Ole & Steen Avis 

I’ve always loved the food and coffee at Ole & Steen, but my recent experience with their loyalty app has left a really bad taste.
I was explicitly told by staff in one of their bakeries that points stay on your account for life, so I started saving them up for a special occasion. I later discovered that points actually expire after 12 months.
When I reached out to Head Office to explain that I'd been misinformed by their own team, they completely stonewalled me.
Instead of offering a simple gesture of goodwill or taking accountability for their staff’s mistake, customer support was strictly focused on hiding behind company policy. They made it very clear that looking after loyal customers isn't a priority for them.
It’s such a shame, but because of how poorly this was handled, I’ve closed my account and will be taking my business to other bakeries that actually value their customers.

I visited the Bedford Avenue, London, branch yesterday afternoon and was really impressed with how relaxing the experience was. It was my first time in the store, and the team members were very helpful, offering suggestions on cakes to try. The store was clean, and the seats and tables were cleared as soon as guests left the store. Would highly recommend this store and will definitely be visiting Ole and Steen again.

Terrible customer service. Visited a branch on the 2nd May and had a problem with payment using their app. Since then I have emailed the customer service team 6 times and received no response. Is this what they call "hygge"?!

Rubbish Customer Service
Have sent 5 Emails to "Ana"in Customer Service
following her asking for a Copy of transaction
receipt regarding complaint .No Reply received !!--Copied in their Managing Director---Also no Response !!--says it all !!---RUBBISH
Cse Number---52357793b3aab

⭐⭐☆☆☆ 2/5
Their customer complaints team contacted me again and said that they have all the cutlery one needs and suggested that their staff ought to offer a cup and ice for drinks! Still, no redress to the situation, no offer of putting right.
Ole and steen are a super dumb organisation in the uk

I recently visited Ole & Steen (Victoria branch - eccleston place) and was disappointed by both the in-store experience and the subsequent customer service response by Shemaiah.

The food and bakery products are good, but for a premium-priced bakery that positions itself at the higher end of the market, the customer experience felofwell short of expectations.

I purchased food that required cutting, yet only wooden disposable cutlery was available. Anyone who has tried to cut a pastry or sandwich with these will know they are largely ineffective. I later discovered metal cutlery was apparently available ( after i sent a written complaint) but no member of staff offered it or advised where it could be found.

I also suggested that chilled drinks should be served with a glass and ice option, which would seem a reasonable expectation given the prices being charged.

What disappointed me most was the response from customer service. While acknowledging the feedback, there was no genuine apology, no recognition of the inconvenience caused, and no gesture of goodwill. Even a simple invitation to return for a complimentary coffee or pastry would have demonstrated that customer satisfaction genuinely matters.

At these exorbitant prices, customers expect more than good food. They expect attention to detail, proactive service, and a customer care team that goes beyond simply explaining what should have happened. Just take a look at the sheer number of 1 star reviews they have. Thats a sign things are not looking good for the corporation.

Unfortunately, this experience felt more transactional than customer-focused. A big shame Ole and Stein, meant to be a premium end offering, fell way too short. They wont keep discerning and high spend guests this way. Plenty of other places to go spend my money.

I went into the northcote sw11 store at the weekend and the store was clean and busy , which is fair considering they are in a busy location. The coffee was gorgeous and the young man with the cool dreadlock hair and the female worker nearby was friendly and polite , he repeated back my order and gave me service with a smile.
I would come back if in the area my usual is Richmond store but these guys here made this store feel like my local.

Excellent customer service at the More London Coffee shop. Welcoming and considerate. Good latte

Very friendly staff in the northcote road branch, always make me feel very welcome

They’re a good bakery. Very tasty patties and best tasting bread but they’re strange. They removed glass shelves from all stores so people were dripping things like money and it was not as hygienic. People complained so they put them all back. I wanted bread in their store in Tottenham Court Road. They had a slicer but not any longer. Like I said. They’re odd. Very odd management in head office I suppose. A bit like white pine. Also Scandinavian and they only allow you tinier their loyalty points when you use their app online, even though your physically in their store. Not sure what is going on in these parts of the world but they’re doing things to lose customers

Really disappointing experience.

Visited the Covent Garden branch and the sponge cake was extremely dry, paired with one of the worst coffees I’ve had. Later the same day, I tried the Oxford branch hoping it would be better, but it wasn’t.

The cashier was rude, the place didn’t feel clean or well-kept, and the latte was equally poor.

Definitely not somewhere I’d return to.

Richmond branch, bit messy many tables occupied by students creating a lack of space. Cake contained a long hair, truly baked in. Contact form got zero response. Utterly amazing! Real hygiene failure and no response at all. Didn't want to embarrass the staff on the spot. Sent form twice. Not cheap and definitely one to be wary of...

Oxford branch has a filthy restaurant and toilets. Awful customer service. Complaint sent to head office and still unresolved from 2 months ago.

Long queues and premium prices. Don’t expect plates, knifes or forks with which to eat your top-priced cakes and make your own tea by adding hot water (apparently Ole and Steen tea bags don’t need boiling water) yourself. This is justified as ‘giving you the choice as to how strong you want your tea’ which shows that the company knows about as much about tea-making as it does about decent service.

Cancelled an order on Too Good To Go over a month ago and never got my refund. Their AI bot is useless and there's no customer service. I paid for a product which was never received and this is my money. Care to respond ole and steen?

Have same issues as below - their app is shit, do not use it. I had four errors with payements which ended up being "reserved" for a week already.

Don't bother ordering for collection using the Ole app because the Richmond branch frequently fails to monitor orders placed in this way. The staff tell me that the order comes to a till that is not convenient to check. I discussed this with the manager months ago and nothing has changed. See other comments about Richmond below. Go to Gail's instead, they are polite, efficient and care about customers!

I have decided to leave this feedback because I come here very often, and this visit was especially disappointing. The service was very slow, the tables were consistently dirty, and the furniture looked quite run‑down. It feels like the place isn’t being maintained properly. I really hope someone in management takes this seriously and makes the improvements the café needs.

Second visit here, wanted to give them the benefit of doubt....but both visits the place is grubby. Crumbs on seats, piles of used cups and plates not cleared and the floor is disgusting! Definitely won't be going again

In their Notting Hill Branch February 26th 09.15am. Serious overcrowding. Staff selling in house orders with nowhere to sit. Coffees delivered and not told, so when we found them they were cold. My order was a breakfast bun . The eggs were half cooked and the sausage still cold from fridge or freezer. This is a serious health and safety issue. Reported to staff and sent the order back. They appeared uninterested and disengaged. Maybe this standard is normal for them. It is not for me. I took three guests on their first day in the UK. Left embarrassed and hungry.

I've had a really good experience at all the Ole & Steen locations in NYC, especially Union Square. Their salads are terrific but their sandwiches are really great. Always consistent.