We were visiting Solvang with my boyfriend's family and upon looking for a Danish restaurant we decided on this place for lunch. Immediately upon walking in I felt an authentic vibe. Nothing fancy, but homey and welcoming. It was a busy Sunday but after being on the wait list for 10 minutes we were called in and seated. Our waiter was super friendly and quick to suggest a few things off the bat. We got a round of Carlsberg beers, which was my first time trying Danish beer and I loved it. For the entree I ordered the combination sausage and meatball which came with red cabbage, mashed potatoes, and gravy. It was all so delicious. The meat was full of flavor and had a special authentic zing to it. And as boyfriend knows I always love me my side of mashed potatoes. The best way to describe the meal is that I felt it was prepared and served in a Danish person's home. I want to go back and try their smorgasbord! read more

Red Viking Restaurant - Carlsburg beer! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Solvang, California

See all

Good food and service, portions kinda small but will be back to try more danish food soon Great abelskievers read more

Red Viking Restaurant - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Solvang, California

Food missed the mark, soda was flat, forgot our toast. Our server never came to check on us but for sure were super attentive with the people who returned the food and said it was a disappointment. I agree! Bummed that the other restaurant was closed, we went here. We asked for over-medium eggs, we got scrambled, everybody in the restaurant got toast except for us, and our soda was was flat! read more

Had a great dinner; very good wait staff, and nice atmosphere. Food was excellent, and we'll be back.

Stopped here for lunch on the way up to Cambria! Love this cute little village, and this spot is centrally located in the village. I got the Knud Sandwich with fries and it was delicious! My boyfriend got the Danish Roast pork sandwich, he says it's for a unique pallet.. you have to know you like it before ordering it. It has lots of radishes and prunes which he doesn't like so we ended up returning it. They were happy to take back his food and bring him a new dish. He ended up getting the same thing as me :) read more

See all

Food is way too expensive for its value. (period) There are tons of other restaurants nearby. Please save your money and spend it somewhere else. read more

We were told that Mr. Olsen of the justifiably famous Olsen's Danish Village Bakery was now the owner of this restaurant - - so how could it possibly be bad, we asked! Not a busy night in mid-October, arrived a little before 7 pm. We both ordered the roast pork plate. Chose the roasted red pepper soup that arrived barely warm. Then the plate came out - looked nice with the gravy over the slices of pork and mashed potatoes. But cutting into the pork took surprising effort, for all 4 slices...not quite shoe leather, but on that side of the spectrum. And it wasn't just my plate with tough pork, both of ours were. How old was it? And was it microwaved before being served? One of us had a Danish parent and knows for a fact that overcooking pork is not a Danish tradition. The red cabbage was tasty; as were the two little prunes and few thin slices of pickled cucumber. Not worth $22.95 per order. And to add insult to injury, after we left the restaurant we realized that we had not even been served the side of bread from Olsen's Bakery as noted on their menu for plates. read more

They are not ready for reopening. Don't go here. Took ten minutes to even get drink orders. Then an non waiter takes order and was in competent. Left after realizing service is bad and bad reviews on Yelp. No wonder place was empty. read more

Stopped at Solvang on our way back from Pismo Beach to LA. Solvang is always a good touristy stop for Danish places. I Yelped for Danish restaurants and originally found one that was a couple of spaces down from Red Viking. We walked over there and saw the line (I was hungry), and checked Yelp again for Red Viking. The reviews weren't bad, they both had similar foods and Red Viking didn't have a long wait. We were seated right away. Super cool service, the lady who were thought was Danish actually was Latina. She knew everything about what was on the menu (that is her job). I was new at Danish food so she helped us out a lot. Danish food is a bit like German food in the way on red cabbage, sausages and meatballs. The food at Red Viking was tasty and good. Everything came out quick and delish. The sausage, meatballs, red cabbage, gravy, etc., were all good. I couldn't wait for the dessert though, the "AEBLESKIVER". I was a bit disappointed with that though. It was too tart and wasn't that good for me. If you don't want to wait in line for the other Danish restaurant a couple of doors down, give Red Viking a shot. Their food is pretty good, the service good and the atmosphere inside isn't bad. It was also a hot day out so it was nice that Red Viking had their A/C on COLD! :) I think they also have a Danish buffet with cold cuts and your Danish meatballs/sausages/mashed potatoes. read more

See all

I was looking for a place to eat and all the good spots close so freaking early. So Red Viking it was. The place has a Dutch feel to it and inside it made me feel like I was somewhere completely different. I ordered the Crispy Fried Chicken with French fries and Coleslaw. The chicken was definitely crispy, but on the oily side. The service was okay and so was the food. Obviously it wasn't the greatest food, but I really did enjoy my chicken. If I probably got a different dish I probably would give the place 2 stars. read more

See all

My friends and I came here after leaving LA. I got the sausage and meatball with mash potatoes. I didn't enjoy the sausage's texture. The meatball and mash potatoes were great though. I would recommend trying the buffet option because it looked pretty good but it is $15 per person and I don't know how long the food has been sitting out for. The place had a quaint atmosphere. I don't know if it was the long drive but I felt a bit sleepy sitting there. The bathroom is a bit confusing to get to because its after a door and to the left down the hallway. read more

Red Viking Restaurant - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Solvang, California

Either I'm not looking through very well how this place was rated or it was the wrong place to have dinner to start with. With the hype of the Aebleskiver and the Danish Smorgasbord, boyfriend and I decided to check this place out...seems interesting. Danish Smorgasbord more of the cold plate, sure there was meatballs...nah...next please. I ordered the Grilled Salmon with lemon herb sauce and boyfriend got the Wienerschnitzel. Boyfriend's comment on his food...It's alright, not the best. Mine is a different story though. Salmon tasted okay first bite with the tartar sauce.. quarter of the salmon after that without the tartar sauce was just ugh. It was just fishy and and you know how an incompletely thawed frozen fish gets cooked quickly on a grill? It's just nasty. And what lemon herb sauce was that? There's a lemon and a herb but not a sauce! The veggies were as cold as it can be. Ayiyiyi We didn't stay for the Aebleskiver. Will try that somewhere else. Sorry, not coming back here. read more

Red Viking Restaurant - Run!!! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Solvang, California

didn't get to experience the whole viking atmosphere because of covid. The server was extremely busy took long to check in us but over all the food was delicious and the server did accommodate our needs. I do recommend it and definitely will be Going back for more after covid. read more

See all

Hey trust me when I say this one of the best margaritas I've had and you wouldn't expect it from a place like this nice and clean inside friendly staff read more

As a first time visitor to Solvang, we came across this restaurant. Alan our server, was friendly attentive and informative providing us with recommendations on things to do. My husband had the Bacon Cheesburger that was cooked just right. It was served on a large, soft grilled bun. I had the garden burger which was also very delicious! We had the Ableskivers for dessert! Wow!!what a treat! I would definitely recommend! read more

Red Viking Restaurant - Our Ableskivers Danish dessert was delicious!! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Solvang, California

While everyone had nice personalities, the service was terrible. The food was just gross and obviously microwaved. The pickled vegetables are absolutely disgusting. The best part of the meal was the bread, which wasn't even from the establishment. Shoutout to Olsen's Bakery! The food is overpriced and not worth the visit. There are many other restaurants that can provide better service and substantially better food. Would not recommend. read more

Red Viking Restaurant - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Solvang, California

I can't express how disappointed I am in my experience here today. The service was non-existent they flat refused to come to our table other than to place the first and only drink and to place the ordered Food. This food order was slightly off. The coffee was never refilled. They never asked how anything was or is it could help with anything. As for the food itself, I had corned beef hash with eggs and potatoes. I understand that sometimes portions are too large and restaurants and maybe we all eat too much especially to me however this was smaller than most child size portions. On top of that I was hoping for homemade or at least you know restaurant made corned beef and what I got was a very obviously from a can or at least that's my impression. I make the exact same version at home. We ordered aebleskivers because we're in solvang and got the worst that we have had here so far by far. in fact we get better aebleskivers at our local street fair every labor day.. I never did get my toast that was ordered and paid for they just flat refused to serve it to me and they don't give any refills of anything that you have to drink on your table. If you're allergic to raspberries too bad because that's the only jelly or jam that you are allowed to have we told them that we have food allergies and they pretty much shrugged it off and said too bad. there's a lot of great Danish food in solvang I would go anywhere else but stay as far away from this one as you possibly can. read more

Red Viking Restaurant - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Solvang, California

Being in Solvang means seeking out the most authentic Scandinavian cuisine and I was able to find it right here. They had a large menu with Danish meals specially marked and they also had a buffet that they called 'Smorgasbord' (tip: if you're a meat lover, I suggest going with the buffet option). I had a tough time choosing which meal I was going to go with but ending up choosing Hakkebof and my friend ordered the Wienerschnitzel. The Hakkebof is ground beef with caramelized onions and a sunny side up egg on top served with mashed potatoes, red cabbage, and cucumbers. It was a really hearty meal but I definitely wish I had ordered the Wienerschnitzel (fried veal) because that tasted heavenly. They also provide salads with your choice of sauce at the beginning of the meal before bringing you your entrees. Overall, we got good meals that were as authentically Scandinavian as possible. read more

Red Viking Restaurant - Wienerschnitzel was amazing - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Solvang, California

See all

Normally the food here is pretty good. I typically get a Danish meatball plate with red cabbage and potatoes. It is usually good. Today I tried their Reuben sandwich and it was terrible. What there was of it, the meat was tough and the bread was soggy on the down side. The few French fries I got were overcooked or they needed to change the oil or both. Service was mediocre too. If I didn't know the place I wouldn't return based on today. read more

We went here thinking there's be authentic Danish food but this place was far from it. It got us sick and we had to constantly flag someone down for service. read more

Myself and my wife drove up to visit Solvang and had lunch here. Outside seating immediately and a waiter showed up right away with cold water to drink The outside temperature was about 105 degrees and the cold water was very welcome.. The waiter returned and took out order. My wife had the breakfast sandwich and I had sausage and meatball dinner.. In 10 minutes our order arrived and drinking water was refilled. Our food tasted good and it was pleasant to sit among other families some were tourists.. This whole experience was relaxing and being take care of by the restaurant staff with excellent service.. We were very impressed.. read more

Lunch time and I want some food themed to the area! What can be more Danish than a restaurant called the "Red Viking"?! Well around where A LOT! But this one drew me in. They had a smorgasbord, but I wasn't crazy hungry so my wife and I ordered from the lunch menu. I'm a huge Reuben fan. They remind me of my grandpa. This one definitely had authentic Danish cabbage. Loaded with corned beef and melty Swiss, the sandwich was PER-FECT! The rye bread was lightly toasted which added the perfect crunch to all the moist corned beef. It comes with a side and I chose potato salad. It was good but kind of flavorless. Creaminess was perfect though. Also came with a deli pickle and peppercini, which was more sour than spicy. My wife got the open face roast beef on pumpernickel bread. It came toped with pickle slices and a side of horse and a sweet relish sauce. After, we obviously had to try the Æbelskivers! They were awesome! Hot steamy, with powdersugar and your own syrup dispenser so you can do use them how you see fit! Loved this place, can't wait to come back with the kids! read more

See all

Worst service I've had in a very long time. The food was mediocre, not anything to write home about - on par with Dennys at best. I won't be back. read more

they don't give napkins .. don't give utensils in time .. don't serve the food like it's on the menu. we're sitting here forever sitting for the bill... one waitress rolled her eyes at us when we asked for napkins .. very grouchy. food wasn't the best. shitty service. we've been coming to solving for 13 years and this is possibly the worse experience. read more

We fell in love with the Red Viking! We came here twice on this trip. We recommend the country fried steak and mashed potatoes smothered in gravy. So good! Their mashed potatoes are next level amazing, you must try them. The fries were crisscut fries and they were fried crispy to perfection. The spinach salad was something I was shocked to find that I absolutely loved. The quality in their spinach leaves was too of the line. My wife and I both agreed the salad felt hearty and flavorful because of the thickness and freshness of the ingredients. Finally, I loved the combo plate with Danish sausage and meatball with mashed potatoes covered in gravy. Each bite felt like a decadent home-cooking hug. I was in heaven! It also came with a side of pickled red cabbage that was surprisingly good and a little sweet. It balanced the flavors very well. Honorable mention, they serve aebleskiver dessert all day. Try it with ice cream! read more

See all

Delicious pickled herring sandwich !! Can't wait to Enjoy it again on my next trip. Service was friendly, outdoor seating read more

Red Viking Restaurant - Pickled herring open sandwich... Delicious ! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Solvang, California

Everything about this place is wonderful! The food is absolutely FANTASTIC, the staff are extremely pleasant and helpful, and service was very quick despite everything being made from scratch. This is easily one of the best places to eat. read more

Didn't know where to eat in Solvang so took a gamble on this place. Once seated I checked in on Yelp and noticed that they only had 3 stars. Thinking oh well you can't please everyone let's give it a try. Ordered the Swedish meatball and sausage combo plate that came with red cabbage and a sweet pickled cucumber. We also got the bread basket for $1.50. The food was okay not bad but the portions were small for the price. I figured the lease must be very high for the location. The bread basket was about $1.49 over priced. The service was friendly. read more

OMG! Absolutely delicious!!! The food was amazing and the service impeccable. It's been over 15 years since we've been here and it's just as delicious as I remember it. I have always loved Scandinavian food and The Red Viking did not disappoint. We ordered both a hot (Sausage and Meatball) and a cold dish (pickled Herring) and of course the Ableskivers for dessert...everything was scrumptious . Of course I'm a gal who loves a good beer so we had a couple of those too! Yummy!!! read more

See all

I ate here for the first time on Labor Day. Given it was a holiday and the wait was long, a couple larger parties went ahead of me (party of 2) the staff managed to give us a table in the back which was nice and quiet. I ordered the meatball and sausage plate with the mashed potatoes which was good but what I wasn't ready for was their Creamy Red Pepper soup which was so delicious! Especially with the bread and butter provided. I will come back just for the soup, and I hope they have it as a regular item to order and not just a "Soup of the Day". read more

Good breakfast .. waitress was very nice and attentive .. great coffee... headed back to Solvang this weekend. Definitely going back

The waitress service was excellent, very attentive, in less than a minute she came to the table to take our drink order, she brought the drinks immediately, I ordered two chicken club sandwiches, with extra avocado, the food arrived and I saw that the chicken was raw and I pointed it out to the person who brought the food, when they brought me the "new" food I saw that it was the same chicken in the same bread and the same ingredients contaminated with the raw chicken and they forgot to put the avocado, the old tomato was almost transparent and it was the top part of the tomato with a hole in the center, the lettuce was not fresh, the bread was wet with the juice that the tomato leaked and soaked in mayonnaise, it broke into pieces, I only ate the chicken. Two basic things in the kitchen of any restaurant, ONE is called cross contamination, when a raw product is in contact with other ready-to-eat products, in that case the ready-to-eat products must be discarded, TWO all products that are cooked, especially meats, must have their internal temperature taken to ensure that they are properly cooked before serving. In this experience, neither of these two basic concepts of any kitchen or cook were done correctly. It seems unfair to me that the tips that we customers left were divided between waiters and cooks, if the cooks do not know how to do their job or at least those who were on that shift. read more

This has been my go-to spot for Smorgasbord in Solvang for over a decade, and I love it. With covid, they haven't had the buffet out in awhile, but we still like to go and get regular food from them, which is always good. I never take a trip to Solvang without getting food here! read more

NOT IMPRESSED AT ALL. I wanted to try something different since it was my first time here. Danish food??? Why not.... right. I ordered the meatball and gravy lunch and the meatballs were pretty all, maybe they got confused with Swedish Meatballs, not sure. The whole dish was so salty, it was a bite and drink, a bite and drink. The rest of our party ordered Chicken Caesar Salad... it was served with nothing but the white ends of Romain lettuce, a few strips of very dry chicken and some parmigiana cheese and a very small plastic container of dressing. We asked 3 times for extra dressing by the time they brought her the dressing, I was done choking down my food. Really, go someplace else!!! Food is mediocre at best, service is shit and we didn't even get that. Red Viking!!! You need to step it up!!! read more

We came here for dinner while staying overnight to & from San Diego & Temecula in Buellton. We had been here before & it was just as good as I remember it. The roasted pork with proons was something I had never heard of before & loved; tender pork, soft proons, & lingdinberries in a wonderful gravy with mashed potatos & red cabbage. My mother enjoyed her frikadeller. As for dessert, sense our hotel did not serve abelskevers for breakfast, we were glad to get our fix. They are soft with a wonderful orange/raspberry filling. Keep up the good work guys. read more

Actually really good. I was pleasantly surprised due to some of the reviews I read. Go eat here and form your own opinion. My wife and I thought it was great. Good food and a good drink selection. read more

We ate here twice in one day, for lunch and then again for dinner. Lunch was great. We ordered the sausage dinner and the meat ball and sausage dinner. I loved my food. It was very good particularly the cabbage which I wasn't expecting to like. Service was fine and we were sat right away at lunch. Dinner service was slower because it was much more crowded and it took a while to get our order and such. I ordered the prime rib I think it was, the meat was great but the vegetables were undercooked broccoli and carrots, my friend liked the bread. For this I'd take off a star. Still tho I liked the majority of my experience here. read more

It was about 10:57am, and they were still serving breakfast, but the hostess seated me, and I had some time to look over the menu until 11am hit. I decided not to go with the Smörgåsborg buffet because I wanted a quick lunch before I spent the rest of the day power shopping. I went with the Danish Meatballs and Sausage $10.00 + 3 Ebelskievers ($3) with a Diet Coke ($2.50). This meal was served with complimentary bread and butter. They got two versions of bread - a plain one and a poppy seed one. I wasn't a fan of either bread, and so I only had one slice of each. The entrée itself: Comes with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy, along with their pickled red cabbage. The sides were delicious. A mixed of sweet and savory flavors. The pickled red cabbage was sweet, and surprisingly delicious. The mashed potatoes itself was smooth and creamy, and it had a peppery taste to it, really good! Paired these two sides with the Danish sausage and meatballs, it was good! I loved the Danish sausage - it was thick and hearty with a lovely blend of spices. It was easy to cut and wasn't chewy. However, I wasn't a fan of the meatballs. It was bland tasting, and the meatballs, looked as if the Chef ran out of meat because they were shaped like mini football shapes. I wasn't impressed with those two, dinky little meatballs. Ebelskivers: Comes with 3 Ebelskivers (round Danish pancakes), and a jar of strawberry/raspberry jam. I was DEFINITELY NOT a fan of theirs. The Ebelskivers came out burnt on top, with a small dusting of powdered sugar. Inside of the Ebelskivers was pretty, but dried. No amount of strawberry/raspberry jam helped. The ones at Solvang Restaurant are so much better! This was a waste of $3.00. Service: Slowed and chilled here, but well-mannered. My waitress was a sweetie, and constantly refilled my Diet Coke, checked on me in case I needed anything else, and lastly, throughout my whole meal there, referred to me as "Ma'am." That was a very nice gesture. As payment, they will bring the bill to you, and you go up to the cashier and pay. The Ambience and Décor: Old, homey, Dutch/Scandinavian feel to it. It was pretty quiet in the morning, and wasn't as packed as compared to Solvang Restaurant or Belgian Café surrounding it. However, it got packed later on in the day. Overall, it was a decent place to try out. I may come back to try out the Smörgåsborg buffet at some point. read more

See all

Ate here today for a late breakfast and they were serving both breakfast and lunch, which was perfect for my group because some of us wanted breakfast and some of us wanted lunch. Online it says they're temporarily closed due to Covid-19 but they're actually open AND seating people inside. Several restaurants nearby have started inside seating again, despite saying "take out only" on the web. The food was great and our server was fabulous and super polite. The interior decor looks like it was all recently remodeled and it was super clean. We got the Danish meatball lunch special and an order of aebleskivers. We'll definitely go again. read more

First the positives. The staff is super nice and very pleasant. The outside seating is good. If not for these things, the rating would have been a 1 star.. Now the negatives. The food is way overpriced. It was about $12 for 3 slices of cheese on 1 small piece of thin, dry brown bread covered with a wilted piece of lettuce. This was accompanied by a small scoop of potato salad. Very sad looking plate. My wife had the Danish sausage with sauerkraut for about $13. It also came with the scoop of potato salad. The sandwich was small. Smaller than a hotdog bun. It also must not have been very good since we were starving but she only ate half and had no interest in taking the rest home. read more