Gigi’s Cupcakes of Pittsburgh

Really tasty cupcakes! It was our first time ever having Gigi’s cupcakes (we had heard good things about hem before), and we bought a 4-​pack. They were delicious — my only complain is that they are very expensive for regular-​sized cupcakes.

Picked up half a dozen a week or so ago to check out some of their other flavors and went with the Salted Caramel, Cookie Dough, Birthday Surprise, Texas Chocolate, Red Velvet, and Raspberry Buckle. After trying these flavors I have to say: Gigi’s seems to be pretty consistent and fairly high quality in their products and I really dont get what people dont like about these cupcakes! Not one of them was dry or overly sweet. I found the quality of these to be just as good as the first Red Velvet I had tried before and was able to eat and stomach all icings too (and I am pretty sensitive to sickeningly sweet frostings). They were definitely good and I will gladly pay 3 bucks and some change for one of these babies whenever the cupcake mood strikes.

I can’t remember which cupcake I ordered, but OMG was it delicious! The icing was enough to cover 3 cupcakes and it was so sweet and good. I can’t wait to go back and cheat on my diet.

Gigi’s management staff is amazing. The cupcakes are to die for. It is hard to understand any complaints.

If you’re like me and think butter cream frosting is the best part of cupcakes, you’ll love this place. They have Gigi’s in Texas so I was thrilled to find out they started one in Pittsburgh!

Customer service:
Was just passing by and bought two cupcakes because they looked super cute and thought the kids would get a kick out of the fried egg, potatoes and gravy cupcakes. Walked back 15 minutes later with my boyfriend and bought 3 more but was refused the buy 5 get 1 free deal cause they were separate transactions.
Stupid move and loss of customer for 1 cupcake.
Cupcakes:
looked really cute and promising and very creative.
But really dry and not really much taste. Cake in a box turns out better than these.
Conclusion: not returning.

These cupcakes are gorgeous! I am a huge fan of icing but even these were a little too much for me. The cupcakes are dry. The location is nice in the new McCandless Crossing.

McCandless Crossing is turning into such a great date night spot. This is probably one of the friendliest places on McKnight, and it was a pleasant little surprise. I was hoping we would get a Crumbs, but I happily accept this alternative. The inside of Gigi’s is charming and adorable. I also didn’t expect to enjoy their cupcakes as much as I did. While they aren’t my favorite cupcakes of all time, they are still pretty fantastic. They’re fresh, moist, and have a great flavor. I’ve tried a lot of them so far, and the Wedding Cake and Hot Chocolate are my favorites. My fiancé is crazy about the Red Velvet and Maple Bacon. The only thing I’ve had so far that I wasn’t so nuts about was the chocolate chip cookie sandwich, but the snickerdoodle version is pretty tasty.
There’s lots of icing on each cupcake. I usually pull the bottom half of the cake off and put some of the icing on it to save for later. I’ve heard some people say the icing is too rich for them.
Over Christmas, they made these precious snowmen with chocolate cake with about a third of the icing. My mother liked them, so I ordered a dozen for our family party. They were a hit, pretty, scrumptious, and my family members who didn’t like the normal icing loved them.
The cupcakes aren’t cheap, yes, but I’d personally rather have one really good cupcake than buy a cheap dozen. You can also buy mini versions of them if you’d rather not have a giant one with tons of icing!
My favorite thing at Gigi’s is their cutout cookies — awesome flavor, and not doughy and flavorless like most cutouts. They don’t always have them for sale in their shop, but you can order them. They’re very flexible with cookie designs, as well — you can even bring in a cookie cutter you like and they’ll use it to make your order. We’ll be using them to make cookies for my bridal shower, and they are so flexible and make beautiful designs!
Overall, this is a great addition to McKnight — hopefully, they won’t be going away any time soon.

I stopped in to grab a cupcake on my adventure to McCandless Crossing. I have ordered them online and send them to friends before, but was excited to try one in person. I love sweets, like all every tooth has a cavity, love of sweets. I ordered the Cookie Dough and the Kentucky Bourbon and took them to-​go.
I had the Cookie Dough cupcake later and it seemed pretty dry, like an overbaked cookie. I am not sure if it was supposed to be like a cookie texture or a cupcake texture, but it left me a little confused. The frosting tasted like eating cookie dough in gooey amazingness form, but it couldn’t overcome the basic dryness from the actual cake. Sorry, Gi-​Gi. The presentation is aesthetically pleasing, but actual product is to be desired.

These cupcakes LOOK good until you eat them. The four of us decided on something sweet after a hearty meal and craved a latte’ and maybe cake.
Gigi’s cupcake selection seemed to fit the bill as their display enticed us into buying four different cakes: two classic cheesecakes, a strawberry shortcake cupcake and a red velvet cupcake.
Presentationwise, decorative and beautiful. Let us start with the classic cheesecakes. The white frosting ribbon on top was hard, almost inedible. The cheesecake itself had a nice, thick consistency but a bit too sweet. 3.2 stars at best.
Cupcakes were HORRIBLE: frosting merely «lipstick on a pig» and underlying cake so dry (both cupcakes)! It makes me wonder how long these cakes sat in the display or if it is how they are actually made. Zero (0) stars for cupcakes.
Disappointing and high priced.

The cupcake leave more to be desired. They taste great but unfortunately most of the taste is in 5″ high icing on top. Plenty of different flavors. I don’t think the price is too bad for «designer» cupcakes, I just wish there was more cake than icing…

I’m giving 2 stars b/​c the staff was friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. The cupcakes didn’t give me a reason to go back though. They are very expensive for the quality. We tried 6 different flavors and none impressed us a whole lot. We’re more into the cake than the frosting and these were definitely frosting/​topping heavy. We found them to be dry and almost stale and just nothing spectacular. I can get a dozen of that for the price of one of Gigi’s cupcakes at the local grocery store. I make better cupcakes at home using a box mix if you don’t count the frosting. And since the frosting was too thick and sweet for us, well, not worth the $$. There are plenty of other, family run, bakeries around that sell better products at a lower price.

I had tried GiGi’s before, in Memphis a few years ago. I was super excited to see they were coming to Pittsburgh, McCandless Crossing no less. I finally went. It is a small store located in the new McCandless Crossing. We went on a Saturday morning (late morning). There was a short line when we walked in that grew tremendously while we were there due to slow staff. There seemed to be a lot of staff here and there but only one getting cupcakes for people and one running the register. The cupcakes are good. They are solid. I would give a 3.5 if I could but the slowness brings it to a 3. The actual cake is moist and flavorful. There is way to much icing on the cake. I had to scrap 95% of it off. The icing outweighs the cupcake. We got half a dozen costing $ 17 and change so they are a wee bit pricey. We got gluten free chocolate, winter wedding, tiramisu, coffee and crème, midnight chocolate, and chocolate chip cookie dough. The midnight chocolate and white wedding were the best. They were basic vanilla and basic chocolate and they were really good. All in all it was solid but it was slow service.

I want to love Gigi’s, really. I love cake. But, the price. Good grief, the price of these cupcakes. I know the North Hills has a very inflated ego and would like to think of itself as the Beverly Hills of Pittsburgh. It’s simply not possible to justify the price of these baked goods when there are locally owned, far more tasty bakeries around the city. Dare I say it, but there are Giant Eagle bakeries all over the region that make much better tasting cake and icing than Gigi’s does, for a ¼ (or less) of the price. Gigi’s icing is incredibly sweet and they’re iced so sky high that it’s hard to bite into them. They’re the type you will likely need a plate and fork to eat them with. I think the novelty is going to wear off very soon for these boutique cupcakeries, unless they come down to earth and charge a more realistic price for what is basically just flour and sugar.

Ok, I just gotta get my gripe out of the way first-​if you are going to a cupcake shop, you shouldn’t expect something to be non-​sugary and/​or healthy. It’s a freaking cupcake people! And also, the price is actually between $ 3.25-$ 3.75 (not $ 5 as has been alleged) each which is totally reasonable even given the cheap prices most residents of Pittsburgh are used to paying, particularly given the size of the cupcakes. Now that I’ve said my piece, I can move on to the deliciousness that is Gigi’s Cupcakes. Let me also say this-I’m (surprisingly given my teeny rant earlier) not really a cupcake person. You know that Seinfeld muffin top episode? That’s generally my feeling on cupcakes-​get rid of the bottom part (usually it’s super dry anyways) and just have a cupcake top with icing (since that’s the best part of any cupcake!) I actually thoroughly enjoyed the bottom cake part of the chocolate chip cookie dough cupcake I sampled. It was chock full of chocolate chips and was not dry in the least. The cookie dough frosting was amazing and tasted just like fresh homemade cookie dough batter. I loved the mini chocolate chip cookie adorning the top as well-​very cute! My mom was talked into going with the triple chocolate torte since it was described as a «chocolate lava cake» when microwaved. She confirmed this was, in fact, true and really enjoyed it. I also tried the chocolate chocolate chip cheesecake. Since this was my treat (I only sampled the chocolate chip cookie dough) this is where my 4 stars is coming from. This was, quite literally, one of the best cheesecakes I have had in a very long time! Topped with buttercream frosting and chocolate chips with an oreo-​like crust, this was so rich yet so light at the same time! It wasn’t very filling but perfectly satisfied my sweet-​tooth. Others in my group ordered the carrot cake cupcake and the chocolate peanut butter cupcake, and both were enjoyed immensely. If you buy 5 you get 1 free, which is how we ended up with 6 items for 5 people. Don’t let the somewhat negative reviews stop you from popping in! This was a great after-​movie treat the day after Thanksgiving!

I was shopping for under armor and thermo pants on Black Friday with my sister and mom and they went to this goodwill for older women and my sister forced us to go to Gigi’s cause she said people said the cupcakes were amazing well needless to say we went in and to just start off the cupcakes are like $ 5.00 each and for 3 people it was $ 15.00?! For 3 cupcakes. Well I was thinking for $ 5 these better be the best fckin cupcakes on earth. I got the wedding cake cupcake and the first bite i took was okay but definitely not good enough for $ 5.00 the second bite I could feel the cavities and the third bite I think I got diabetes. These cupcakes are 99% high fructose corn syrup sugar and 1% GMO bread. How is this a hot new business? Absolutely terrible never returning

I’ve been here a few times since they opened. I don’t mind the price for an amazing cupcake, but I find some of them nauseatingly sweet, such as the white hot chocolate and the wedding cake. Both made me ill after just a bite or two. Salted caramel tasted like artificial chemical frosting on a choc cupcake. There was no salt, except for a little pile at the top of the cupcake, so one bite was like eating a mouthful of salt, then no salt. I ate the cake, threw the frosting away.
That said, the triple chocolate torte is a straight up mouth-​gasm, and will probably be the only thing I order from now on. The chocolate chip cookie dough is really good but towards the end starts tasting chemical-​like. The peanut butter cup was really great.
I find it odd and a little annoying that the minis are prepacked and you can’t order what you want. I also wish they had more flavor options for the minis.
Last, the staff is always super friendly and seem to love working there. It’s nice and refreshing.
Their cupcakes look exactly as pictured on their website, so I never bothered to take a pic (plus I’m too excited to try them to even think about it).
Revision ¹⁄₂₉: I am no longer excited about Gigi’s after the salted caramel experience. I really have no desire to return given the fact that I’ve thrown away so many premium priced cupcakes.

We got cupcakes here for our friends birthday.
They looked like heart attack in a cupcake.
The icing was disgusting and the chocolate cake was black colored but didn’t taste like chocolate… Just dyed cake. Very bad.
They were expensive and just not worth it.
The one I got weighed like a pound and it was like a brownie… Uhm.

The store is cute, very small and quaint. It is clean and tidy. For being a cupcake store the selection was mediocre at best. There weren’t many flavors to choose from. It is also hard to see what flavors are available if there is a line, because you can’t see in the case. I wish there was a daily written menu visible when waiting in line.
The cupcakes are good, but not the best thing I’ve ever head, especially for the price. There is a ton of icing– the icing is as big as the cupcake! I had cupcakes from here twice and both times they were dry. The cupcakes also don’t keep well. So unless you’re planning on eating it right away they don’t keep well in the refrigerator.
It’s definitely a place I would try at least once, but not a place I would consistently choose.

Walked in like, «Just 1, I’m on a diet.»
Walked out with a half dozen like, «I’ve always wanted to be chubby.»

I just tried the butterscotch bacon, strawberry shortcake and wedding cake. All dry and disappointing.
I’ve had a few others that turned out to be quite good. I think to conclude since this is my third time going, If it’s fresh it’s good; if it’s old it sucks! Maybe ask what they just made and order that.
A bit pricey and WAY too much icing. Flip it over. Leave half the icing and it’s pretty good.
Hey management, since everyone complains about the price and too much icing, why not take half the icing off and drop the price by 50 cents.

Wanting to try something new my husband and I stopped in and bought the chocolate cheesecake and the chocolate torte cupcakes. We know our way around desserts, and these are a contender for the worst. They also advertise stuffed cookies which you may find smushed in plastic bags at the checkout if you survive the rude teenagers rushing you through the long line (that I imagine would not be so long if they labelled the flavors). Save your $ 3.50 a piece!

I love sweets, so I was excited to try a new cupcake shop in the area. I was under the impression Gigi’s was a local bakery, but knew as soon as I walked in, it was a franchise. It is a cute little shop, the lines were long, but went fast. I was disappointed that I didn’t get the chance to look at all the cupcakes due to the staff wanting to rush you out of there. I appreciate them wanting to help you, but a family of 5 was ahead of us, standing in front of the counter, so it made it very hard to see around them. The cupcakes are pretty; they have a ton of icing, I’m an icing person, but these cupcakes aren’t homemade. That is extremely disappointing, all you taste is preservatives. I enjoy a traditional bakery, I most likely won’t be coming back… especially when a cupcake costs $ 3.50. I would certainly pay that for a cupcake, as long as it has an amazing homemade taste to it!

The cupcakes here are pretty good. Not as good as Oakmont, but not many establishments can compete with them anyway! The store is cute and the staff were really friendly. They have a great variety of cupcakes that rotate daily, as well as a few staple cupcakes that are available every day. They pile the icing on high so if you aren’t an icing fan, these cupcakes might not be for you. Since this is a chain cupcake shop, I wonder how the cupcakes are made. Are they baked with pre-​made mixes and icings or from scratch? There aren’t many gourmet cupcake options in the North Hills, so this is a great addition to our community. The pricing is comparable to other gourmet cupcake shops, with a dozen running around $ 30. They also have a selection of cheesecake cupcakes that I can’t wait to try.
Another thing I liked was that they had small Styrofoam bowls and plastic cutlery for you to enjoy a cupcake right in the store at one of their café tables.

I cannot stress enough how GOOD their cupcakes are. My family and I have searched for 3 years and through many different states to find the perfect cupcake, and finally, we have found one. We have tried EVERY bakery in the pittsburgh area that sells cupcakes. Every single one either had a lack-​luster butter cream, which either had way too much butter or tastes gross and artificial, and the cake part was either dry, or dense and spongy. Their cupcakes are absolutely perfect. The cake was light and airy, and moist. The buttercream was absolutely astounding, and it was a great bonus that they really towered that frosting on there. BEST CUPCAKES EVER!

Ok they are expensive cupcakes. These cupcakes are not for your kid’s school party.
I purchased the chocolate chip cookie dough, carrot cake, and pumpkin spice. They were a delicious. Each cupcake could be 2 servings.
The icing was sweet and abundant.
Again, I will be back … but not as a regular patron … as a special treat.

The store front in fine, the employees nice, the cupcakes are awful. They are sugary sweet, way too much frosting and boxed in boxes that can’t handle the top heavy treats. I would be fine with the boxes with if the cupcakes weren’t $ 3.25 a piece.
The local shops — vanilla, oakmont, prandtl’s… all have a better cupcake. I won’t be back, even if Gigi’s is super close to my house.

Randomly walked by with my family to see if they had opened yet and met some of the staff. The owner told us they were officially opening on Friday but if we would help them (asking each staff member a few questions) we could have a free cupcake :-) We tried the Pumpkin Spice Latte and the Midnight Magic and they we delicious!!! We will definitely be back once they officially open!