Bakeries in Solvang, CA: Olsen's Danish Village Bakery and Every Danish Bakery in Town

There's a town in California's Santa Ynez Valley where the buildings are half-timbered, the windmills are wooden, and the breakfast question is not "coffee?" but "which bakery?" It's Solvang, founded in 1911 by Danish-American educators, and it has more Danish bakeries per block than anywhere you'll find this side of Copenhagen.

The bakery most people search first is Olsen's Danish Village Bakery, on Mission Drive, and it's a lovely place to start. But Solvang's charm is the crawl. Five Danish bakeries sit within a few short blocks, and each has its own story, its own family and its own signature pastry.

This is a page from my travel notebook: the Solvang bakery day I'd plan, plus what each bakery says it's best at. It's for anyone flying into Southern California who wants a sweet, slow detour. Think of it as a cousin to my Princeton coffee shops guide, just with more almond paste.

How I picked these

These are Solvang's Danish bakeries listed by Visit Solvang, the town's official tourism site, that I could confirm in 2026 through their own websites. Everything about each bakery, from what it's known for to who ships, comes from its own site, the tourism board or local news. I haven't printed hours or prices. Pastry menus change with the seasons, and the bakeries' own sites are the final word.

A few places didn't make the cut: shops where the main business isn't Danish baking, and listings I couldn't confirm through a bakery's own website. More on those at the end.

A quick Danish pastry glossary

You'll see these words on every Solvang menu. Here's your cheat sheet.

• Kringle. A layered, buttery Danish pastry, usually shaped like a pretzel or ring, filled with almond paste, fruit or cinnamon. It's sold whole for sharing.
• Kransekage. The Danish "wreath cake," a tower of stacked almond rings. It's traditional at weddings and New Year's.
• Wienerbrød. Literally "Viennese bread." This is what the Danes call what we call a "Danish."
• Æbleskiver. Round, puffy pancake balls, often dusted with powdered sugar and served with jam.
• Butter cookies. The Danish classic, sold here in bags, tins and tubs.
• Bear claw. A pastry filled with almond paste and shaped like a paw, often topped with sliced almonds.

Olsen's Danish Village Bakery

Olsen's Danish Village Bakery

Danish bakery · Solvang

Known for Danish kringle, the Seven Sisters butter ring, butter cookies and kransekage from family recipes; in Solvang since 1970.

1529 Mission Dr, Solvang, CA 93463

• Outdoor seating
• ships

WebsiteDirections

Checked against official sources Nov 2026

Olsen's is the one with the most search traffic, and it's earned the attention. The story goes back to Denmark. Its logo says "Established 1890 in Denmark," and the bakery says its recipes trace back to the current owner's great-great-great-grandfather.

The Solvang chapter began in 1970, when Bent and Susy Olsen moved from Denmark and opened the bakery on Mission Drive. In October 2025, the Solvang Chamber honored the couple at its State of the City event, as they stepped back to let their children run the bakery. Bent Olsen told KEYT, "I want people to know there will be no change to the quality."

What it's known for. Olsen's Danish kringle is the headliner, sold whole or by the slice. The bakery also makes the Seven Sisters butter ring, a coffee cake, plus Danish butter cookies in buckets, trays and tubs. Kransekage, wienerbrød pastries and cinnamon crisps fill out the cases. It serves a Danish continental breakfast seven days a week.

Good to know. Olsen's invites guests to "grab a coffee and share with your family & friends on the patio." It ships online orders within the continental U.S. on set weekdays, but not internationally. That makes it the easy pick if you want a kringle waiting at home in New Jersey.

Mortensen's Danish Bakery

Mortensen's Danish Bakery

Danish bakery and café · Solvang

Known for Pistachio squares, bear claws, owl-eye cookies and butter cookies from Copenhagen baker Ove Mortensen's recipes; run by its original owners for 40-plus years.

1588 Mission Dr, Solvang, CA 93463

WebsiteDirections

Checked against official sources Nov 2026

A short walk down Mission Drive, in the Petersen Village Square, is Mortensen's. It describes itself as a bakery and café still run by its original owners after more than 40 years.

The recipes are old-world ones from Ove Mortensen, a Danish baker from Copenhagen. The Petersen sisters continue his legacy today, and the bakery is family owned and operated.

What it's known for. Mortensen's lists the pistachio square as a house specialty: pistachio on a buttery shortbread crust, dipped in chocolate. Its bear claws are almond-paste pastries sprinkled with sugar and almonds. Owl-eye cookies are almond-paste thumbprints filled with raspberry and apricot jam. There are also all-butter shortbread cookies in six flavors, a butter ring, kringle, kransekage and chocolate rum balls. It also makes napoleons and chocolate éclairs with real whipped cream.

Good to know. Mortensen's serves coffee, lattes and cappuccinos, so you can sit down with your pastry. It does not ship. Its site says the bakery wants you to enjoy its pastries right away, fresh. Consider that your excuse to eat the éclair on the spot.

Birkholm's Bakery & Cafe

Birkholm's Bakery & Cafe

Danish bakery and café · Solvang

Known for Family bakery founded in 1950 by Carl and Charlotte Birkholm, known for Danish butter cookies, pastry and kransekage.

460 Alisal Rd, Solvang, CA 93463

WebsiteDirections

Checked against official sources Nov 2026

If you want the longest history in town, start here. Carl "Cookie" Birkholm Sr. and his wife, Charlotte, opened the original Birkholm's Bakery on Copenhagen Drive in 1950, according to a 2020 history in the Santa Ynez Valley News. The next year it moved to Copenhagen Square on Alisal Road.

The family has stayed with the business ever since. They leased the Alisal building to Solvang Bakery in 1990. Around 2011, when that lease neared its end, third-generation baker Thomas Birkholm took over. Today Birkholm's is at 460 Alisal Road, and it calls itself a family-owned and operated business.

What it's known for. The Santa Ynez Valley News history lists Danish butter cookies sold in tubs, Danish pastry, rundstykker (crusty breakfast rolls) and kransekage. It also mentions apple boats and Delight Cookies. In the 1960s, a menu at Mattei's Tavern in nearby Los Olivos advertised "Birkholm's famous petits fours."

Good to know. Its name says "& Cafe," so it's an easy sit-down breakfast stop. Birkholm's own website is very basic, so check its listing on Visit Solvang or call ahead before you go.

The Solvang Bakery

The Solvang Bakery

Danish bakery · Solvang

Known for Custom gingerbread houses and kransekage, the Danish wedding cake; established 1981.

438 Alisal Rd, Solvang, CA 93463

• ships

WebsiteInstagramDirections

Checked against official sources Nov 2026

A few doors down Alisal Road is The Solvang Bakery, at number 438. Visit Solvang's photo of its hanging sign reads "established 1981." On its own site, it describes itself as "Custom Gingerbread Houses and Baked Goods."

What it's known for. Gingerbread houses, and lots of them. Its catalog runs from cottages to manors to themed designs. It also makes kransekage, which it calls the Danish wedding cake, and kransekage cookies.

Good to know. The Solvang Bakery offers in-store pickup and shipping. It also lists holiday items "for delivery in December," which makes it a lovely place to send a gingerbread house to someone you love. If you're visiting in December, this is the bakery that feels most like Christmas morning. Pair it with Solvang's month-long Julefest, below.

Danish Mill Bakery

Danish Mill Bakery

Danish bakery · Solvang

Known for A Danish-owned bakery in Solvang since 1960, with Svendebrev-trained bakers and everything baked on site.

1682 Copenhagen Dr, Solvang, CA 93463

WebsiteDirections

Checked against official sources Nov 2026

Danish Mill Bakery, on Copenhagen Drive, has a quietly impressive pedigree. It says it has been a Danish bakery in Solvang for more than 60 years, since 1960. Every owner since then was born in Denmark. Both its founder and its current baker hold the Danish baker's "Svendebrev" degree.

The bakery says all of its breads, pastries, cakes and cookies are baked on site, and its motto is "We will not compromise!" Much of the staff has been there 10 to 30 years.

What it's known for. Danish Mill aims for "both a contemporary and a traditional Danish bakery experience," with handmade pastries and breads. Visit Solvang also lists a second Danish Mill outpost, BRØD-KAGE by Danish Mill Bakery, at 1578 Mission Drive.

Good to know. It ships its Danish specialties within California only. For everyone flying back east, that means buying in person.

How to spend a day in Solvang

The best Solvang day is slow and walkable. Here's how I'd shape it.

Morning: breakfast and the first two bakeries. Park once in a free public lot. Visit Solvang says parking is free everywhere in town, including three public lots. Start at Olsen's on Mission Drive with the Danish continental breakfast and coffee on the patio. Then walk down Mission to Mortensen's for one pastry "for later." It won't make it to later.

Late morning: the Little Mermaid and the windmills. At the northwest corner of Mission Drive and Alisal Road stands a half-scale bronze replica of Copenhagen's Little Mermaid. It has stood there since 1976. Visit Solvang says it's the only replica authorized by the heirs of the original sculptor, Edvard Eriksen. From there, go windmill-spotting. There are four wooden windmills within four blocks.

Midday: a little culture. The Hans Christian Andersen Museum sits above The Book Loft. Visit Solvang calls it the only museum in the U.S. dedicated to the Danish author. Nearby, Solvang Park has a bust of Andersen, presented in 1976. If you want more history, walk south of downtown to the Elverhøj Museum. It's in a house that was once home to a Danish sculptor and his family, and it was built with almost no nails.

Afternoon: the Alisal Road pair and the mission. Stop at Birkholm's and The Solvang Bakery, a few doors apart on Alisal Road, for butter cookies and a kransekage to share. Then walk to Old Mission Santa Inés. Solvang's founders established their town on 9,000 acres surrounding the mission.

Late afternoon: Danish Mill and home. End on Copenhagen Drive at Danish Mill Bakery for bread for tomorrow's breakfast.

A little Solvang history

Solvang means "sunny field" in Danish. The town was established on January 12, 1911, by a group of Danish-American educators. Rev. Benedict Nordentoft, Rev. Jens M. Gregersen and Professor Peder P. Hornsyld formed the Danish-American Colony Company, and the town was established on 9,000 acres surrounding Old Mission Santa Inés.

For decades Solvang looked like any small farm town in California. Then a 1947 Saturday Evening Post article brought in curious visitors, and the town leaned into its heritage. The half-timbered buildings and replica landmarks you see now grew out of that moment. That's why the bakeries feel so at home here. They're part of a town that decided, on purpose, to be a little piece of Denmark.

Getting there and when to go

Getting there. From New Jersey, this is a fly-in trip. Visit Solvang says the town is 35 miles from Santa Barbara's beaches and 125 miles up the coast from Los Angeles. Most visitors pair it with a Santa Barbara or Central Coast trip. Visit Solvang notes three commercial airports within reach, and Amtrak Thruway coaches also serve the area.

When to go. Any time is bakery season. But two Solvang events are worth planning around:

• Danish Days happens every September, with traditional music, folk dancing, parades and Danish food.
• Julefest runs all of December. It includes the Nisse Adventure, an annual tree lighting, Santa visits and a Christmas market. That's peak gingerbread-house season at The Solvang Bakery.

Check the Visit Solvang events calendar for each year's dates.

Bakeries I left out, and why

Visit Solvang also lists Æbleskivehuset on Copenhagen Drive, Café Joy on Mission Drive, and the Old Danish Food Farm & Fudge Kitchen on Alisal Road. I've left them out of the main list. Two are cafés or fudge shops rather than Danish bakeries, and I couldn't confirm the details I'd want for a full entry through their own websites. If æbleskiver are on your must-eat list, check Visit Solvang's current dining listings when you plan.

If this kind of slow, sweet travel is your thing, my romantic getaways and best coffee shops in NJ guides are the closer-to-home versions.

Every place in this guide, on the map

1. Olsen's Danish Village Bakery1529 Mission Dr, Solvang, CA 93463
2. Mortensen's Danish Bakery1588 Mission Dr, Solvang, CA 93463
3. Birkholm's Bakery & Cafe460 Alisal Rd, Solvang, CA 93463
4. The Solvang Bakery438 Alisal Rd, Solvang, CA 93463
5. Danish Mill Bakery1682 Copenhagen Dr, Solvang, CA 93463

Questions people ask

What is Olsen's Danish Village Bakery known for?

Olsen's is best known for its Danish kringle, sold whole or by the slice, plus the Seven Sisters butter ring, Danish butter cookies, kransekage, wienerbrød pastries and cinnamon crisps. Bent and Susy Olsen opened it in Solvang in 1970 using family recipes from Denmark. It serves a Danish continental breakfast seven days a week and ships within the continental U.S.

Which Solvang bakeries ship?

Olsen's Danish Village Bakery ships online orders within the continental United States, but not internationally. Danish Mill Bakery ships its Danish specialties within California only. The Solvang Bakery offers shipping and holiday delivery from its website. Mortensen's does not ship; its site says it wants you to enjoy its pastries fresh. Check each bakery's site for current shipping days.

What is a Danish kringle?

A kringle is a Danish pastry made from layers of buttery dough, usually shaped into a pretzel or an oval ring and filled with things like almond paste, fruit or cinnamon. It's often sold whole and sliced to share, which makes it a classic Solvang souvenir. Olsen's and Mortensen's both list kringle on their menus.

What is the oldest bakery in Solvang?

Birkholm's has the deepest documented roots among the bakeries open today. Carl 'Cookie' Birkholm Sr. and his wife, Charlotte, opened the original Birkholm's Bakery on Copenhagen Drive in 1950, according to the Santa Ynez Valley News. Danish Mill Bakery dates to 1960, and Olsen's opened in Solvang in 1970, though its brand traces back to 1890 in Denmark.

Is parking free in Solvang?

Yes. Visit Solvang, the town's official tourism site, says parking is free everywhere in Solvang, including three public lots and daytime RV parking. That makes a walking bakery crawl easy. Park once, and all five bakeries in this guide are within the few compact blocks of downtown around Mission Drive, Alisal Road and Copenhagen Drive.

Spot something out of date, or know a place we should add? Tell us. Corrections are read first.