Republic of Cake — Restaurant in Danville

The first review is for the ORIGINAL ROC when it was originally owned by Chih and Peter who I knew very well and purchased weekly from them as did my brother who worked nearby at the time. So I could tell when Chih didn’t make them. I knew their cupcakes very well and their combinations of cakes and frosting with the tweaks that were added to make them different. So when the new owners took over, they were totally different despite their word “they use the same recipe.” I guess when your baker is a biochemist from UCB, as Chih was, they just come out better...

Great service, great people, consistent quality, innovative/ creative product and nice location. You can go to one of the nearby restaurants for lunch or dinner and get dessert at ROC. They are what I hold others in comparison to. It is peanut free and they don't use artificially colored anything! Unlike most places. I never purchase cupcakes from places that sell red velvet. Try the Chocolate Messy. My favorites have been the fruit and savories.

*Amended: Since the departure of Chih and Peter, it hasn’t been the same. Quite disappointing to say the least, a 180 except they are still peanut free. I went by this past Sunday to see if it was any better. I was sadly mistaken. We picked up a pair of chocolate messy and lemon passion fruit. The lemon tasted very artificial and no trace of lemon Zest like there use to be. The cake was moist but the frosting was basically straight whipped butter making it greasy, barely any sweetness at all. The chocolate messy I was surprised that it was actually very SALTY! It was as if salt, baking soda and salted butter was used all together. It was also dry and crumbly, really not all that chocolatey and brownie like as before. The frosting was fluffy and not bad but didn’t hold a shape so fell flat. There was very little ganache in the middle but all the cupcakes are much smaller than before. Not as cheerful or friendly staff, higher prices, smaller cupcakes and flavors not that great anymore. I wish I could continue to give a 5 star rating, but I...

Small shop located near one entrance to the walkway that runs around the Orinda Theatre. It has a small counter display with only a couple of levels and a small (about 10) selection of cupcakes. All of what they had out looked good, but today I tried the orange cranberry.

I'm a fan of cranberry stuff, like rhubarb it gives a nice tart touch to what could otherwise be an overly sweet desert.

The cupcake had a single candy covered cranberry and a small wedge of orange (not candied or treated in any way, just normal orange with rind). The frosting was a good white dollop on top with a light orange flavor along with vanilla. I liked how the orange wasn't overpowering but was clearly there in each bite. The cake was a sweet and and sticky. A light white breading with whole cranberries. The frosting slightly overpowers the light cake but a bit of the tart comes through to make the overall experience pleasant.

Next time I'm driving by the area I'll visit again and give another of their...

What the hell happened this year?! Smaller cupcakes, little or no savoury ones and only for 3 days a week, less selection. Found out today the company was sold. New owners, do I have news for you. I need to change cupcake shops. Today I got a raspberry cupcake. As you can see in the pictures the paper is peeling off. All of the ones in the case were the same. The server said the owner ordered a new brand of paper but you can see the normal cups are too big for the tiny cupcakes. The cake itself is 1 1/4" tall by 2" wide. TINY! For $3 each. That's $1.50 per bite. That is just robbery right there. The taste was fine but a bit pedestrian. No idea why the original owners threw in the towel but this new owner is not up to the name...