Savory Spice Shop

This review is long overdue. As wonderful as the competitors may be, Savory Spice beats them in so many ways. Anne and Jim, the owners, are always upbeat and helpful. The same goes for the staff. While some things are prepackaged, you can purchase the amount you want and they will package it for you. Meaning it’s fresh, really fresh. Some local products are featured and there are always samples. Quality is amazing and prices are really good. There is a rewards program. You can order online. (And for the month of April, you get $ 1 off a bottle when you bring in a competitors bottle.)

I bumped into this place while meandering around Sellwood for its antique stores. It was a happy accident because I bought four things, including a Middle Eastern spice I cannot pronounce when I asked the friendly counter person for help with «interesting things for cooking vegan.»
The store is well merchandised and easy to browse with things separated by category and region. There are samples as well, plus friendly people behind the counter.
Since leaving I’ve also discovered that the website is really easy to use/​browse (perhaps even more so than the store), so getting more of what you need, even using the website for planning before returning to the store in person, should be super-​easy and painless. Some ideas and some recipes reside there too.
Great place, and totally worth a stop-​in if you’re in Sellwood or a trip if you need a gift for the chef in your life.

Cute little spice shop in Sellwood. Helpful staff guide you to new unique flavors. Worth a stop. It’s a party for your nose.

Pretty much my entire life I have been the type of person to pick up spices at the grocery store and leave them to collect dust in a cabinet until I need them again. And then I moved to Sellwood from a suburb of Seattle and made it my mission to support all of the amazing local businesses in the area. Which led me to Savory.
My first trip in, I purchased a variety of staples (garlic powder, coriander, and chili powder). When you walk in, the smell is off-​the-​hook incredible. And the staff is adorable in their welcome, taking the time to show you around and explain how things work. You can buy almost all of their spices in bulk (served up in a bag or a bottle) or you can grab a pre-​filled bottle from the shelf.
After my inaugural visit, I used my spices same day to make a meal and I cannot tout loudly enough how delicious fresh spices made the meat taste. It was noticeable. No joke. It changed my the way I shop for spices. With the exception of a handful of frequently used spices, essentially I now buy only what I need for whatever meal I am making. And the short walk to Savory makes that possible.
Moreover, Savory has unexpectedly reasonable prices and that helps make using fresh spices viable. It’s a specialty shop so I was prepared to see slightly higher price tags. That just wasn’t the case; everything I needed was reasonable. And you can make it even more reasonable by bringing in your old containers (for $ 1 off), or stopping by during your birthday month (free spice blend), using the welcome-​to-​the-​hood coupon (free spice blend sample), and joining their frequent customer program (I forget the exact rewards). Note you should probably check their website or FB page to see what offers are valid currently because I won’t be updating this review to reflect that. Ha!

A great shop run by sweet and knowledgeable people. Buying spices and herbs can lead you into all kinds of culinary adventure.
Savory offers discounts on refills and a rewards program. They offer lots of spice mixes and rubs, along with single spices, salts and herbs. Also a great place to shop for gifts.

I am thrilled that Savory Spice Shop is in Portland! The products are phenomenal, unique, fresh, and in some cases hard to find anywhere other than here… Ground Asafoetida anyone? Knowledge is huge, service is personal and cheerful, shop is laid out very well. I cannot tell you how nice it is to see product so fresh~ it is something I have not had in Portland since some of my favorite local spice shops either closed or stopped selling to the public. The «Large National Spice Company» chain and grocery store (even New Seasons, as much as I love them) offerings cannot match the depth, breadth, and freshness of product found just inside these doors! Bonus is that I am supporting kind, local people, who care about Portland and give back to the community, rather than shipping profits off to another part of the US. All around a wonderful place and people!

Kitchen and baking store with stuff you need for the kitchen at slightly higher than I would normally pay prices. Good place to kill time and browse. Very large selection of every spice imaginable.

WOW, culinary heaven! I could spend many hours (and paychecks) in here, and I’m sure I will. They have practically every spice you could possibly want (whether you’re making something sweet, spicy, savory, or a combination of all three), plus a delectable selection of flavored vinegars, all top-​quality and natural, and all for surprisingly great prices. Plus the owners are extremely personable, knowledgeable, and helpful. I’ll be back often.

Went here from for a Living Social deal that they had. Thanks for offering it! They do have a nice shop with many different spices to choose from. They were friendly and helpful as well. I’m good for while with what I got! :)

Found this place by accident on my recent trip to PDX. Located in the Sellwood area, it is by far the greatest spice shop ever. As we entered, we were greeted by one of the people that work there, she explained to us the set up of the shop, how to read the labels, their sourcing strategies, and the samples that were made with the spices from the store. We spent almost an hour in the store looking and trying various spices. Left with some amazing truffle salt, Thai green curry mix and mulling spices. Have used all but the salt, and they were amazing. A must go to on every trip to PDX.

Best spice shop I’ve ever been to. This is my go to spot. I have been in portland two months and have bought over 50 spices from this shop!

I discovered this shop right after it opened across from the Sellwood Library.
If you enjoy experimenting with unique flavors and like quality items, this is the spice shop to go to. They literally have what looks like hundreds of variety. And unlike the spices that sit in a bottle at the grocery store, these are fresh and aromatic.
I chose some gift box mixes over the holiday to send as presents and the staff was very friendly as well as helpful.

Full disclosure: I didn’t buy anything during my visit. But I made a mental note to definitely return next time I need a semi-​obscure ingredient.
The staff immediately and warmly greeted us. They gave us a brief overview of the sections, and invited us to try some of the goods the demonstration chef was preparing. I had a cold cider that was phenomenal.
Perusing the shelves, I kept wanting to face-​palm. «Honey, remember when I went to 5 stores looking for crushed fennel? They have crushed fennel!!» «Remember when I needed Caribbean jerk seasoning but couldn’t find it so substituted something else and it ruined the dish?!? They have Caribbean Jerk seasoning!» Noted, noted, and NOTED.
I plan to make a trip back when Christmas roles around again. They had awesome gift sets of seasoning collections that will be the perfect gift for some weekend-​kitchen-​warriors I know.

So many spices, so little time! Hit this place up during a recent visit to Portland, and it was like being a kid in a candy shop. Not only is there an excellent selection, but you can taste test all of the different mixes. (They also provide water to wash the taste away from some of the stronger rubs, which I appreciated.)
Prices are very reasonable, and the dried corn is amazingly good. (Just used it as a garnish on some spicy chicken stew, and did not regret my choice to buy a bag of the stuff.) I also highly recommend the ginger dipped in chocolate. So much refreshing yum!
The kicker? One of the staff was nice enough to play with my friend’s puppy outside while we shopped. (They’re considered a food establishment, so you can’t bring your four legged companions in.) Instead of letting her wait outside while I made some quick selections, this awesome individual kept the little guy amused while we both took a look around. Awesome service, and I’ll definitely be back next time I’m in PDX!

Great addition to SE. High quality spices and herb for reasonable spices. Went in for the second time today. There seems to be more inventory now than when they first opened. Very friendly and knowledgable staff. Love that they added «tasters» as well! They have everything from high quality smoked salts, a variety of curry powder, whole nutmeg and even ghost pepper salt! This will be my first stop for spices from now on.

Stopped in to check out Portland’s newest place to buy culinary spices and found a great little treasure. The owners were friendly & helpful. They took the time to show me around the store and tell me about some of their specialty herb blends.
A plus for me was that they have an extensive selection of dried and powdered chiles and BBQ spices.
Even though I live in Beaverton this place will be a regular stop for me.

A welcome addition to Sellwood. I was a little bit wary when first their signs went up since I realized this was a franchise and I prefer to shop locally as much as possible. Now that the store is open I find I can support it because of it’s business model and the freshness of the product sealed the deal for me.
I buy spices a pinch or two at a time and you are welcome to do that at Savory. My new special treat is their candied ginger, it has got to be the best I’ve ever tasted, I prefer the stronger of the two varieties personally. I can’t wait to go back with my own bottles and start trying out some new things in the kitchen.

So long, Penzey’s! It was nice knowin’ ya. Highly doubt I’ll ever need another specialty spice shop in town, though. Savory Spice shop fits the bill perfectly, with double-​take prices and outstanding customer service.
Warm welcome upon entry: «Have you been in before?» I had not. «Well, let me show you around!» Ok! I went with a few basics in mind (crushed red pepper, granulated garlic, peppercorns, fancy salt), but got distracted immediately by the curry section. So many blends! I took home a couple of medium-​spiced Indian curry powders, and I’ve got my eye on a couple of Thai blends for next time.
They put it all together on-​site, in a small but mighty ‘kitchen’ where all the magic happens. You are welcome to try anything on the shelves, and they’ll hook you up with popcorn and other samples if you like. In addition to the myriad of spices, herbs, and other fun cooking add-​ins, they also make awesome gift sets and have some basic tools, spice racks, and storage options for any skill level home chef.
Upon checkout, my cashier was so genuinely interested in what I was making with the curry powders, I even got myself amped up about it. Curried Corn Fritters is happening, people!
Great store, highly recommend. Yes, I know I can get a lot of this stuff in bulk at New Season’s. But nowhere near as fresh, for better prices, or with the smile that comes from buying from a specialty shop. One last note of kudos: you can purchase by the amount you need. So, if you don’t need a whole jar of something, they’re happy to weight out less. Bring your own jars for a discount, too.

I am absolutely thrilled that I can find several spices locally that I previously could only find online (and then have to pay shipping) like whole anise stars, varieties of paprika and more. Not only are these oddities available, they’re fresh. Savory orders small orders weekly, as needed, so that everything is fresh.
«Like, for instance,» the friendly saleswoman told me, «We had someone want to buy a lot of turmeric. So, we’re wiped out of turmeric until we get more in.»
If I hadn’t already been around the shop gazing at the wonders, this may have frightened me away thinking that they’ll be out of anything I’d like, but they’d had ample supply of everything that I saw. If there is a specific spice you need, it might be a good idea to call ahead.
I also like that you can buy only the amount that you need rather than an entire jar. For someone who can never seem to finish a spice jar before it begins losing its flavor, this was very good news to me. If I understand correctly, if you BYOJ (bring your own jar) it’s a dollar off the transaction. I’m not sure how this works if you just need a pinch.
The saleswoman told me that the prices were at or below grocery store prices. Since most of the spices I looked at are not something I see at New Seasons, where I shop, I’m not sure how accurite this is, but I thought the products I purchases are reasonable.
This summer on a work trip, my husband found a hot sauce he loved that has the hottest pepper on earth: ghost pepper. Just a drop or two on a plateful of food is enough to set the tastebuds ablaze (or so I hear). Well, that one needs to be refrigerated because of all the other crap in it. But, at Savory, they offer one that has three simple ingredients: ghost pepper chile, vinegar and salt. I bought that so he can keep it in his car for when he grabs lunch (a wok from New Seasons or a burger or so on). It was $ 10.95, less than the other sauce we bought elsewhere. I also bought a similar one, only with red habenero chiles instead for just $ 5.95. There were milder versions I didn’t pay very close attention to.
They have vanilla available, as well. There’s Tahitan and Madagascar extracts and pastes as well as whole beans.
As far as I saw, they do not carry tea. It seems like a lot of spice shops carry tea as well. Although Savory does not, there’s a fantastic local, award-​winning tea shop just about two blocks down 13^th.

A new shop has just opened in Sellwood and it’s a welcome addition to the neighborhood. You can go to Savory Spice Shop and sample all their many, many, many spices. And they have had yummy, uniquely flavored popcorn to sample when I’ve been there. The décor is beautifully done in a style reminiscent of Pottery Barn.
The truffle salt is to die for. And who knew there were so many kinds of vanilla bean and types of cinnamon. You can get the tools and spices to grind yourself or get them already ground. They even have dehydrated corn and candied ginger. The corn was light, crispy, slightly sweet and really good as a snack and on a salad.
Looking for gifts representing Oregon? I love the Mt. Hood Toasted Onion All-​Purpose Rub. It was excellent for pot roast. The Oregon Trail Juniper Berry Spice and Pearl Street Plank Rub are good too. Shoot, just go for the Oregon State Fare gift set.
Please check it out. It’s fun to taste and learn. The owners Anne and Jim are nice and I wish them much success.