Crumbs

I love Crumbs. Or I used to. The cupcakes have changed over the years going from amazing to just average. Also I have noticed they have gotten considerably smaller. It’s worth a stop if you want something sweet while at the mall but other than that. Not worth a special trip, anymore.

If you want hard, dry, old cupcakes that cost $ 4, then the Crumb’s kiosk at the Water Tower Place is the right spot for you!
FOOD:
I was EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED with the garbage quality cupcakes I foolishly purchased. The icing was rock-​hard and cracked when I split the cupcake in the half. The cake tasted over a day old (like they were out from the day before) and was very VERY stale. It was supposed to be marble cake with a swirled icing, but I couldn’t taste anything since it was overly dry and crumbled apart.
SERVICE:
I felt disgusted and almost tricked by the employees for letting me buy such poor quality product. (They could have suggested a fresher one — if it existed.) I know they were just doing their job, though, in politely waiting while I took (forever) to make a decision and then ring out my (horrible) choice.
CONCLUSION:
Maybe it was my fault for buying cupcakes at 6pm on a Wednesday from a mall kiosk, but truthfully it shouldn’t matter what time or day or location it is. A respectable company should prioritize offering high quality product at ALL times and ALL locations.

Didn’t enjoy eating a cupcake that’s been sitting out for a few days. Stale instead of fresh.

Disappointingly Dry, Overpriced. Look very attractive and creative, but the taste and quality just dont cut it. I wasted serious coin on some substandard treats. Unfortunately I didn’t taste until I got home, otherwise if I ate while there, I would have complained and returned them! that bad!

This red velvet cupcake was disgusting. So sweet and doesn’t even taste like it. It suppose to come with cream cheese topping. Don’t waste your money. I was really dissatisfied and for it to be 4.00 per cupcake? So not worth it.

There are so many great cupcake places in Chicago, and Crumbs just isn’t one of them. Maybe it’s because this one is located in Water Tower Mall so perhaps they don’t bake on location? I’ve given it lots of chances when I get cupcake craving while shopping, and the cupcakes look delicious. They are decorated very nicely, and are quite large. However, the taste just isn’t up to par. They are dry, and they just crumble whenever you take a bite (maybe that’s how they got their name?). The icing isn’t good either. Plus, they are not cheap.
if you want a cupcake, I would skip Crumbs and go to Sprinkles or Molly’s Cupcakes instead.

While I was ever so excited to see cupcakes right outside of the LEGO store, I can’t say I was incredibly impressed. I was originally going to give Crumbs three stars, but decided on two because the heading «Meh… I’ve experienced better» is quite accurate. I mean… they’re cupcakes… and they’re huge cupcakes… so how can you go wrong, right? But, somehow they just lack something for me. I find them to be too dense/​heavy and somewhat flavorless. I wish it wasn’t so, but it’s true. I can’t say I’ll be running back for Crumbs any time soon.

I’m not a huge cupcake fan to begin with, but these are a-​ok. Slightly dry sometimes. The toppings and presentation is pretty and impressive if you want to show them off, they’re also rather large, so splitting them among co-​workers is easy to do for an afternoon snack. They’re about $ 4.00 each, which IMO is pricey for a cupcake.

Ill tell you up front, Go to Sprinkles. The only thing crumbs is good for is presentation. The toppings are so overwhelming you think they almost look too good to be true, and guess what you would be right.
Quite frankly the cupcakes I tried sucked. I got a white hot chocolate filled with white chocolate mouse which really meant a dry cupcake, crusty frosting and it’s actually filled with vanilla pudding. I later tried a dark chocolate cupcake… same story. Very disappointing since my first visit I sat here drooling with my face pressed against the glass trying to narrow it down to pick one because they looked so amazing.
Like I said do yourself a favor don’t be deceived by the good looks of Crumbs because that’s all it is, looks not taste. Wait in line at Sprinkles down the street instead. After all, there’s a reason they have a line.

Really great cupcakes and a beautiful selection. They always are giving out samples, too.

This place will separate you from your dough, your money, your moola, your bank, your dinero. Should I go on?
Okay I will. Firstly, prepare to be visually overwhelmed. I visited the Crumbs at Water Tower Place and planned on picking some up for friends. I literally hopped in and out of the line a couple times just to get a better look at all the choices. There are so many and the full sizes are mammoth! Like the size of a softball. They call that size «signature». They also have mini («taste») and small («classic») assorted flavors, best sellers and the like.
I chose 6 signature sized. It was not an easy process. You’ll know why when you are staring into that chilled glass yourself. Chocolate covered potato chip– check. Salted caramel pretzel– check. Grasshopper– check. Apple cobbler– check. Baba booey– check. Blackout– check.
The other half and I are sharing a cupcake a day for the week. And I got an assorted collection for my gal pals. White hot chocolate and raspberry swirl were the favorites, and the blackout.
Secondly, prepare to spend your cold hard cash. I made my purchase, all $ 50!, then tried the grasshopper. I thought I had made a huge mistake. I did not like the sugary, heavy frosting. Way too heavy. When will I learn to TASTE first, then decide how much to buy?! Luckily, my distaste for the grasshopper frosting, whose cake was actually fabulous, turned out to be the exception, not the rule. All the others were really yummy, and I actually enjoyed the frosting. I will say that all the chocolate cake cupcakes, while delicious, were not distinct from each other. The frostings are more distinct but the chocolate cakes of each are extremely similar. I wouldn’t mind seeing more individuality, but they are technically prepared very well and resulted in a moist (and filled), rich cake, albeit heavier for certain.
I saw on their site, you can also order a «colossal» cupcake for a large group for about $ 40. I have my eye on one of those peanut butter colossal cupcakes for a friend in May. :)
Finally, in the end, I think I went overboard– wow, that’s so not like me, haha– and next time I’d stick to a taster sized assortment because they are so rich and also pricey (though comparable to others) in the signature size. But make no mistake, these were delicious, and there WILL BE a next time.
**Favs so far: salted caramel pretzel, apple cobbler, blackout. The chocolate covered potato chip was an interesting and cool texture. That cupcake could’ve use more of it and a lil salty action. **

Came back here with a friend the other day; we had three cupcakes between us: peanut butter cup, apple cobbler, and chocolate potato chip (because that’s a thing now apparently). We both tried some of each and liked everything. The only thing that I wasn’t a huge fan of was the PB cup, which was just a chocolate cupcake with PB frosting and Reese’s bits on top. Not bad, but not very peanut buttery. After eating a half dozen cupcakes from here, though, I must say that Crumbs cupcakes aren’t as dry as I everyone makes them out to be. Not sure if that’s just because my standard of wetness (moistness, if you like grosser words) is just lower than everyone elses, or if everyone else just likes soggy cupcakes.

It’s nice to see Crumbs in Chicago but not having a full storefront takes away from the whole giant, extravagant, cupcake adventure. Stuck in the middle of the mall and merged with a Starbucks, the staff seemed somewhat flustered and lost when I visited even though there was not much of a line. Cupcakes were mislabeled and I felt like the selection seemed to be a bit lacking. Nonetheless, the cupcakes were as good as always. Still not at Sprinkles’ caliber, for a cupcake chain but yummy still.

My Chicago cupcake quest continues! First off, I have to say these cakes sure put on a good show — they’re the most decorative of any I’ve found in Chi-​town thus far — more than Sprinkles and waaaay more than Magnolia’s. If you wanted to gift someone some cupcakes I’d suggest here simply because of their presentation.
As for the taste, they’re good! The Red Velvet was yummy, but I’d still give the crown to Sprinkles.
Btw this location is a little hard to find, they’re a small vendor on the 3^rd or 4^th floor of the Water Tower mall, above the food court.

I have been to this location 3 times at this point. The first time, some co-​workers and I stumbled across it after lunch. I got a four-​pack of cupcakes to bring home while my co-​workers each got one. Now, I agree with everyone else on the size of these things… HUGE! Me and my four cupcakes traveled home on the CTA and the metra, finally making our debut for the family. We were so excited to try these suckers and we were hugely disappointed. Every cupcake was dry and flavor was so-​so. The four we sampled were red velvet, Christmas confetti, snowman and black-​bottom cheesecake. My coworker later told me hers was delish so I figured it was the long travel time to get home that dried them out.
I went back the following week with a friend and was tempted to try one but I was full and not necessarily tempted by the price tag or lackluster flavor. My friend got the eggnog cupcake and said it was just okay. I mean at $ 4-​$ 5 a pop, I am expecting more than okay… like tiny cupcake pieces doing cartwheels in my mouth would be acceptable.
So today, I went back again and decided to try another flavor. I got the S’mores cupcake which looked divine. Huge chocolate cupcake with chocolate chips sprinkled on the outside, frosting, marshmallows and graham crackers. I brought it back to the office and dug into it. The inside had a tiny dab of marshmallow filling but was still underwhelming.
So after having three cupcakes from Crumbs, I am sorry to say I will not be back. For the price and taste, it is not worth it. I will be spending my cupcake money at Sprinkles.
On a side note, the staff has always been really nice which is always pleasant.

My dear husband was sweet enough to drive downtown into the thick of Christmas shopping and rush hour traffic to pick lil’ ol’ me up from a hard day of shopping. To thank him, I bought cupcakes.
The Crumbs Bakery is a kiosk shop located on the 2^nd floor in the Water Tower Place shopping center. For $ 3.95 a piece, I got a Peanut Butter Cup for the man and an Apple Cobbler for myself. They are HUGE cupcakes. I could barely take a full bite from top to bottom, I had to nibble the top and then the bottom.
Now as far as flavor and taste, I felt they were a little dry and overall it was underwhelming. I had high expectations. The Apple Cobbler cake itself was okay, very lightly spiced. It was filled with what I could only assume was canned apple pie filling at best *blah* and topped with the right amount of frosting, not too much and not too little and not overwhelmingly sweet. However, it was a very dry frosting that could have been peeled right off the top into a round white sheet of frosting.
The hubby on the other hand thought it was one of the better cupcakes I’ve brought home. I think he was making this statement off the fact that I picked the right flavor for him rather than trying to pass off my taste on him. We both agree, they are HUGE cupcakes, but they do have smaller options for those with a smaller sweet tooth.
**totally agree with Bridget T., the holiday cupcakes are pretty ambiguous as far as what the flavor might be. I’d be interested to know what Crumbs interpretation of «Mistletoe» or «Christmas Tree» is.

I live in the neighborhood and am a sucker for cupcakes. Super excited to see that Crumbs was opening in Water Tower Place right outside of the Lego Store (great marketing, guys!). But, I was totally disappointed. They serve Starbuck’s coffee… but, I swear, I got a grande serving in a venti cup. When i asked, I was told that it was because I asked for just a little bit of whipped cream on my specialty drink???
The cupcakes… meh. They are cute and fun. But, there isn’t a description of what the cute names taste like, for example, «Good Guy» or any of the specialty Christmas-​themed cupcakes like, «Snowball». So, it slows the line down when the poor cupcake-​istas have to explain each one to every single customer. Personally, I think that the Mom and Daughter-​run MORE Cupcake shop just a couple blocks west is WAY better and tastier. And, there’s a Starbuck’s next door to More so you can get the amount of coffee you pay for.