Surfas

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Michele L.

Joined 1 year ago

Love love this place.... I love shopping there. The staff and products are amazing. I had a chat with so many nice people. I had some yummy food at their cafe. And a great conversation with Frank Casares about some product and he blow my mind with all he knowlegde in restaurant history and gourmet food. What a great guy! They do have strict policy on returns on food. I understand and its noted everywhere. But they are very helpful with everything else.

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The LA Gourmet

Joined 2 years ago

Kitchen supplies for professional or at-home chefs!. Surfas (Restaurant Supply, Gourmet Food, and Commercial Kitchen Design) is a true ?chef?s paradise?. Established in 1937 out of an abandoned garage, it once offered only commercial kitchen supplies. Surfas now caters to both industry and at-home chefs. To the left of the entrance, a marketplace offers fresh, frozen, and dry gourmet foods. Whether you?re looking for foie gras, tamarind soup mix, dried porcini mushrooms, or sage honey, Surfas probably sells it. Further back, you can find restaurant-quality pots, pans, and cooking utensils at a fraction of what they might cost at Williams Sonoma or Sur la Table. We found a sauce pan for $12! Aisles of baking supplies, including chocolates, flavor extracts, cookie-cutters, and baking pans fill the back quarter of the space. And, restaurant supplies both large and small ? chef outfits, fryers, bar stools, hot dog baskets, and dishware ? flank the right side of the store. Surfas really has everything you could ever need, whether you?re throwing a dinner party or opening a restaurant.

Surfas also features a small cafe, which offers all-day breakfast items, ?redefined? sandwiches, ?reinvented? salads, pastries, and beverages. A part of its menu is even dedicated to cheese; included are Mac and Cheese, an Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwich, and an Artisanal Cheese Plate. The cafe?s offerings are made from the same top-quality ingredients sold in the store. A shady outdoor patio with sleeping dog and cat figurines is the perfect spot to chow down and relax. Just don?t feed the fake animals, as many signs proclaim.

@thelagourmet

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morrisonmurphy

Joined 5 years ago

Absolutely LOVE this place!!!. I have been a faithful customer since 1977. I love it, I love it, I love it...so there! I belong to the 200 club meaning that I can't get out of that place for a minimum of $200......or more! Yikes!

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Nirali2009

Joined 4 years ago

A great selection of coffee and teas. If you cannot start the day without caffine or even if you a a coffee enthusiast you HAVE to check out surfas... It has a great selection!

I was there the other day and I tried this great cup of coffee. WEAVER's coffe was pouring its new blend. I have to admit it was GOOD.. a bit strong for my taste but it was a great tasting coffee...

Doesn't Recommend

Chef1

Joined 4 years ago

DANGER. BEWARE of this cheap version of Williams Sonoma.. DANGER. BEWARE of this cheap version of Williams Sonoma. Surfas is filled with inventory that is not managed or kept up well. I walked in as the 2nd customer of the day to buy a stainless steel saucepan. When taking one down from their wire shelves, the saucepan top (not secured properly) flew around and whacked my eye causing an injury. I told their lame Manager Frank Casares who not only dismissed it as a joke (as my eye was swelling), was very rude and disrespectful. The Owner, Les Surfas was no better because he's "so busy traveling" and cared very little for a customer's well being. While waiting to talk with a "boss" I walked down one aisle and broken ceramic glass was all over the floor. Great managing of the store! Glad I wasn't there with my friend's 2 year old daughter. Their customer service is a big fat ZERO. It's shocking at how little they understand about the power of a happy or unhappy customer. I will not give them a penny of my hard earned money. There are much better deals and quality online and in other parts of Los Angeles for restaurant supply.

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rudette

Joined 8 years ago

Great place to find goodies for your kitchen and your fridge. Very fun to wander the aisles and fill your shopping cart with gourmet sausages, ice creams, olive oils, interesting ethnic foods, etc. And of course there's everything you need and more to outfit a kitchen. The cafe has a good supply of decently priced sandwiches, baked goods, and fun things like basil and strawberry flavored soda. Whenever I shop here I see some kind of wine tasting or cooking class going on in the store's kitchen, but I've never participated. Go to Surfas with or without a shopping list, and be prepared to spend a little too much money on some fun luxury items!

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Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

This cooking warehouse fills the cupboards of professional chefs and at-home gourmets.. The Scene
There's a reason why this place is fondly called "A Chef's Paradise." Founded in 1937, the company's original business was commercial kitchens, and that trade remains (just check out the enormous ovens and industrial-sized blenders in the upstairs section of the store's warehouse setting).

The Goods
Anything necessary to outfit a kitchen can be found in Surfas' rows of goodies. From professional-quality pots and pans, muffin tins, silverware and measuring spoons (including teeny ones that measure a pinch, dash and smidgen) to escargot dishes, mortars and pestles, pasta makers and chef hats. The other half of the floor is dedicated to Surfas Gourmet Food, featuring tons of imported yummies like cheeses, chocolates, spices (including tiny jars of saffron), chutneys, meats, mushrooms, crackers and hard candies.

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threehams

Joined 7 years ago

Great prices and selection. I was able to outfit almost an entire kitchen, cheaply, with only one stop. Cookware is cheap and meant to handle lots of abuse. They're also stocked with lots of hard-to-find items like curing salt and fish sauce, and - like most supply stores - carry items unavailable anywhere else, like aluminum half-sheet pans or especially large cutting boards. Name-brand items aren't any cheaper than other places, but they're no more expensive, either.

Lines were short, even on a Saturday afternoon, and parking isn't a problem (there's a gated lot). If you show up around 4PM on Saturday, they also give out samples of high-end cheese and beer. Yay!

My one complaint is that individual items can be tough to find - for instance, a simple Boston cocktail shaker. They also don't carry many standard food items, but that's not a downside - just don't expect it when you go.

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laroers

Joined 11 years ago

Hours. Good selection and great prices. Their hours have changed. They are open later and on Sundays. Call to get the exact times.

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cheryl3

Joined 7 years ago

Check Out Surfas' New Cafe. This is truly an amazing store. With their recent expansion the store has even more unique and delightful goodies to choose from including an awesome selection of beer and wine. Plus, they just opened their cafe last week which serves delicious sandwiches and treats and also has a cut to order cheese and meats counter!! Talk to the Cheese Monger--Donald--he suggested some lovely cheese and paired really nice beers to go along with it. I will definetly be back here.