Ole & Steen
Bakery · Chelsea
873 Broadway, New York, NY 10003
Highlights
Danish bakery with artisanal breads, pastries, and sandwiches
Danish bakery with artisanal breads, pastries, and sandwiches
"Danish baker Ole & Steen has a full range of sandwiches on rye or on focaccia. The open-face ones on rye are called smorrebrod, and this one ($8) really caught my eye. I love carbs and especially double carbs, but can you really consider this type of very stout rye bread a carbohydrate? Luckily this potato salad actively fights against the potential healthfulness of the bread, made with a mayo so sweet it will make your toes curl." - Robert Sietsema
"Ole & Steen, a Danish bakery import, is part of the broader industry shift towards omnichannel revenue streams." - Erika Adams
"Ole & Steen normally operates three locations in Manhattan, but only the one on Broadway near Union Square is still open, and offering delivery through Caviar. Available for delivery or pick-up—contactless order ahead via Ritual—are a large selection of rye breads, sourdough, the shop’s signature skagen loaf, spelt loaves, and seed rye rolls. On the sweet side, find cinnamon rolls and frosnappers: pastry twists filled with marzipan, poppy, and sesame seeds." - Daniela Galarza, Eater Staff
"the Union Square Danish import with stellar breads, sandwiches, and pasties" - Eater Staff
"Located on Broadway just north of Union Square, Ole & Steen was our first branch of a Copenhagen chain founded in 1991, with a focus on artisanal breads and frosted breakfast pastries. With a pair of self-service dining rooms more handsome and comfortable than they needed to be, the bakery also has a sideline in sandwiches and full meals, including open-face smørrebrød with lots of smoked and pickled fish and boiled eggs on the usual demonically dense rye bread. But more interesting is a series of hot pressed sandwiches on a flatbread much like focaccia. Though these sandwiches seemed inspired by Italian cuisine, the catalog of fillings was distinctively Danish. The one that blew me away was called the Danish toastie ($9). It arrived piping hot, with hash marks from the sandwich press. Long-braised Brandt beef from Brawley, California, said to be hormone and antibiotic free, is tucked inside, while a white and mildly flavored Danish cheese called esrom seeped out the sides into little molten pools. Sautéed onions further flavor this rich, beefy sandwich. Really, though half a sandwich is probably enough for a meal, you’ll likely find yourself, as I did, gobbling the whole thing in record time." - Robert Sietsema
