Gideon's Bakehouse — Restaurant in Orlando

Having previously only been to the Disney Springs location, this was quite a different experience. On the plus side, this location is in a food hall and there are a number of tempting things you might try as your meal, then have cookies for dessert. Or like me, you could do take-out and get the cookies to go (possibly eating part of one cookie before making it home but there is only circumstantial evidence of this). On the negative side my favorite regular menu item at the DS location is the evening cookie. Not sure the official name but it's available only after dark. Spooky! Well, turns out the evening cookie, and its morning counterpart, are DS-only items. But the nice lady here advised me that if you call a few days ahead they might be able to do something for you. Haven't tested that but if you're a big fan of the morning or evening cookie at DS, it's at least a possibility. Now, to the quality of the cookies. We found them very much on par with the DS location. You know how sometimes you think the original location of something might be a revelation compared with some newer location? This would not be the case here, although I will say it was pretty nice to just stroll up the counter in an unhurried manner and order my cookies, rather than the ordeal one typically faces at the DS store because of crowds. If you've never had a Gideon's cookie before (or cake slice for that matter) I would for sure say give it a try only because (a) they do really nice quality work in my experience, and (b) whether it's the flavors or the massive size, it is likely you have never had anything quite like it....so why not give it at least one chance, right? And if Winter Park is somewhat convenient for you, this is a simpler and lower stress way of checking it out versus the DS location. Caveat: if you happen to be at DS anyway, that location has a very cool atmosphere inside that I would also consider worth braving the crowds at least once to experience. But back to Winter Park now, there is ample (at least from my observation) parking, both on the street and in a dedicated lot, which of course serves the entire food hall so it could be if you were there at prime dinnertime the parking wouldn't be so easy. Hope...

This place is absolutely legendary at this point. I have not seen a more locally Instagrammed cookie. Maybe it's on TikTok, too, I have no idea. But everyone knows a Gideon cookie when they see one. They're gaining more popularity nationwide, too, since they opened one up to all the tourists at Disney Springs.

But I haven't been to that location. I have on interest in waiting in a multi-hour long virtual line. I came to the original site instead. I came to the bazaar-like fun house that is the East End Market, and after wandering around looking at all the goodies, I got in the 15-minute line for this Gideon's.

The decor is very fun. I don't 100% know what to call it. It's gothic, Halloween-y, steam punk? I'm not sure, but it's definitely got a lot going on, and you won't stop looking around for the entirety that you're in line. Once you get to the front of the line, you get to gaze upon the case that houses all of your options.

I don't want to say that this was the hardest decision of my life. But it was pretty agonizing. The easy decision was getting the glow-in-the-dark collectors pin. After that, I was in a dilemma. After some soul searching, I knew what to do.

I started with the flavor of the month. The Orange Pecan Chocolate Chip. Candied orange peel, praline pecans, and chocolate chips. Very good. The orange peels weren't gummy or chewy at all. The pecans added that Excellent crunch texture, and the rest of the land space was chocolate chips. No boring bites here.

Then it was time for my main event. The cookie I could not say no to. If I could only get one cookie, it would have been this baby. The Pistachio Toffee Chocolate. Dear Lord. The standard base of chocolate chips. And then two amazing textures of the Heath-bar like toffee and the slightly salty pistachios. Just writing this has made me want to go back for more.

Overall, these are the perfect cookies. I've never been a huge cookie guy. But these cookies are the best of the best, and I want to go get one literally every day. I'm glad I don't really live nearby, or I'd...

Gideon's has never failed to impress me with their cookies/cakes, overall service and atmosphere. For that I leave 5 star ratings for each category. Today's review is sadly lower.

Fyi, my favorite item is their decadent Rainbow Crunch Cake which is sold as a first come first serve basis on Fridays only, meaning it sells out quickly in the morning thru early afternoon. This cake's Fridays-only availability makes it very difficult for me to buy it because my schedule conflicts with its rigid time slot.

This past Saturday, I drove out to Gideon's knowing my favorite cake would not be available and ordered a total of 6 cookies. On a whim, I asked the kind SA if by chance the Rainbow Crunch Cake happened to be available and to my complete surprise and delight was told, 'Yes, we have some in the back.' Ecstatic, I ordered 2 slices. The lady who took my order was very friendly, quick, accurate and efficient. This is typical of all my visits to Gideon's, however today was different.

I did not bother checking my order until I got home. Instead of getting the 2 aforementioned cake slices, I was given 2 Valentina cake slices. I was deeply disappointed as I was looking forward to rewarding myself with a Rainbow Crunch Cake. I do not even like red velvet cakes, so unfortunately they went to waste. I was not about to drive another 2.5hrs back to Gideon's for them to correct my order.

FOOD: 2 stars. The cookies were delicious, but disliked the cake slices.

SERVICE: 2 stars for getting half my order right, the other half wrong.

Not happy with my last...