Penzeys Spices

I lived near a Penzeys for years. When it came time to restock I was disappointed to see this location closed. I just ordered online which is the next best thing I guess!

I was very sad to learn that the place where I have found my favorite spices is closing in a few days. Same ol’ story: someone bought the building and tripled the rent. This place is close to the market and has amazingly fresh and fragrant spices. Their Chicago Steak Seasoning is my favorite seasoning to cook with! Steaks, obviously, but I love it on bacon and try it on about everything. The prices are a bit high when you think, I could get Safeway brand chili powder for $ 5 cheaper, but the intense flavor these spices add is worth it and will make cooking more enjoyable. Fortunately, there are three locations in Portland and you can order online, which I strongly encourage anyone who happens upon this review to do. They have everything from everyday things, to variations on familiar spices (like Chili 9000), BBQ rubs, and more. I’ll remain a faithful customer and hope they continue to receive Seattle attention online after they close. Unlike the disgusting practices in property right now, Penzey’s won’t put a bad taste in your mouth!

Okay. Now I think the time has come to make a fragrant confession: I love this store.
It looks nice and most important: it smells SO good.
Entering the shop and smelling all these spices and herbs nearly flipped my mind.
I really had to control myself not to buy the whole store!
I love that they have spices and herbs from different countries and in different variations (for expample cinnamon from Vietnam, different sorts of salt,…).
Alone wandering around and open the little jars to sniff — totally worth the visit.
Buying your favorites and taking them home — awesome.
Cooking with your new herbs and spices — absolutely delicious.
And on top of all these great aromatic delights: absolutely reasonable prices!
Now I have to go and take a sniff of my wonderful smelling spice cabinet, smell ya!

This is a nice place to shop for interesting spice mixtures if you are in the Pike Place Market area.
They have a lot of great mixtures, and each station has jars out for you to smell. We spent quite a bit of time walking around and sampling their various mixes, and ended up buying several. The quality seems good. I would skip the standard spices and herbs since they can be had elsewhere for likely lower prices. You come here for the mixes!
As others have mentioned, customer service is pretty much absent here. I don’t like being bombarded by employees, but I don’t like to be completely ignored either. No one ever asked us if we needed anything, and the woman behind the counter did not smile, greet us, or act like she was interested in her job in any way.
This place could be 4-​or-​5 stars easily if they added a few friendly and personal touches.

Great store with a good location. Reason for the TWO stars is the huge price increase and decreasing the quantity of the product in the package. Although I have shopped Penzey’s for years, I will be doing research on alternatives.
Disappointed. See what success brings? Greed.

I had heard of Penzys Spices before but never had been in one before yesterday. A friend and I were out and about at Pike Place Market and decided to drop by. While the customer service was very lacking,(both employees just stayed behind the desk, never offering to make suggestions) I at least found my way around the store and ended up buying a number of items, just because the samples smelled so good. If I worked there, I would be very vocal in making suggestions and helping people out more, though. Will probably just buy from the catalog from now on.

Wow! My first time at Penzeys and I love this place! I was greeted promptly by a knowledgeable and friendly staff member. The store is clean and bright, and offers may wonderful spices to choose from.
I especially love that they have jars of spices set out that you can smell. Makes shopping for spices much more fun. I will definitely return!

I had never heard of Penzeys Spices until I happened to wander in on my way to Pike and I thought, huh, let’s see what they have.
In a few words, they have a metric fuckton of spices. There pizza spice is really great if you want to elevate your fancy homemade pizza or hell, just throw some on a frozen pizza and call it a day.
I especially enjoyed their green goddess mix and their salad dressing mixes. So many options and their jars are cool too — using them from spices to even using them for my alcohol infusions! Score!
It’s not super cheap, but the spices seem to be really high quality and you have so many options in sizes to buy, it’s worth your time to venture in and buy what you need.

Great selection of spices, especially for grilling, baking as well as all of the standards in a variety of options you didn’t know existed. Friendly staff and reasonable prices completed my experience.

I love Penzeys. I must have — no joke — 40+ different items. My mother-​in-​law got my hooked on their mail order catalog. And then when we lived in LA we would go to the Santa Monica shop. I love that there is one in Downtown Seattle. I even got my co-​workers hooked. Once you try their spices you will never buy them in a grocery store again.
It is so pleasant to go to the shop — everyone is super nice and friendly. And I adore their spices and blends. Some of my favorites:
bay leaves
Black & red
Sicilian (I put it in every pasta dish I make, it is amazing on cheese bread, amazing on salads)
Salad Sprinkle
Bavarian
Cinnamon Sugar
Vanilla Sugar
Vanilla
Extra Fancy Cinnamon (best cinnamon EVER)
Mitchell Street
Country French Vinaigrette
Green Goddess
Toasted Flaked Onion
Onion Powder
Tarragon
Oregano — both Mexican and Turkish
Fajita Seasoning
Bouquet Garni

Great spot for foodies and cooking newbs alike. There is lots to see and smell here and you won’t be disappointed.
I am very surprised at the poor reviews – the items were all fairly priced in terms of the quality product (I spent about $ 20 – 25 and got a bunch of great spices) and the customer service was fine.
There is a lot to chose from here and you might end up spending a little longer than you intended. They have blends especially for grilling and different styles of cooking – for Italian, Mexican, etc.
My favorite was the array of vanillas they have – beans, powders, extract. I could’ve gone crazy and spent a fortune here. A baker’s dream! The myriad of cinnamon was impressive.
I added a star because it isn’t in the market, but close enough. It was nice to be in a store and not feel the hustle and bustle of the market stalls.
Quiet and clean, I would definitely go back. The spices that I gave as gifts are either gone or still being put to good use.

It’s hard not to blow your money here if you truly appreciate quality spices and herbs.
My significant and I were «just browsing». We were literally having our own fun learning about the products and sniffing the jars. I didn’t decide to pick up a basket until I hit the essential herb selection where rosemary, thyme, oregano etc are kept. I buy my Simply Organic spices from Whole Foods and they are just garbage compared to the ones found at Penzey’s. The quality is incomparable.
I like how the store is spacious and organized. They are categorized by «departments» like salt, rubs, seasoning, spices, baking etc.
I agree on some reviews that the staff wasn’t very helpful. They are not proactive in helping you find anything or answering any questions you may have. They were at least friendly at the check out counter, the least they could do.
Because I believe all herbs and spices have a shelf life, I bought the smallest jar (0.8 oz –1oz) of rosemary, thyme, ground cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, Cajun spice mix, and a bottle of vanilla extract. I can’t wait to cook with them.
My bill came to a little over $ 30. I know I can cheap out and shop at Safeway but garbage in garbage out. How do you expect your food to turn out superb if you cook with shitty spices and herbs? Not even professional culinary skills can save you.

tons of spices, pretty pricey. i fairly regularly buy expensive and/​or exotic spices & salts and had never been to penzeys, so we stopped in here on our way to dinner on saturday.
the reason for 2 stars is the total and complete lack of customer service. when we walked in there were a handful of other customers. no one greeted us, despite one person walking right past me to put back a basket. by the time we made it halfway through, we were the only people in the store and STILL didn’t get a «hello,» or «can i help you find something,» or «hey, have you tried???» nada. the 2 employees were standing silently inside the cash wrap — which is smack in the middle of the store with no viewing obstacles — one of them playing with her phone.
so, i spent a measly $ 7 and left. if i didn’t already have 2 things in my basket i would have just walked out, but i really wanted them.
i won’t bother returning.

Even though it’s not technically local (they’re from Wisconsin), Penzey’s is a fun place to take your out-​of-​town foodie and baker friends. It’s close to Pike Place Market, so if you’re downtown and shopping in that area, you should definitely detour a couple of blocks to Penzey’s.
It’s in a slightly sketchy area, but once you’re inside, the store is quiet and tranquil, with nice hardwood floors and shelves and olde-​tyme-​looking glass jars of spices and herbs everywhere. The dips and mixes are up front, with meat rubs and BBQ seasonings off to one side, and baking supplies and extracts at the back. They have chili and taco seasonings and whole spices, too. Paprika lovers, they have smoked and sweet varieties, too!
So far, I’ve tried their Dutch process cocoa powder, vanilla sugar, orange and lemon peel (which come in nice big jars), fines herbes, herbes de Provence, Saigon cinnamon, and spicy taco seasoning. All have been high-​quality and at reasonable prices — maybe not as cheap as the tins at the supermarket, but definitely better quality and a wider variety. I had no idea there were so many kinds of cinnamon! When you compare them side by side, you can really smell the difference.
For thrifty souls, they have large plastic bulk bags, and those tend to be the best deals. They also have some very fancy boxed gift sets with different themes — I love the wedding gift set, which includes all the basic spices that a couple setting up their household should have. It’s a great idea and sure to get lots of use!
There’s no pressure if you just stroll in to wander around and smell things, but the staff are happy to help if you have questions. Home cooks will enjoy a trip to Penzey’s… but it can be hard to leave without buying anything.

Oh man I love this space. It’s like I did and my nose went to it’s own heaven!
A nice open room that’s organized by intended uses. There’s a baking space, a seasoning aisle, and a place dedicated to chilis! Every spice and spice blend has a tester. Don’t stick your nose too close, or you’ll end up sneezing most of the time! Quality herbs and spices, with packaging ranging from glass jars to vacuum sealed refillable bags.
Staff are incredibly kind and helpful. I’ve parked my car in a 3 minute loading zone before and they’ve helped me grab all the spices I need, pay, and I’m back in my car with time to spare!
Subscribe to their catalogue for free jars of spices (with purchase).

There are tons of spices. Then again, with a name like Penzey’s Spices, you’d expect as much.
Everything is well-​organized here, and the variety is diverse enough to satisfy the inner cook in my girlfriend and I. When I found Spanish paprika, I knew this place knew their stuff.

Now that I moved to Hawaii and most businesses charge an arm and leg to ship here I wish I stocked up at Penzeys! They have some awesome hard to find spices: ancho chili (so delicious in a burger), spearmint, an array of cinnamon, curry powder and so much more! I buy the zip lock bag and then dump it in to a sanitized mason jar for storage.

I don’t understand Penzeys. I was hoping that this would be a veritable library full of hard-​to-​find spices with excellent bulk pricing.
The reality is that this is the antithesis of what I was looking for.
As someone who cooks A LOT – especially lately – I was super excited to hear about Penzeys. Really handy since my usual spice store is in the Pike Place Market area too. The layout reminded me of an Aveda spa, which while pleasant, did not make me want to buy spices. In fact, the layout screams to get window-​shopped. Pretty to look at, not to drop dough.
Standard selection spread out over a large space… hmmm And the prices?! It was like removing all the aisles of a Safeway, and just leaving the spice aisle. Prices=same.
For me, there isn’t any reason to come here, especially with Market Spice around the corner. Too bad… what a great spot to have a spice store.

Ummm… How have I managed to live in Seattle for so long without knowing about Penzeys before? I suppose I only have myself to blame because I hardly ever cook. But my amazing boyfriend DOES cook and when we was on a tare to make some chili recently, we popped by Penzeys to shop and get some fresh new spices.
Upon opening the door I felt like I had been whisked off onto the deck of a ship in the spice trade. All of the adorable wooden crates and signs around the space give the illusion that you’re on a boat at sea. And while that’s totally fun and kitschy, it also helps to really organize and unify the space. Clearly labeled signs throughout the shop help you navigate the room and there are samples all over to you can sniff and peep to your heart’s desire. Just don’t do what I did and smell them all. I remember really needing to sneeze afterwards :)
There are great kits and gift sets pre-​packaged for weddings and various events as well. Steak kits, grilling kits, starter spice kits and more!
And if you’ve got kids in tow, drop ‘em off at the kid’s station and let them color and keep themselves busy while you shop. It’s a cute little pirate ship themed station. So cute in fact, I wish I was smaller so I could have sat there and colored a picture for myself! ha!

Came across Penzeys Spices today while walking around downtown. Apparently this is a chain store with locations around the U.S. offering a large selection of spices. They just opened up their new store in Seattle just three weeks ago. It provides another option for spices in addition to nearby Market Spice and World Spice Merchants. Though they do not offer any teas here as that is not what they are about.
The difference between those two stores and this one aside from the tea thing is the actual setup. Those stores carry their spices in bulk jars and you buy by the ounce there typically. Whereas Penzeys is similar to your local supermarket. They offer the spices up in bottles of different sizes along with a plastic bag version. You will save money per ounce by buying the bag version, but you will need to find a jar to place it in as it is more likely to lose its freshness.
If you go to the website, it shows the extensive listing of of spices and mixes that they carry at the store. Seems pretty comparable to what the other two places offer, but the specialty mixes may be of interest. Picked up a small bottle of herbs de provence and a medium sized one of Penzey’s smoky special seasoned salt. Pricing was pretty reasonable. A little over $ 5 is not all that much.
I do also like that they separate out the spices into sections including one for mixes, peppers, curries, cinnamon, herbs and baking. Even a section for salads. All in all, Penzeys is a great new spot in downtown to pick up some new spices that you have not used before and broaden your culinary repertoire.