La Boite
Lior Lev Sercarz mixes and packs every blend in house at 724 Eleventh Avenue, for MICHELIN-starred kitchens and for whoever walks in.2 The jars are numbered and start at $16.3
Why go
Sercarz grew up in Israel among more than seventy ethnic communities. He trained in France under Olivier Roellinger and cooked with Daniel Boulud.2 The shop blends to order for restaurants, hotels and travel companies as well as for the shelf.2
Pierre Poivre N.7 puts eight peppercorns in one grinder. Smoked Cinnamon N.18 is cassia over oak smoke. Smoked Salt N.8 is flake salt given the same treatment, and runs $21 in September 2026 against $16 for most of the rest.3
Order this / avoid
- Buy: the Hawayej, turmeric and black pepper and cumin, $16 in September 2026.3
- Buy: the Smoked Cinnamon. Oak smoke on cassia goes savory fast.3
- Buy: the cookies. Solomonov says Sercarz makes them to show the blends off.1
- Avoid: the $55 Grand Pierre Poivre before you have opened the $16 one.3
What locals & experts say
- Michael Solomonov, of Zahav in Philadelphia, in the SAVEUR 100 (2011 edition):
Nearly all of the spices we use at Zahav are sourced and blended for us by Lior Lev Sercarz, an Israeli-born, French-trained chef who has a shop called La Boite a Epice in New York City.
1 - Time Out New York (7 January 2011):
Spice master Lior Lev Sercarz, who creates custom blends for the likes of Daniel Boulud and Zak Pelaccio, goes retail with this brick-and-mortar location specializing in cookies and more than 40 high-quality spices.
5 - The limit: I have not found a New York critic writing about this counter since 2011.
Good to know
- Where: 724 Eleventh Avenue, between 51st and 52nd Streets in Hell's Kitchen.5
- Buying: the shop sells over the counter and online, and Eataly stocks the blends if you are nearer Flatiron.4
- Who else buys it: the same Time Out write-up also names Le Bernardin and Marc Forgione among the kitchens Sercarz blends for.5
- Classes: the shop runs blending classes and events.2
Verdict
should-visit — Go with a dish in mind and ask at the counter.