Karina's Bakery — Restaurant in Mundelein

I’ll start by saying that I grew up coming here, even when they were at their previous, much smaller location and have always had a sweet spot for them. The conchas are my absolute favorite, they are always moist and soft unlike many other places that sell really dry and brittle conchas. When I was getting ready for my twin daughter’s first birthday, I naturally wanted to order their cake from Karina’s. However, I’m sad to say that I was a bit disappointed with the turn out. The whipped topping was pretty with good detail, but the top of the cake that’s supposed to have the main design was not at the level I was expecting. I paid for the second tier of cake design ($140) so I was expecting a bit more. I sent several pictures for reference. The theme was specifically Hello Kitty and Pusheen but they included several other characters I didn’t request. The toppers were mostly toys which were mismatched in style and I just felt like I could have topped any cake with those toys myself. I expected at least a sugar print or sugar stenciled designs of the images I sent. I did like the name topper though. As for the cake itself- the filling was not what I ordered, I had requested a chocolate filling but got something that everyone thought was coffee flavored. I will say that many of my guests loved the flavor of the cake which I was happy about, but I was personally disappointed as I do not like coffee flavored things. I called to request at least a partial refund and express my disappointment and was given a $15 gift card. I felt I should have gotten at least 25-30% of my money back. I think 3 stars is a fair rating for my overall experience of the bakery now that I had a chance to experience a bit more than just their bread. 5 stars for concha’s and many other of their breads but 2 starts for my...

I love this Bakery. After going through and vetting out many bakeries around Northwest suburbs of Chicago, I feel I have found one bakery that I will be coming back again and again and again and again.. the reason I say this is their cakes are the best I came up with a concept like how the design would look for my wife’s birthday. She was all in. She was excited she was ready to bake the cake for us with practically less than 24 hours of notice. We got vanilla with chocolate mousse filling a three layered cake the cake was moist and made to perfection. The cake Wasn’t extremely sweet which was the best part. It was sweet to appoint where you would appreciate.. while waiting for the cake in the store I saw so many different products that she had for sale along with fresh brew, coffee, and sandwiches. I did try the chicken chipotle sandwich, which was again a cold sandwich, but I asked them to toast it for me. And they did it without any hesitation with the tour and the crunchiness. The sandwich was probably one of the good sandwich that I’ve tried with such amazing flavor coming out with each bite. Also, now I have tried their cakes for the third time hands-down the best cake in town. Also, I would also say there are certain places which don’t need referrals recommendations. This is that kind of store where you are set for your product that you’re selling and you have nailed the code to make a good presence in...

I ordered a custom cake for my daughter’s birthday. I sent a picture of what I was looking for but the cake didn’t look like the photo. Partly because I chose whipped cream, but it’s the baker’s job to advise on buttercream in order to look like the photo. Also I asked for extra glitter and you could barely see it. As for taste, it was okay but very soggy, we ended up throwing out all left over cake after the event. As for service, I wasn’t happy with the fact that they didn’t have a box for the 10” round I ordered. She said we no longer make this size so we don’t have boxes to fit. I also dropped off a cake topper and paper butterflies to add to the cake, they didn’t place the cake topper on the cake and I had to ask for my left over butterflies that were not used. Not professional. Lastly, they were more expensive than all other quotes I received by at least $20. I went with Karina’s because my go-to bakery was out for a week on vacation and wasn’t sure if they’d have time to complete my cake, so I panicked and looked elsewhere. I requested quotes from two bakeries and they were the first to respond to my inquiry. I wasn’t very happy and I will not...