still they don't stock enough of them? They're the only place in town that sells them, come on. So after wasting mutiple hours during work days going out of my way at extremely inconvenient hours to try to get stuff there and avoid ordering online, I'm ordering from somewhere else online. Sorry guys.
Spices. Spices... more spices, a few very nice pieces of steel, some expensive books and a musem… Read more »
Le Sanctuaire is an absolute MUST for Foodies.
This place is the Rolls-Royce showroom for Foodies and Gourmands. Every product that they carry is ultra premium. They carry:
Imported spices, oils, and vinegars
Mother-of-Pearl caviar spoons
Pimp-ass Oyster knife
Limited edition Cookbooks
Silverware
And much much more
I salivate everytime I visit the store. The store has a beautiful space to show off its merchandise. Prices are expensive across the board.
This place came highly recommended from a very knowledgeable foodie friend of mine (HI AJ!!!). This is like the Tiffany's of the cooking world. That's the first thing that came to mind anyway.
All the pretty spices, salts, teas, grains stored away in boxes ready to be opened and sampled, sniffed, licked, snorted. However you like to sample your spices.
I picked up 5 lbs of bamboo rice. Yes, BAMBOO RICE!!! Very high quality short grain rice infused with natural bamboo juice.
$30 worth of black garlic. Some for Mama Lee, some for Eugy and MEEEE!!!
White truffle flavored olive oil.
Filipino pink shrimp salt
I would have bought a lot more if my more frugal inner voice weren't yelling at me telling me that I didn't really need all the things that I was trying to buy. Maybe next time.
Ben helped me out and answered all my crazy food and cooking related questions. He made the shopping experience more enjoyable and less stressful. Thanks Ben!!!
Excellent book, equipment, servingware and ingredient selection. Apparently they are the only American distributor of Sosa products, which make up a pretty wide selection of very interesting, high-quality food ingredients (such as a VERY thick glucose-based coffee syrup, freeze dried pineapple powder and acidifiers). Irwandie was very helpful, answered my questions very matter of factly and I enjoyed talking shop with him.
I'd recommend this place to anyone into food, whether you like to cook or not.
I had been looking forward to visiting Le Sanctuaire and visited their new location a few weeks ago. I am not a chef and felt quite inadequate and unwelcome (which I think is probably intentional to keep people like me away). I was just awfully disappointed, I was looking for the kit de esferificacion (they were out of it) but even though one of the previous reviewers said that the attendant gave them a smaller bag, I was told they would only sell 1 pound minimum. We run a cooking club in the city and would have loved to count on Le Sanctuaire to introduce new techniques and spices but it looks like we will have to buy most products through other online vendors.
On a side note... I saw an insect walking inside one of the spice containers, so I guess they are pretty fresh lol. Make sure you review your stash before serving your guests.
I initially came here like many others, I am sure, to pick up sodium alginate and calcium chloride. I really had no expectations of this place, in fact, I envisioned it as more of a warehouse. I was very pleasantly surprised to find the store to be meticulously clean and tidy. The place was stocked with shelves of sample spices and salts that you can taste and smell, fancy-schmancy plates for restaurants, cook books that were more than cookbooks, you get the picture.
After asking the guy working there about the chemicals, he tells me everything is in the back, and I should just let him know what I need. I explain to him that I am interested in the mixology aspect of the molecular gastronomy world and he offers up many suggestions of different gelatins and thickening agents. He shows me a lot of really interesting products that I had no idea even existed and I leave inspired.
That was earlier this morning, and now I have a HUGE mess in my kitchen that I have to clean up, but it was worth it and I feel so much smarter now that I know where carrageenen comes from and what freeze dried oranges taste like.
Oh, and it did seem a little pricy, but where are you going to find this stuff otherwise, with the same expertise to go along with it?
Last week I decided to make my first foray into molecular gastronomy (chronicled on my blog http://mockeel.blogspo...) and discovered online that people all over the country order their supplies from La Sanctuaire, just a few blocks from my office.
After waiting an hour and half later than I was told on the phone for them to open, and surviving one of the scariest elevator rides of my life, I stepped into the serene showroom, which housed a sterile, gallery-like display of cookbooks, high end cutlery, copper and machinery. Along the wall, shelves of every obscure spice or seasoning you can imagine sat in little Tupperware boxes with handwritten labels.
I was asked to sign in, which I did, leaving the line for "my restaurant" blank, and one gentleman asked eagerly if I was a cook, but when I replied "just a hobbyist," he smiled politely, nodded and made a bee-line for anywhere I wasn't.
I browsed for a while before getting down to business, but all I really needed was a bag of sodium alginate and some calcium chloride. I told the man at the desk that I heard this was the place to come for my food chemical needs and he agreed enthusiastically and went to dig out my supplies. He even offered me a smaller than usually sold bag of sodium alginate, so I wouldn't have to shell out for a whole pound. When I inquired about the pipettes on the back table, he told me that they only sold them in bulk, but suggested the ideal plastic syringe for the task, of which he informed me "most of the guys who are into this stuff use something like this."
The other customers who came in were clearly culinary professionals, but despite my inability to contribute to a conversation on the woes of working in a "union kitchen" everyone was friendly and welcoming. I had a good experience, and although I felt way out of my league, they took good care of me and made sure I was satisfied with my experience.
Perhaps I missed the point. Perhaps I need to increase my flow before I step foot in here again. Perhaps, when I hear that a place is a "mecca" for gourmet foodies; a palace containing an abundance of spices, I believe I'm about to set foot into a shop that has at least one wall lined with spices.
No, dear friends, this was not the case. Instead, i walked into a practically empty (as is the "less is more" style, I suppose) shop, featuring essentially one brand per genre of cookware (ie. one brand of knives, one brand of kitchen gadgets, one brand of dish ware, silverware, you get the point). Their selection of books was the only standout aspect of Le Sanctuaire for me, lining a few shelves in the back -- not really a redeeming factor, if you ask me.
No worries though, because I am on the hunt for obscure spices that folks have been claiming I would definitely be able to find in this "sanctuary". Well, shocker, the "less is more" goes for their spices as well. I was unable to find one obscure spice that I was searching for. Not only that, but they carry only one brand of spices, all prepackaged, all outrageously priced, and rather underwhelming to boot. Am I disappointed? Yeah, you could say that.
This hidden little place is really bizarre. It was a mess with boxes all over the place. Boxes of awesome stuff, that is.
Since I am a hobbyist cook, I felt out of place as a lot of the food chemicals and spices are sold by the pound, and I really don't need a pound of fennel pollen when it's $8 per ounce. Also, the prices on the website http://le-sanctuaire.com appear to be cheaper than what I paid in-store, which is odd.
Regardless, the fact that this store exists is awesome. There are lots of interesting chemicals and gadgets, and the food chemicals are usually cheap so you too can make maple caviar and frozen Parmesan air at home!
I was really looking forward to the SF opening of Le Sanctuaire, having never managed to make to the Santa Monica store. Le Sanctuaire sell speciality spices, equipement, tableware and cookbooks. The target audience is professional chefs.
The store is definitely in molecular cuisine movement. It reminds me of Damien Hirst's Pharmacy restaurant in London.
I was rather disappointed -- there is a very limited selection in the San Francisco store. Since it is early days, maybe it will expand. There is no info about the SF store on the website.
Great service and product. Pretty cheap for chef additives and shipped promptly. Will do business with again for sure
Have all of Feran Adria's cookbooks hidden under your bed? Looking for something a little more interesting than a Shun Santoku? Maybe your chef friend's b-day is coming up and you have no idea what to get them.... Well, you've come to the right place!
While primarily a porno shop cum apothecary for professional chefs, Le Sanctuaire has quite a bit to offer to civilians (myself included). The owner started out in the spice game (Sorry, I'm fresh out of Kyle MacLachlan jokes), so if there's a hard to find spice or spice mix that you've been meaning to try out, they're likely to have it. Kola Nuts? Check. Ras El Hanout? Check. Preserved Brontosaurus essence? Er... check? Even better, if they don't have it...they'll try to get it for you. If this is all sounding like gobelty gook, good! Come here and you can have yourself a little adventure, smell, try, and learn something new! I know I did. While often taken up by the regular flow of chefs, food journalists, and nosey neighbors, they are more than happy to answer questions and give you a whiff of the wares. All of the spice mixes are blended by the owner himself, and several are sourced from his own farm in Indonesia.
In addition to the spices, the place is turning into something of a Ferran Adria/Spanish Gastronomic Museum. They sell Adria's unique line of tableware and eating utensils, several of them being artful pieces in and of themselves. For the unfamiliar....Adria is the chef owner of the El Bulli restaurant and El Bulli workshop in Spain. While he's often seen stereotypically as "the molecular gastronomy guy" he does maintain a mission of pushing cooking techniques and fundamentals rather than just dreaming up fanciful and esoteric dishes.
For the pro chef wanna-bes, you can drool over the cyrovac machine and dream of making sous-vide dishes at home, copper cookware that puts All Clad to shame, or some Misono UX10 knives--the latter being for folks who are fans of Japanese craftsmanship, but relish classic Western knife shapes. And, if the toys aren't enough there's a finely edited selection of hard-to-find cookbooks and gastro journals from around the world for you to browse through. Be warned though, many of the books are published in their native tongue, so you might end up with a pretty book of pictures. Whether you're a chef, a cook, or just a serious cooking nerd...it's worth the trip. Scratch that, it's worth multiple trips... it's going to take me a while to figure out what's in all those silvery 1lb bags.
I'd go for five but, it's a bit over priced. This amazing epicure is a mecca for foodies. Part spice apocrothay, part eclectic tools and trinkets, this place is a rare find. The owner, Jing Tio is a spice god. Ask him anything!
A trip to Le-Sanctuaire is like a trip into a different culinary world or mad scientist lab. Everything about this place screams adventure and exclusiveness. The professionalism and seriousness of this epic institution make your local Williams Sonoma look like a neighborhood garage sale; your average baking pan need not apply here. The lay out is so simple yet crammed with endless gadgets and ingredients that take avant-garde cuisine to a whole new level. From the Gastrovac to the plethora of exotic herbs, spices, and oils; the experience leaves you pondering new culinary concoctions which send your mind into a perilous tailspin. The cookbooks are more like gastronomic bibles; majority of them encompass the culinary techniques of Ferran Adria and his famous "El Bulli." For those crazy culinary contortionists, this is definitely a place you must visit.
Do you own a restaurant? Do you go out of your way to find the best ingredients? Are you proud of everything you cook, and plan to only serve the greatest food your skill allows? Do you know someone who would answer yes to any or all of these questions?
GO TO LE SANCTUAIRE!
This is the mecca for food geeks in SF. Need a great knife, a cook book, cryovac machine, juniper berries, an immersion circulator, sodium glutamase or methylcelulose? They have it all. The prices are premium, but so is the product. Don't by spices from some retailer who bought them from a wholesaler, who bought them from a distributor, who got them from a trader, who got them from a regional merchant, who got them from a local merchant, who bought them from a farm three years before you will ever see them. Le Sanctuaire buys direct! They are the only people who can claim this. Want to live like a millionaire who eats at El Bulli every night? You can get the plates and cutlery there! I love this place. The mystique of their back elevator entrance. The smell! It lingers on you even after the store. It's like a morrocan spice market, with out any grime, fesces or dead animal stink. Just the essence of pure spices.
This is a place every food enthusiast should check out. You don't have to buy anything to gain an appreciation for what premium ingredients and equipment really are.
Knives, spices, cook books and other toys you might need or WANT to be one full-fledged chef, and do bring your platinum card, you'll need it.
Pretty much your only source of molecular gastronomy ingredients and expensive foreign food books. Cool place. Bring your credit card and good luck finding it!
I love this place!!!!!! It's a bit hard to get to but it's awesome. Like a showroom or an art gallery but for food and food paraphernalia. The prices are high but what do expect from a store that sells to restaurants that are also on the pricey side?
The staff was helpful, the selection was good and the place is nice and bright. If I ever become a hardcore gastronomist this is where I would go.
after a lovely lunch in Union Square, Le Petit Chef tells me he wants to show me a place up the street.
I kept inquiring what it was, but he just kept being cryptic about it. Finally we get to Archive men's clothing store, but that was not our final destination. There were two huge cubic boxes blocking the entrance to an 8-person-capacity elevator. I leaned over one of the boxes to rest my tired feet and exclaimed to LPC that I will try to eat at Ferran Adria's El Bulli restaurant in Cala Montjoi, Spain when I go there next year.
A guy comes out and greets LPC as if they know each other "too well", and they exchanged comments about the newly arrived copper pots. LPC and I go in the elevator and ascend to this super secret surprise place. Elevator doors open, and I smell a mixture of aromatics permeating the air. Mmm spices. A flatscreen tv playing a DVD on one of the world's best chefs is on, set up behind a check out counter. To the left of the check out counter is a bookshelf of familiar, hardcover books...to the left of that is a gallery of ultra-high-end utensils and serving ware, including a slatted golden spoon.... the middle of the room have two glass cases, containing copper pots and sous-vide-machines of some sort... the back left wall has a shelf of all sorts of spices and herbs that my friend and I were free to sniff. Yes.... I'd like a pound of that pink rosebuds. Reminds me of my childhood dolls. Gimme some of that cardamom. Reminds me of my organic chemistry experiment.... oh wait... how about those potent vanilla beans... just seal it in those lovely silver bags. Oh yes, how about some pure powderized raspberries? .... ohhh... and frankincense... smells completely like the Baby Jesus...
this stimulatory overload distracted me from realizing that this place is Le Sanctuaire, the retail store carrying Ferran Adria's line of food porn books and tableware. And to my surprise, there is a list of the guiding principles to creating El Bulli cuisine. WHO'S MISS PSYCHIC LADY?!
We didn't buy anything except stole some sniffs of the different herbs and spices they have for anyone to see and smell... but we did peruse some books for crazy food porn (I highly recommend El Bulli 1998-2002--check out how they make their warm "foam").
Without a doubt Le Sanctuaire is a mecca for gourmet chefs. Less like a restaurant supply store and more like a curated museum of tastes, Le Sanctuaire specializes in hand selected items for the most sophisticated tastes and culinary talents. The owner, Jing Tio, has created a sacred space devoted to the worship of flavor and the aesthetics of food. He maintains an ongoing dialogue with the chefs who are his customers and their obsession with invention and discovery. While I was purchasing several custom blended spices one of the walk-ins was an executive chef who was thrilled to have just received his Zagat rating. He was buying a cookbook and a fast resupply of exotic spice to play with. The spice wall of Le Sanctuaire alone is worth a visit for anyone with an olfactory sense. I was treated to an assortment of spices and blends I had never smelled before in my life. While the prices of the out-of-print cookbooks and limited-edition porcelain place settings are high, they are actually still below market value. Le Sanctuaire provides many of the impossible-to-find spices in use by professional chefs as well as blending for larger stores like Surfas. So while at first look there may be some sticker shock, in reality what makes Le Sanctuaire a real find is that they make gourmet tastes accessible to everyone.
being a cook, this is my version of toys' r 'us. this might be a little hard to find though being it is on the 5th floor of a clothes shop. once i entered though it was like an art gallery. however, no one was in the shop when i entered. so i felt like i could touch and smell everything. 10 minutes later the guy who works there shows up and tells me to taste some of the new products that they have from spain. powdered smoke? powdered maple? obscure chemicals only ferran adria may use? yup they are all here. so i got some interesting chemicals to play around with and was about to leave when a couple of chefs arrive. it was interesting to see them buys things without hesitation. can't wait till i am in their shoes one day. used a little over $100 there and it seemed like i could've spent at least $200 more easily.
The best cookware and spice shop in the bay area. If you need the best equipment, spices, books, or supplies this is the place to go. If you usually shop at bed bath and beyond this isn't the place for you.
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