Olsons Scandinavian Delicatessen

A little bit of Scandinavia in the heart of LA LA Land. Café is great but grocery store is stupid expensive.
They have västerbotten cheese which is amazing stuff (and much better than the garbage you’ll find at Ikea cafes) and the menu items for the café are also great and reasonably priced if you eat there and tasty. But whatever you do, skip the grocery store. No really.
For one thing, they could have a more interesting beer selection and their selection of coffee could be better. But overall, the markup on the grocery items is absurd.
Don’t believe me? We bought crisp bread and it cost 12 dollars. In Sweden it would be 3. And keep in mind you can get Wasa crisp bread at Ralphs for like 3 bucks so it’s not like they’re cornering the market on the good stuff. Also the candy we bought was nine dollars and again we could get it for two or three bucks in Sweden.
Put it this way: we bought a package of crisp bread, a few small bags of candy and a half a pound of cheese and our lunch of three sandwiches and it came to $ 110.
I guess if you want a taste of Sweden and don’t mind paying through the nose at all costs, have at it.
But if you don’t want to lose your savings, do yourself a favor. Have some lunch in the café but don’t buy the groceries. Buy everything else you want online and maybe you’ll be able to send your kids to college.

Awesome sandwiches. Great deli items. Thank goodness they’ve redid the outside and inside because it was a diamond in the rough before. Now it’s a real gem. I adore the egg salad sandwich but it is mostly a fork kind of sandwich. Awesome. Love that dill. I almost always but cucumber salad for take home too.

Not impressed at all. Came here to buy some candy and got ripped off. $ 6.52 for bulk candy when it was not even a quarter of a pound. And the majority of it was old. I live in the neighborhood and you just lost out on all my business. I will never be back

You don’t have to be Scandinavian to love this Pico landmark. If you love cheese, candy, coffee or just great people, pop by for a minute or the day. Warning: the farmer cookies are addictive!

The egg salad sandwich was absolutely delicious and those pickled cucumbers were great too! My husband got a Danish Havarti and Spicy Salami sandwich that I had a bite of and it was pretty darn good as well! What a cute fshop and deli!

I love it. I’ve had the skagen toast (bay shrimp salad) the herring salad, a salami sandwich. All are great and the staff is super nice and helpful. They have a few Swedish cheese available that you won’t see elsewhere as well as both jarred and house made pickled herring.

I came for the skagen toast which was sadly sold out and settled for the gravlax sandwich and holy crap was that gravlax sandwich good. Deep flavor with strong portions on some truly wonderful bread. This is the sort of bread lobsters dream of (for when they’re killed, eviscerated, mixed with mayo and scallions, and put in bread). Ok lobsters probably don’t dream about it, but people should.
Also this place has apparently been there since the 40s!

My office was a little unsure of this place when we decided to give it a try, just because as the menu obviously features Scandinavian dishes, we didn’t really recognize any of them. But this place was such a pleasant surprise. All the food was terrific, I got the curry chicken which was really quite yummy.
I also loved the quaintness and coolness of the place itself. Never having been to any Nordic countries, I can’t really say how much it reminded me of them, but it did feel kinda like you weren’t in Los Angeles anymore when you step in the door, which is a neat experience.
I really liked this place, and the customer service was top notch. They were really personable and sweet! Standing in line waiting to pay is a little painful because there’s this amazing looking counter full of different cookies and goodies that are just calling your name. I also loved the fact that they have this old fashioned register. It’s a great place and I’m glad we looked for something a little different! This place is rad!

Wow ! What a find. This place is so yummy! I had the shrimp salad/​sub & let me tell you. It was the best shrimp sub I’ve ever tried. I also tried the veggie soup and it was yummy too. Very hearty !
The staff here are so kind & helpful. They have a mini mart of cheeses and wine and Scandinavian stuff & whoever knows me knows that cheese and wine is right up my ally lol …
Price was very reasonable giving the quality of the food that was given to me. I would definitely recommend and return to this place! Think they found a new regular ;)

I LOVE this place.
Yes, I have deep Swedish roots. Yes, I am predisposed to loving herring, caviar and marzipan. But this place also has great ambiance and lots of sweet treats for everybody. The staff is friendly and can speak Swedish with you if you, like me, want to practice from time to time.
I recommend the shrimp sandwich or the caviar and eggs one. Also — the coco balls are the BEST!!!
They have great gifts and Swedish essentials too, if you need sardines or some gingerbread cookies, for instance.
Highly recommended for a blast of Scandinavian comfort food.

Great little Scandinavian deli in mid-​city.
There is a sit-​down area where you can enjoy prepared food, a little grocery area, candy you can purchase by the pound, and actual ‘deli stuff’ like fish, meats, and cheeses. I got a herring sandwich on brioche bread, which was really yummy.
The sit-​down area is really cute, and all of the tables are covered in beer bottle labels. Service was really friendly and we couldn’t leave without grabbing a bag of candy to go!
Will be back!

This place is great! It’s a small place off of Pico. It’s a little easy to miss but definitely worth a visit.
I had their Grav Lax (which was recently voted as LA’s one of 10 best sandwiches) and it was fantastic. So fresh and tasty! I’m tempted to have a 2^nd. Definitely coming back.

Um, why have I not heard about this place until today?! I live about a mile away and have never noticed this place while driving along Pico. Then suddenly today, while searching for brunch options nearby, this popped up for the 1^st time.
Went to pick up a grav lax sandwich to go before heading off to nearby Paper or Plastik for coffee. The place is easy to miss but just look for the big flags outside the store. At 11:00am, the place was empty except for two other patrons.
Service was super friendly and quick. My grav lax was amazing and reasonably-​priced at $ 12.50. The store is stocked with lots of fresh deli items and other packaged food all the way from Scandinavia.
Apparently, they have been in existence since 1948! They deserve to be busier as they are amazing!

Do you want to visit Nordic countries in one day? You can, if you came to Olsons!!!
It’s such a cute deli/​market with super friendly staff. The lady, who helped my friend and me out deciding what to order, was very charming. One of my Unilocal friends posted her pictures and she looked more cute and young in person.
My friend and I shared their skagen (shrimp salad) sandwich and egg salad sandwich. They were amazing!!! Both were served on toasted brioche bun which were ridiculously delicious. I can’t wait to try their other sandwiches and pancakes.
While we were eating there at their adorable store filled with Scandinavian canned food, sweets, and books, their staff were talking to each other in Norwegian or Danish, I have no idea, but felt like we were tourists visiting Nordic countries.
Such a fantastic experience!
Would definitely be back without my passport: P

I just have to give them another 5 star review ! The second time around I ordered something a little more exotic the Grav Lax sandwich & boy i am one happy camper there Grav Lax is home made & you can definitely tell a wonderful taste ! I added capers because I love them it really made an orgasm in my mouth ! Best sandwich in L.A. period simple & great ingredients all the way around ! To top it off I had the oatmeal chocolate cookie for desert I was going to have just one bite & then take it home to share with my lady but when I tasted it I couldn’t stop eating it ! Whoopsie all gone !

I seem this on buzzfeed or something and when I knew I was around this place, I had to check it out. Scandinavian food, never tried it and can’t say I know anything about it.
I tried the toasted Skagen sandwich with salted herring. The shrimp roll was delicious! I was amazed. I could of kept eating more lol. The pickled or salted herring was an acquired taste, I tried it, it was good.
I’m definitely coming back to this place. And you should too.

I loved it! My boyfriend and I came here for brunch. He ordered a meatball sandwich and I got the shrimp (toast skagen sandwich). I was very impressed with mine.
The coffee was good, too. Thanks!

My friend had mentioned this place to me a couple of times, so it was on my checklist for places to go when I visited LA.
I was not disappointed. I understand the ownership changed a year or so ago, and the new owners started offering the sandwiches and other food items. It’s also a shop with imported swedish items like bread, chocolates, mustard, etc.
I got the gravlax sandwich and it was good. The bread seemed to be lightly fried, and the pickled cucumbers provided a great contrast to the salmon and the crème fraîche spread. I really wanna try the skagen next time I’m in town.
But even more than that, there were these chocolate oatmeal bars sitting in the case, that I was trying to avoid, but my friend got me one anyways. Now I am not a huge fan of oatmeal centric dessert items — but omg this bar was an exception. Serious withdrawals right now. I half wish they’d ship this around the country or something.
Definitely check this place out. It’s worth the hype.

Quaint old little Scandinavian shop with all kinds of yummiest yummys inside ranging from sandwiches, candies, pates, cookies, drinks, etc.
Food Review:
Toast Skagen on Brioche Bun (Lobster Roll of Scandinavia): 5 stars
Shrimp was so fresh & delicious; the brioche was so toasty & buttery that delightfully complimented the shrimp. The pickled cumbers were a delightful slightly sweet side to this sandwich. This is one of the popular sandwiches & I know why now. =)
Salted Herring Salad: 2 stars
Very strong pickled tasting sandwich. If you like pickled things, then you will like this but sorry to say this was not my fave.
Sandinavian Oatmeal cookie: 4 stars
Buttery & crispy crunchy cookie with yummy chocolate in the middle. Great finish to the sandwiches. =)
Sparkling elder-​flower drink: 5 stars
Light, crisp & flowery taste that complimented our sandwiches to a tee. =)
The candy section of the shop which is on the other side just makes me want to try everything possible here. =)
Candy Faves:
Caramels, liquorices, French Nougat
Service: A
Very friendly & helpful. The people here were very inviting & nice with genuine smiles. =)
Overall, great experience & I’d definitely return to try other things on the menu & buy some more delicious yummys from little deli/​store.

Its very nice to have scandinavian options in los angeles.
First off if you do not like the food you should check out their sweets.
I tried a few of the sausages. Its a unique taste. I wish i could sample some of the other cold cuts but that was not an option.
The Staff. Wow amazing. The kid who was serving me at the register did things only a someone 10 – 20 years older would do. This kid got my respect. I assume he was a family friend of the owners. I would come back for the sweets and to try something else on the menu.
Give it a try!
Oh the register they use is classic