Virago Baking Company

This business is closed. Sign in the door said they closed the retail operation to concentrate solely on wholesale. The building is gutted and under renovation.

Was very underwhelmed by the cupcakes we purchased. They were very dense, undercooked, and dry. There were several people eating sandwiches that looked good. Maybe those were better???

I only got two cupcakes and two cookies. It’s a cute little café. I wasn’t impressed with the cupcakes. First they were small and were $ 3.50 each. I had better and bigger tasting cupcakes for that same price. I got the vanilla chocolate chip cupcake and I though it wasn’t cooked all the way, the icing was so/​so. I also got another cupcake that I thought was dry.
As for the cookies: the peanut butter chocolate chip was good. The chocolate chip cookie you couldnt even taste the chocolate chips.

This place has potential to be a nice little spot for people to hang out, have coffee and eat really good pastries. I’ve gone there twice — the service is excellent, laid back and friendly, the way it should be. The baked goods are delicious, and there are plenty of vegan and gluten free options. The coffee is also great and they have a large selection of teas and cappuccinos/​lattes.
The only thing that’s not so great is the atmosphere. It’s lacking… something. It just needs an updated look, a little music, some nice lighting to make it feel more intimate. I think this place would do really well if it was open a little later (see hours below). It would be a great place to go for dessert after a meal at Nadia’s or Shell Fish Sue. I am still waiting for a great café to go to in Lansdale that’s open late, but not a Starbucks or some other chain. I’d much rather support a local Lansdale business!
Bottom line is this: the pastries are delicious and unique, and that’s what really counts. I love their cupcakes! The décor just needs a little help.
HOURS (from website):
Tuesday — Friday 9 AM-​6 PM
First Fridays 9 AM –9 PM
Saturday. 8 AM — 5 PM
Sunday 10 AM — 4 PM
Monday-​CLOSED
…
SUMMER HOURS
CLOSED– Sundays
June 17^th — Labor Day
WINTER HOURS
CLOSED– Monday — Thursday
Friday– 9 AM — 6 PM
Saturday. 8 AM — 5 PM
Sunday 10 AM — 4 PM
Jan 1^st — March 26^th

Three stars is probably generous here. Stopped in for something quick Saturday morning to an empty shop, thought it was odd since it was prime time for breakfast/​lunch/​coffee at least on a weekend.
They were out of many of the items we tried to order. Not really much in the way of breakfast here, even small pastries. Just a few muffins, bunch of cupcakes so if you come, expect to focus there.
Menu says two sizes of coffee but they only had one, some other little things that struck us as odd. A shoot-​from-​the-​hip production. Had an egg and cheese wrapped in tortilla that was OK, certainly nothing to write home about. It was all very boring.

I finally got back to Virago and I am so happy I did! Not only were the staff beyond helpful, but I found a new favorite! The woman behind the counter helped me to locate the GF/​DF case. Once there I had further questions as I can’t eat most grains. I wound up trying the raspberry/​peanutbutter cookie, cinnamon pecan muffin and the butter pecan cupcake. OMG! I let the cupcake come to room temp as advised (ty) and it was beyond delicious! The cinammon pecan muffin was amazing as was the raspberry peanutbutter cookie! Thank you for giving GF people
amazing options

SMH… Sorry but I had to throw them away. Just not good at all !! Bought three cup cakes and thought, maybe I came on a bad day, so i went back and tried again! This time I purchased a brownie. How can a brownie taste so bad? OMG…

Yum! That’s the only word that comes to mind when you have a bite of the vegan chocolate chip cookie. Usually, vegan cookies tend to be bland and dry but not here. It was soft, chocolatey, and delicious. Minus 1 star for the hefty $ 3 price tag, though.

On Friday night, I finally got around to trying out Virago in Lansdale for dinner and, more importantly, dessert. Husband and I split the vegan «beef» cheesesteak wrap. Next time I’m in the neighborhood, I’m dying to try the vegan buffalo chicken wrap. Virago offers a choice of whole wheat or gluten free wraps for any of their sandwiches. This place seems to be all about the gluten free options, with a few great vegan options thrown in the mix too.
The vegan cheesesteak was tasty, full of very mild, fried onions and peppers and a good amount of tasty Daiya cheese. If I had been more hungry, it would have been the perfect amount for a filling dinner. But I wasn’t starving and I had to save room for an assortment of dessert. Our dessert was 100% vegan, as well; we split two cupcakes and a pastry. The pastry was a nut bar with caramel and chocolate chips, and it was delightful. The usual pecans were on top, but there were also some hazelnuts in there which was a delicious touch. The cupcakes, coconut chai and coffee chocolate chip, were just okay. The cake itself was a little crumbly and the frosting was a little overpowering. I will return because there are very few places in the burbs with vegan options and there are still a number of vegan options on Virago’s menu that I have yet to try!

D’awww it’s an allergen friendly bakery in small-​town America that with a more catholic selection of mocha coffee brews than anywhere in great-​big-​city America.
But aside from that, Virago truly does excel in cupcake happiness. The frosting is light, fluffy and piled high so you’re sure to get a sugar rush. The cake itself is baked well — and the gluten free items are well risen and not overly dense. The chai tea cupcake had just enough chai flavor with perhaps an underpinning of coconut that made me yearn for sipping tea in the Sacred Mountains of China.

I recently ate here while visiting family in the area. I could not be more delighted to see an eatery in Lansdale that is willing to broaden the area’s culinary landscape to include plant-​based and gluten-​free diets.
My boyfriend and I shared two of their plant-​based sandwiches (the Russo and the vegan Beef Cheesesteak) and they were fantastic. On a side note: we had actually ordered the vegan chicken cheesesteak and didn’t mention the mistake when they brought the beef one — because honestly, we didn’t care. They were so nice though that they admitted their own error and gave us both the beef and chicken sandwiches (which was also delicious).
An additional pro was that I actually felt that the food was healthy — more like a sandwich one might make at home rather than typical fat/​salt/​calorie-​laden restaurant food.
I will admit that the plant-​based cupcake I had was just okay compared with many others I have had, I appreciate that they are available just the same. Although the staff was very helpful in pointing out which baked goods were which, I agree with some of the other reviewers that the lack of labeling on products in the case — which were plant-​based, GF, or neither — was a little frustrating. That is not something I would expect from a place that markets themselves as being friendly to people with special dietary needs.
It also seemed to me that the café supports local musicians and artists by hosting various events, this is something that is so badly needed in the suburbs.
Overall, Virago Bakery is a truly a brilliant star in a sea of bland chain-​restaurants and artery clogging pizza shops and diners which, in comparison, offer up very little in terms of both culinary exploration and quality support of the local culture. I wish much success to Virago and I hope that their positive influence ripples through their suburban community.

My girlfriend and I went here on a Friday night. She ordered a chocolate mint cupcake, I ordered a dirty blondie, both from their gluten-​free case. Neither one was particularly tasty. There was only one person behind the counter and she was busy; they could have used some more help, especially on a Friday night. And for a coffee shop-​type place, the atmosphere was kinda drab.
I like the concept and I applaud any place that specializes in Vegan and gluten-​free food. Their selection is pretty decent and if I’m in the area again, I’ll definitely stop back.

Cookie Tart… need I say more?
Never even heard of it until I finally made a trip to Virago. And boy oh boy, am I glad I did. If I had a job, I’d go there every day for this little piece of heavenly goodness.

I loved the vegan cupcake! I did not like the icing though. I would get a muffin instead!
Overall it was a good experience.

Virago Bakery grabbed my interest real quick when a friend told me it was a «vegan, gluten-​free, sugar-​free bakery» and I was like, «…the hell? That’s not a bakery.»
I was proved wrong real fast.
So far though, I’ve only tried their lemon tarts & banana bread. IT WAS SO FREAKING DELICIOUS although I probably shouldn’t have eaten both of the lemon tarts once… The lemon tarts were sour (in an awesome way — not super sweet)!! And the crust wasn’t dried out either. and the banana bread — I was lucky enough to try it after it was baked. Awesome, awesome recipes they’re using there.
They also do a very nice lunch menu, one which I have yet to try. Everything on it sounds good and nutritious though.
Inside, it’s styled like a cozy café with their ordering counter in the back. Every Friday night they have a musician playing there. I dunno how good he is though. I keep missing his shows. He’s always there though according to Virago’s facebook page, so he’s apparently good enough to keep around.
I urge everybody to at LEAST try SOMETHING from here. If you though sugar-​free pastries didn’t work, YOU’RE WRONG. or at least you’ll be proven otherwise at this place :)
BUT to settle curiosity, yes, they do offer «regular» stuff too if you’re not concerned with vegan, sugar-​free stuff.

I’ve been to Virago about 4 times now. The first thing I must say is that I noticed a bell in the counter and knowing how distracted I am, that might have been there before. I also saw TOYS and my daughter is now happily entertained. First coffee shop/​bakery I’ve been to that has toys. Their Chai Latte is delicious. I’m not much of a cupcake eater, but their vanilla chai and I think it was vanilla lemon walnut were delicious. I tried the aztec too and found it to be a bit dense, the reason why I’m giving them a 4.
The kids love their cookies. It has become one of my favorite places and I plan to keep on going :)

I wish I would have reviewed Virago after my first purchase so I could have given them the four or five stars my heart desired, but unfortunately I have made a few trips since then and each time, I’m a little more disappointed.
A review for their Joy Cupcake Tray of gluten-​free cupcakes alone would be five stars without question. The tiny cupcakes are just the right size for a treat, and are delicious with creamy, puffy icing on top. I ordered them to take out to my brother’s house to give my sister-​in-​law a treat and everyone was floored with how great they were. I would have given up every other treat to eat the coconut chai cupcakes for the rest of my life.
Sadly, each trip since then, I’ve gotten regular sized cupcakes, and I just don’t love them as much. The flavor combinations are fantastic and delicious, but the texture of the cupcakes makes them crumble and very difficult and messy to eat, and I just don’t enjoy the icing at all. While the mini cupcakes had a light icing (not sure if it was because they were mini, or because of the gluten-​free), the full sized cupcakes I have gotten each time had a hard shell of icing that made the cupcake even harder to eat and came across as far too sweet because of the texture.
I’ll have to go back and try their other products and hopefully raise my rating because I really REALLY want this place to be as great as I thought it was after my first trip, but for now, my 3.5 star rating feels more appropriate to be rounded down than up.

Great bakery for vegans, gluten-​free & omnivores. They have a large selection of vegan cupcakes, awesome chocolate chip cookies, biscotti & other baked goods. The owner & family is very friendly & customer oriented. They’re vegan wraps are delish. We stop in for the tofu scramble wraps on the weekends. They just added an assortment of vegan cheesesteak wraps to the menu. I tried the buffalo «chicken», spices were kick-​ass! Hubby had the seitan steak w/​peppers & onions. They knocked these out of the park. And desserts are killer too.
The only thing negative I could say is for the price, add some chips or veggies to the plate.
They also do an assortment of fair trade coffee drinks with coconut milk or cow’s milk for those who like.

This place has extremely serious chocolate chip cookies and cupcakes.
The caramel-​filled cupcake will improve anyone’s day unless they watched a loved one choke to death on a cupcake (from a place that is not as good as Virago) earlier that day. In this case, they probably cannot even look at a cupcake and you are a sick jerk if you buy them one in an attempt to cheer them up. Buy them a Virago chocolate chip cookie instead.

I have celiac disease, which while not cancer, can be a real bummer, as I cannot eat anything made with flour… wheat, rye or barley. No additives that have malt or a wheat starch. You get my drift. Restrictive. Impractical. A pain.
A friend generously brought me a box of goodies from this bakery near her home and I about cried eating the incredible items… all of which are gluten-​free!!! Tortes, cakes, cupcakes, cheesecake, key lime pie, breads, crustless quiches, wraps, cinnamon rolls, soda bread, hoagie rolls, lemon bars, pumpkin pie. This is a «must have» treat for anyone with celiac disease… order a birthday cake for someone you love! I can only get these items when my friend generously provides them, since I live more than an hour away. But oh, what a treat! Thanks, Virago!!!