Helga’s

I was so impressed the minute I walked in. You have to understand I am not a German food fan but this experience might have changed my opinion on it. Our server was attentive, food size portion was enormous, pricing was just right, Yaaa!
The owner just so happened to be our waitress and English vas a little rough but she vas very patient in describing the dishes to us (Note: to be read in German accent)
We got a plate for each of us. (plate 1) Was their homemade German macaroni pasta dish (Plate 2) was some variation of the schnitzel (Plate Dessert) was apple fritter substance with ice cream. The result was a food coma.
If you go there hungry you will definitely leave happy.

INCREDIBLE food. Extremely authentic. I love Helga. She’s such a sweet woman. She really cares about her customers. She even offered us a free desert after we left a huge tip. Definitely going back!

It’s called the Schnitzel Lodge now. Currywurst and bratwurst were good! Service was friendly and it was a bargain ($ 16 for my mother and me).

First, please understand that my review is indeed for a German restaurant located in this building, and in this exact spot, but from around 2007, when it bore the name Bitburger, or Bitberger Pub. It is my understanding, from a brief web search on this topic using Google, that the name has changed once since that time, and that the ownership and management of the place has changed perhaps a dozen times in that same period of time, but that the business has always remained a German restaurant.
Getting on to my review: I was taken here for dinner several times in 2006 and 2007 by some business clients, and I always enjoyed the food. And, the interior décor and atmosphere were very much reminiscent of being in an older pub in a small city in Germany!
I always found the menu to be full of good German dishes, and I always enjoyed my dinners at this restaurant. Interestingly, I always noticed, during my dinners here, that many of the other diners seem to be emigrants to Florida from Germany!

Helga’s is a tough place to review because it seems to change ownership about as often as a Shady South Florida Real Estate Venture… When it was Bitburger sometimes it had good owners and good food and sometimes it did not… then it became Helga’s and her and her husband ran a good place. now Helga has sold it and I have to say in it’s current incarnation it was not very good food wise on our initial visit… as with all the other ownership changes nothing has changed on the inside bar wise or restaurant wise. same layout and pretty much the same menu… as usual it is still crowded. and also as usual the food takes a long time to come out so be patient and drink lots of good Dark German Beer while waiting. as for the food; the entrees were both subpar while the sides of Spaetzle and Red Cabbage were excellent… the smoked pork chops were thin to begin with and then cooked so long that they had the consistency of bacon… a proper smoked pork chop has to be thicker to be able to be smoked and not end up being cremated… the Jäger Schnitzel while at the correct thinness and visually appealing was also overcooked… the new chef has to to stop cooking the meats so long… German Potato Salad was German in name only as it was not hot. not in vinegar and had no bacon… so basically it was American Potato Salad called German Potato Salad… nicht sehr gut fur Helga’s…our waitress Carli was excellent and salvaged a bit of what was a pretty desultory night for the «new» Helga’s…will probably give it one more chance to see if we just hit it on a bad night; because lets be honest, if Helga’s is no longer a good Restaurant and you get a craving for good German Food in North Florida the next nearest option is a 7 hour flight to Berlin… a generous three stars based more on Helga’s past than her present

wanted to like this place but the food was stodgy, flavorless and just really not good. Wont be back. Not sure why all the rave reviews…

My husband and I lived in Europe for a few years and had our fair share of delicious German food– Helga’s won’t let you down. We started with potato pancakes with applesauce (2 mid sized pancakes for $ 7) — I can’t give them enough stars. In fact, along my travels throughout Germany I can only think of one restaurant that had better potato pancakes. For entrée he had traditional jaeger schnitzel (came with spätzel and red cabbage), I had the Weiss bratwurst (a special) which came with sauerkraut, smashed (or fried) potatoes and brochen. We tried a little bit of each other’s dinner– I wish I had an extra stomach to have had his as well. The jaeger sauce is creamy and packs so much flavor, cabbage was seasoned perfectly but the spätzel lacked a little flavor. Overall 8.5÷10. Mine was AMAZING– the brats were cooked perfect, smashed potatoes were nice and fluffy and had so much flavor, sauerkraut was tangy (not for those who don’t like a lot of vinegar), brochen is spot on. I’d give it 9.5÷10. Beer list is great. The only reason I’m not giving Helga’s five stars is her pricing: $ 7 appetizer, $ 19 for jaeger schnitzel, $ 17 for (two) bratwurst, $ 5 beer… Over $ 60 for two people after tax and tip. A little steep BUT IT’S WORTH IT!!!

Really enjoyed the jäger schnitzel with gravy… when I go back I will definitely order it again.

Well there good news and bad news… The good news is the food was amazing and the atmosphere was friendly and welcoming. My wife and son had the pork schnitzel; his came with a special mushroom sauce and fries, while my wife’s came with the mushroom sauce, red cabbage, and spatzel. I had the special which was a pork schnitzel with ham and swiss cheese in the center served with amazingly good sauerkraut and potatoes. We just transferred from Clovis, NM so our pallets may have lost their edge, but the food was great and seemingly authentic.
Ok, the bad news. We walked in the front door and my son really wanted to sit at the table immediately to the left and raised up a little. I’m not sure if this spot is normally reserved, but the hostess wax more than willing to sit us there; it was about 4p on a Sat so there really wasn’t much of a crowd. The problem you ask? We didn’t notice until the end of the meal, but there were an amazing number of ants traveling back and forth along the waist high horizontal railing going between the front window and going along the walls towards the bar and kitchen. Well all things considered these things happen, right? Been there, done that. The problem occurred when my son opened the top on his styrofoam cup and discovered a floating ant in his lemonade. YUCK! From my vantage point it looked like the supply of cups were kept in the bar area along the same wall mentioned earlier. We told the hostess about the problem and she was very apologetic and asked If she could get us a new drink. We already paid the check so we were just ready to leave. After she left our area we could see her talk to a lady who looked like she was the manager or owner. I want to think she was being told about the ant problem. I purposefully delayed our departure to see if the manager would come talk to us; she didn’t.
Well, the food was amazing, but I’m not sure how many bugs we ate or drank. I highly recommend the food and I may even give this place a second chance; however, if I do I’ll first look at the window and walls to the left immediately upon entering and not expect much from the manager. What can I say, I’m torn. If the manager cared a little more I may have a better opinion of the place. As it stands, the ants and manager’s acceptance of the situation may be indicative of other problems just beneath the surface.
Food = 5 for a casual dining experience
Ants = 0 for obvious reasons
Average = 3 with the benefit of the doubt

Back in for my birthday, as I mentioned. Ordered the same thing but added the German chocolate cake (it WAS my birthday!) — amazing! You’ve never had German chocolate cake like this! They won’t yodel «Happy Birthday» but I have to say, this is as good as it gets! Great food, great service = great meal!

The bratwurst was just ok. It had an odd taste to it. They were out of their dark beers, which is what i was looking forward to most. My friend had the pork schnitzel and liked it a lot. The server was fantastic though and made the visit worth while. I will probably try this place again even though this visit was a disappointment.

I always grab a dinner here when in town. I usually get the Take-​out. Very well done! Side of Spatzle!

Authenic as you will find in the area. Good beer food and service

Incredibly authentic German cuisine. Great German beer selections. Outstanding customer service. Can’t emphasize how much I love this place. The JaegerSchnitzel is a huge portion (2 cutlets) of lightly breaded, perfectly cooked pork; the meal is complimented by a generous portion of pickled red cabbage and Spatzel.
Just coming here for beer and appetizers is a great, relaxing time. The restaurant is clean, bright, and well decorated; The staff is friendly and attentive. The owner even came to our table and talked with us, and ensured that our dining experience was enjoyable.
Overall, I really love coming to Helga’s. It’s always a pleasurable, and delicious experience.

Wonderful authentic German food! I felt like I was in Germany again. The staff is very friendly and accommodating. Great place! The only down side is that it is on the pricey side but well worth it for its high quality food and ambiance.

My wife and I decided to try Helga’s again, since we had not been in nearly two years, but our 30 December visit was unfortunately very disappointing.
We were seated right away, and it was early so the restaurant was not very full. Our waitress arrived nearly immediately to take our drink orders and then told us about the special – sauerbraten. So far so good.
We ordered Jaegerschnitzel as well as the Sauerbraten, the evening’s special. The Jaeger was a bit pricey at $ 19, and I found it highly unusual to pay $ 1.50 extra for breaded schnitzel. A group of 8 or so was seated next to us, so I assumed we might have to wait for our food. No problem – very willing to wait for a nice meal.
Our waitress brought out bread, which was quite delicious and accompanied by butter and a sour cream based spread.
Much to our surprise, our food arrived 5 minutes later. It is impossible to cook a schnitzel in five minutes – warning sign number 1. The jaeger was tasty, but nothing out of the ordinary, and the sides of spaetzle and cucumber salad were very nice.
Unfortunately, my saurbraten was another story. Two sad quarter inch slices of roast beef were partially covered in a non-​traditional, but tasty sauce. The beef was well overdone, chalky, and flavorless. I asked for either a different portion or a different choice, and our waitress gladly exchanged my plate for another portion. Different plate, same terrible saurbraten. At that point, the waitress returned and I told her this portion was no better. She offered to bring me another entrée, but by this point, my wife had finished her meal, so I declined. Strangely, she said they would only charge me for the sides of spaetzle and cabbage. Not wanting to be overly difficult, I accepted the offer.
We skipped the dessert, and headed out. The tab for 1.5 entrees and one beer was $ 40 with tip – not a good value. Having lived in Germany for several years, I can genuinely say that Helga’s was well off the mark that evening.
Service was excellent – the highlight of the evening.

So, the four of us wanted to try something (authentic/​German) before going to the play during the weekend. Boy, we WE dissappointed! :-(
After the server FINALLY got to our table (Whereas this place wasn’t too busy) She didn’t seem to have as much patience as we did waiting to take our order. It was 20 minutes before THAT ever happened. Perhaps i should change this to ONE star… anywhoo…the beer took another 15 minutes after ordering that. Then, when the food finally came, there was no silverware on the table… another 5 minutes as our food got cold. What a bummer. Perhaps we would have gotten served quicker if we were inside. As we were in the Biergarten hoping for our own little Oktoberfest. To no avail, unfortunately… and I think it was over-​priced for the quality of service and food they have to offer. Sorry, Charilie :-(

Tucked away near a Whataburger and grocery store, this place is a bit pricey but very delicious. The beer is also good in tap, with at least four German beers available: Bitburger, Warsteiner, a pilsner, and Kostriker, a nice, dark beer.

This location USED to have the German restaurant Bitburger Pub, which had mediocre food and closed.
Now there’s HELGA’s, featuring wonderful, authentic German food. The bratwurst is not to be missed and the sauerkraut is about the best I’ve ever had. I’ve given the restaurant 4 stars because a pork chop dish I had was a overcooked and bit tough, yet still tasty. The owners are from Germany and provide excellent service. This is the best food in Niceville, FL. (Across the Mid-​Bay Bridge from Destin).

Nice! We were really sad to see the Bitburger Pub go — but Helga’s is a decent replacement. They cleaned up the inside a bit and hired a new, friendlier waitstaff. The menu has been scaled back but the Jaeger schnitzel is still yummy and there are new desserts, which go a long way toward making up the difference!
I definitely liked the old place — but the new place is just fine. I’m glad they’re finally open!