Ole & Steen

Who Ole & Steen Is For — and When to Go

If you want a proper Scandinavian bakery experience in central London without a long detour or a long bill, Ole & Steen at St James's Market is the most practical option in the area. It works well for an early morning pastry stop before a day in the West End, a working lunch with a decent sandwich and strong coffee, or a mid-afternoon pause when you need somewhere that takes baking seriously. The format is casual and counter-service, which means it suits solo diners and small groups equally well — there is no awkward wait for a table, and no pressure to order more than you want.

The Bakery in Context

Ole & Steen was founded by two Danes, Ole Kristoffersen and Steen Skallebaek, and the Haymarket location at 56 St James's Market sits in a purpose-built development that gives it more physical breathing room than many London bakery competitors. The interior is open and airy by central London standards, with counter seating and communal tables that make it usable whether you are alone with a laptop or meeting someone for a quick bite. It is not a hushed cafe and it is not a grab-and-go kiosk, the space sits between those two formats, which is part of why it works for a wide range of occasions.

The bakery opens at 7 am Monday through Friday, making it one of the more accessible early-morning options near Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square. On weekends the doors open at 8 am and close at 8 pm, giving it broader appeal than many comparable spots that wind down by mid-afternoon. No booking is required, and given the counter-service model, walk-in visits are the norm. If you are visiting at peak commuter hours on a weekday morning, expect a short queue at the counter, but turnover is fast.

What Ole & Steen Does Well Technically

The Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats in Europe ranking gives a useful calibration point: the bakery was listed at #50 in 2023, #94 in 2024, and #136 in 2025. The trajectory is worth reading carefully, the absolute ranking has moved down, but remaining on a competitive European cheap eats list across three consecutive years, while London's bakery scene has grown significantly, reflects consistent output rather than a one-year anomaly. For a Danish-founded bakery operating multiple London sites, that kind of sustained recognition is a meaningful signal.

Technical focus at Ole & Steen is laminated pastry, the category where Scandinavian baking traditions tend to outperform their British equivalents at a comparable price point. Danish pastries, cinnamon swirls, and similar laminated items require both precise temperature control and a willingness to use quality fat; both are legible in the finished product when a bakery gets it right. Compared to Arôme Bakery or E5 Bakehouse, Ole & Steen occupies a more accessible, higher-volume position, less artisan edge, more reliable consistency across a busy central-London location. If you want a more neighbourhood-rooted experience with longer fermentation bread programmes, E5 Bakehouse or Fortitude Bakehouse are better fits. For the Scandinavian-specific laminated pastry format, Ole & Steen is the more practical central option.

Its Google rating of 4.3 across 3,093 reviews is also instructive, at that volume, a 4.3 average is harder to sustain than a 4.7 across 200 reviews, and it suggests the quality holds across a wide range of visit types rather than being driven by a loyal niche audience.

Practical Details

The Haymarket address puts it within easy walking distance of Piccadilly Circus, St James's Park, and the National Gallery, making it a natural pit stop for anyone spending time in that stretch of central London. No reservation is needed. Dress is entirely casual, this is counter-service baking, not a dining room. The hours (7 am to 9 pm Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8 pm weekends) mean it covers most of the day usefully. For a broader picture of where Ole & Steen sits in the London eating landscape, see our full London restaurants guide. If you are planning a longer London trip and want context on where to stay or what else to do in the area, our full London hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide are useful starting points.

How It Compares in the London Bakery Category

London's bakery scene has expanded considerably, and there are now strong options across most neighbourhoods. 26 Grains takes a more grain-forward, porridge-led approach that suits a different kind of morning. Fabrique is the closest direct competitor in the Scandinavian format, Swedish rather than Danish, with a strong sourdough programme alongside its pastries. Arôme Bakery leans into French-influenced laminated pastry with a more boutique feel. None of these are bad choices, but if your priority is central location, consistent Scandinavian pastry quality, and long opening hours, Ole & Steen at Haymarket is the most practical pick in that part of London. If you want to compare the Ole & Steen format against international equivalents, Radio Bakery in New York and Andersen Bakery in Copenhagen offer useful reference points for what the category looks like at different price and ambition levels.

Explore More

For the wider London dining picture, see our full London restaurants guide. If Ole & Steen is part of a UK trip that extends beyond the city, consider The Fat Duck in Bray, L'Enclume in Cartmel, Moor Hall in Aughton, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, Hand and Flowers in Marlow, or hide and fox in Saltwood for longer-format dining at a different price tier. For London wineries, see our full London wineries guide.