Bodensee Restaurant

Hadn’t been to Helen for years. Generally, no decent place to get even a half way decent meal. Came up here on the bike, sat at the bar and had a beer and schnitzel sandwich. Really good.

My wife took the schnitzel and I got the Stroganoff. Both were amazing! We must come back next time!!!

Not good. Schnitzel greasy and no taste. Eye of round very dry. Felt like I was in someone’s house who didn’t know how to cook. Food really didn’t have any taste. Beer was the best part of the meal.

Had dinner there with my family Saturday night, and thought it was only fair at best. Waitress was totally not friendly. She forgot our pretzel order after i asked her, and then didn’t offer anything else in return. The bread they serve is not warm and had no flavor! I ordered the wurst platter for $ 18. It came with 3 different sausages, some bland German potato salad, and a tiny portion of kraut! The food was ok, but not for the $ charged. But Helen doesn’t offer many options either!

There is a little German restaurant in Rincon, Georgia called the Schnitzel Shack that serves as my comparison. The Schnitzel Shack is a five star place with great food and great beer for a low price.
The Bodensee is not such a place. While the people are friendly, the atmosphere is bizarre at best and the food is subpar. The only Schnitzel was covered in cheese, which made the food unreasonably greasy. Sadly, the actual meat was too dry to be eaten without the cheese. The Wurtz was also dry. We both found the fries and salad the only redeeming quality, but neither were German.
I am not sure if there is a good German restaurant in Helen.

During our tour of Helen, GA, we stopped by here for a late lunch. The inside décor has that countryside German feel to it.
Ordered the
1) Homemade Garlic Wurst with Mashed Potatoes and Sauerkraut
— I loved this dish except for the Sauerkraut. The buttery, garlic, lemony fried potatoes were soo yummy!
2) Chef’s Schnitzel — Chicken Schnitzel Breaded with Fried Onions, Mushrooms, Bacon and Cheese (Oven Baked)
— This dish was also very enjoyable for us. Loved the mushrooms!
The house salad was yummy, but the raw onion in it was not liked by bf.
The bread & butter came in after the entrees for some reason, but they tasted really really good! We were able to finish them even though we had eaten most of our entrees already.
Our server was a delight.

I have good points and bad points about this place, firstly the good. Our waitress was super sweet and attentive. That’s it– moving on. Now it’s NYE so I expected it to be busy and it was, I also expected a wait and they said 20 minutes no big deal. There were 6 of us and when we squeezed through the door to put our name on a list we were told that «there isn’t a list just a line». Yes people you guessed it… Stand there in line the entire time you wait. Oh and did I mention that the line is literally in the only path in and out of the doorway where the people in the line literally have to close the door between them and the next person in line. We should’ve left then. It was beyond ridiculous especially considering that we were standing in a medium sized room with a Table in the middle (that served zero purpose whatsoever) and a hostess desk/​register that one can only imagine is a place that someone might use this mythological «list»! Potentially? Also, NOT ONE CHAIR! Also there is an older retired gentleman singing karaōke style in the bar and maybe he shouldn’t be singing, bless his heart. Ok so we stand there for 20 minutes and they seat smaller parties ahead of us (we were 6). I insisted we stay since 2 in our group said the food was good and it had better reviews than most places in town. We sit, order drinks and then our food. The three tables of 2 – 4 around us who were seated at varying times after us all got their food before we got ours and had half finished by the time ours came out! Then my baked potato was cold on top and the cheese had hardened so I asked the waitress if I could replace that with a different side and she said «well you’ve already taken a bite out of it.» I said «how else am I to find out if it’s fine? I only took one bite to realize that it was cold and has obviously been sitting far too long.» She replied with «ok I’ll go check with the owner.»
Let me clarify that she seemed to be trying to please us despite the very behind kitchen staff and the over stuffed dining area. She was very pleasant despite all of this. So obviously it’s a management issue. The flyer in the front said the married couple owners had basically been in restaurants for 30 plus years! I know you don’t give people a hard time for sending back cold food cause I have never heard of such! Anyway half of our party thought the food was okay. The others were disappointed in the portions and quality. Also it is waaaaaaaayyy overpriced for what you get!!! First off they gave a «family style» salad to feed 5 adults with 5 slices of cucumbers in it and some iceberg lettuce chunks :/​the bread was delicious though. The potato pancakes were way too oily! Next time anyone wants very thin slabs of chicken breast in Helen I’ll take them to Wendy’s! Seriously I would just buy sausages from the grocery and cook them up in your cabin instead of having the bland expensive dishes being served up at this place.

The wurst platter was good and authentic. Definitely fit the atmosphere and was worth a try.

Wurst platter. Hefe weizen. Great ‘kraut. We came on New Year’s Eve with our 8 and 10 year old. There was a line out the door. In the end, the wait was worth it. The food was great and the atmosphere was very pleasant. Get the pretzel for as an app.

The service was the only bright side. The server was very sweet & pleasant. We had the sampler for 2 $ 45. It was large portioned, but the meats were all bland. We also had the horseradish meat dish. It was like eating boiled meat with horseradish sauce. Would not eat there again. Way over priced for the quality.

Had the Onion Soup, Jägersnitzel and some kind of puff pastry dessert. Wow everything was excellent. From the salad and bread, the meal, the service. Highly recommended!

Worth pointing out first: They have pretzels! They’re not on the menu — I only found out about them from another Unilocal reviewer. For $ 7.50 you’ll get one big enough for four or five people, no joke. They’re fresh-​baked, but get cold and hard fast, so eat it quickly. It comes with herbed butter too.
This German restaurant has some definitely non-​German things on the menu, like gyros, which kind of make you wonder. But my father-​in-​law had one and liked it, plus, it was HUGE. Don’t discount things here just because they’re not German. Don’t expect to have room left for dessert either.
I had chicken schnitzel and my wife had pork schnitzel. Hard to go wrong with fried meat and they nailed both. The potato wedges and spätzle were good too, and you get plenty. My mother-​in-​law had a Reuben and very much enjoyed that.
You get family-​style salad with everything. It has cucumbers, raw onions and a creamy dressing. It says that on the menu but it’s easy to miss.

Loved it! Great environment. Notable menu. Fantastic service. We got the House Sampler dish to share and it was to die for. The environment was excellent too. Just one word of caution. There is a smoking bar within the restaurant. There is a door, but that was kept open. Like having a peeing section in a pool separated by a rope. Lucky for us hardly anyone was at the bar smoking, or I’d have smelled it. Georgia needs to do away with those. I hear they’ve been grandfathered to have the smoking section gross. All else was top notch.

This restaurant came highly recommended from folks in town (shop owners, residents) as well as the woman working the concierge desk at our hotel. It did not disappoint.
Starting with the appetizer I asked if they had fresh baked pretzels, which were not listed, and to my surprise they did. It was hot, soft, and delicious. They had great imported German beer both on tap and in bottles. To save you the math go ahead and stick to the 20oz drafts, the pitchers don’t add up. My wife ordered the Jaegerschnitzel and it was near perfect. The price of the dish warranted a little better cutlet of meat but the preparation, flavor, and crisp outer breading was great. The mushroom sauce was a perfect compliment and not too salty. For a side she ordered the Spaetzle which was absolutely delicious. Soft, moist (not mushy), and deliciously buttery. I myself ordered the Wurst Sampler and it was great. Every part (3 different wursts, potato salad, sauerkraut) was prepared nicely and tasted great. For our daughter we ordered the Spaetzle and cheese, think German Mac n’ cheese. It was amazing. My wife and I kept stealing bits off her plate. Our order (2 beers, food, pretzel) came to $ 80 after tip. A little steep for what you’re getting but it’s easy to see why it’s so well spoken of here in town.
The ambience and noise was the typical fare for any standard American restaurant. The waitstaff was kind, timely, and accommodating. If you’re in the Helen area for a visit or vacation this place is sure to please if it’s within your budget.

Alright first let me just say this isn’t the cheapest place around if you want German food, however, this most certainly is some of the best I have ever eaten. They are open from 11-​whenever and let me say that the service is killer. Jeff was our server and he did an amazing job.
The food was phenomenal and even though the prices are a little higher (cheapest plate is like $ 15) it is soooooooo worth it and the portions are killer.
Seriously. Atmosphere, food, service. This place has it all.

This restaurant is tucked in the back by Wendy’s. You wait outside (in a line if there are a lot of people) until the hostess brings you into the restaurant when there are seats available. At the time we were here the town of Helen had a wifi issue so the establishment was cash only. My friends who didn’t have cash had to pay 10 dollars to go to a place next door to get cash (bottom line — Bring cash just in case).
I ordered the jaeger schnitzel (~$ 19). It comes with one side, bread and salad. I chose spaetzle as the side. The service was pretty quick despite the large crowd and big group we had. I really enjoyed the schnitzel. It was crispy and the sauce was very rich and creamy. The meat was tender and the portions was good. My friends enjoyed the spaetzle but I thought it was a bit buttery and starchy. Although this meal was on the pricier side ($ 25 with tax and gratuity), it was delicious and our waitress was friendly and efficient. I definitely recommend this place if you’re looking for a place to eat in Helen.

Getting in was difficult as it was Oktoberfest and the hostess not does take your name and you walk away, you literally wait in line for your table. Apparently Friday night is karaōke night; you have been warned!
Once in the atmosphere is German-​ish, although I’m unclear on the rainbow lion and the American Indian paintings.
The servers are in somewhat German fashion, though the leopard print may be called modern Leiderhaisen?
Onto the food. We shared the sampler platter. I loved the smoked porkchop and the schnitzel. The roast was a little dry and I’m just not a big fan of sausage. Loved the red cabbage; spetzel was a little dry but ok, potatoes were ehh. We had the strudel for dessert. It was fine but I wish I could have talked the Hubs into German Chocolate. I’d go there again, but husband states, «it was fine», (which is code for «you liked it so I won’t rain on your parade»).

First time here in Helen and first time trying German food.
Waiter was a really nice guy. He recommended the Hauspfannle and the Haus platter. Great recommendations! Food was really good! Nice environment as well.

This restaurant is located in Helen, GA. Helen is the cutest little German town surrounded by beautiful mountains. The food was amazing. They brought out the usual bread and butter but they brought out two different butters, garlic and honey. The bread alone was worth going back. I wasn’t sure to expect from a German restaurant but my first impression was really good. I’m not very adventurous when I comes to food so this was a little new for me. I went the safe route and ordered Chicken Breast Grilled with Mushroom Cream Sauce or «Hahnchenbrust Gegrillt mit Champignon Sosse» my husband ordered the
Chicken Schnitzel Breaded and Fried or
«Hahnchen Schnitzel Paniert». The food was delicious. The flavors were savory and the chicken was tender. The server did a great job to taking all our orders with minimal slip ups (we were a group of 11). The staff was friendly, the bathrooms were clean and the restaurant was also clean. I would definitely return on my next trip to Helen.

My last review of Bodensee Restaurant, which I wrote last year, gave mild praise for providing a bit of respite from the faux-​Oktoberfest that Helen, GA has become known for. This is no longer the case. The large volume of customers has overwhelmed the restaurant. Neither the wait staff or the kitchen could keep up. The food took forever to come out.
Most egregious of all: from our table, we could see right into the kitchen only to discover that meals were being MICROWAVED. No full service restaurant should be using a microwave. No self-​respecting chef would allow for that.
My Hungarian Goulash was rendered completely inedible from being grossly over-​salted. The spaetzle was flavored only by the pool of melted butter that it rested on.
The only saving grace was that the jagerschnitzel that my wife ordered turned out alright and that they still mix an awesome radler (beer and lemon-​lime soda).
Never again.