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    Kara's Cupcakes

    3.4 (784 reviews)
    ModerateCupcakes
    Open 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Order Kara's Cupcakes Takeout or Delivery

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    Nichelle B.

    Kara's Cupcakes are the best! I was happy to see them in the Town and Country Village in Palo Alto. I had the Kara's Karrot cupcake and it was flavorful and oh so delicious. The frosting was divine, I think it was cream cheese frosting but not sure. The employee was friendly, attentive, and kindly answered my questions. A nice treat to end my weekend.

    Vanilla
    Mona A.

    This review is multi year overdue!! Kara's Cupcakes has my absolute favorite vanilla cupcake, it's honestly my vice at this point. The cupcake is soft and moist every single time, and the frosting is perfectly sweet without being heavy. The shop is cute, the service is friendly and decent. I have tried other cupcakes here and they are okay, but vanilla is my favorite for a sweet indulgence. This is located in town and country, parking can be difficult depending on time of day, but there is plenty in the shopping center. Overall a decent cupcake spot! Highly recommend!

    Box of 4 Mixed Cupcakes
    D. Reneé B.

    I'm so excited to have ended my Saturday with a cupcake (or 3). We got there just before closing. The blinds were drawn so it looked closed. I called and the lovey lady confirmed they were open, and still had a few flavors left. We decided on: Vanilla Coconut 10/10 Red Velvet Cake 10/10 Chocolate Velvet Cake 10/10 Fluer de Sel..., chocolate with caramel center and sprinkle of salt 8/10 The shop is a little on the darker side but lovely nonetheless!!! Will definitely be back the next time I'm at Stanford

    Outside seating
    Nasser S.

    I love love good cupcakes. We tried the smores cupcake and the red velvet cupcake. The cupcakes were decent. I would loved it if they were more moist. I loved all the seating they have outside. Very nice and clean inside. A nice place to grab a quick treat, but room for improvement on flavor and moistness, if that's even a word haha

    Custom 12 mini cupcakes decorated with Logos
    Emily L.

    This was my first time ordering from Kara's cupcakes. I had a last minute idea to have cupcakes for a birthday party & what really stood out to me was the custom logo cupcakes. I made sure to place an online order over 24 hours in advance. Michele from this location specifically had great customer service. I love how these cupcakes turned out and although I didn't get to try any, they went quick which is always a great sign. If I could give any feedback, I wish the logos were centered, but other than that I 100% would recommend this to anyone looking to add an elevated touch to events!

    I would NEVER recommend ordering from this location. If you're planning to order a cake from Kara's Cupcakes in Palo Alto, think twice! Or make sure your order is properly confirmed, so you don't go through what I did. I placed an in-person custom cake order with Jade on Friday (1/16/2026) for pickup on Sunday at 12:00 PM for my one-year-old's first birthday party. When I called on Sunday around noon to confirm pickup, I was told that my order was never placed. Since I was hosting a birthday party, I had no choice but to proceed. The staff rushed to make a cake within three hours. My husband picked it up, but when I saw it at home, I was extremely disappointed with the decorations. I understand there was a time constraint, but if the decorations couldn't be done properly, they shouldn't have been done at all. The lion, giraffe, and overall icing were poorly executed. I'm surprised that Michelle, the manager, felt this cake was acceptable to give to a customer. My husband paid $62.64 for the cake, and not for subpar decorations.

    Sign
    Lyn N.

    I miss Kara's cupcakes! There used to be a location at Santana Row. But I am glad it's still around here at Town & Country Village. It's right next to Sur La Table. Cute corner spot that is visible from El Camino real. The employee was super nice. She was patient while I chose a few mini cupcakes and marshmallows.

    Gaby K.

    Always a wonderful selection of cupcakes! Always GREAT flavors from this bakery and I have been to many of Kara's locations. The frosting tastes of butter and some sugar not overly sweet which I love. You actually taste the fruit, salted caramel or whatever the flavor is. This is truly a quality cupcake. Staff is very helpful and kind always here. I have tried many bakeries that specialize in cupcakes and nobody has been able to beat Kara's on flavor, quality, and service (not even the famed Sprinkles).

    Priscilla D.

    *First time review* I was in Palo Alto this evening and wanted something sweet after my fun shopping and stumbled upon Kara's. I got there at the perfect time because there was a big order that came in and essentially left me with one of each cupcakes I wanted. I ordered lemon, vanilla with chocolate, banana and a Neapolitan. I also got a mini lemon. The mini is really cute and I haven't actually seen anyone sell minis. I didn't actually see any prices listed anywhere so to be fair, the pricing was not wildly outrageous. $5 for one large cupcake $3.5 for one mini Compare this to Crumbl cookies and other places... it's inline. I also noticed they have vegan cupcakes which I thought was cool. Ok the ratings.. Lemon - 3.5/5 not very lemony but moist! Vanilla chocolate - 4/5 so good! I like the chocolate frosting wasn't overly sweet The other 2 cupcakes are for someone else so I didn't try them. Shoutout to Jade who was working. Super helpful and nice. Welcomed me in and asked if I had any questions etc. great customer service! I'll be back

    Mini cupcakes
    Cassandra S.

    Came here for cupcakes for an event. Did a walk in and were able to purchase 3 dozen cupcakes as a walk-in which was great. AND got to get gluten-free options and vegan (for lactose-free and vegan needs). They do have their ingredient sourcing on their board, but no pricing at all. We were told it was $36 for mini cupcake dozen and $59.40 for standard cupcake dozen. Though it was very unclear about the pricing since it wasn't posted anywhere on the board and the staff wasn't clear on the price right away, but needed to look into it on the register. The staff was very friendly and helpful and patient with getting all our needs met for dietary restrictions. However, the prices and quality was just not worth it. $3.47 per mini cupcake after a modest tip was just insane.

    Carrot Cake
    Joanna F.

    Yeah this place is rated pretty appropriately. Came in on a weekday afternoon and got banana caramel and carrot cake. Honestly they were pretty good and filled my emergency sweet tooth requirement but....both were underflavored as hell (IMO) and slightly overpowered w the cream cheese frosting. Also I have a similar gripe about not showing the prices, kind of disingenuous behavior tbh

    Single Chocolate Chip Cookie
    Edgar V.

    Wooo!! The flavor the moon is of the bread the moist I was amazing, quick and amazing service. We stepped out of the store to sit on the tables right in front of the store a nice little patio to eat the cupcake and have a good conversation with my wife. We went take some home for her to share with her family. You will need to try the double chocolate if you are chocolate lover, they even have gluten-free options.

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    4 months ago

    Our Gluten Free cupcakes were dry today . Well known but we will not go back. Service was good but the gluten free items were not fresh.

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    Ask the Community - Kara's Cupcakes

    What are the prices??? I went by the shop and there are no prices listed anywhere. Prices aren't on their website either. Always makes me think something fishy is up if…

    If you go to their website and click "Order now" it will bring you to their toast tab where you can see the prices and place an order. I hope this helps!

    Do they take walk up orders during covid?

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    Marvel Cake - Inside

    Marvel Cake

    3.8(169 reviews)
    0.5 mi
    $$$

    This cute shop is located in downtown Palo Alto and has such a chic vibe. You'll find tons of…read moreartisanal baked goods and desserts, and the ambiance felt straight out of the Victorian era. Everything was beautifully presented. The workers were friendly too! Their items were a bit pricey, but worth it for the quality. Their spiral croissants were so much better than Fancy Flavors. It was flaky, buttery, and filled with delicious pistachio cream. This spot is especially great for more traditional flavors. The Anton Hokkaido Milk Crepe Cake wasn't overly sweet and the cream was light and fluffy. It was perfectly up to my standards when it comes to sweetness. I'd definitely come back again even if I'm willing to hurt my wallet because the sweets are just too hard to resist.

    Beautiful desserts, very sweet, however, the service could have been better for the price tag we…read morepaid. My family and I stopped by Marvel Cake during Mother's Day for a sweet treat on Sunday. This location is in the strip of Downtown Palo Alto and has limited parking (similar to the rest of the stores there, there is a lot of parking, and you will need to get lucky). My mom does like the Marvel Cake in their first location, so we swung by here to try this one out! Location-wise, this is a smaller shop than the original one in West San Jose with limited seating inside. I would say it's not work from home friendly however, I did see a college student next to me on her laptop so maybe I am incorrect here! The interior is nice and light, matching the elegance of the desserts. We ordered three items on the menu: the pillow cake, the bisou, and the blueberry lavender roll. Here are some thoughts: * Pillowcase cake: It may seem like this would be a fluffy cake due to the nature of its shape, but it is a gelatinous Jell-O cake with fruit jam. It was not bad, and tasted refreshing and light. I didn't know if I liked it at first, but ultimately I did come back for seconds and thirds, so this is approved. * Blueberry lavender roll cake: This was not at all what we were expecting. I did not taste any lavender, nor did it have a strong blueberry flavor. I think what threw our party off was the layer of gelatin that surrounded the cake. Texturally, we were not a big fan. * Bisou: This one was our favorite one. I appreciated the nutty crust in the bottom layer of the cake, while the filling was soft and bouncy. It is very sweet, however, but overall, I really enjoyed this one and feel like it would go great with a cup of coffee. What made the experience here a 3 instead of a 4 or 5 was the service we got. We weren't greeted when we came in, which, to be fair, is totally fine, maybe they were busy. However, the person helping us stared at us the whole time and did not really communicate well with us. When I tried to order the cakes for my family, they looked bothered that we were there, and I was not sure if they understood what pastries I was ordering because they did not repeat it back to us at all or confirm anything. When I did place the order, they slowly grabbed the plates and looked visually confused, which again, if they wanted to, I could have repeated it back to them. After they gathered everything, they put it in front of us and rang me up. The whole time, they did not say a word to me at all. Did not reconfirm anything, did not acknowledge we were there, did not say thank you. It was a bit strange, and I had to check with my family if it was me or if that was a really weird experience (it wasn't me).

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    Marvel Cake - Pink Rose latte

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    Sugar Butter Flour - Company cake

    Sugar Butter Flour

    4.0(1.8k reviews)
    7.3 mi
    $$
    Free parking
    Established in 2004

    Came here to see how their Burnt Almond Cake compares to Peter's Bakery! This place has tons of…read moreother delicious pastries and cakes to choose from. The space feels super cozy and service was friendly. They even mentioned their Burnt Almond Cake has always been their bestseller. First bite tasted heavenly. This had more stronger almond and Italian rum flavor and I was pleasantly surprised by the sugared almond slivers coating. The custard was absolutely generous, creamy, and divine. I'd say Peter's Bakery is more traditional, but more fluffier while Sugar Butter Flour has a more modern twist and is slightly sweeter. Their version definitely has more custard, which I personally enjoy... but this may be too sweet for the older Asian parents family. I'd love to come back to try their cookies and other pastries next time. Their Burnt Almond Cake is to die for and would love to buy another one when I'm in the area. I want this to be my upcoming birthday cake!

    My husband and I stopped by around 7pm on a Friday for a few cakes to try as we're looking for…read morewedding cakes. We got the hazelnut napoleon and raspberry cheesecake and these were unfortunately quite dry and hard. We were hoping it was a fluke because we had gone late at night. I returned Monday morning and got a few blueberry poppyseed lemon loaves, lemon poppyseed loaf, and a coffee cake for work. Unfortunately these were all dry and quite hard as well. As if they'd been sitting a couple of days. The workers were quite friendly and I asked a bit about their cakes. They said the cakes are not freshly made and they typically bake when they're running low. But it sounded like things can sit around for upwards of a few days.

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    Kara's Cupcakes - cupcakes - Updated May 2026

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