Hofer's of Helen

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2,589 reviews

#6 of 48 Restaurants in Helen$$ - $$$, American, German, Cafe

+1 706-878-8200+ Add website

Hours

Sun

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Mon

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Tue

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Fri

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Sat

8:00 AM - 6:00 PM

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Ratings and reviews

4.5

2,589 reviews

#6 of 48 Restaurants in Helen

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Food and ambience

Local cuisine, American, German, Cafe, Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options

“Hofers is where to go for cakes and pasteries in Helen”

“... other entries, I have had the schnitzel every time because it is prepared...”

“We got apple fritters, apple strudel, cheese Danish, plain donut and some pre...”

“Try the beer cheese soup and the spaetzle.”

Location and contact

8758 N Main St, Helen, GA 30545-2304

+1 706-878-8200

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Details

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About

Hofer's Bakery & Cafe is an Authentic Bavarian Bakery and Cafe located just north of town center in Helen Georgia. European Cakes, Pastries, and "Old World" Breads compliment our delicious Breakfast and Lunch served in our relaxing dining room. We offer both German and American food favorites to satisfy the taste of all customers. Visit our "Gift Vault" where you will find many unique imported foods and gift items. Mail order service is available. Our outdoor Biergarten (located on our covered front deck) is open summer and fall (weather permitting) featuring delicious food, Beer and Wine and live music entertainment. Please call visit our website for more information

PRICE RANGE

$7.00 – $19.00

CUISINES

American, German, Cafe

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Brunch

FEATURES

Takeout, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Parking Available, Free off-street parking, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Accepts American Express, Accepts Mastercard, Accepts Visa, Free Wifi, Accepts Discover, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Live Music

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4.5

2,589 reviews

Excellent

1,516

Very good

620

Average

275

Poor

Terrible

CountryTravelerUSA

200 contributions

One of Our Favorites for Sure!!

Feb 2020 • couples

As many times as I have traveled through this area and eaten at this restaurant it was hard to believe I hadn’t written a review...so here goes. This is a favorite place for breakfast or lunch for our family and friends when traveling through the north Georgia mountains. We have been making a point to stop and eat here for years and have never been disappointed. Sometimes on busy holidays or weekends it is hard to get in but if the wait isn’t too long we endure. There is a great variety of menu choices and the German items are excellent. We do love the breakfasts the most and the “hash” is great but a lot to eat. And don’t forget they have a deli and a wonderful bakery. There are so many sweet treats to choose from it is hard to pick a favorite. The breads are tasty and our favorite is the “World Cup” bread. The only thing we miss is the “classical music” they used to play in the background. The music is more current and fine.

Written February 25, 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kris B

3 contributions

Worth the Wait

Dec 2019 • family

We loved this restaurant. I have one vegetarian in my family and one extremely picky eater. They also loved the restaurant. The food was great, service friendly. The setting is adorable. The bread and desserts are amazing. It has a small dining area for breakfast/lunch with a waiter or a nice covered porch outside where you can order breads and pastries from the counter and eat outside. They have a little souvenirs shop in what looks like maybe used to be a large walk in safe. They do have 2 small bathrooms. We actually ate here twice for lunch we enjoyed it so much.

Written January 4, 2020

Eric

Chattanooga192 contributions

Trip to Helen

Jul 2020 • couples

My wife and I took a long awaited trip to Helen Georgia. On our first morning we stopped at our favorite breakfast spot, Hofer's of Helen. My wife had her favorite, Pregel and Lox (Smoked Salmon) and I had the Mountain Climber’s Breakfast with an extra egg and a side of corned beef hash. Everything was perfect (as usual). All and all we had a wonderful breakfast. They have limited seating due to covid-19 but our wait was only about 30 minutes. Masks aren't required but suggested. They did have outside seating.

Written July 27, 2020

John Smith

3 contributions

overpriced and dirty.

Mar 2020 • none

I do not typically write a review, however, I felt I needed to warn others. Despite the recommendations of the governor, this staff decided to treat the environment as if it was the ICU. That would be understandable in terms of looking out for their patrons and staff if it were not for the fact that the place was encased in mold and dirt. We were served with to-go boxes, told we could not get anything other than scrambled eggs on the porch because of a code ($3 for fake eggs) and charged a 18% gratuity for handing us our boxed food! It's insulting enough to assume a high gratuity, let alone for doing very little. It was my birthday, so I indulged in the French toast; no whipped cream! I got gipped on top of everything!

Written March 20, 2020

Vagabond

Alabama31 contributions

Disappointed

Mar 2020 • couples

We detoured to Helen, GA on the way to Gatlinburg. We were looking for cream puffs ...and a little lunch. We were sorely disappointed when the bakery case was half empty and didn’t look fresh. We passed. We sat down for lunch and requested a small beer, seeing it was lunch but could only get gigantic so settled for coffee that ended up being a small, weak cup of drip coffee for $3.50. I ordered potato pancakes, which are my favorite and a Reuben for hubby. The pancakes arrived cold and so greasy they buried my finger in grease when I pressed them. Fortunately, the Reuben had tender meat although still extremely greasy or the meal would have been a total loss. We expected so much more with all the great reviews.

Written February 29, 2020

Larry K

44 contributions

German disappointment

Jul 2020 • couples

We went for lunch it was down pouring rain. They were between breakfast and lunch, we waited in line for 45 minutes. We were getting soaked even with an umbrella. They weren't seating anyone inbetweenbreakfast and lunch. They didn't tell us or any of the other customers what was going on. Finally some customers said the hadcome earlier and they put their name on a list and were told to come back around 1230. By now it was 1230, so we asked the waitress if we needed to be added to the list, she said yes. So it was about another 2o minutes before we were seated. I I ordered the 3 sausage platter my wife had the Goulash and I ordered a side of the potato pancakes. Food came out in about 10 minutes. My food was Luke warm at best, so was my wife's. Hardly any meat in her meal and all the vegetables were crunchy. My mashed potatoes, were blah. The potato pancakes were not true German potatoe pancakes, it was a batter mix like Betty Crocker. There wasn't any ground potatoes in it like i had as a kid. And they were Luke warm at best. We ordered dessert to go, i ordered the german chocolate cake, my wife ordered the black forest torte. Both deserts were sub par at best very small slices and they were pricey. Oh yeah while we were eating one of the waitresses was sorting silverware behind us and she told the other waitress "this silver ware is disgusting, you know who washed these, it was Dave." I about got sick thinking of my silverware. This place needs a new manager and or owner to turn it around. I've ate at many German restaurants in Germany. This place was awful! Go to one of the other places in town!

Written July 18, 2020

FergusMc

Newton41 contributions

Hofers missed the mark for authentic German food

Dec 2020 • none

We tried to eat breakfast at their cafe, but the wait was very long, so we decided to visit the bakery (which we had seen reviewed as excellent and very authentic) to take some pastries out. The only thing they offered that was beyond an average bakery was apple streudel, and it was not good at all, nowhere near authentic. The one saving grace was that they had our favorite brand of German gingerbread cookies (prepackaged, from Germany) on the shelf and we were happy to buy a few packs.

Written December 7, 2020

VictoriaTravelsToo

Long Beach116 contributions

You get ONE chance to make a first impression.

Sep 2021 • couples

The food was delicious. The rest of our experience was marginal at best. Greeted by no one, a front door sign asked for patience with staff due to the Covid work shortage. Persistently, we found the dining room and waited for a host/ess who advised our wait could be more than an hour and we could do that on the uncooked front patio where there was no service. We pointed out we were there for breakfast and were given a breakfast menu. We could buy a drink at the bakery counter. Every counter we approached was the wrong one. We ordered a drink and two glasses of water with ice. We were rung up and instructed to get our $1.75 each bottles of water from a cooler. When I asked for glasses with ice, they were unavailable for the patio. (Could we have been told that when we ordered?) We made our way outside where the temps were in the 80s with humidity in the 80s. All the tables needed wiping. We settled in, perused the menu, and allowed our tastebuds to settle in on a delicious German pastry breakfast! Yum! We were called and seated - with lunch menues. We came for breakfast, we explained to our server, showing the breakfast menu we’d been given. No breakfast. Lunch only. The solution, “There’s always tomorrow!” 🙄 Really? We discussed leaving, but had already waited and were quite hungry and tired of the heat. Lunch selections chosen, they nourished us and were good but fell short of what our tastebuds had come to crave from the breakfast menu. Post meal visits to the restrooms where walls could use a good wash and a scurrying crawlie was spotted. We understand Helen is a tourist-town and hit hard with Covid labor shortages, but we felt continually misled by this establishment.

Written September 19, 2021

nancy s

Port Orange51 contributions

any time is the right time

Mar 2020 • none

whether you go for breakfast,lunch or dinner-this is the right place,Service is always with a smile even when they are so crowded.The food is always hot and full of flavor.The first night i had chicken dish and german potato salad-so good!!!!!!Gemischter Wurstteller mit SauerkrautSausage Sampler -Variety of 3 German sausages.Had great french toast for breakfast.Brought pretzels home with us.All the cakes and other goodies were out of this world.

Written March 12, 2020

967ralphh

Thank you Nancy! Hope to see you again soon!!!

Written March 14, 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Jim D

Naples6 contributions

Don't assume advertised meal times are true

Sep 2020 • couples

on a lazy morning, we planned on breakfast at 10:30 since they served it to 11. There at 10:25 and not nicely told they stopped taking breakfast orders, and lunch will start around 11:30. Not a friendly interchange. Go to Cimmi's a short walk and much friendlier and comfortable place.

Written September 24, 2020

967ralphh

Hi Jim - Sorry you couldn't get in for breakfast. We do have huge crowds especially on weekends. We do serve breakfast until 11. We have to cut off the seating at an appropriate time in order to do a Covid Cleaning of the dining room and then switch over to lunch service. These are difficult times and we hope you give us a try and see what people LOVE about Hofers!

Written September 25, 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Andrea

Atlanta27 contributions

Not Worth the Wait

Nov 2021 • none

Arrived and asked for breakfast. I was told they were booked but I could put my name on the list for lunch. I put my name on the list and was told to come back at 11:45. (The restaurant completely shuts down between breakfast and lunch service to reset.) I came back at 11:45, as instructed, and was told it would be 15 more minutes because they overbooked breakfast. After 15 minutes I was told 5 more minutes. Around 12:30 I was finally seated. The staff didn't seem concerned at all that they kept over-promising and under-delivering. There only appeared to be one waitress and another waitress/hostess/person who was vacuuming and setting up between shifts. I ordered a sandwich and it was average. I would not eat there again and I can't recommend it to others as a good experience.

Written November 15, 2021

Fyrfyter12

Orlando135 contributions

Good food, good service, extremely long wait

Oct 2020 • none

OK to start off with, we were here during Octoberfest. However it still seemed like an unusually long wait as when we gave our name for lunch they told us it would be about 45 min wait. It was over an hour later and luckily they called 3 different groups who must have left and we finally were seated. If those groups were actually on premises we probably would have had an hour and a half to hour and 45 min wait, a far cry from the 45 min quoted. With that said, our wait staff was very friendly and helpful and the food was good. However, for the price paid, it seems like the portion is a little on the smaller side. Still worth going, but not worth an hour and a half wait. After lunch my wife did go into the bakery and buy some things and she enjoyed the 3 different desert items she bought.

Written October 22, 2020

craftcrazy

Fuquay-Varina36 contributions

Great location

Dec 2020 • none

We had breakfast here once and although the food was very good, the wait staff seemed spread out a little too bit. The $3.50 for German coffee is not worth it, especially when refills are hard to come by. They get a considerable wait later in the morning. We enjoyed another nearby restaurant much better.

Written December 29, 2020

Robert S

Montgomery18 contributions

Well worth the wait!

Dec 2020 • family

Came to Helen for a weekend get away. Was wanting to come here. Came Saturday but there was a long wait so decided to come Sunday morning for Breakfast. Had a bit of a wait but it was worth it. The Bavarian Cold Cut breakfast was out of this world and my husband loved the French Toast. The german coffee was great as well. Make a point to come here. Plus the bakery sells the coffee and oktoberfest pretzles for 4.50. Make sure you get some to go home with.

Written December 6, 2020

BevinGA

Columbus19 contributions

Good

Jun 2020 • family

Arrived about 2:00, group of 6. We thought they served breakfast all day, but they only offer French toast on the kids menu. We got the grilled ham & cheese, grilled turkey and cheese, and one child had a grilled cheese. The grilled cheese was really good, the others just ok. They have some amazing looking breads and rolls inside - all baked onsite but we didn’t get any this trip. Altogether good, but nothing really special. Our waitress got a sweet tip for her service and for wearing a mask properly. 👍 Thank you!

Written June 30, 2020

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