Cecilia’s Cake Shop — Local services in Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

Having lived in Athens for most of my life, I’ve had Cecilia’s cakes numerous times over the years at parties and in local restaurants (including my own baby shower for my son over 20 years ago). However, as a seasoned baker, myself, all I can say is that the 2 cakes we ordered this week for my birthday and my niece’s were just BAD. Hers was the Double Chocolate Mocha, however it did not have any coffee flavor whatsoever and the vanilla custard filling between the layers was replaced with canned chocolate frosting (which was also on the outside of the cake instead of their “signature fudge” frosting. The cake was also definitely made with a mix. The same thing also happened with my Bailey’s cake. Made with a mix, the thinnest layer of filling with barely a hint of Irish Cream flavor and the outer “meringue” frosting appeared to just be jarred marshmallow fluff. This is 100% not the same Bailey’s cake I have had several times in the past. Whomever is running things now is obviously cutting corners by using lower quality ingredients/mixes and expecting customers to pay prices more in line with how the cakes used to be made just because of the bakery’s name and reputation. Sad to say it, but I won’t be buying cakes from...

A few years ago, I went to a dinner party at a friend's house, and she had this absolutely delicious peach cake, which I could not forget. Later, I ended up asking her where that cake was from, and she told me it was from Cecilia Villaveces. Since that day, I ordered cakes for every occasion I could think of, whether it was friend birthdays, family birthdays, pet birthdays, anniversaries, housewarming parties, or holidays. Sometimes I even ordered them for no particular occasion at all. Every time, all my friends and family LOVED the cakes. I even brought a cake back home to my hometown on one occasion, and now, my parents insist I bring a fruit basket cake home every time.

In a few weeks, I'm leaving Athens for a move across the country, and I honestly don't know if I'll ever find a place as affordable and delicious as Cecilia's. I've tried ordering from big bakeries in Atlanta, and I've tried ordering from other local cake shops closer to my parents' home, but they were always double the price and didn't taste half as good. Fingers crossed that I'll find something to fill the void, but I'll definitely miss Athens and Cecilia Villaveces Cakes...

I usually do not write a bad review unless the customer service is bad as in when they do not even realize an apology can solve conflicts. We called last minute asked about a cake for my moms bday. I was told they have one and we told they we are on our way. We were literally 4 minutes away and when we walked in I saw them sell it to another customer. The Asian American woman with all due respect didn’t even have the basic decency to apologize for what happened. She said usually orders need to be done 48hrs and we can’t hold cakes and got to sell if someone comes for it. Ok that’s understandable but then why can’t you be clear with your customer on phone that Hey can we hold the cake for you ? When you know we are coming for it in few minutes, all you had to do was be clear with us. Atleast an apology for what happened. There was another staff a Caucasian American who was polite enough to apologize( she was super nice) may be the other person needs to take a lesson from her on how to be courteous to customers. The cake was a 6/10. This review was for the way that one person took a customer...