I am one of those weird people that love love Dutch style salted licorice. I picked up this bad…read morehabit from my Swedish roommate when I lived in Swaziland. She introduced me to Swedish licorice coins and ever since, I cant stop eating them. I definitely have an addiction to Dutch style salted licorice. So, naturally, as soon as I arrived in Solvang, I went immediately hunting for salted licorice. This was the second candy store I stopped in (first one did not have too many choices) and found some Dutch licorice here. I hadn't tried this kind/brand (Klepper & Klepper, made in the Netherlands) before but decided to give it a go. I am so glad I tried it, because I loved it. I like the licorice to be more salty than sweet and this one was definitely exactly what my taste buds were looking for! I enjoyed looking around in here as they also carried a few Danish and German style licorice you can buy bulk too. I'd come back here again just to pick up the Klepper & Klepper licorice! I wish I had picked up a few more bags of it!

what an absolutely adorable little store. Brand new owners as of the beginning of the year, really…read moresweet local family from the valley. So many great candies, colors and vibes. Staff was helpful and knowledgeable and so friendly. Can't wait to go back next time. I'm around town.

I love the quality of the gelato here. I enjoyed the mint chip and could taste the fresh mint…read moreflavor. The staff were so friendly and I highly recommend this place.

While my family and I were walking around Solvang, we spotted Alessio Artisanal Gelato. We said we…read morewould stop by on our way back to the inn we were staying at. Alessio Artisanal Gelato is located on the main Mission Drive in Solvang and open Wednesday to Sunday from 12-6pm! It's a cute little shop with no tables inside, but a nice outdoor area, that is shared with the other businesses surrounding it. They had a lot of great flavors, but my daughter and I decided on Pistachio - it was really good. Nice and creamy with a great pistachio flavor! Alessio Artisanal Gelato prides themselves on real ingredients, real flavors and real fun. They also offer new flavors every week! Staff were also really friendly and helpful too! If you're looking for a sweet treat, I would definitely stop in and check out Alessio Artisanal Gelato if you're in the mood for something other than a bakery!

Solvang I've felt has always been lacking in terms of offering great artisan ice cream, so I was…read moreexcited to see this spot driving through town, next to the Little Mermaid fountain. After going inside and trying it out, I'm happy to say this is one of the best ice cream spots I've been to. There are an insane number of flavors (the sign says they have 31!), and the flavors are super unique. Even Baskin Robbins, the OG behind the 31-flavors concept, has so many basic flavors that it's just boring. The fact that SYV has so many flavors AND that they are ones you wont find elsewhere is just amazing. The regular ice cream is the star here, but they also offer soft serve (four pumps, eight flavors so you can swirl). We ordered both, and I found the soft serve was too icy for me and not creamy enough. The ice cream, which has an airy texture, is more robust with the flavor combos offered. Still I dont regret getting soft serve bc it's usually so hard to find that when I see it I have to order it. The vibes and branding are top notch as they embrace a cowboy theme here, with saddles, horses, horseshoes, etc and even a TV tuned to the Cowboy Channel! There was a newscast with two men in cowboy hats reporting on the latest rodeo news. Workers were friendly and helpful, letting us try flavors before deciding.

Tried The Creamery tonight. The staff could have been a little more friendly. The gal answered my…read morequestions but didn't say "thanks for coming in or come again". Mango Sherbert was okay. Would I go there again, probably not.

Charming food truck. Delightful staff. High quality handmade deliciousness…read more White chocolate Cranberry Cookie is a standout. Don't miss this gem when you are lucky enough to spot it!

Lindsay NAILED it. 10/10 would recommend EVERYTIME! She is super easy to work with and extremely…read moreprofessional! We got married on 6/28/25 in Ventura and used her for a cutter cake, mini cupcakes, and a couple dozen gluten free cookies for our guests that were gluten free. I also heard these are the BEST gluten free cookies that our GF guests had and they definitely asked to take the left overs home at the end of the night! I had one (not GF) and I can honestly say, I couldn't tell that they were GF cookies. We had reached out to her and taste tested cupcakes and went with Churro, Strawberry Lemon, Smores, and Chocolate Lover. I am still obsessed with them. They were the perfect size and all tasted amazing. We had a Churro cutter cake and yet again tasted amazing, but we gave Lindsay little direction on decorating it (our bad, girl.) and it was SO CUTE. It was perfect. I do need to point out that Lindsay and her team were amazing with the set up. We had to last minute move our reception (due to mismanagement of White House Beach Club owner -- Dont use them) and Lindsay and team were amazing with that. They dropped off the desserts and were able to figure out where to set up everything with little direction from the absentee owner. I don't have a great image of the desserts yet, but once we get our photos back I'll update!

Incredible small batch place with food made with kindness and perfection. Egg casserole and pop…read moretarts the best I have had. Worth the wait in line while surrounded by beauty and kind people.

I found this place on Google so we stopped here on our way to solvang. They are only open on…read moreSaturdays from 8am to noon. So with the horrible traffic on the 101 we got there around 11:30, figuring there won't be much left half hour before closing. The location is a private Ranch - looks like it could be used as a wedding or party venue? Anyway the baked goods were indeed mostly gone with the owner Tracy telking us she had sold over 80 scones that morning. But bc there were only 2 scones left and we wanted more , Tracy was kind enough to put some more in the oven for us. We left were a couple bags of goodies - the homemade pop tarts with fresh made jam, Scottish cream scones, lemon poundcake and shortbread cookies. All were delish! The pop tarts though.... omg ... soooo good. I could eat these every day. $5 per item and worth every calorie ....yummmm!

The spice trade was once one of the most intricate and sought after commodites in history with…read moremonarchs and sultans devising the best routes to get their hands onto the rarest of spices showing their wealth and class of not only themselves but their representative countries. Although nowadays spices are much more easier to come by (just drive down to your nearest supermarket!); many spices are still on the scarcer side and represent luxury. Have no fear, though, because you no longer have to board a ship and find the passage to the Middle East but can simply head to the Solvang Spice Merchant. Solvang Spice Merchant is a female-owned (shout out to girl bosses!) spice boutique located in the central hub of the famous Danish tourist city of Solvang near Santa Barbara. Opening its doors a couple years before the Covid pandemic in 2018; Solvang Spice Merchant not only survived but thrived with a brick and mortar storefront and an online shipping option (flat rate of $10 shipping no matter the size of purchase!). The business features hand-crafted spices and seasonings, teas, and foodie gift sets serving both tourists and Solvang residents, alike. My boyfriend and I ventured into the Solvang Spice Merchant when visiting Solvang from Los Angeles for the city's Christmas-time Julefest and gazed our eyes on a shop that would make any King or emperor proud. The store is filled with floor to ceiling shelves of spices/seasoning mixes categorized by country/region and then further sub-categorized by ingredients, styles (BBQ, Pickling, etc) available in various bottle sizes (plus some can be purchased at the counter in bulk, as well). If you can conceive a certain spice or seasoning, trust me that Solvang Spice Merchant has it! Even if you are not in the market for spices; the store is fun to browse and discover all of the spices from around the world. My personal spice journey has endlessly been looking for Garam Masala (an Indian spice) which I could have purchased at the Indian shop by my apartment in Los Angeles - but what fun is that?! It is much better to come across Garam Masala at Solvang Spice Merchant where the spices are combined by hand and with love while enjoying the world of spices! We purchased a 2.3 oz bottle (the smallest) of Garam Masala for $10.25 which isn't cheap: but expected from a boutique spice store. I have since used the spice mix on chicken, Steelhead trout and steamed veggies and it is absolute perfection and makes my apartment smell delightful with its warm spices. The only complaint? None of the two young females behind the counter welcomed us into the store, offered any samples (which I learned the store does indeed do), ask if we needed help, etc. Solvang's main gimmick is being a welcoming tourist city ESPECIALLY during Christmas as it is known as the, "Most Christmas-y City in the Nation". Unfortunately, that Hallmark Christmas movie customer service was absent the night of our visit. Despite this minor qualm; Solvang Spice Merchant is a charming spice shop fit for a King, emperor, sultan or just Averages Joes like you and I visiting Solvang. Not only will you find whatever spice your heart desires but you will have an enjoyable time simply scanning the shelves.

Great tea selection , amazing aromas . Friendly service If…read moreyou are tea lover , this is the place for you .

I was looking for local cake bakers on IG and found Bodega Bake Shop! The cakes looked amazing and…read morebeautiful! The flavors of the cake were exactly what I was looking for. Not your typical combinations. Friends and family were planning a stay in Los alamos for a big birthday celebration weekend and booked BBS for one of their creations. Communication (via email) with Amber , was seamless. Very professional and helpful! Everyone loved the cake, especially the birthday girl! The flavors were so rich, and cake was most. Frosting wasn't over the top, it was perfection. Amber nailed the aesthetics of the cake! Overall it was an exceptional experience! I would highly recommend BBS to anyone who wants the best cake in Santa Ynes Valley!

I ordered a cake for my girlfriend's 30th birthday with only two days notice. Bodega Bake shop not…read moreonly got it done, they baked such a delicious cake. If you want some ideas about flavors and decorations, check out their Instagram page. I also appreciated how responsive they are. We were in constant communication via text message and they were always quick to respond. Finally, their prices are super reasonable.

To say this is the best cake I have ever eaten is an understatement. A little backstory here…read more.. Last year, 4 of my friends and my 3 (cheapo) sons got together for my birthday and my friends told me all about Brandi at Jensen's Custom Cakery... and her "wonderful cakes." The way they described them was more of an experience than anything else... with intense flavors and wonderful textures... everything fresh and made to order... So I got all excited and then they went and got me a !*YTST cake from some other local (and well-known) bakery that turned out to be a flat suger bomb...bleh... all because they didn't get an order placed in time with Brandi... (that's a hint, order early as she gets booked up) - Anyway, I was pretty darn upset to say the least because - hey, life is too short to not eat great cake and now that I'm yelping - stand back! Oh well, they did get me some nice presents, and good wine, but still... there is no comparison... So this year, just to be sure, for my wine country birthday party, I went ahead and ordered my own darn cake - well in advance... (my friends can just bring me wine from now on - pay attention Lorraine :))! So I ordered what's called a Double Lemon Coconut and I gotta tell you it really was an absolutely amazing cake - and Brandi even delivered it to our weekend rental on the other side if the valley. So this 2 layer dream cake was so good that the first thing I did was hide away a piece from my hungry friends and family... and a good thing I did because they ate the whole thing... all of it! I have never seen a cake disappear so fast in all my years and birthday parties... but on this one, you can really taste the fresh coconut, the intense lemon, the cream... the tart in the lemon curd... (even her curd is fresh hand-made just for the specific cake - I know, I tried to buy more of it) and the bite assembly is nothing short of gourmet... You can really tell a lot of time was spent perfecting these flavors... and all I can say is WOW and now I'm really excited for my next birthday (but so sad right now because I am out of cake), I even ate my backup piece :(... Next time I'm going to order a carrot cake that my friend Nancy told me about last week and described as "cosmic and out of this world..." since I am a carrot cake junkie, I can't wait... I'll let you know how that one goes along with some pics when I figure out how to get them off my new phone... onto the Yelp machine.... until then, if you want a memorable cake and the absolute best you can get your mouth on, check out her site or give her a call... tell her Maggie sent ya!

We have been lucky to have had several different cakes made by Brandi.These are not your average…read morebakery cakes. All are absolutely delicious. She clearly spend lots of time and energy to make them special with the best ingredients she can find. I must say that the German chocolate cake is so good that I want to dive into it! It is amazing! This is a special treat for your guests.I would not hesitate to recommend her for your dessert needs.