Levain Bakery — Restaurant in New York

I was hesitant to stop by after seeing all the photos and reviews in reference to the lines that wrap around the corner. My local friend also asked me how bad the line was when I said I went there. Well I didn’t pay much attention as to the days or times these lines were so bad but I can tell you that around 9am on a Saturday there were maybe 4 people inside aside from me and two were waiting for their order and one was behind me. I walked right in and got my cookies and left in less than 5 minutes so I am not sure what the deal is with the waiting. I have to check with I get a chance but I could swear they had plain chocolate chip cookies but apparently they do not. I got the chocolate chip and walnut cookies and OMG…I have never in my life eaten a better cookie. It was almost magical how they pulled this masterpiece off. Each cookie weighs in around what a small child weighs at birth. I ordered 4 cookies and he gave me the bag and I almost dropped it because I wasn’t expecting to need such a firm grip.

The outside consisted of a thin layer of crispy but not crunchy goodness. After breaking through the crisp exterior, it quickly caved in to the soft and warm interior. “Caved” in is a perfect description because that is how it felt as you broke through the outside. The inside felt like it just exploded. The flavor of the cookie wasn’t something that could be described as the best cookie I ever had. However, the experience of the exterior mixing with the interior was what bumped up the stars at least two places. I would possibly brave the well-documented lines for another cookie if I wanting to share the experience with someone who hasn’t been there before but I don’t see myself standing in a line around the corner if it were to get another cookie. I would absolutely go there again if there wasn’t a line of more...

Me and my boyfriend each had the Original Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie. We found a spot close by to eat them, and ate them shortly after purchasing.

These cookies were worse than your typical homemade chocolate chip cookie, and worse than your typical bakery chocolate chip cookie.

The dough to chocolate ratio was way off (and I love chocolate!) with an abundance of chocolate chips to the point that it was overwhelmed by the chocolate chips, and the chips were so densely packed that huge sections of the cookie at a time were just chocolate.

The flavor was totally lackluster. Nothing special about the flavor of the dough or the flavor of the chocolate.

The texture (which, based on their advertising and what I've heard, is the selling point) is what makes it worse than your average bakery cookie. I'm talking, worse than your local grocery store bakery's chocolate chip cookie.

My cookie was more thoroughly cooked than my boyfriend's cookie, which came broken and continued to fall apart in his hands. He described his as "liquidy" whereas mine was just mushy.

The idea of a cookie with an interior which is soft and gooey with melted chocolate chips sounds great! But my cookie (again, more thoroughly cooked than my boyfriend's) was almost entirely that interior. All gooey, no chewy.

The interior is "chewy" how cookie dough is chewy, but even less so because it's been (insufficiently) warmed.

Maybe their other non-cookie offerings are better, but they are known for...

Delicious. These cookies are so worth the hype! We got the traditional chocolate chip with walnuts and the peanut butter chocolate one. I must say that the original is the one to go for. It is crispy on the outside and super gooey in the middle, almost like raw cookie dough but in the best way possible. The chocolate chips were still slightly melted still so it was perfect! I didn’t like the peanut butter as much. I love peanut butter but for me there wasn’t enough peanut butter flavor. I would maybe do streaks of peanut butter and peanuts instead of the chips. But I understand it might not work in the recipe. The chocolate dough is also less gooey probably because of the cocoa. So if I had to give advice I would say stick to the classic one! Also don’t make the same mistake as I did and order two cookies. One is more than enough 😂 My mom also tried their sticky walnut buns and she was super happy with it. It was overflowing with walnuts. I have never seen so many whole walnuts in a sticky bun! The place is quite small and there are only two seating places inside. Maybe some outdoor seats would be nice but I understand it might not...