Ye Olde King's Head Gift Shoppe, Bakery & Coffee

This owner does not like freedom of press. I watched a video with him during in front of his store, saying things to people filming in public. He stays saying they are blocking his door way so people can't go into his place, but as I watch is not true they aren't anywhere near the door to get in. Showing me that they owner likes to stay trouble by telling lies about others. He is not trustworthy at all. Don't trust this business or the owner

Atmosphere: 1

Service: 1

A little slice of London in Santa Monica! Walking into Ye Olde King's Head Gift Shop instantly made me feel like I was back in the UK. The staff were incredibly friendly, and it was fun seeing so many Brits stocking up on their favorite treats. And yes, the tomato ketchup crisps are absolutely the best! 🇬🇧

Cheers!

This store is disgustingly racist and unfortunately if you’re not white or white skinned don’t expect to get good service here at all. When I walked in I was completely ignored while everyone else around me was greeted and even asked if they needed help. They were rude and tried their best to get me and my family out their store. I will never forget my experience here and not in a good way. Awful!

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Had a fabulous experience. Great atmosphere, service and food.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Very greasy fish and chips. 70% greasy coating to a small fishy fish center

Good English style food and good cocktails! Great place to sit outside and people watch there’s always something entertaining going on outside lol

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Good English style food and good cocktails! Great place to sit outside and people watch there’s always something entertaining going on outside lol

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Good English style pub decent drinks and decent food

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Best British shop .. 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Great british pub gift store. Cute British gifts.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Went in looking for some of my favorite British candy and was not disappointed to find so many. Shop was neatly organized and clean. Wish there was something like this where we live.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Always fun to check out their British stuff and snacks.

It is always a joy to stop by King’s Head Gift shoppe and to get amazing British Sweets! They always have my favorite chocolates and chocolate bar and they always have seasonal/holiday goods, as well! I also think their prices are great!

This is a gift shop review. After shopping here a few times without any issue (it's touristy and you're paying Santa Monica/import prices, but you can get UK things there you can't always get otherwise), I had a disappointing experience.

The store opens at 10am, but when I arrived a few minutes after that, it was still closed. I opted to walk around and then come back to see if they were just getting a late start. With frozen food in my car from the grocery store, this was not ideal, but I also understand that small shops may sometimes be running a little behind. I had stopped specifically to get a few things to surprise my British partner so I wanted to give it a few more minutes.

When I stopped back at 10:15am, it was still closed, but I noticed a doorbell with a sign that said 'ring for service,' so I rang it, thinking maybe they did not unlock the doors until later but were available starting at 10am as their printed hours stated. I could see through to the bakery area and there was a young man standing there now. He appeared to look in my direction, but a moment later he moved to the right so I could no longer see him behind the counter that's there. That was odd, but I thought perhaps he was getting someone or checking about opening the shop so I waited another minute or two. Still nothing, so I rang the bell again thinking maybe it had not worked and I had misconstrued that he could see me from that far away. Still nothing, so I walked around the corner to go back to my car.

Imagine my surprise when I saw not just him, but three employees in total, including the older British gentleman who I had encountered previously when shopping and had pleasant interactions with. I tapped gently on the window and gestured to try to ask if they were going to be opening, as I would happily have waited a couple more minutes if they were. The older man put one finger up and kept talking, so I was going to wait to see if he would let me know whether or not they were opening, but then the young man turned, saw me, pointed, and laughed, and then waved me away. It was such an unexpectedly rude, dismissive reaction to a customer. I'm pretty mild-mannered, quiet, and down-to-earth, so if you are thinking I was banging on the window or an entitled Santa Monica resident who was demanding to be served, you would be mistaken. Had I shown up that way, I could have understood their reaction. But I had been waiting patiently for over 15 minutes, had only rung the bell two times (you know, in that way you ring the bell again because you're not sure if it worked the first time), and had just been trying to find out if/when they were going to open. With that, I just walked back to my car, as I was so confused and put off that I had no more desire to shop there. I shared the experience with my partner to see if I missed some British cultural norm and we are both confused by the treatment I received.

Immediately takes me back to the UK! The selection here is amazing and they have everything you could ever want here! I went in for some English chocolate bars (boost, crunchy, Turkish delight) and left with so much more.
This place is awesome! Thank you