Leven Bakery & Cafe — Restaurant in Southside Place

I love eating and avoid gluten due to medical reasons, so finding a CERTIFIED gluten-free place in Houston after some years of living in this big city without too many options, is a real joy! What I like about this bakery and coffee shop: It is certified gluten-free (OK, I already mentioned that but I can't stress it enough). This is so important to me because it gives me peace of mind when eating out. It means their staff has been trained on how to avoid cross-contact with gluten and deliver safe food for celiacs and people with nonceliac sensitivity to gluten. It means we won't end up in an ER room after eating contaminated food. (You folks with CD and nonceliac sensitivity know what I am talking about). The food tastes amazing! I had the fried chicken sandwich (Oh, my!) and my husband ate a patty melt. We also bought some chocolate cookies, a blueberry brownie, and a slice of cheesecake to go. All these pastries were delicious. Customer service: the staff was very nice and welcoming. You can tell they care about you feeling well served. Ambiance: a good place to have a chat with friends, read, relax, or take your laptop and do some work. The music is not too loud, which makes the experience more enjoyable. The tables were clean and tidy too. Natural juices! The lemonade I had was out of this world. Yes, that is possible! Prices: compared to other dedicated GF restaurants I have been to, Leven’s prices are fair and very down to earth, which I appreciate. And again, quality is there, so you won't regret what you paid for. Gluten-free products and ingredients are expensive, so I know how it feels when the food you ordered is not that great and it is even worse when you don't have other safe options. I don't think that's going to happen here. This dedicated and certified gluten-free place in Houston is a must when you're craving desserts, good coffee, sandwiches, a chill place to spend your afternoon, brunch, and more, especially if you're avoiding gluten for any reason. Suggestion: Add some fries to the...

We recently tried Leven for the first time (a couple weeks ago) and have already been back twice- both to dine-in and to buy take-home goodies. (I also recently bought additional Leven goodies at the Ion Cafe.) Leven is so good! It is always nice to find a dedicated gluten-free facility and the quality of their food is top notch. The first thing I tried was the fried chicken sandwich, since it's not something I can eat since I had to switch to being gluten-free. It was delicious. I love the brioche bun that it comes on as well. The rotissirie chicken sandwich (think more of a chicken-salad-style) was tasty as well, though that comes on the bread. The last time, I tried the burger and added a fried egg, since I wanted something with the brioche buns, and it also did not disappoint. The date latte is very good, too. For take-home goodies, I love the crostini. How much olive oil you prefer on them is a personal preference, but I think they strike a nice balance. They are good with the carrot hummus, but I also just find myself eating them plain. We've also now tried the cinnamon rolls, sourdough bread, cowboy cookies, apple pie, and some of the dessert breads- all of which were good. I think the dessert breads are a favorite as well. At any rate, even my non-gluten-free husband really enjoyed everything he ordered. The chefs do a great job and I will definitely be back.

Side note: definitely listen when they give instructions about maintaining freshness for the food. It helps. Also: heating the bread/etc extends its life. I also found that, with the cinnamon rolls from Leven and many gf items, a quick spritz with a water bottle before you heat them up can counter act some of the lack-of-gluten challenges you might encounter when reheating or trying to stretch the...

I usually don’t write reviews but today my visit at Leven really bothered me. My family and I have been to Leven before and usually order the same drink, the date latte. My mom and I both ordered one each and after tasting them both they were definitely not the same as always. I told the barista that was making the drinks(dark hair and glasses) that our drinks don’t taste the same and I think something was wrong with our drinks. She replies with, “I made them how I’m supposed to but okay I’ll give you an extra shot.” Didn’t even say im sorry, didn’t even offer to fix our drinks or remake them. She then finally brings two small espresso glasses and pounds them on the table. We say thank you and she replies YA and walks away. Mind you we also ordered a coffee cake and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. After waiting for a while I asked the person that took our order about them and he says he’ll have it rights out. After preparing it he asks the barista to pass it to us and she put the coffee cake (with so much attitude) on the table and says I’ll go work on your affogato. I answered and said I didn’t order an affogato I just ordered a vanilla scoop and she goes and grabs the scoop and says “oh okay, here.

TBH if I complained about something I paid for why would she take it so personally? We left the drinks and didn’t drink them. After this encounter my family and I will not be coming back to this coffee shop, very...