Cupcake Royale and Verite Coffee

Never lets me down! I’ve had everything from here and never have I had a bad experience. Great business with amazing customer service! A+

This place is cute and popular but only wins a «meh» from us. We visited on a Friday night and found the cupcakes were all fairly dry, as if perhaps they’d been sitting in the open bakery case for some time. The various flavors were creative in name but not in taste. The espresso drinks were served too cold and tasted lackluster, although the foam designs were cute. The shop was also chilly — the ceiling fans were rotating pretty fast for a windy evening. We probably won’t return. But then again, a steady stream of kids and parents were walking in the door, so perhaps our standards are too high.

It’s been nice to see this local company grow from one location to a few! They have a great connection to the community and seem to give back. Their cupcakes are dense and their frosting is not too sugary. They release new flavors monthly but my favorite remains the Dance Party (a basic white cake with pink frosting). This place makes a great special treat at $ 4 per cupcake.

Everything was perfect when I visited here.
I needed a pick-​me-​up and a cupcake sounded like the right idea.
The cashier greeted me with a friendly attitude and finished my transaction swiftly.
My choice: Tirimisu Cupcake. I’m not usually a vanilla cake fan, but theirs is really tasty; slightly denser and less sweet, it complimented the soft Tirimisu on top.
Yum!

After years of oscillating between Cupcake Royale and Trophy, I’ve decided solidly that Cupcake Royale makes the better cupcake.
I’m also just a mighty big fan of the Ballard location. I generally visit Ballard or Queen Anne.
On my last visit to the Ballard location, I had some out of town guests – and they loved it. We also got about 50% off our order because apparently when they’ve got a LOT of leftovers, they do a 6 for the price of 3 deal. When they have an average amount of leftovers, they go to the Ballard Food Bank, they told us – which is equally (if not more) cool.
My favorite cupcake is the Tiramisu one. But I also love their plain chocolate with chocolate frosting one – and LOVE their St. Paddy’s Day flavors like Whisky Maple Bacon, Chocolate Guinness, and a couple different kinds of mint.
So, so delicious.

My fiancé and I are both allergic to wheat so it’s hard to find tasty cupcakes, but this place has the BEST GLUTEN FREE CUPCAKES we have EVER had!!! Super moist and decadent. We reserve them all the time so we know that we will get them for the weekend!!!
Thank you for having delicious gluten free cakes for our sensitive tummies! :)

I love popping in for a ‘Babycake’ — the mini cupcakes– when I’m walking around in downtown Ballard (vanilla/​vanilla is my fave, especially when it includes Seahawks-​themed sprinkles). They always kill it with the seasonal cupcakes. The Rodeo donuts look super good, though I’ve only ever sampled. Their inventive ice creams are amazing– I’m partial to the Red Velvet or Salted Caramel Cupcake. YUM.
As for ambience, love the store remodel. Less crowded/​cluttered coffeehouse feel now, which I like. Cleaner. Comfortable ‘feel at home’ place with longtime Ballard roots.

I like cupcake royale. They’ve got cupcakes, ice cream, and coffee. One stop shop for a sweet treat. FYI, there’s a cupcake HH, I believe the last hour before closing where you get 6 cupcakes for the price of 3. Cupcake wise, I’m a sucker for anything chocolate, coffee, or extra chocolate. I don’t care for frosting in general so I usually end up scraping most of it off. Service has always been kind.

I walk by this place every day so I figured I’d give it a try. I grabbed a coffee and a cupcake. The space is very nice and welcoming and the staff were pleasant and friendly. However, the cupcake didn’t really wow me. It is very dense and while I was hoping the icing would be a little fluffy, but alas. I couldn’t finish the whole thing due to the sweetness and weight.
All in all okay, but definitely not the best I’ve had. I think I will stick to donuts down the street.

My coworker had a hankering for a cupcake, and since I don’t need to be talked into enjoying a cupcake, I obliged on the short walk to Cupcake Royale in Ballard. Their online menu made my tastebuds tingle and I was excited to see that the cupcakes were just as cute in person as they were on the website.
This cupcake store is super trendy and hipster — both because of the mature flavors and cute garb for sale («I love my mommies/​daddies» baby onesies — SO Seattle). The interior of the store is clean and the display of cupcakes/​donuts/​ice creamery cooler greets you immediately. One staff in the Ballard location this morning was also friendly, and patient, as I oohed-​and-​ahhed at the treats on display.
Ultimately, I decided on the pumpkin cupcake w/​cardamom icing and the vegan chocolate cupcake. Since the walk was chilly, I also opted to try one of their tall chai lattes; with 2 cupcakes and a chai, my tab was roughly $ 12.00. Not exorbitant, but not cheap either.
Now the downside for me is that I have a cold, and apparently my tastebuds are DEAD, as in I couldn’t taste any of the greatness that was concocted in my drink or cupcake #1 that I tried, the pumpkin cupcake. I could tell the chai was spicy (huzzah!), and I saw they use Monin syrups (the best!), but besides that it was just a hot spicy drink. As for the cupcake, I could taste the sweet, rich frosting and the cupcake itself was unbelievably moist. I’m sad for me because my tastebuds are failing me today. #aintnobodygottimeforacold #damnyoutastebuds
To recap: even to a person with a cold and malfunctioning tastebuds, it is evident that Cupcake Royale makes bomb-​diggity cupcakes. I am sure they taste amazing, but sadly I cannot comment on their taste at this time; that said, I am not so sick that I can’t tell the quality of their goods.
Will I be back? Absolutely — and I hope my sense of taste comes back soon so I can truly relish the cupcake glory!

I love these cupcakes but will never visit this
location again. The customer service was appalling and the staff should be required to wear uniforms. The staff also needs to be taught how to handle food. I’ve never seen such disgusting food handling techniques. One of the staff members was seriously unwell. She could not walk straight and her eyes were closed while walking. I’ve never seen such an unprofessional place.

Delicious but pricey. Not sure if it’s worth going back for mostly that reason – but they have a great set up with the coffee shop next door in a highly walkable part of Ballard. Worth checking out!

They have ice cream?! Who knew… I didn’t at least. I got a vanilla milkshake and was pleasantly surprised; it was very good. Of course, you can always go for the cupcakes, which are tasty. It’s the perfect place to stop before or after catching a movie next door.

Now with donuts!
Recently, I had lamented over the fact that Seattle does not have great donuts. Besides Frost in Mill Creek (which I have yet to visit), Seattle seems to only do the tried and true favorites of the donut world. That is why I went crazy with donuts on a recent trip to Vancouver BC with Crème brûlée donuts, earl grey cake donuts, matcha Bismarck, etc. Seattle just didn’t have any of that to offer.
Then I hear about Rodeo Donuts at Cupcake Royale but the 7am to sell-​out intimidated me from visiting at a convenient time. I had finally been here twice for their donuts and have tried four varieties — rodeo queen, peanut butter and berry, cinnamon sug, and blueberry bourbon glazed fritter.
My least favorite was the cinnamon sug. It was basically a not-​as-​good churro. The fritter was also a bit of a letdown — it was pretty dry. My favorite so far is the peanut butter and berry. It had peanut. Butter. Glaze. Seriously. Need I say more?
Back to Cupcake Royale — Their seasonal cupcake flavor salted pistachio was the best cupcake I had ever had. I’m really disappointed that it’s gone. Also, you must try their hazelnut brittle with th salted ganache ice cream. So damn good.

Grabbed a 6 pack of cupcakes for my girlfriend’s birthday and damn were they good.
Our favorites were definitely the whiskey maple bacon and the tiramisu. The inside of the shop is also incredibly clean.
Would love to stop back in and try a few more flavors.

Ok, so I am not the biggest fan of their cupcakes. Occasionally I enjoy a classic, but I am more of a «soft-​cake» person and the cupcakes are pretty dense.
That being said, their ice cream is a weakness of mine! The red velvet is my weekly splurge. It’s just the right amount of sweet with great texture. I recommend the handmade waffle cones too! Great crunch!
They have a lot of options for new-​comers too, you can do 3 small «taster scoops» or an affogato. The ladies are quick to answer any questions you have, but beware, they can occasionally be a bit short with people (aren’t we all after a long day?!)

Lavender cupcake and a maple with a jam filled donut.
I ordered the lavender cupcake after the suggestion from the cashier — and it was good. It wasn’t amazing, but it wasn’t bad either. Honestly, the donut is so sweet! I mean I’m all for sweet desserts, but it really shouldn’t feel like I’m getting a cavity by just eating a small piece of the donut. The cupcake… well that was just okay. The cupcake itself was very dense with a slightly soap tasting frosting.
Overall, its an average cupcake I’ve had. Though the ambiance is super pink and cute.

I usually go to cupcake royale for red velvet ice cream. The best red velvet ice cream I’ve ever had!!! They have good cupcakes but sometimes they’re so dry…
Today I got some redeo donuts at Ballard location and these donuts are more like dry bread. I got coconut cream, caviar donut, apple fritter, and rodeo Queen. They’re all so dry it feels more like cake donuts, very dry cake donuts. They were $ 3 each and I don’t think I’ll buy them again…

*This review is for Rodeo Donut that is also at this store front*
Saw a notice about Rodeo Donut doing a pop-​up at Cupcake Royale, so we decided to try them out. I believe they just launched last week on 3÷28÷15, they had samples to try, they also had a good amount of selections to choose from. Rodeo offered a free cup of Stumptown coffee with a donut purchase. Ill take me a cup o’ joe with my donut!
We decided to get the bacon apple fritter, since Im a sucka for an apple fritter, it was pretty good, little bacon bits sprinkled on top, wish they would have more bacon as I could only get a few hints of it. Doesnt everyone wish there was more bacon on top of something? We also got the «caviar n’ cream» donut, it was like a Boston cream donut with malt ball pearls on top (for the «caviar»). Both donuts were pretty good, freshly made, sweet, and filling.
The staff was super nice, and glad to see people coming in to try them out. They said they will be at this Cupcake Royale location for a few months or so to see how it goes. I dont get donuts very often but its good to know they aren’t far from me and may see them around town.

Tried the new «rodeo donuts» by cupcake Royale. It feels like I have a gross lacquered coating on my tongue.
Ick.

For someone who will choose a salty snack over a sweet one any day of the year, Cupcake Royale surely does have a special place in my heart.
The cupcakes here are super fresh. The cake part is always moist, and the buttercream frosting always tastes amazing. I tend to stick to the normal flavors (ones they have all the time), but they do have some adventurous flavors. And they seem to change seasonally, which is fun. You can get the cupcakes in either full size or mini. But if you ask me, if you’re going to go bulk, get the mini, because a dozen of these full-​size bad boys are ~$ 40, and that’s just crazy town (a dozen mini cakes are ~$ 20).
What I love about this place is that it’s not strictly cupcakes. You can get espresso beverages (as well as hot chocolates and sodas), as well as ice cream. Plus, there are monogrammed knick knacks!
This location sucks for parking, but it’s quite spacious and can accommodate more people than it seems from the outside. And of course it’s conveniently located right next to a theater and a burger joint. It’s like dessert is begging you to come inside.

The coffee was good… but the cupcakes left much to be desired for me, and in fact, I could only bring myself to eat half of the mini cupcake I ordered. My partner had the same reaction, leaving half of his mini cupcake un-​eaten as well.
In fact, I wouldn’t order another cupcake from here in the future, as I just felt that the flavors were off and my chocolate cupcake tasted like it was made with cheap chocolate. And if I was rating Cupcake Royale and Verite Coffee on the cupcakes alone, I would’ve only been able to muster 2 stars.
But luckily the coffee was a MUCH tastier experience for me: My iced latte was delicious: Rich, creamy, fruity coffee, a nice balance! I would definitely come here again for coffee :)
The employees were nice, the space was large and felt very clean, and there were plenty of tables at which to sit. While I’m not sure I appreciate their «Legalize frostitution» message (I know they’re trying to be clever, but it just hits me the wrong way, like they’re making light about a very serious subject), otherwise I think they carry some adorable tchotchkes that demonstrates a good understanding of proper merchandising.
I’m sad that I don’t like the cupcakes here, because they *look* good and are very pretty, but for my taste buds, it’s an illusion. That said, not everyone shares my tastes, so perhaps this will be the right cupcake for you?

Last night I had a dream about Cupcake Royale. As strange as that may seem, it’s even stranger that I dreamed about it although never trying a cupcake from Royale. The next day while I was volunteering at an elementary school, the teacher placed my name on a piece of cupcake card stock to put on the birthday wall (after a student requested that my name be put up there). I was sure that this was a sign that I needed to try a cupcake from Cupcake Royale.
Prior to all this, I had been speaking with my partner about craving cupcakes and wanting to try a new place besides Trophy Cupcakes. I had mentioned Cupcake Royale a significant amount of times, and today I convinced him that I was meant to try one. It was a busy Friday for me and I came back home early evening. Soon, my partner walked in with a box of cupcakes.
I was surprised and super excited because I had such high hopes for these cupcakes. He brought me the three flavors that I had been yapping about all day: lavender, tiramisu, and pumpkin cardamon (mini cupcake form). I literally jumped from bed and ran to get a fork to try these delicious beauties.
First up, pumpkin cardamon. Let’s be serious, baby cupcakes are so adorable and are the perfect bite size pieces of sweetness. This pumpkin cardamon cupcake did not disappoint the recent explosion of fall flavors everywhere. It was moist, fluffy and had the most outrageously perfect paired cream cheese frosting. That cream cheese frosting was so luscious and a match made in heaven. It paired so well with the pumpkin flavor and I felt like I was falling in a giant pile of autumn leaves (out of sheer joy). The cupcake had a sweet cinnamon, pumpkin and of course, cardamon flavor. It was definitely my favorite out of the three.
Next up, the lavender. A lot of people have been raving about this beauty and I can tell you, at first glance it is a beauty. It has a beautiful white base with a perfect lavender color to the frosting. The little sprinkles add just little smiles of joy on top. I dug in and was blown away by the strong lavender taste. If you love lavender, this surely is the cupcake for you. I did enjoy this cupcake, but not as much as the pumpkin. The cake definitely resembled more of a pound cake rather than a fluffy cupcake. The cake is dense, but not dry. It remains quite moist. I found the edges of the cupcake to be slightly on the dryer side though. Overall, the vanilla pound cake like cupcake paired nicely with the lavender.
Lastly, the tiramisu. This has so much going on. It has the same pound cake like base as the lavender, a silky frosting, and some cocoa powder on top. The cake part of the cupcake I found to be even more dense than the lavender. However, it still remained moist. The frosting was so velvety and melted in your mouth. It had a nice coffee/​rum flavor to it, just like tiramisu. The powder on the top did have a very strong flavor but it was tolerable. Oddly enough, within our frosting we found a coffee bean. Actually, we discovered it by taking a bite of the cupcake and finding a bitter taste in our mouth, let alone a hard bean. I’m not entirely sure if that was supposed to be in the frosting since I only found one. However, this cupcake would be great for tiramisu lovers or coffee lovers in general.
I am pleased that Cupcake Royale did not disappoint me, especially because it appeared in my dream. I also enjoy that it does not pile on huge amounts of sugary frosting like most places. Unfortunately, I didn’t really like the denseness of the cupcakes. I prefer them to be airy, light and fluffy like the pumpkin cardamon. I would like to see more intricate cupcakes with fillings, etc. Though I’m not sure if I will get these cupcakes again (asides from pumpkin cardamon) I do know that I am curious to try the ice cream and other flavors.