Gigi’s Cupcakes of Tempe

Over the past couple months I’ve walked by this location several times and it always seems to be closed literally it just seems like everybody just vanished from this location. All the stuff is still inside but there are no employees I know cupcakes to be seen. There are still posters in the windows but a paper towel taped to the front door that just reads closed in pen. Does anybody know what happened?

Cupcakes were amazing! We bought some to celebrate my son’s birthday and everyone enjoyed them! Customer service was also great!

Ordered online with over 24 hours notice for my daughters birthday. Picked up my order (which was not what I ordered) at the pick up time requested. When I got to the store was greeted by a nice young girl who made sure I knew this was just her second day and that she was alone. When I told her what I ordered and she could not locate my order she proceeded to call her manager, that manager was just has helpful as the 2 day employee. Needless to say since I had prepaid for the cupcakes, I took whatever was on hand. No discount or reimbursement for the wrong order.

A coworker brought some of these cupcakes to work and all I can say is omg. the best cupcake I’ve ever had in my life. I tried the white cupcake with pink frosting on top. I had to ask my coworker where did you get these and what’s the address.

I was surprised to see such low reviews for this place… the cupcakes are delicious! We had ordered a variety for a meeting and the Champagne and Butterfinger cupcakes were delish! I like their cupcakes more than Sprinkles…

Well, the people have spoken and once again, they are right. The cupcakes here are mediocre at best – dry cupcake topped with waaaay too much frosting. They are very pretty to look at but definitely not worthy the calories or hassle. It’s difficult to find a cupcake w equal parts fabulous cake and frosting – I’ll keep looking.

Picked up 2 cup cakes here recently. This shop has very friendly and attentive staff. We bought a Red Velvet Cupcake and a strawberry short cake cupcake. I wanted desperately to enjoy the RV cupcake from this store, but it was seriously disappointing. It very well maybe the worst I have had in Phoenix. The cake itself had a chocolaty flavor, but too chocolaty for RVC. The cake wasn’t very moist either. The icing was sweet and smooth;however, it did not taste like the cream cheese frosting that I enjoy on the RVC’s I’ve eaten for years across the SE USA.
I judge a bakery by their RVC! BUT, the saving grace of the day was the temptingly luscious and delicious strawberry shortcake. Unfortunately, it had a cream filling that was just as unappealing to the eyes as it was to the taste buds. We ate around that filling and were. pleased with the taste and moist-​enough texture of the cake. The color was beautiful and given the fact that I love icing, the mound of icing on top was a special treat.
I would not get cupcakes from this place. They are very pretty, but I can go for a nice looking cupcake that tastes better and most likely costs less.
Return Factor 20%

I had a wonderful experience today at Gigi’s. I stopped by around noon and had great customer service. I was the only one in the store and the employee gave me the run down of the flavors and some helpful suggestions on cupcakes to try since it was my first time there. I was impressed with how much she knew about what goes into each of the cupcake. By the time she finished I was ready to try all of them!
Eating the actual cupcakes (red velvet and dark midnight chocolate (?)), was divine. There was nothing for me to complain about. I agree with most people that there was a lot of frosting, but took some of the frosting off, cut the actual cupcake in half and made a sandwich out of it and enjoyed it that way. Then I went back for the rest of the icing. Just a suggestion!
I’m not one to really eat desserts, but after hearing about all of their flavors and enjoying two of them, I will definitely be back to try some more.

Cupcakes are pretty good, but, sadly, their employees have the same intelligence as their cupcakes. Horrible service, the worst. Went there twice. First time I asked the employee, who was very busy on her phone, what kind of cupcakes they had. She said, «We have all of these.» I explained I knew that, but they did not have labeling. She looked at the ceiling and said she had forgotten to do that. The second time, I had a different, but equally challenged employee. I ordered two cupcakes to go. Later that night, I opened the box and found that she had given me two cupcakes, but neither of the ones I ordered. I did not have the time or desire to drive back to correct the situation. If you go, be prepared to deal with an empty-​headed employee who probably is too high to serve you. Then, ensure that they don’t mess it up.

My cousin and I went here for the first time today. We had wanted Sprinkles but Gigi’s is just down the street from my place so we decided to go ahead and check it out. We got the Margarita cupcake, chocolate salted caramel and miss princess.
The Margarita cupcake was pretty disappointing. Both my cousin and I had gotten one. It tasted more like a yellow cake with lime frosting. Not to mention that the frosting was rolled in sugar, we had assumed that out would be salt, but were displeased when we bit into it and it was sugar. The cupcake was topped with a candy lime slice that I think was tequila infused but my cousin couldn’t taste it. overall: the cupcake was way too sweet, and absolutely mundane & bland tasting.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with the majority of reviews for Gigi’s. I really wanted to like it, but this small shop in downtown Tempe just didn’t live up to expectations.
First impression: Cute shop! It took a few moments for someone to come out and greet us, and upon hearing «oh we’re looking around» she was fully prepared to go right back to where she came from and leave us there alone… «call me when you’re ready,» she suggested. Luckily my MIL had a few questions and she stuck around to chat.
We learned that Gigi’s is indeed a chain of cupcake shops, that was started by Gigi herself… cue self portrait on the wall. The cashier assured us that «duh» these cupcakes are better than Sprinkles. With a stamp of approval like that, we decided to split the all-​favored Red Velvet cupcake with a tower of cream cheese frosting on top. There were other notable flavors available, like Shark Wave (clearly due to Shark Week… blue frosting with a printout of a shark stuck in it), Wedding Cake and Banana Split.
The cupcake itself was disappointing. Red Velvet should be a rich, flavorful, moist cake. The frosting was sweet, but lacking that cream cheese flavor. The cake was dry, almost stale, and really tame on flavor. Honestly, I could have gotten something better from Safeway. If I’m going to get a cupcake from a chain, I’ll stick with Sprinkles.

Stopped in around 5pm for a cupcake on a Saturday. The cashier was not very friendly, and seemed annoyed to have to answer questions. The cupcake was not fresh, tasted like it was at least 3 days old. The gigantic mound of icing on top did not disguise that stale taste either. Won’t be back and wouldn’t recommend. Booooooo

I worked at PUSH Marketing and Promotions right above the Tempe location and so I often went there for some post work sweets. The staff was always very friendly and their cupcakes were delicious! I tried most of their flavors, but the oreo stuff ones are by far the best. I recommend this place to all of my friends and family.

Delicious delicious cupcakes. The cookie dough frosting is the best thing mankind has ever made!
I love the selection of flavors.
The are large so bring a friend to split with you.
Some people complain about too much frosting — this is simply not something to complain about. Some say they are too difficult to eat — use a fork or spoon. You are indulging in a cupcake, it’s not a quick grab on the go snack, sit down and enjoy it.
I’ve tried lots of nearby bakeries and Gigi’s cupcakes are the best is town.

OMG! The stuffed cookies. makes you want to cry in shame because you know you have to eat the whole thing. I also tried the Bourbon /​Chocolate cupcake and was very impressed with the flavor. Cake was moist, frosting just right, and the bits in the cake made for a moist and chewy texture. I will be back
!

I came here the other day on a whim because some friends and I were craving some cupcakes and we always see this place on our way to school. We had to wait a bit for it to open because it as 10:45 and it opened at 11:00, but whatever. We just sat in the Starbucks a few doors down until it opened up. I got the cupcake of the day, I believe it was raspberry peach or something, and my friends got carrot cake and lemon.
I don’t know they both seemed to enjoy their cupcakes, but for me it was way too sweet. I prefer a rich and moist cupcake over one that tastes like straight up sugar. Lots of them also looked like they had too much frosting. That is mainly the reason I chose the one I did. It looked as if it had the least amount of frosting on it. I wasn’t too impressed with the selection. They had a few flavors, but not as many as I’ve seen in other cupcake places.
The last thing I was annoyed with was their cupcakes are not made fresh at their location, they ship them in from another one so once they are out, they are out. And if you come at the end of the day, you are getting old ones from the morning. Not like other places where they ill keep baking throughout the day.

Stopped in at Gigi’s cupcakes today while walking around the Tempe Arts festival. There were 5 or 6 flavors available, and just a few of those flavors at that.
I tried the wedding cake just because none of the other flavors looked good. My daughters got red velvet and princess. It was okay. The frosting was really sweet and tasty but the actual cake was a little dry and reminded me of store bought.
I wasn’t too impressed with the presentation Everything was just so so. I will not be rushing back. Plus, they did not have any sort of chocolate in their selection! What the heck is that about!!!

I did not enjoy my cupcake like I should have, although it was beautifully presented. I tried the birthday cake cupcake and it was just average, nothing special about it. I definitely want to give some more stars but it didn’t satisfy my sweet tooth in any way. I am a dessert guru but this is not the place, cake is dr-​dr-​dry. Maybe next time I would try one of the chocolate cupcakes, if I go back.

I went to Gigi’s on a Wednesday. I often walk past this place because I rarely see many customers there. I was glad I finally decided to stop in.
I tried the Sopapilla cupcake. The recipe is a great idea and was executed well. As a point of reference, I’d rate MY Dad’s Favorite Cupcakes (similar style cupcake) at four stars.
Here are reasons why I was satisfied with my experience
1. Finally, a cupcake vendor on Mill! Why other places do not sell cupcakes is beyond me. Haters and owners of other confectionaries* take note. If you think you can do better, by all means, put your money where your mouth is.
2. Frosting with a purpose — this is a specific type of cupcake, where the main feature is the frosting. So if you are looking for a muffin with glaze on it, go elsewhere. However, if you are looking for a fun, flavorful crown of creamy goodness with a small bit of cake underneath, try Gigi’s. I was happy with the consistency of the frosting.
3. Selection — the variety is interesting and creative. The menu looks interesting. I’m looking forward to returning
4. Frozen yogurt — much better than the previous occupant. The peanut butter flavor I sampled was divine.
I was not so happy with the prices, lack of smaller-​sized cake options, and slight dryness of the cake.
* I often suspect that the people who post the worst reviews, type in obnoxious ALL-​CAPS-​OMG, and have no photos on their profiles, are competitors, jaded lovers, or some other non genuine sort. Real reviewers review the restaurant based on what that place intends to offer, not what you think should be on the menu. Yeah I’m talking about you, fake Unilocaler, Felper, or what have you. If you are a genuine Unilocaler and indeed hate the place, then that’s okay.

My experience at the store was quite good, except for the cupcakes. The service was good and friendly, the store was neat and attractive, and generally it was a good experience.
The one (and only, as far as my experience went) major problem with the store, every cupcake was laughably overfrosted (which is characteristic of Gigi’s corporate cupcake recipes, I have come to discover). No one in their right mind orders three inches of flavored butter cream frosting on top of an inch and a half of cupcake. If they had cupcakes a normal person might enjoy, I would probably go there regularly. The cake itself was slightly oily, but definitely moist and on par with any cupcake shop I have been to. It was reasonably priced for a boutique cupcake shop as well. With its current selection of frosting with a side of cupcake, however, I don’t think I would go back nor recommend it to friends.
I feel bad giving it such a low rating, as it is a franchise, and I think everything that the franchise owner was doing was right. It was just a bad approach to cupcakes taken by Gigi’s corporate. And presentation and atmosphere must take a back seat to an inferior product.
Edit: After consultation with friends and family, I have discovered there is a large community of people who enjoy massively over frosted cupcakes. Surprisingly, that community extends beyond age six as well. I have therefore, in deference to this deviant community, increased my rating to 4 stars. It is not my cup of tea, but I suspect some people would enjoy a trip to Gigi’s.