A review of Ole and Steen on Charing Cross Road; the best Danish bakery in London with amazing lattes and traditional pastries, including the Social!
I first came across Ole and Steen bakeries a few years ago, when I first moved to London.
The Leicester Square cafe was actually one of my favorite cafes to work in London, since it’s large and has plenty of power outlets disseminated all around the coffee shop.
Since I went back there a few days ago, I thought it would be cool to share with you my Ole and Steen review, so you would know a little bit more about this Danish bakery in London.
I love finding new sweet treats and pastries in London, whether we’re talking about a French patisserie like Belle Epoque Patisserie or delicious, creamy and decadent hot chocolate at Dark Sugars Brick Lane.
Now, let’s get on with this review of the best Danish bakery in London – once you try it, you’ll never want to try another one again!
London’s Ole and Steen, Charing Cross Road Bakery Review
Believe it or not, Ole and Steen’s chain of Danish bakery shops in London is actually quite old, since it was founded in Denmark in 1991.
Today, Ole and Steen has over 100 bakeries in London, New York City, and of course, Denmark.
If you’re looking for the best restaurants in Leicester Square, I’d always recommend you to try Ole and Steen.
I’ve never had a bad experience there, and it’s really one of those Scandinavian cafes near Soho that you just feel good in.
Good to know, Ole and Steen is the name given to the Danish bakery in London – in Denmark, it bears the name Lagkagehuset, which literally means layer cake. Ole and Steen are the first names of the two owners.
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Danish Bakery in London: Exterior Ole and Steen Charing Cross Road
For this Ole and Steen review, I thought I’d review the Charing Cross Road coffee shop, right next to Chinatown and Leicester Square.
Nearby, you’ve got the absolutely delicious bao buns from Chinese Tapas House that you have to try as soon as you can, and the best fried chicken in London at Good Friend Chicken Chinatown as well.
The Ole and Steen coffee shop in Charing Cross Road makes the corner, and you really can’t miss it.
It sits proudly among all the best secondhand bookshops in London, with Foyles, a great bookshop cafe, located not too far either.
Danish Bakery in London: Inside Ole and Steen Charing Cross Road
Inside this Danish bakery, you’ll probably already see people working on their laptops – Ole and Steen is one of the best cafes to work in Central London.
Although it is bustling with people visiting Ole and Steen from the morning to the evening, the presence of power outlets, free WiFi, and a strangely still quiet coffee shop makes it one of the best places to write in London.
You will find lots of seats at Ole and Steen Charing Cross Road; my favorites are the ones near the window, with a view of Charing Cross Road and the Wing Wing Fried Chicken shop.
If you’d like to have a more quiet experience – if you need to be productive with work, for instance, there are lots of seats upstairs as well.
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Danish Bakery in London: Ole and Steen Menu
The Ole and Steen menu is quite large, to be honest.
If you’re looking for food in Leicester Square for breakfast, lunch, or a mid-afternoon snack, you’ll find lots of amazing bits on the Ole and Steen menu.
From the street, you can already see through the window, amazing Danish pastries that literally call your name every time you pass by.
Salads, sandwiches, great cakes, and Danish pastries are all available on the menu.
In addition, if you’re looking for the best coffee in London, it might be Ole and Steen’s coffee – trust.
The Danish pastries at Ole and Steen, in particular, are some of the best-selling items in this huge Leicester Square coffee shop:
- the cinnamon swirl
- the social
- the Spandauer, a Danish pastry with vanilla custard and almond
- the cinnamon roll
- and the chocolate swirl
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Best Danish Bakery in London: What I Ordered at Ole and Steen
I almost always order the same thing at Ole and Steen – there are many branches all around town, but I always seem to find myself at Ole and Steen Leicester Square.
Old habits die hard, I guess. The last time I visited this oh-so-famous Danish bakery in London, I ordered two of my favorite items
- a latte with oat milk and vanilla syrup
- and a cinnamon swirl
The thing is, the Ole and Steen menu doesn’t really change that much, ever.
If you’re going in six months, you’re pretty sure to find the cinnamon swirl and the social on the menu, and that’s amazing since they are absolute bangers of the Ole and Steen bakery.
What did I think of my selection on that visit?
Although I came pretty late on a weekday, I was absolutely thrilled that my cinnamon swirl was fresh and crispy.
In lots of bakeries and cake shops in London, if you come at the end of the afternoon, the pastries already taste a bit old. None of that at Ole and Steen.
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Ole and Steen Cinnamon Swirl
You can already see it in the pictures; the puff pastry was crispy, soft, and chewy all at the same time.
If there’s another pastry I can recommend you get as soon as you get the chance, it’s going to be the social.
A staple of the Danish bakery in London, the social is made with either almond or chocolate and cream – one of the very best cakes in London, that you have to try during your stay here.
Ole and Steen Oat Milk Latte With Vanilla Syrup
The latte was also delicious, as I said, if you’re looking for the best coffee in London, Ole and Steen is a pretty good address to sit down and enjoy life while sipping a really good cup of coffee.
I found the coffee was especially creamy, and the oat latte had great taste – didn’t need to add any sugar to my already perfectly sweet latte.
London’s Ole and Steen, Charing Cross Road Bakery Review
All in all, if you’d like to try the best Danish bakery in London, you really – really – should pay a visit to Ole and Steen.
There are quite a few other branches in London, including another big one on Tottenham Court Road.
Yet, if you’re looking for the best restaurants in Leicester Square, I can only recommend the big cafe on Charing Cross Road.
If you’re a student looking for the best cafes to work in Soho, for instance, Ole and Steen has seen me type away on my keyboard more times than I can recall.
Delicious European pastries, amazing coffee, and prices that follow those of the area and of London in general – Ole and Steen is that treat that you’ll want over and over again.
Ready to try the best Danish bakery in London?
You’re going to love it.