SOS Chefs

One of the most interesting and best spice shops in the city. Owner is friendly and awesome. They have a lot of interesting things you can’t find anywhere else. Chefs know. So should you.

This shop is stunning. I’d heard about it and stumbled upon during a walk. The owner Atef was so lovely and the shop has an incredible selection. As someone who had traveled the world and loves food, you can find it all here from kaffir lime leaf powder to butterfly pea to the delicious yuzu sesame seeds she let me try (and I bought three bottles). I will buy all my spice from here from now on. Amazing gift ideas as well.

What a wonderful place! All kinds of excellent spices, frozen fruit purees, and other marvelous ingredients. The fruit powders are magical! Customer service was excellent. Highly recommend!!

This is the greatest spice store in the world and I say that with no hyperbole. The freshness and quality is unmatched. I have replaced all the spices I use with these, everything that you think you know the taste/smell of, forget it. These flavors are deep, like the finest natural biodynamic wine. The woman running this place is the cherry on top! A warm personality.

It's like going to a middle-eastern souk in the East Village. This is where many NYC chefs go for their "secret ingredients." The quality of spices here is leagues higher than what you would find at a supermarket or even a gourmet store. Common ingredients like garlic powder and paprika are so much more intensely flavored than what you would get elswhere. Uncommon ingredients such as Xathan Gum and Ultratex 8 can also be found. They also have high quality teas and dried beans. Staff is so friendly and kind and go out of their way to help you. Highest recommendation!

As a home cook this place was phenomenal. When you walk in your greeted by every spice you can think of and more. Not only that but the worker who helped me was exceptional as well. As there was so much, I asked for her guidance and what she recommended where she allowed me to taste and pick multiple things. They are also very flexible on the amount you can buy as you can get only as much as you’d like. If you are a home cook I would definitely recommend this place to get some new and staple spices in your pantry.

All the spices that you could ever dream of! The perfect place to discover new flavors like Madagascar Wild Peppercorns or Pinenut vinegar 😍

Visited this place years back when I visited NYC. Could have gotten lost in the store. Kinda felt like I was in a Harry Potteresque shop. Awesome, high quality spices. Have ordered spices from them online and have always received them promptly and well packed. Check this place out!

One of the most interesting and best spice shops in the city. Owner is friendly and awesome. They have a lot of interesting things you can’t find anywhere else. Chefs know. So should you.

This shop is stunning. I’d heard about it and stumbled upon during a walk. The owner Atef was so lovely and the shop has an incredible selection. As someone who had traveled the world and loves food, you can find it all here from kaffir lime leaf powder to butterfly pea to the delicious yuzu sesame seeds she let me try (and I bought three bottles). I will buy all my spice from here from now on. Amazing gift ideas as well.

What a wonderful place! All kinds of excellent spices, frozen fruit purees, and other marvelous ingredients. The fruit powders are magical! Customer service was excellent. Highly recommend!!

This is the greatest spice store in the world and I say that with no hyperbole. The freshness and quality is unmatched. I have replaced all the spices I use with these, everything that you think you know the taste/smell of, forget it. These flavors are deep, like the finest natural biodynamic wine. The woman running this place is the cherry on top! A warm personality.

It's like going to a middle-eastern souk in the East Village. This is where many NYC chefs go for their "secret ingredients." The quality of spices here is leagues higher than what you would find at a supermarket or even a gourmet store. Common ingredients like garlic powder and paprika are so much more intensely flavored than what you would get elswhere. Uncommon ingredients such as Xathan Gum and Ultratex 8 can also be found. They also have high quality teas and dried beans. Staff is so friendly and kind and go out of their way to help you. Highest recommendation!

As a home cook this place was phenomenal. When you walk in your greeted by every spice you can think of and more. Not only that but the worker who helped me was exceptional as well. As there was so much, I asked for her guidance and what she recommended where she allowed me to taste and pick multiple things. They are also very flexible on the amount you can buy as you can get only as much as you’d like. If you are a home cook I would definitely recommend this place to get some new and staple spices in your pantry.

All the spices that you could ever dream of! The perfect place to discover new flavors like Madagascar Wild Peppercorns or Pinenut vinegar 😍

Visited this place years back when I visited NYC. Could have gotten lost in the store. Kinda felt like I was in a Harry Potteresque shop. Awesome, high quality spices. Have ordered spices from them online and have always received them promptly and well packed. Check this place out!

This place is amazing!! I've read about this shop before and knew of its existence but I only got to visit recently. The owner is lovely and will happily chat with you about ingredients and cooking/baking ideas. It's the kind of shop that I can walk into with perhaps just an idea of what I'm hoping to find and walk out inspired and armed with the best quality ingredients. I will definitely be coming to visit each time I'm in NY! If you're a home cook or baker and in search of obscure ingredients, check SOS out. It'll be a fun treasure hunt!

Very Over priced and the owner isn't as friendly as you have heard. Especially if you're Jewish.

I've been in specialty food wholesale industry and the way they set up the shop was very impressive. However, everything is overpriced, not properly kept despite all fancy presentable containers. But the worst part is their HOSTILE attitude! In the heart of Alphabet Town in NYC, the manner is not welcomed imho. A shop keeper(could be its owner) had this really unpleasant attitude and face expression to greet us when we walked in. And when my friend asked a question about a specific item, I almost lost it. Even in NY standard, her attitude tells me the quality of merchandise as well as what kind of human she is. Yes it was that bad! I wish they pack up and move business elsewhere just not in our backyard.

Beautiful shop with an incredible array of spices and ingredients. I had been reading about this store and finally had the chance to drop in a few days before New Year. The owner introduced me to yuzu kosho, made in house, which I had never had before and I have since been putting on everything (eggs? yup! cheese? sure! random scraps of bread? you bet!) We also picked up some incredible harissa, which she also made, along with a few spices. Just a lovely experience all around. AND! They have a shop cat! I'm looking forward to coming in again - or ordering given the state of things in the city currently.

On 22 Oct 2022, I ordered three items from SOS Chefs. One of the items was a package of Wild Mixed Mushrooms, Dry, a $20.00 item. On 28 Oct 2022, I received a shipment of three items from SOS Chefs. However, I did NOT receive the package of Wild Mixed Mushrooms. Instead, I received a small jar of Mixed Mushroom Powder, a $15.00 item. I called SOS Chefs and was assured that they would immediately send the Wild Mixed Mushrooms. However, I have still not received them 11 days later. I called them again this morning and was told they shipped "late last week" and that I would be sent a tracking number "in a few minutes". Then the person with whom I was speaking hung up on me abruptly. Over three hours later, I still have not received a tracking number. I suspect my item was never sent. I have sent them an email requesting the tracking number or a refund and a prepaid shipping label if they want their mushroom powder back. I will add to this review after hearing from them. However, right now I am not impressed and would not recommend this company to anyone.

it's a wonderful place to get cool and rare food and cooking finds that you can't find elsewhere in the city

Amazing place, full of spices and powders and vinegars, oils, extracts and more. Just a delight for the food community. Can be a bit pricey but I've found I get what I pay for here.

Although pricey, this is a gem of a spice shop. Wandered in while waiting for a breakfast place to open and was greeted by helpful and friendly staff, who happily opened jars for us to smell and explained which spices went best with dishes we like to make. We ended up with a new spice to try and some bitters for our bar cart - but probably could have done quite a bit more damage if we stayed longer. The friendly cat in the back also made our trip worthwhile ;) I'm sure we'll be back!

If there is a spice, vinegar or powder in the world- these guys have it. Lovely store owner who obviously cares about her product. Taking one star off because I wish their pricing system was clearer *edit: I really wish the gentleman who wrote my receipt by hand had calculated things properly- I saw on their website that he had overcharged for two of the powders that I bought from them (he has charged me $15 for the small 2 oz pomegranate and the passion fruit powders when the website says that they are $10 each). Again, pricing needs to be put on the products so people know how much each item is.

Absolutely love this place! Any spices a recipe calls for that you would never expect to find outside the region of origin are here. Ethiopian Berbere, Basque Pimon D'Esplette, Vouduvan, Za-tar. Everyone is polite, gracious and knowledgeable. If you aren't a rude idiot and are willing to pay a very modest premium for world class curated spices this place is a unique and welcoming treasure trove.

Was excited to receive my order, but was severely overcharged and received only 1/3 of the quantity ordered. Complained to my credit card company and SOS Chefs fraudulently charged my credit card three times in varying amounts up to $320 in retaliation. Watch out!

Stopped in on our way home from the playground to see the sleeping cat, but came out with a bag full of goodies! The owner is delightful & offered us advice on how to use, as well as samples before purchasing. Will definitely be making this my destination for herbs, spices & vinegars!!! Amazing experience. Thank you!

Selection of ultra high end food/chef ingredients - 5 stars Availability to buy small and large portions of many items - 4 stars Sales staff being your shadow from the instant you are there but having some patience with my questions - 2 star The owner not smiling - 1 star The owner's child running around - 4 stars The prices on the items - 2 stars Being intimidated to even check your cell to look up certain items at the store - 1 star The above scoring averages comes out to 2.71 but I round up to 3 stars.

Updating this after I actually went to Kalustyan's. They're much better, and without the hand-holding attitude of SOS. The one unique thing of SOS is their vinegar collection, but Kalustyan's is wayy diverse otherwise.

Cute small shop of spices. Some items looks authentic given i guess the owner proprietor is very knowledgeable about spices . A 68 grams of bottled curry costs $15.00. Some bottled spices costs $12.00 same weight . Spices are NOT sealed and NO expiration date. Pricey ! I found another spice store few blocks along first avenue a lot cheaper . Google Janata , much much cheaper .

SOS is a delightful place for cooks with a passion for spices. Their spices are so potent the waft begins to tickle your nose within a half block. The prices are on par with quality of product, with the freshness of these spices be mindful; a little goes a long way. Not to mention there is a plethora of varieties from around the world to choose from, or if you fancy, make your own unique spice blend. A wonderful variety of oils, honey, vinegars, dried beans, beautiful mushrooms etc. The lady owner is both exquisite and helpful, as well as I have a deep appreciation for a well run business of any sort. She always has neat seasonal perishables tucked away in the back for chefs. The place is beautifully kept, the spices well curated and packaged. You can see as well as taste the love in this place. And then.... there is that sweet little kitty cat lazily greeting you as you walk in.

Worst store. One lady, I believe is the owner keeps screaming at her employees. Extremely rude owner and sells cheap spices for high prices. Heard about spice blends and vinegar flavors made unhealthy way. Stay away from this store. Reporter from Food Icon Magazine

So wonderful, everyone who works here is professional and nice! They do a lot of business with local restaurants but also sell to everyone else too. I am an amateur cook and I can find most of my spices here. It's my go to place. Well worth the trip.

Incredible spice shop that has literally everything you could dream of. I love that you can buy in large quantities and take the containers back to be refilled and reduce needless container waste. Everything about SOS is delightful.

Product is excellent but one star for poor service, I received attitude while being overcharged for a container that has turned out to be broken and now leaking in my fridge. If they only want commercial customers then I suggest they relocate to a neighborhood where retail sales are not important.

SOS Chefs is the best spice shop I have ever been to. It may be the /only/ one I have ever been, but that doesn't mean it is not awesome. They have wall to wall spices organized by type, then by source origin location. They have great simple packaging and jars to contain them. They have spices available in all different sizes, bulk and even the ability to mix your own blends right there. There is imported honey and other goodies from all around the world. It is a little pricey, but I think it is worth it to get some of those rare spices you can usually only find on the internet. I think I spent about $30 total for a small jar of imported Tunisian honey, and an Arabic spice blend with cumin, paprika coriander and other goodies in it. Not to mention there is a kitty running around too :) The shop is setup nicely, with some of the floor-to-ceiling shelves having a sliding library-like shelf in front of them to fit more spices. The have spice jars and big salt bricks all around, cooking vessels and other functional culinary adornments to set the mood. It is a good find in Alphabet City for the curious gastronome.

I came in looking for Vietnamese Cinnamon chips. Several fellow chefs had suggested SOS Chefs as a spot to check for premium ingredients. "We have Cinnamon sticks." Quoth the none too friendly owner(?)/sales employee. "Okay, can I take a look at them?" "They're just Cinnamon sticks." Hmmmmm...high prices and slightly hostile service does not a successful business make. I suppose they'll continue to make their money selling to restaurants, but I wouldn't recommend stopping in to pick up an interesting item or two.

Looks like they had a lot of good stuff through their windows - HOWEVER - when I called to find out what their hrs were, they told me that they close at 5:00PM. *okay* I asked for general directions... which they kindly gave me...I thanked them and said I'd see them later. I even called back 5 minutes later and asked for the nearest train station...they kindly gave me that info also. WHAT THEY FAILED TO TELL ME BEFORE I TOOK PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FROM NJ, THEN TAKING MULTIPLE TRAINS TO THEIR LOCATION BEFORE 5:00PM CLOSE WAS THAT THEY WERE CLOSED ALL DAY LONG DUE TO INVENTORY AND NO CUSTOMERS WERE ALLOWED!!. Why couldn't the IDI*T who answered the phone include that vital piece of information over the phone when I asked them initially, "WHAT TIME DO YOU CLOSE?" A simpler answer would've been, "We're open until 5:00pm, however, today we're closed due to Inventory...Sorry" After being rudely told at the door, that they don't care...they had the audacity to say that I can go on their web site and order - - - Yeah, right!!! They easily lost a few hundred dollars in business that day from me alone, and it didn't seem to bother them!

It's back open, was in the shop today. Was my first visit ever to this business, had been googling where the best spot is to find fresh chanterelles in NYC and this spot popped up. The place is a cooking foodies paradise, with high quality spices, hard to find fresh gourmet mushrooms, tempting finishing oils, and a wide selection of honey, mustard, dried beans, scented salts, canned delicacies.... In short, I walked out of there with the fresh mushrooms i'd been seeking along with a few other items I hadn't expected but was more than happy to find. BTW I found the owner to be charming. She encouraged me to check out her selection, take whiffs of her finds from around the world; she struck a great balance between showing off her tempting wares without any pressure to buy. I am not rich by any means, just appreciate spending my hard earned money on high quality ingredients to indulge in one of my favorite pastimes. This place is not overpriced at all, but definitely caters to fellow foodies. Will be back soon!

Woman who was presumably the proprietor lurked over everyone making me uncomfortable, but a great selection on packed shelves. PS Beer Belly Jellies per NYT 12/13

The older reviews are not very helpful -- this is a shop generally geared for chefs, where you can buy things like green pistachios, apricot oil, cedar honey, distilled cinnamon water, reagents for molecular gastronomy, it's really spectacular. The owner and a sales assistant both took the time to give me samples or sniffs of a few items. The prices are high for odd stuff, or things provided in bulk, but they are mostly marked clearly, and they generally repackage into smaller amounts if you just want a small sample. While I was there several chefs visited, they seem to know and respect the owner. Worth a visit as a kind of temple of food, you may even be tempted to buy a few items. The owner said that she wants to expand the business beyond professional chefs, so you will probably be welcomed as I was.

During a recent visit to NY, a friend and I stopped here when the fragrant spices caught our attention as we were on our way to a deli. The owner was very welcoming and even allowed us to taste samples of honey. Both my friend and I fell in love with the manuka honey but sadly they were out of stock so we were unable to purchase during our visit. Upon my return to San Diego, I sent an inquiry through their website and was notified a few weeks later when the honey was available. Although there was a minor issue with my order, I can confidently say I will be ordering from here again and have recommended this honey to several people (3 small spoonfuls a week and I have not had any allergy issues this season!). SOS Chefs clearly carries high end hard to find items because trust me, I searched and could not find this honey anywhere else. I am a fan!

Just discovered this store today, loved the selection of interesting goodies. Very nice service, I'll return when I have more time to investigate!

Owner woman randomly walked up to me to angrily demanded that I should ask her questions and not just look around. she claimed that customers who just look around were terrible people. I was kinda weirded out by the crazy lady, but I nonetheless asked about the spice I happened to be holding just to pacify her. "tell me about this spice" I asked. "It's for uh, foods, and beverages" "okay...How about this one?" "That one is for foods. and you can also use it on...beverages.." I asked a few times more about other spices until it became clear that she didn't really have any knowledge other than that the things on her shelves could be used for foods and beverages. Also, it's very overpriced for stuff that's not all that rare or fancy.

Had one of the best shopping experiences of my life here. The angry 1- and 2-star reviews show that Yelp is least useful for reviews of unique or quirky places that don't always meet the standard customer's standard expectation. When I came in - following a friend's recommendation and looking for special ingredients to make a special meal - I was totally thrilled when the proprietress unexpectedly treated me like I was Thomas Keller. She dragged me around the store giving me tastes of their various vinegars and honeys, crushing Sicilian oregano under my nose, tearing open vacuum-packed bags of Iranian pistachios and foie gras in order to give me the tiny amounts I needed to cook for just two people. I was amazed at her generosity to a plain-old home cook. Bought ten different things (chanterelle and black trumpet mushrooms, pistachios, thyme honey, birch vinegar, bottarga di muggine, fresh sansho peppercorns, a few other things) and left with a couple other items she gave me just because she thought I should have them. Yes, the hours are irregular and the owner wants to interact with her customers. That's part of what makes this place special! If you want an anonymous, perfectly predictable experience, there are a million chain stores to fill that bill. Whole Foods is just blocks away. I loved SOS. Wish I could go all the time.

They're always pleasant and always have that hard to find ingredient that I'm trying to find. SOS Chefs is excellent.

Walking into this little shop could be quite intimidating. You are welcome to browse, but if you are looking for something specific, I encourage you to muster up the courage to ask. Despite the size of the store, I have been able to find everything I have been looking for from exotic fresh produce to frozen purees. The owners of the store, a lovely couple, are eager to help and educate you when it's not too busy. It's a store that will slowly grow on you over time.

Also known as Trufette. A boutique selling extremely high-end specialty items for the chef/cook looking to impress with arcane and quality items whose subtleties to the average consumer will likely go unnoticed while the dent they leave on your credit card will undoubtedly be apparent. This is not a food bazaar in which to wander and get ideas, it is a high security area where you are escorted from shelf to shelf by staff who take the edible goods out of locked cases, not unlike visiting Cartier's. Buyer beware on the prices as they are not always marked on the shelf nor is the staff fully forthcoming with the actually price (they hedge, using the phrase "it's around [_], I'll have to check later"). But once the sale is wrung up by the owner and your credit card swiped you see the full extent of the damage and it is "too late" and only "store credit" is offered. A case in point were three items I bought --piment d'espellete en poudre (pepper powder), shelled walnuts from the south of France and shelled pistachios from Spain --which I found out from reading my sales slip had the exhorbitant price each of $100 (ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ) per pound! There is a back room in which you can be escorted to view the astonishing treasures in the "mushroom museum" with such beauties as entire hen of woods mushrooms (if you've only seen bits of one of these to see the entire mushroom nesting there is worth a trip), chanterelles (at $30 pound!) and other exotice varieties of fugus and nuts. There is a large selection of exotic spices, wonderful sel de guerlande, olive and flavored oils, soaps, canned confit de carnade, canned pimentos and more to view. The shop is immaculate and the sales help genial and courteous. The prices are what leaves a sour taste afterwards.

SOS Chef is a truly amazing place. The store is beautiful and the employees are a sea of knowledge, very kind and helpful. I highly recommend this store.

The store itself is gorgeous and you won't want to leave, unless the staff scares you away (which frankly, is likely). I went in with a small list of items I needed (porcini powder, morels, black trumpets) and they of course had what I needed. A pushy albeit pleasant staff member encouraged me to try some of their vinegars and I obliged. I'm usually pretty good at turning down a hard sell but I caved and got the orange vinegar because it was insanely good. The manager (or owner?) seemed like a frazzled mess and was loudly barking orders at the staff. Somehow I ended up with no black trumpets in my order because there was such a hullabaloo. By that time I just wanted to just get out, and since the trumpets weren't necessary for what I was making, I left. I spent $140 on a bag of morels, porcini powder, and a small bottle of orange vinegar.

Amazingly, beautiful store!!! It is like being at some incredible art gallery of tastes and scents. The products surely have magical properties, the owner a jewel! Don't miss this lovely place!

These spices are wonderful; we make a trip from Long Island to this shop just to restock (particularly the peppercorns!). And the customer service cannot be topped; responsive to any need.

fantastic selection of spices and other special ingredients that aren't otherwise readily available. the female proprietor was very nice and helpful...if my interactions with SOS Chef had gone no further than her, this place would easily get four stars, perhaps five. unfortunately, i met the skinny fellow with very little hair. one of the least friendly people i can remember meeting. wow. i'm sure he has his merits in the business, but he should not be allowed to interface with customers. he is a true liability. everyone has their off days, of course, and maybe this was one of his, but man, was he unpleasant. will likely not return, unless desperate.

Lovely surprise. Enthusiastic and helpful staff with enjoyable presentation of a ransom's worth of high quality (and $$) spices, oils, and fresh exotic mushrooms. If you don't know how to or can't afford the goods, it's free aromatherapy and the bathsalts are an affordable luxury,

I'm sorry Biil G and Deirdre G weren't pleased with the service. As a small-time retail customer I have found the owner and staff unfailingly patient and gracious as I walked around asking way too many questions. In the end, I am always satisfied with my one or two purchases, the very best Lucca first cold press extra-virgin olive oil, for example, at about $65 for 3.5 L. Supermarket brands cost more, and this is the real deal. So it's a shame the shop is temporarily closed. I am relying on the owners' promise that they will return once they have completed their mission of exploring the world for new sources and new prime ingredients.

I don't understand some of the negative reviews. This place is amazing and the owner is gracious and helpful. I have bought many spices for myself and family. She always gives me something to try and has also taken time to explain things to me. Love this place. Everything is fresh and wonderful. I love the complimentary ginger shots that she gave my friend and I.

This place has an amazing selection. It's too bad the guy running it is a jerk. I am working on a movie in the neighborhood and since I am a big foodie and own a good business, I stopped in to take a look. I was amazed at what they had and had already found several things I wanted to purchase. That is until the tall skinny white guy decided to act like a jerk to me simply because I work on film sets. He asked me if I was looking for anything specific, and since I was not, I said no. Then he felt the need to comment on how film people are always jamming up his place and "just looking". He was very rude and dismissive in his tone, then walked away. If he hadn't been such a twit he would have gotten a great deal of business from me. Between my food business and my fiancées skin care company we purchase several thousand dollars worth of the very products he had in his store every month. Not one penny of that business will ever go to SOS, what a jerk.

Have to add my frustration to Ken J's review. I tried to check out the place yesterday around noon but eventhough there was a person working inside the door was locked and my presence was totally ignored. Thinking that it might have been an employee who had been instructed not to open the shop during the possible luch hour I departed. On my second attempt today at 11 A.M. I encounterd the same locked door but now there were 3 people who totally ingored me. Another gentleman tried knocking on the inside glass door to no avail. Frustrated by their inactions I remaind for at least 10 more minutes until finally someone finally arrived at the door.She asked if there was something specific that I wanted. I replied that I am a cook and was curious to check out their store as another source in N.Y. besides the other tried and true distributers along with mail order houses. Now get this..I am at the store and she suggests that I check out the stores website ! It will be a cold day in Hell if my shoes ever cross that stores threshold.

Extraordinary selection of fresh (mainly imported) mushrooms, truffles and vegetables. Primarily for the trade, but warm and sincere welcome for "amateurs". Also, other gourmet products--olive oils, foie gras, etc.--primarily French. Prices commensurate with the quality of the products; rarely see truffles, etc. for less.

This place is amazing. They have every single spice you could ever need AND amazing vinegars and Halva. The owner is so knowledgeable and wonderful.

As a high-quality and luxury store for chefs, SOS Chefs really has it all when it comes to food and spices. The selection is amazing as you can get pretty much every product from apricot oil to distilled cinnamon water. The various items are not only available, but they are the best of their kind. The quality of the products SOS Chefs sells is exceptional and really caters to the elegant restaurants of Manhattan. It is a one-stop shop that allows Chefs to access everything they would need for a five-star restaurant and that's exactly why it is the best store luxury food store.

Beautiful chanterelles, and black trumpets. Picked up a black winter truffle, was not as fresh as it could be, but overall very pleased with the experience. Honey selection is outstanding, will absolutely go back. Sichuan peppercorns were vibrant and deliciously crisp and citrus-like on and pallet. Spent thirty minutes talking to the owner, delightful conversation, extremely knowledgeable.