Keana’s Candyland

heard this place has gluten free pizza. I have been on a quest for a good gluten free pizza since I found i had celiac disease. I tried Mellow Mushroom and I wasn’t totally sold, probably a 3 star pizza. This stuff was surprisingly good. It’s not quite five star but the best gluten free pizza I’ve had thus far, and the price is really good. You can get a small one topping for $ 15. I also had extra sauce. I highly recommend celiacs stop by and try it. My bf also loved his burger. One thing I will complain about. The lemon cup cake was very sticky and doughy. My stomach didn’t appropriate it.
Not sure what I think about the environment. I didn’t get the totally weird vibe everyone is getting. However, I can see why they would say that. I am not sure what I think about the decorations and the atmosphere. It feels a little crowded in the downstairs room. Too much stuff, maybe not enough room.. I get the feeling they should hire a helper may be 5 or 10 hours a week if that. Someone that can take down old winter/​christmas decorations, etc.
We will be back because the pizza is good and I want to try out the elephant ears with a friend.

The elephant ears were gross and doughy, the breakfast we ordered took probably half an hour to come out, the décor is outdated with dirty carpet and creepy dolls, and the service of all but one person was bad. The one nice lady was yelled at in our earshot by the manager. I will not be back. Also, the biscuits were gross — also doughy/​spongy. The omelette was supposed to have green pepper and onions, and instead it had TONS of green onions with no peppers — and sandwich ham!

A charming, and quirky gluten-​free bakery serving breakfast and dinner. The two-​story house in which it sits is quite the imaginative space to explore, with endless detailed fantasy murals, signatures of patrons past, and theme rooms that appeal to the 4 – 10 crowd. The dessert case tempts with cupcakes, candy, pie, chocolates and elephant ears. The staff is friendly, if slightly disorganized in service.
But…
I’ll never go back because of a BLT.
We went on a Saturday late morning, ordering some breakfast (French toast $ 6, lemon crepes $ 7), some lunch (BLT $ 8), and some dessert (elephant ear $ 6 w/​soda).
Now, admittedly, I’m not a daily practitioner of a gluten-​free lifestyle, but I’ve had my share of the «I can’t believe there’s no gluten!» variety of products, and these didn’t quite make that cut. All four items (sandwich roll, elephant ear, French toast, crêpe) seemed to be cut from the same cloth –as if they were variations on a single dough. All were about ¾″ thick, spongy rounds in different diameters.
The French toast was probably the best overall value. For $ 6, this was 3 egg-​battered wedges with cinnamon and powdered sugar. The lemon crêpe was tasty, though not really a crêpe, more of a rolled spiced pancake with pie filling. The elephant ear (given that there was a soda included) was a good value, if a little uninspiring, lacking the crispy texture you might have had in mind.
The BLT was, frankly, insulting. It’s the single most expensive item on the menu (along with the mushroom burger). But what can I say, my daughter’s crazy about ‘em and I told her she could have what she wanted. So with eyebrow raised, I let her order it. It. Was. Miniscule. In all seriousness, there are standards. You can’t sell an $ 8 BLT on a 3.5″ round. That’s practically a slider. A biscuit. A really awesome size for a dinner roll. Probably the equivalent of half a sandwich for premium sandwich prices. And it was so soggy she couldn’t pick it up. Soggier than could’ve possibly been the byproduct of the tomato slices inside the sandwich. Soggy in a way that CSI investigators would probably later conclude meant it had been assembled in the tomato puddle of the vegetable cutting board. Unacceptable.
I wish I could say that despite its imperfection, this is a quaint spot for specialty baked goods and gluten-​free dining. But that BLT was a ripoff of the highest order, and so we simply can’t recommend the restaurant as a whole.

I really like this place. The people who work there are a nice and charitable family and the décor features nearly two decades of living art. I do not have any children and went here with my boyfriend because he is gluten-​free. Though I have no children I love reliving my small days by doing little kid things like riding the rocking horse and reading the books. We went there when it was nearly empty so we got to learn alot about the business and the owners. We learned that the building had been sold to a company that is attempting to sell it out from under the business owners, in which case they will be tearing down, painting over, and otherwise removing all of the art. That’s just sad this place has something to offer those of us who like to believe that magic still exists and I hope it sticks around.

Awwww. Keana’s Candyland. I love it. This is the cutest place in town. Walk up the sparkly stairs and pass through an sunny front porch into a candy shop, bakery, and breakfast/​lunch spot.
They will make you an omelette for breakfast, and you can eat it in a room with a fairies and trees in it. They will make you and your friend an ice cream sandwich with whipped cream for her birthday. They will make you a cup of hot tea and a snack while you study upstairs in a room with candy on the walls, near a wishing well. They will make you the most interesting adorable paint-​covered house for you to celebrate any occasion (or not celebrate, whatever).
If you order ahead, they will make you pastries to order with dietary restrictions — gluten free, sugar free, etc.

Everything is Gluten Free. All breads, cakes and deserts. Holy Jesus.

This place is really fun to explore. You can tell that a lot of love went into decorating it, and it’s worth the trip alone to see all of the beautiful murals. I was not particularly impressed with the candy selection or bakery, but that’s okay. You should still go at least once, and walk around!

If you have children or consider yourself one at heart, you must see this place! Looking at pictures online, or merely driving by and glancing at the outside of the house, does very little to prepare you for just how magical everything looks inside! The fact that it’s not professionally done makes it more endearing, because you almost start to believe you could do something like this in your own house if you wanted to, even though in the back of your mind, you know you couldn’t (unless you are an artist, I suppose).
Reviews that mention old candy are probably accurate, although it didn’t bother me, as I was more interested in the bakery side. I bought a rice krispie treat with icing and sprinkles, which tasted rather average, and a coconut cookie, which I threw out after two bites, so the let down of the baked goods keeps me from rating the place 5 stars. They let us sample an elephant ear, and it was very different from a normal one, but still tasted pretty good.
The woman who owned the house seemed a bit cold at first, but perhaps our constant shouts of, «Oh, my god!» in a clearly religious atmosphere offended. We couldn’t help ourselves; everywhere you turn in this place, there is something amazing to see! She did warm up a little at the end, after we purchased a few things and asked questions about the house. The kids I came with were excited to have their names added to the wall, especially since they were visiting from another state, as it made them feel like they were leaving a little piece of themselves in Oregon.

What a trip. This house is completely decked out with paintings, decorations, everything you can think of. Too bad I’m in my 30s… If I had kids, or were a kid myself, I’d give this place 5 stars. I would have my 8 year birthday party here. I would invite all my friends. ITs pretty crazy and amazing.
Owners told me that some people find it creepy… I guess if you dislike Hansel and Gretel, you might find this place disturbing.

I’m honestly not sure what to write. …
I used to work for Disney, I adore weird kitschy semi creepy kid places.
Keana’s Candyland takes the cake. whoa.
The outside of the house turned bakery/​diner/​odd odd candy shop, is all hand decorated.
Then you walk in, and you completely forget about the outside of the house. In.Sane. I can’t think of a better word to describe it.
When I first walked in, no one was to be seen, it took a solid 5 minutes for me to spot another human being, and even then, I wasnt acknowledged. Creepy. I can’t even talk about how this place is decorated. Floor to ceiling murals of unicorns, fairies, bears, jellybeans, pies, and Bible verses.
They make over 65 different flavors of elephant ears… I can’t even think of 5 different flavors of elephant ears. They have a full breakfast and lunch menu too, I am way to scared to try anything.
After checking out the first floor, I went upstairs, most of the rooms up there are party type rooms for kids. They are all meticulously detailed and hand painted yet again… super creepy. Then a woman came upstairs and offered me and my friend two free cookies, just for stopping in. I sat down next to a unicorn covered in necklaces, and took a bite.
I have never been poisoned… but this cookie made me think otherwise. Such an odd taste. It was supposed to be just an ordinary chocolate chip cookie… it was so. so odd. I couldn’t finish it, yet there were zero garbage cans around, so I wrapped it in toilet paper from the mermaid bathroom, and put it in my purse.
We felt bad for just coming in and being total tourists, so we bought a few weird candies on our way out… I swear these pieces of candy were from 1989… when I opened up a piece of chocolate it was rock hard, and speckled white… kinda like if you accidently melt chocolate and then take it out of the heat so it re forms and hardens. Except this must of happened 20+ years ago.
It was an experience I will never forget. I don’t think I have ever been in so much awe of a place, while equally feeling so incredibly creeped out.

This place is DEFINITELY worth going (especially if you have kids). I prefer adult-​only establishments, so the fact that I enjoyed my experience here speaks volumes. We stumbled upon it accidentally. We were taking a bus to some hiking trails, & my boyfriend saw pointed out this gingerbread looking (creepy seeming to me) house, with a sign that said «GLUTEN FREE ELEPHANT EARS». That was enough for me to pull the cord on the bus, so we could promptly hop off & investigate.
What we walked into was weird & lovely. It was like we were in a strange candyland themed movie. I was almost expecting the entire thing to be some type of joke. Surely they did not have gluten-​free baked goods for me, & if they did– they will likely have soy &/​or dairy in them. But I was wrong.
The woman who helped us showed me which bakery items would suit my dietary restrictions, & there were definitely some options. I went with the simple elephant ear, which was GIGANTIC. It was delicious.
We examined every room of the decorated house. I chose to sit in the room that had fairies, positive affirmations on the walls, & a tree in it. I feel like if I had gone some place like this as a kid, I would have been bugging my parents to take me back daily. It was like imagination run wild was spilling out all over the walls, & even the ceilings. The best way to describe it would be a bakery theme park.
This type of place is not really my thing, so I can mostly just speak for the well carried out theme, the very yummy gluten free baked goods, & the super nice people who worked there. If we have time during our next visit to Portland, I might end up there again (for an elephant ear).

The challenge is to write about Keana’s Candyland without using the word insane more than once, but I mean that in a good way. I’m sure there are weirder places on the fringes of Portland, but they involve houndstooth clad clowns and missing persons. We stopped here because (for one, look at the pictures… how could you NOT?) we were at Oaks Amusement Park– me and one of these celiac women I know– heading back into civilization, when the «Gluten-​Free Elephant Ears» sign got our attention. You’d have to go at least as far as Mars to see THAT sign again. So once we took a tour of the place and decided to eat lunch there, she decided she didn’t want a gluten-​free elephant ear after all, because like regular elephant ears, I suppose, you get excited about the name, and the idea, but in reality, eating elephant ears is one of those things adults really should leave behind them.
So we decided to have lunch, hamburgers on gluten-​free buns, and potatoes, while sitting on the front porch. I don’t usually care for sitting on the front porch, but this is a nice spot for a fairly busy street, and it was fun to focus on some of the external design elements which have obviously evolved over time. Also, I felt safe there, as I kept alternating between wanting to flee and wanting to join the family, maybe become an intern or something and design my own room. The hamburgers were so-​so, and the gluten-​free buns were thick and crumbly, which reminded me, not fondly, of the early days of gluten-​free buns, which caused me to reminisce about the dark and golden age of running shoe design when the Nike soles where made with an actual waffle iron, and strange New Balance shoes seemed to be stitched together by somebody’s blind grandmother (I hope I’m not showing my age– hey I was like 7, and these shoes belonged to my older brother who was on the cross country team– he suffered so I wouldn’t have to). The food took awhile, but they apologized, and said the potatoes were what held things up. I didn’t mind– after all, I get kind of creeped out when lunch comes out so fast you realize they must have guessed your order when you were walking up. The potatoes turned out to be a legitimate excuse. They tasted just like the potatoes I make at home, which is a high compliment.
The rest of the house is worth talking a look at, each room, decorated within an inch of its life, making me wish Roy Orbison’s «In Dreams» was on the jukebox, if there was a jukebox. The place really would be at home as part of House On The Rock. It occurred to me that this would be a perfect location for a secret meeting, so I’m adding it to my «list”– even though my days are numbered in Portland. Actually I could imagine the Mafia meeting here; maybe there is a Portland food truck Mafia, or something. Anyway, we left happy, safe, and still alive.

«Magical and beautiful»? I don’t know… I found it to be more like «Cramped and creepy.» It’s like Hansel & Gretel’s house, all candied up, inside and out. It’s definitely not professionally decorated, and I can tell they put a lot of time and love into it, but it’s just not quite… right.
It was really crowded with kids from the camp down the street on the afternoon we stopped by. There was no one to help us in the bakery room, and we would’ve tried a cookie. The main room is way too cramped, and the candy my son ended up choosing turned out to be stale. I wasn’t getting a good vibe here at all.

So I’m driving to my destination and see this amazing house on the right side of the road. The sign that read gluten free elephant ears caught my attention. I didn’t know what an elephant ear was, but I had to find out– basically it’s like a fair food, fried, (the GF ones here are baked) with a huge range of toppings, and folded to eat. In any case, this place is a gluten free haven of baked goods and candy, with very impressive murals on the wall. Some basic candy, and some very unique ones, plus a few minor gluten free grocery items. And if you’re truly hungry, you can order a gluten free hamburger and tater tots, among other things. Everything was über tasty. This is a must stop for anyone who likes art, candy, or is gluten free!!!

Love Love Love this place. One of the very first places I found when I was diagnosed with Celiac. They bake to your allergy needs and have wonderful customer service. I love that the store is always growing and trying new things. It is nice to go to a place that is ALL gluten free. My 8 year old loves going with me because of all the candy and wonderful decorations. This is a very loving family that is doing wonderful things to help us Celiacs still get yummy tasting treats!!! Thank you guys!

This place is MAGICAL and beautiful. It is just someone’s old house converted into this candy land ginger bread house. Every single inch of this place is covered in intricate murals of cupcakes, candy lands, rainbow marshmellow water falls, jelly beans, lollipops, glitter, flowers, mermaids, angels… its is spectacular. The bathroom is painted with mermaids everywhere. It is definitely the dreamiest place I have ever been. One of the women who works in the bakery offered us fresh hot cookies out of the oven. The specialize in gluten free treats. The only creepy thing about this place are the bible verses and references to Christianity subliminally scrawled on the walls between the gum drops and frosting. Other than that, this place is dripping with sugar and fairytales and glittery apples growing from branches coming down off the ceiling.
Bring kids here, they will be mesmerized!

Great gluten free pancakes. Take the kids, they will love the décor.

There are really two things to be reviewed here: the bakery and the «restaurant» part. If you’re coming here to get some gluten-​free treats from the bakery, I give that 4 stars. If you are coming here to eat breakfast or lunch… well…that’s an entirely different story!
Restaurant reiew:
We ordered some burgers, french toast and a grilled cheese. Everything was on gluten-​free bread and we enjoyed the french toast a lot. The burgers were kinda frozen-​tasting but still just okay until I bit into the cheese and realized it was cheapo Kraft slices. The fruit side? Cheapo canned fruit. The potatoes were likely the best part of the meal. Freshly fried and perfectly crispy, I almost wish my whole meal had consisted of these potatoes! The grilled cheese was made with gluten-​free bread and, again, cheap cheese slices. I don’t understand how you could put so much effort into your gluten-​free (and often organic!) baked goods and then use crappy stuff elsewhere.
Bakery review:
Yummy gluten-​free goodness! The cupcakes, elephant ears (which are not like usual elephant ears but delish all the same!), meringue cookies and breads are all yummy. I didn’t try everything but I enjoyed talking to the baker about all the items. She was very knowledgeable about all the items and talked with me at length about all the individual types of goodies.
My daughter LOVES this place. She loves all the art on the walls, the faux goodies on the ceilings and walls, the selection of candy… the list goes on. If you’re coming to browse or grab some goodies, you are good to go. Just don’t come here thinking you will get a gourmet meal… grab your goodies to go and hit another place for real food!

My daughter really likes this place. How could she not? It looks like a real gingerbread house full of sweets – a childhood dream! This older house is bedecked with decorations of all kinds to make it into a fantasy for kids (or kids at heart). It’s not new or Disney (the carpets, in particular, are dated), but it certainly seems clean every time we go there.
The bakery produces some interesting creations, all of which I believe are gluten-​free. The owners sometimes offer a generous sample of whatever has just emerged from the over. I was skeptical before tasting – the pastries looked a little different from the ones I’m used to. I guess that’s because they’re gluten-​free. But all that I’ve tasted have been scrumptious.

You may have already noticed this candy-​covered house on Milwaukie Avenue in Southeast. It’s hard to miss and cultivates an innate fear that stems from childhood tales of Hansel and Gretel. But being a candy house, it’s hard to resist stopping for chocolate and I don’t discourage you to do so.
Keana’s Candyland is more than a candy store, it’s an attraction in and of itself. If it’s your first time, the staff at Keana’s will be delighted to offer you a cookie of your choice (they even have vegan and wheat-​free cookies for the countless Portland picky eaters) and suggest that you sample some of your chocolate. But far more interesting than the chocolate or dessert cases is the décor. Keana’s family has dedicated nearly ten years to covering every possible surface of their home with faux cookies, frosting, cakes, pies (on the ceiling) and murals. I suggest you ask them about the process of making the place what it is, but be prepared to be listening for awhile. Keana’s Candyland is a constant work in progress and they claim that they will soon have an animatronic walrus in the bathtub and an animatronic talking Pegasus that will counsel troubled youth.
If this has you intrigued or stumped, go check it out for yourself. It’s a sight to be seen.