Birkholm's Bakery & Cafe — Restaurant in Solvang

Don't order any coffee here, and beware of ultra-poor service.

Was visiting Solvang for Thanksgiving, and stopped here on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Tried to order coffee, but I was totally ignored as though I was invisible, someone standing next to me (who came in after me) was asked for their order, but I was flat-out totally ignored. I decided to leave at that point. After shopping across the street, and walking around browsing for a few hours, I decided to try again. This time I walked in and tried to locate any signs indicating where one should order, just in case I was trying to order from there wrong spot last time. I didn't see any such signs and made sure I wasn't "taking cuts" or going in front of someone else. This time I went to the coffee area and waited for someone to acknowledge me, this time around the lady behind the counter went out of her way to make it known to me that she was ignoring me. Again someone else, adjacent to me was asked for their order, and I was ignored as though I was invisible. Because I was in desperate need of caffeine, I made up my mind that I was going to get some coffee no matter what. I waited until the lady behind the counter couldn't ignore me any longer and finally ordered an Americano with an extra shot of espresso. I should have known by the speed with which she served up my order that it wasn't a proper Americano, but I needed caffeine and didn't want to walk around anymore to try and find greener pastures. When charging me for the drink, she quickly bypassed the screen where the credit card machine asks for tips, probably because she recognized me as the person she had blatantly ignored twice on purpose. In any case the Americano was absolutely terrible, as if it was made with lukewarm water through used coffee grinds. Absolutely, hands down, the worst coffee drink I have ever been served anywhere. Even a cup of coffee from the in-room coffee maker at our hotel was better than whatever she served me. All in all, it was a terrible terrible experience. Not sure what the problem was, whether there was some process for which I failed to adhere to, or maybe she thought I was someone she had a bad interaction with; I'm really not sure. In either case there's no excuse to knowingly sell me some lukewarm water as an $8+ double shot espresso, or to ignore me twice in two separate interactions. If I had cut in line unknowingly, or ordered from the wrong area, or ordered without following their proper procedure, I would have rather been told "I'm sorry sir, you need to order over there", or maybe "I'm sorry sir, this other customer was first, I'll be able to help you as soon as I serve them" -- rather than rudely being ignored. In any case, if you go here, I would not recommend you order any...

Motoring back down to LA from an amazing weekend in Cayucos I started feeling a little drowsy. A good boost of caffeine was called for. I was on the 101near the Solvang exit so I decided to find a decent coffee joint. So we all know that Solvang is basically a mock up of Denmark on commercial steroids. Anyone who has been to the Denmark knows that there is nothing really Danish here. In fact if the Danes ever discovered this place they would declare war on us for insulting their culture. OK enough ranting, the point is we know the bar here is very low but fearlessly I went into Solvang for the modest quest of a decent cup of coffee. Playing it safe I picked the joint with the highest Google review. How could I go wrong with that. If you are one of those people who judges the quality of pastries and coffee by the volume of sugar added then please stop here, this review is NOT for you. I confess I had a bit of a sweet tooth but judging by the items on display I quickly lost my appetite for them so I went ahead and order a plain coffee. I struck out on that one too. Totally undrinkable. Two sips and I threw it out. The only remaining question is that apart from the paid reviews on this site were the rest of the reviewers stoned. ( a valid assumption since this would make the “Solvang” experience very tolerable ) or have they never experienced a really good cup of coffee before. I finally went to McDonalds, even they know how to make a...

Took my family here yesterday and it was a HUGE mistake! Wish I could give NO stars!

When you walk into an establishment and ask if anything has peanuts or walnuts because your child is allergic and the employee answers, you believe them right?.... DON'T!

I asked the employee if there was peanuts or walnuts in the container of cookies because my daughter is allergic. She isnt deathly allergic but enough to need an EpiPen. The employee then stated "Nope, we are a nut free facility. Would you like a sample?" and HANDED MY CHILD a sample. So we purchased the container and went on with our day! As I got home and later opened the container of cookies and realized there was nuts and YES it says on the package. I then called to inform them of the situation, not to get my money back but just to let them know thier employees are starting things that aren't true. After being hung up on a few times and calling back, I got ahold of the owner. He was incredibly rude and could care less. Openly stating that this has happened in the past and he will have a store meeting again. Even though my daughter is fine the POINT IS that someone said it was Nut free and HANDED my daughter a sample. She didn't know the severity of her allergy. What if she was deathly allergic!!!. I did my part as a parent in being aware and was lied to!

I will NEVER EVER EVVVVER go back to this place and will share this story to anyone and...