hofer's bakery & cafe

by far the best desserts and bread around. we're local, and every time i need an artisan loaf or crave a traditional german dessert, i head here. the cream puff is sky high and the pretzels are homemade and yummy!!! the cakes, donuts, and cookies are also beautiful and tasty! if you are in town and looking for a grab-and-go meat and cheese for a picnic, they've got you covered too!

the food in the restaurant is traditional german fare or sandwiches and chips. it's moderately priced (between $10-20 for the german entrees, less for the sandwiches). beer is on tap and cold!

you can sit inside or on their deck to enjoy your food. we typically sit here to enjoy our dessert and coffee.

it is located just past the crowded downtown strip, and seems a bit more quiet than other places of you are looking for a quick respite, but still want to be able to walk to and from the shops. it's located across the street from one of the christmas shops and is next to the tall windmill.

bakery. the bakery is nice and open with lots to choose from. they offer some great imported items including milka and other treats. the black forest torte was delicious and not overly sweet as i had hoped. the apfel strudl was also great and packed full of juicy apples and raisins baked to perfection. the staff was attentive and friendly too!

some of the worst customer service we’ve ever experienced anywhere.
after standing at the hostess check-in desk for 5 minutes before anyone even acknowledged us, we were seated. sat there for 10 minutes without anyone coming to our table. servers walked by us many times without even a “we’ll be with you in a moment”. it’s a simple matter of customer courtesy.
we are not the demanding type of customers, but we expect simple courtesy when we stop into a business.
would never come in here again.

very quaint and small dining room. food was very good. one drawback was the instant mashed potatoes were an abomination.
if you are going to serve high quality meats and charge quite a bit for a meal, use real potatoes.

enjoyed breakfast here. they have some german menu items that are rare ue in the states. i am a coffee dork and found their coffee drinkable but not amazing. they have a pastry counter with spectacular reviews. i was hoping for more breakfast pastries than just donuts. they counter is mostly stocked with desert items. they look wonderful but didn't sample a desert for breakfast. my daughter ordered a german dish of sliced apples battered and pan fried and covered in cinnamon sugar. they looked like pancakes but the apples still had a nice crunch texture (they were not mushy). that was my favorite of the meal. i had the biscuits and gravy which was just average. my wife ordered the smoked salmon and bagel which was great. it came with high quality ingredients including capers, tomatoes thin sliced onions, fresh lettuce leaves, and of course salmon. the pretzel bagel was dry and not very good. they are located in an old bank with a bank vault that is now a small gift store. wait staff was short and not very friendly. overall not super impressed.

i have known the hofers since  the 60s when daddy hofer was the head baker at the european bakery on cheshire br rd. i have never had a bad meal or bakery item from them. i highly recommend this restaurant you will not be disappointed nor will you leave hungry.we travel to helen at least 4 times a year just to eat at hofers.
mahlzeit

i am very picky about my german food but this place is spot on! my wife and i had the reuben with a paulaner oktoberfest imported from germany. excellent atmosphere including paintings on the walls and waitresses in traditional bavarian garb. this was the best food we had in helen!

i wen't to hofers for lunch and it was delicious i ordered some sausage and man it was great there was a lot to like about hofers such as the tea, the food, and the bakery the only problem i had that it was kinda small but other then that it was great i'd would really advise eating here of your stopping by hellen .

great little german restaurant. small dining area, but its worth the wait. the stuffed roll of meat or the sausage sampler is fantastic. the pork chop plate is a great choice for the less adventurous. everything is made from scratch. sides like sauerkraut and red cabbage have an authentic german taste. bakery has a wide assortment of made from scratch options. its a german restaurant so the beer selection reflects. their octoberfest on draft and some fresh baked pretzels on the front porch is my recommendation during any possible wait for a table. for breakfast - bagel and laux.

best waffles i have ever tried. biscuit & gravy was excellent too. great service & knowledgeable wait staff. extremely busy in the morning. would definitely eat here again.

excellent ruben sandwich. plenty of meat on fresh rye bread. my wife had the philly cheese steak which she said was excellent as well. prices are in line with other german fare places.

no longer a customer after 30 years. we've been coming to helen for over 30 years. hofers was just always the place to eat german food. but over the last few years, we've noticed the food is just not that good anymore. the only reason we ate there yesterday was because the bodensee was not open. the bread we were served with lunch was not fresh, which by the way we had to beg for and argue with the waitress about. we have always, for 30 years been served brotchens with our meals, but now apparently they don't do that anymore. the leberkase was barely warm, and not grilled as it should be. the spaetzles were obviously from a bag, they were not fresh made. the schnitzle was a bit dry, as if it were left over. and the prices for sub standard food was really high. for the past year, we've been eating at the bodensee, and hofers just can't compare to their food. they have a german chef who knows how to cook german food, and does make fresh spaetzles daily. as a german, i like real german food, not something doctored up to make it try to taste german. the bakery items were really good. we did enjoy those. but again, the linzer cookies, were really not traditional linzer cookies. they looked like linzer cookies, but the taste was not there. there area a few new bakeries in helen now, and i think next time we will try those. the other thing i did not like, were the waitresses in the dining area. they were unkempt, and one was vacuuming as we were trying to eat, which in itself is just rude. then she bent over several times to pick up a few things on the floor with her hands, as another customer came in. this same waitress, now with dirty hands, handled the new customers flatware. i'm now not sure if she ever washed her hands. that just turned my stomach. sorry to say, after 30 years, i will now longer be going back to hofers. i will be eating traditional german food at the bodensee from now on, but i will also try mullers next visit.

good lunch. there was a line for lunch at 11:45am on a wednesday. that was a good sign. once seated our server was wonderful, always attentive and very nice. i had jäger schnitzel and my wife had hungarian goulasch. i also had sweet tea, and they make it well here. my schnitzel was very good, not that large, with spätzle and red cabbage. the red cabbage was the best i have ever had, really good. my wife's goulasch was good, it reminded her of a friend's version. my wife had room for dessert, so she had schwarzwälder kirsch (black forest torte). she was not as impressed with it, it was light and tasted mostly of whipped cream. tourist prices, but good food and excellent service.

great food, reasonable prices for helen. we went for lunch since they are not open for dinner and had a really nice meal. the service was great and they offer all sorts of breads and desserts as well as german food. i absolutely loved their sauerkraut and will try to re-create it at home...i think they make it with bacon- yum! i also tried their spaetzle with mushroom sauce and it was too die for. everyone else at our table was happy with their meals as well. i was a great little find in the middle of helen ga and was one of the things that totally made our vacation. would return in a heartbeat!

breakfast, warm eggs, warm coffee, cold potatoes. if you want breakfast that is hot eat where the locals eat at wendell's at half the price.