Sprinkles Bakery, which recently opened in THE LOT on Feb. 4, 2022, features a selection of classic cupcakes, topped off with their trademark modern accent sprinkle. While all the rave has been about this well-known cupcakery, when it comes down to the quality and pricing of their cupcakes, some may have second opinions on its reputation.

Ambiance:

Sprinkles Bakery has a bustling, bright atmosphere filled with modern decor and the occasional pop of color. The high ceilings, white walls, and the warm hanging lights give the store an open, airy feel, which greatly contrasts with the crowded and slightly claustrophobic atmosphere near the kiosks. Towards the back of the bakery is a large screen brightly displaying billboard statistics and recent news, with couches perched in front to create a casual area separate from the more formal dining area. To tie in the nature-like theme of the wooden accent walls, the small, white tables are simply accented with succulents. The only exception to this theme is the dimly-lit wall to the right of the seating area with colorful, geometric wallpaper. Framing the bottom half of the wall is a counter with three openings – the trash, the recycling, and the compost – that are crowded closely together, leaving much of the area bare. Though the color does immediately draw your attention, it fails to fit the more neutral color scheme of the store, making it look odd and out of place. The atmosphere of the bakery is also disrupted when you glance to the left, where a glass wall separates the store from the office of Patelco Credit Union.

Service:

When we entered the bakery, we were immediately met with a long line of customers who crowded the kiosks where we ordered, blocking the glass entrance doors. After navigating through the crowd, we joined the line to order from the two digital booths at the front, where customers can select their choice of desserts with an employee supervising close behind. Though the digitalization of the process made the process more efficient, we ended up spending more time than what would have been ideal at the kiosk as we struggled to come to the realization that they only accepted credit cards. This posed inconveniences for us and some of the other teenage customers who only had cash or debit cards with them and, in our opinion, it would have been helpful to put a sign alerting customers about these limitations before entering the store.

Though it did take a considerable amount of time to order our desserts because of the long lines and the incident at the kiosk, it only took a few minutes to receive our order. However, when we opened the box, we realized that we had received the wrong cupcake, which was quickly replaced with the right order after alerting the employees. We also realized that there were no utensils or refreshments – particularly water – laid out or available on their menu; it was only after we asked an employee that we received napkins and forks (they had no other utensils like knives as we originally requested).

Menu:

Their menu features a limited selection of classic flavors and gluten-free options. Valentine’s Day specials, a limited-time addition to their menu, consists of three flavors: Heartthrob Red Velvet, Raspberry Chocolate Chip, and Cookie. The finite option choices allows for people – especially overthinkers – to have an easier time making a decision for ordering. This made it convenient, not being overwhelmed with a range of possibly unfamiliar flavors. However, this may also be a large drawback, due to the lack of flavors available for people who enjoy choosing from a selection of various flavors. Aside from cupcakes, they also offer cookies, fudge brownies, chocolate bars, and cakes. On their website, they also offer exclusive bulk boxes and DIY kits. Aside from this, their prices are very expensive, each cupcake being at least $5 (additional cost for limited-time offers on the menu). The size of the cupcakes was the generic cupcake size, which to us, did not make sense to be reasonably priced as $5 or more in comparison to a grocery store, where one could purchase a whole dozen cupcakes for around the same price. 

Food:

We ordered a Heartthrob Red Velvet cupcake (a red velvet cupcake topped with their cream cheese frosting and a blend of pink, red and white sprinkles), a Black and White cupcake (a belgian dark chocolate cupcake topped with vanilla frosting and chocolate sprinkles), and a chocolate chip cookie. The cupcakes came in a red “Sprinkles” box, and the cookie came in a clear acetate bag. 

Right off the bat, the Heartthrob cupcake was heavily dunked in sprinkles, and both cupcakes had a generous amount of frosting on the top. When we tried to take out the cupcakes from the packaging, we found it inconvenient. It was hardly possible to take a cupcake out while holding just the cupcake wrapper, without touching the frosting. Furthermore, in attempts to cut the cupcakes in half, the cake itself began to crumble and the frosting detached off the cake. With limited available utensils, this process was unseemingly difficult. Tastewise, it was extremely sweet. The taste of the red velvet and frosting itself was not too bad, but the overload in sprinkles is what added to the overabundance of sweetness. On the other hand, the Black and White cupcake was less sweet and the dark chocolate did compliment the vanilla frosting’s sweetness, but in general, they were both tooth-aching. Correct in hypothesis, the cake itself was moderately dry and not moist. Since their products have been sitting out on a tray for display, this may be a factor of this issue. This also meant that the cookie we ordered alongside the cupcakes was also cold. The chocolate chip cookie did not taste like your generic cookie; the essence of the chocolate chips was  just not coming through. It almost tasted bland, with a texture of a mixture of dry and chewy. We couldn’t really put a finger to it, but it did not taste right in that matter. 

Overall:

Comprehensively, our experience at Sprinkles Bakery was not the greatest. With their inflated prices and quality per cupcake being poor, the price to quality ratio did not appear reasonable. Though Sprinkles has gained a great deal of attention to its name, we concluded that it is not worth the hype. Unless you have a large sweet tooth, then Sprinkles is not the place for you.