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

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

Love this place. Came in for Salad Spread, a scone and an Empire Biscuit. But I ended up buying a lot of extra goodies as well. The first one I dug in to is the Veggie Quiche. Super delicious!

I’ve been coming here once a month since 2010!! and I never leave disappointed. The food is amazing, especially the scones and other baked goodie. The quality is always spot-on, and I end up walking out with bags of deliciousness every time. Highly recommend it if you’re looking for something fresh, flavorful, and nostalgic!

I've never been to London but, one of the men at our table was British and said it was authentic. So I believe him. The food tasted the way I would expect British food to taste, a little lacking in spices. It is wasn't bad but I didn't understand the puffy dry bread on top of the meat. Not bad but a bit dry. The corn and peas tasted like corn and peas. Mashed potato like mashed potato. The gravy was very thick.

This was the favorite restaurant of both my mother's and my Swiss female friend when they came to visit. Over 50 years, I've always enjoyed the atmosphere and the English flavors. The fun of playing darts and the charm of the waiters make it very special. Love the Fish and chips, especially the Brumfish cakes. Favorite dessert is raspberry custard pie!!

Parking: Either the luck of getting a parking place on 2nd St or the convenience of the lots across the street.

Kid-friendliness: Darts and decors.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: UK, Bakery, Home Made Raspberry Scone, Fish and Chips

Lots of great i.ported merchandise from the

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Surprisingly not only fish n chips. Ordered a meat pie. Wow! Size is big. Pastry on the top and meat with sauce underneath. The pastry just bring out the meat flavor. Another order is hamburger. The texture of the buns are just right.
This restaurant is huge and divided in few sections. You can sing karaoke and watch games in the bar. Another section is retro style. Then another one is more British style. Also, English High Tea or Afternoon Tea will be another highlight.
A gift shop is located at the end of the restaurant. After your meal, take a visit. You may find some English tea , biscuits or sweets.

Parking: There are many parking lots around.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Extremely rude owners. I bought a shirt from them 20 years ago which I passed down to my 12-yr-old. I wanted to get him a larger one with their logo. I would have walked out if I didn't live cross country. One employee moved around the store giving customers the stink eye. Not handicapped accessible and the owner was really rude about it. The beach squirrels liked their tarts.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 3

Service: 1

Absolutely brilliant. Great Guinness

Absolutely brilliant. Great Guinness

Was in here only briefly but one of the staff was so rude I didn't want to stick around. Bad vibes

Was in here only briefly but one of the staff was so rude I didn't want to stick around. Bad vibes