hofer's bakery & cafe

bakery. thebakeryis 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!

i have known the hofers since  the 60s when daddy hofer was the head baker at the europeanbakeryon cheshire br rd. i have never had a bad meal orbakeryitem 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 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 thebakerythe 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. bakeryhas 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.

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. thebakeryitems 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.

great bakery. thebakeryproducts are exceptional. definitely worth going out of your way for. the cafe could use some improvement. food is ok and better than some of the helen ga fare, but the real gems are in the bakery.

oh my gosh i loved this place. i highly recommend skipping over the sandwiches and scooting over to the "specialties from the grill" side of the menu. sorry, cannot pronounce anything- so i'm going with the descriptions....the lean beef rolls stuffed with bacon, dill cornichons, and whole grain mustard made me want to cry it was so good. the spaetzel was great (especially when smooshed around the gravy from the beef roll) and i liked the sweet-tart red cabbage. even the rolls, (which i can be kind of snobby about) surprised me. the oblong one with sesame seeds looked so normal and unassuming. one bite with a bit of butter and i was in heaven.
my friend got the sausage sampler and i can honestly say i've never had better, more perfect bratwurst. the pretzel dumpling that comes with it is phenomenal. i loved the kraut tossed with carraway seeds as a side. i still dream about this food. i wish we ate here more while we were staying...but we may go back in a month or so and stay at a place with a kitchen...i will definitely go to their meat case in the deli and get goodies for a picnic. the meat case, thebakerycase...just gorgeous. good service...wish we could have sat outside but i think they were shortstaffed. the food here is fantastic. i will be back every time!

food was just ok. i asked the waitress regarding a certain dessert but she told me the people at thebakerycan describe it for me. i didn't want to stand up and leave my table just to get a description, so i just decided to get what i am familiar with. she never even bothered to give me the menu for the desert. bad experience.

quaint and cozy. the breakfast items were above par and well worth the stop.bakerylooks very enticing, however, my wife and i had to pass it up.

good food. this place is very small, but the food is good and the price is alright, especially when compared to other places in helen.
the littlebakerymakes some delicious little treats. i definitely recommend trying one (or more) of the numerous options they have. as for the food from the restaurant, the trout was really good; it was just slightly breaded but still had good flavor and the potato salad that came with it was very tasty. the "poorboy" was a decent sandwich that had roast beef, salami, and ham with mayo and mustard on french bread. not bad for what it is, but it's about as much as you would expect. according to my friend that was with us, the pastrami sandwich should be passed on. he said the bread they used and the meat itself wasn't all that good. unfortunately i didn't have a taste for myself so i can't give my own opinion.
overall, this is a really good option when you're not trying to spend a whole lot of money. pretty good food at reasonable prices. don't forget to get something from the bakery, too!

this place is really good. the german potato salad is the best in town and everything in thebakeryis swish.

a bit cramped..... but still worth it. i usually have to wait in line to eat because it's small and very popular. the breakfast foods are delicious and always prepared well (at least in my experience, have eaten there six times over past two years).bakerystuff is also wonderful. this is how you run a proper restaurant in helen. other fly by night joints in that tourist trap of a town need to take note. the city of helen should be ashamed at all the jip joint restaurants operating in their town, too many out ot town business people openeing eateries with the sole purpose of receving money for worthless food offerings. hofer's is the perfect example of what to do right in the restaurant business. they're in it for the long haul and rely on repeat customers and word of mouth unlike 95% of helen restaurants that not expecting, nor looking for, repeat business, but instead a steady flow of rubes looking for food. eat at hofer's

great german / barvarian food! thebakeryhas a wide variety of german cakes, deserts, and breads. make sure you use the bathroom before you go as there is only one water closet for men and one for women.

german menu, deli and baked goods. the restaurant offers some traditional german meals as well as american choices. the food is good...not fabulous, but decent preparation at a decent price. thebakeryhas some nice breads and pastries and the deli carries a small selection of german cold cuts and wursts.