Ole & Steen — Restaurant in New York

My treat to myself whenever I'm in New York is to get the Copenhagener poppyseed pastry and a coffee and take it to Bryant Park. I find the best way to eat it without setting off a crumb explosion is to carefully detach the top from the bottom, eat just the top while using the bottom half as a plate so that it catches all the bitter-salty-delicious poppyseed goodness that falls off, and then eat the bottom half. It's probably not the authentic Danish way to do this, but it makes me very, very happy.

I felt guilty for always getting the same thing last time I went, so I tried one of the raisin tea buns to switch things up, but was underwhelmed. Any other bakery, I'd be pleased with the quality, but compared to the pastries it just felt kinda plain, and maybe even a little dry, like it would've been better with butter or cheese? (Again, maybe actual Danes would know what to do with this thing and I was just silly for trying to eat it plain.)

One thing I don't love about this place is the lack of tip jars or an option to leave a tip when paying with a card. I don't know how much the staff is making as an hourly wage, but I guarantee it's not enough for their stellar service and how fast they can crush a line when it's busy. It was packed in there during lunch rush, but I barely had to wait 5 minutes before I was back out the door with pastries and a sumptuous latte in hand, and everyone was SO NICE, despite the...

This corner Danish bakery, right next to Bryant Park, is impossible to miss with its big windows and tempting display of baked goods. While it has a sleek Nordic charm and an impressive variety of pastries, I don’t find myself coming here often. With heavy-hitting neighbors like Angelina Paris and Heritage Grand Bakery—the latter being a go-to favorite for my family—Ole & Steen struggles to attract.

I tried the Gâteau Marcel (a French flourless chocolate cake topped with mousse), Tosca Cake (a chewy caramelized nut cake dipped in chocolate, named after the Italian opera by Puccini), and the Vanilla Cream Bun (a puff pastry filled with vanilla pastry cream and whipped cream). The portion sizes are generous, but the craftsmanship feels a bit slapdash compared to its upscale competitors. At a higher price point, the presentation didn’t justify the cost. The taste really depends on personal preference. In my opinion, the taste is above-average—you can tell they put thought into fine-tuning the flavors and textures, and there are occasional "wow" moments. Still, it falls short of being truly memorable or impressive like Heritage.

Overall, Ole & Steen might appeal to fans of hearty, rustic Danish pastries, but if you’re looking for finesse or deep flavor, there are better options...

I have frequently visited this restaurant for lunch. The food is pretty good. About a week ago, I ordered lunch with 2 coffees that never came. When I was leaving, I asked for a refund. (There WERE 2 cups of coffee sitting there for awhile, but had a different ticket number) Because the payer had already left, she offered for me to come in the next day and she would give me free coffee in return for our trouble. (She was adamant she had called out our number, but neither of us heard it and we did get up to check for it several times, at no point did any worker ask if they could help). I was not able to go back until today, at which time I inquired about the coffee owed to us. The same worker told our checkout person to give us ONE free coffee since it had been about a week. (And wasn't very nice about it either) However, as you can see on the attached image, we were indeed charged for both. Not worth the trouble to go to the worker again for a refund over a 3 dollar coffee. Probably won't be going back here, as it is quite expensive for what it is, especially when the customer service isn't so great. I will be happy to revise this rating should anyone at the restaurant care enough...