Nacoochee Village Tavern & Pizzeria

It was windy and cold outside, and nowhere near Helen’s tourist zerg rush peak season when we pulled into Nacoochee Village Tavern & Pizzeria, a white-​walled, wood-​innard sports bar/​pizzeria located at that bend in the road where a nearby river and alcohol, pottery and coffee businesses all intersect at the same place (it really does sound like a setup for the best arrest video ever, doesn’t it?).
Even if it was off-​season in Helen, you wouldn’t know it looking in the restaurant. In bad need of a larger venue, virtually every bar stool was occupied and every table jam-​packed. Some other oddities greeted me: A sign over the bar implores for tips for take-​out (dear management: that’s obnoxious). Beer can planes fly overhead, next to a snake made of bottle-​caps that probably spits pull tabs. The typical bar signage adorns everything. Homages to locals abound. It’s a mix of in your face, take-our-pizza-it’s-the-best-in-the-world-or-leave-it mixed with a real sense of family.
We were seated and served by the bartender, who was expected by management to brew everything from coffee to drinks while also waiting on tables. It’s a wonder the guy wasn’t being required to bus tables while he was at it. The guy was amazing, a real dynamo. If I were the owner, I’d give him a raise on the spot. If I were the bartender, I’d demand a raise on the spot. If the owner happens to be the bartender, then I’d get myself more help.
Because though the staff is gold, all of them, the operation shows signs of strain when things are going full-​tilt, like it was when I visited. I don’t fault anyone present – they were doing the best they could and were beyond friendly. They went out of their way to help with the little things. Grade A+ staff, seriously, in fact they’re why this is a four star review and not a three star review.
But…this is a pizza joint, first, not a service center. And the pizza had problems, at least on the day we visited. Yes, the two 12″ pizzas for the price of one deal is a good one, but if I’d dropped $ 12 – 16 each for what was served to us, I don’t know if I’d have been back. The crust on both was overcooked to the point of being blackened, the sauce was dry (particularly on our cheese pizza), and there wasn’t enough cheese on either pizza. The menu claims the «plain» pizza isn’t plain. I disagree. I found it relentlessly average. The other, the ham and pepper-​based «piglet», was all right, but I was never wowed or amazed.
The service experience was so good here, we’ll probably give this place another shot some time, but I won’t go out of my way to do so.
SMALL CHILDREN SECTION
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The bartender and wait staff really did make for a wonderful kid experience. Keep in mind you might deal with the occasional drunk, but it still manages to be family friendly during the day.
Specifics:
Seating flexibility: ³⁄₅ (Simply put, they need more seating)
Extra Napkin Score: ¹⁄₅. We had to ask for napkins, and there were none on the table when we sat down. Table dispensers at a place this busy, serving pizza, seems obvious.
Inevitable spill \ dropped crayon tolerance: Highest

We are used to New York pizza, so this pizza hardly compares. The high scores must be in comparison to frozen pizza, which I could understand. Couldn’t fold a slice in half to eat it because it was too wimpy. Yes, it was thin crust, but so is NY pizza. We ordered an 18″ carnivore which had 4 types of meat, but the quantity of meat was like for a personal pan pizza. My boyfriend had 2 slices plus 2 16 oz beers, and he was still hungry, but not hungry enough to order another $ 21 pizza. We stopped at the grocery store to pick up some snacks on the way home. Oh yes, and their discount deals for the week on the Internet they said have not been valid for years… so why not take it down instead of having to tell someone something like that like it’s supposed to be acceptable… and for years?

Pizza and cinnamon rolls, are you kidding?!
There are lots of menu choices and fun servers. If you are carb phobic, beware, but they do have salads and such!

Delicious pizza! We had the 21 inch carnivore pizza and the small holy cow calzone. As an appetizer we had the mess, which was pretty good. Unfortunately, they ran out of all desserts :(
Definitely worth the drive out of the small tourist town of Helen. This was one of the few places that had great customer service in this touristy town.

Good pizza, we went on a Monday night which is bogo for the personal sized. Unfortunately they were sold out of that size but the large gave us leftovers to take home. The house made garlic ranch was really good. It’s a tiny place so unless it is warm/​dry to sit outside, you’ll probably have to wait.

Not impressed. We got the Greek pizza and had very high expectations. It wasn’t a bad pizza (once you peeled off the salty anchovies) but it sure wasn’t anything memorable either. Quite disappointing.

Great pizza! One of the best meals we had in Helen. We ordered the spicy piglet and were delighted. The only thing that might hVs made it better was dining outside however the patio is closed during the winter months. Overall great service and meal. We will be back!

Recently tried this place out on a trip to Helen. Had a short wait on a busy Friday night, food was great and service fast!

Had to do take out on this one but it was still Yummm in my tummm. I ordered the spinach salad and spicy pig something. Lol. Good stuff!

Yes, it hit the spot! Good thin crust pizza.
Highlights: Pizza is made fresh, Open kitchen so you can see the brick oven, Decent size to share with tons of toppings options, Location was easy to find, Staff was friendly and enough sitting area with hardly any wait… all for a very reasonable price.
Can improve: The place was a little loud, I can understand they are trying to create a hip bar restaurant scene, but then they should invest in some better speakers so it’s not pitchy. Service was slow at times.
Benchmark: They are a step above your dominos and pizza huts, and for a small town only full of German restaurants… they are your best bet.
Dined in Nov 2015.

This is a must-​visit restaurant. The moment we walked in we felt relaxed and at home. The server was pleasant and the food was excellent. The ingredients were obviously fresh and the drinks were delicious.

Great pizza with perfect crust and sweet sauce. Ended up coming here on a Wednesday, which happened to be dollar slice day plus the cost of toppings! We had 4 slices of pizza, 2 cheese and 2 pepperoni, for $ 6. Popcorn they served while waiting on the pizza was great.

One of our favorites but we only get slices and salad. Never tried anything else. Can be loud. We always order extra crispy. Staff is friendly. There is outside seating for those who prefer it. Lots of TVs inside and a bar. Thursdays they have half price wines. Lots of parking in back.

Ok guys, if you go to Helen, you MUST try this place. A woman at our motel recommended it and we took advantage on a rainy day. The staff is more like family and warm and welcoming. They just act like you are one of the game. Marcus was a gem, but really everyone there was great. I believe it was a Monday, so they have a BOGO offer on the small pizzas. SOoooo, we got to try 2! The Carnivore was my favorite but the chicken spinach one was no slouch.
We could see the guys in the kitchen and watched as they prepared food with love and I really think you can taste that in the food.
Check it out, have a cold beer or some local wine and kick back in this cool joint.

Bait and switch operation to rip off the tourists. Their website advertised buy one get one free 12″ pizzas on Monday. I also saw this in their ad in a local magazine. No stipulations listed. This is why we chose the establishment for dinner Monday night.
Well as we were ordering and mentioned the deal, the server told us that that deal is only while supplies last and they were out of that special. What?! They also advertise that they make their own dough so how can they run out of the 12″ pies?
I wanted to walk out and not support crooks but my kids made it clear that they wanted to stay and eat which is what bait and switch companies like this want to happen.
We weren’t the only ones affected by this bait and switch scam. The table right next to us had the same problem.

It’s hard to find food in Helen when you don’t like sauerkraut and sausage, and you’re trying to avoid chain restaurants. But luckily we found this place! We knew we’d made a good choice when you could smell the deliciousness from outside.
They give you popcorn when you sit down. Kind of like how places give you chips or bread. It’s a cute idea, but the popcorn didn’t seem fresh and wasn’t that good. But that’s the only negative I have!
We got The Mess appetizer. Seriously, some of the best seasoned meatballs I’ve ever had. I just wish it had came with more bread! But then I probably would have too full for pizza.
We got the 12in Junker pizza. It was the perfect size for me, my husband and our toddler. It wasn’t too greasy. I tend to like thicker not crispy crust, but I still liked it. My husband loved it! Our waitress was very nice and patient with us. We took forever to decide what we wanted.
I suggest getting their a little early. We got there at 6 and took the last table. There was a line out the door even when we left and it was a Wednesday.

This is a nice looking restaurant southeast of Helen and it’s wrapped around a curb as many things are. Walking through the door is like foodie heaven. I honestly thought, «This is going to be an amazing experience.»
The pizza smell was overwhelming. The guy was tossing some dough as the light from the door pierced into the restaurant and fresh-​baked pizza dough climbed its way into my nostrils. The tomato sauce was fragrant. The cheese melting was stimulating. I was so excited to sit down and eat!
So, the guy tossing pizzas humbly advised us to «Seat yourself!»
We went to the corner inside to sit in a little bit of seclusion. It was a near a TV and I really wanted to be seated in the air conditioning because it had been 82 degrees earlier today and I hiked up to Anna Ruby Falls and around Unicoi lake and then hiked around Helen. I was hungry and a little warm I suppose.
A minute or two passed after sitting down and this woman comes in and starts pairing tables together by us. I didn’t really mind, but one of the waitresses came over and stopped her and advised her she could not do that because of the fire code. The table she was putting together was right next to the door leading to the outside patio.
So, then our waitress approached us and ask if they can use our table to pair the large group together. We had already settled in with popcorn and everything. I was a bit taken aback by this to be completely honest. My wife acquiesced a lot more than I did to accepting other seating arrangements and upon standing I noticed that there were only two options left in the restaurant. One was in between two crowded tables in the middle of the floor and the other was a scary, dark corner near more people.
We went outside to the patio and sat away from the other groups outside in a corner with a table without an umbrella. Within 5 minutes it started to drizzle and we swapped to a covered table.
We did not see our waitress again after she noticed we swapped tables. We were asked by a waiter if we had had our order taken. Nope. It had been quite a while, too, but I didn’t time it or anything. We were already certain on what we wanted to order so it had been more than enough time.
It seemed that the waiter was going to be an upgrade. My wife ordered the house salad for us as well as the garlic bread. She also picked out the Junker pizza. I thought of asking about the lemonade, but never did. I was interested if it was homemade. I was curious mostly because they have a big hippy statement on their menu about their bread and how they take pride in their ingredients and «Blah, Blah, Blah.» Seriously, that is how I read it. Anyway, I forgot to ask about it and I don’t really care at this point because I never got a refill on my drink anyway.
There was a couple from Boaz, Alabama near us and they were pleasant enough and probably the best part of the dinner.
The salad arrived and it was disappointing. First, it was not fresh. The vegetables were not fresh at all. The waiter said the tomatoes were cut fresh and that is probably true. It’s funny, though, because we asked him to put the tomatoes on the side, because my wife doesn’t like fresh tomatoes in anything. That did not happen and my wife was very unhappy separating chopped tomatoes from her salad. She obviously couldn’t get the tomato juice out of her lettuce either. Finally, this salad had chopped celery in it. I don’t understand why this is something they chose to do. It absolutely ruined my palate. The balsamic vinaigrette dressing was bland and lacking any flavor. My wife had the creamy garlic dressing, but it tasted similar to ranch. It was actually decent enough to eat and we paired it with the garlic bread and pizza later on.
–Cutting my review to fit–
Another group joined nearby and a lady advised us that a bad storm system was about to hit Helen and showed us the radar. Wünderbar! Can I say that here? Ausgezeichnet.
The ladies even went inside shortly after showing us the storm system and even announced pretty loudly that there was a storm system coming and they were going to sit inside now.
Did that register with any of the employees for us? We were the last group outside. By this time I had more complaints to tally. We didn’t have any plates for our pizzas and our server had not checked with us. We had no refills. We had a storm system approaching us and we needed a box to put our pizza away. The sky was about to drop on our heads. I really wanted a check to get out of this awful place. I didn’t even want to sit outside.
My wife finished her last piece of pizza and I grabbed the entire pan of pizza and went inside. I was about to flat drop it on their bar and ask for a box and my check. Walking in the restaurant the waiter was finally approaching with my water and tried to offer us another table! He even sat it down at a table nearby where I placed the pizza, but obviously missed my blunt message about the box and a check.

Cute little pizza place in Helen. We came here because nothing else was open (it’s off season) so unfortunately we didn’t get to try any German food or drink beer from a boot. We did enjoy our pizza and garlic bread. You get 5,000 lbs of garlic bread so it’s a great deal. The marinara for dipping was fine but adding some of the pepper ‘tapenade’ to the bread put it over the top delicious. I can’t remember the name of what I ordered (something about a treehouse or trees, made it sound like a pizza for hippies). It had mushrooms, roasted peppers and onions, and tomato sauce. I asked for some pesto on the side and put some of the peppers from the bread on my pizza as well. I don’t like green peppers and this pizza featured those so I mostly picked the peppers off (I had wrongly assumed they would be red peppers). The BF got the Carnivore and enjoyed it. All and all a good place!

These Pizzas are the bomb!!! Wide selection of custom, white, great salad. Maybe not the best service when really crowded– but good
chill and relax for the great pizza to compete with Mellow Mushroom.
You are in Helen so its not the cheapest but does not break the bank. I love thin crust crunchy pizza and got what I wanted. Can’t eat pizza all the time but when i do I like it quality and this is what I got and in Helen too!!! Plenty of beer around and lots of choices and next trip, a sub. They look huge!!! Love it in Helen. Great place to spend the day.

The food here seems to get better and better with every visit.
The people are insanely nice, and are pumping out the best pizza i’ve ever had in Georgia. The sandwiches are still just as long as before, but just as delicious and filling.
My regular order of roasted chicken — peppers — ricotta — spinach — light mozzarella hit the spot, paired with a salad (balsamic) and a glass of wine from Habersham just a few doors down.
The following day, roasted turkey (half) sub with all the veggies — dry. Fresh, delicious, and it lasted me both lunch and dinner. Best $ 8 ever.
Stay for service, take it to go, enjoy the popcorn, drinks & TVs — but be aware, the word on this place has definitely gotten out, and if you come during lunch or dinner prime time, chances are you’ll be waiting.
Trust me, it’s worth it