German Food Guide for Helen, Georgia

Helen's food story starts in 1968, when local merchants met over lunch and decided to dress the town in Bavarian clothes. The idea came from regional artist John Kollock, who showed them watercolors of what the town could become, and by 1972 the paintings had turned into buildings (New Georgia Encyclopedia). The restaurants followed the architecture, and today there's a real range, from a chef-owned dining room to a three-story beer hall.

This guide is organized by what you want to eat, so you can match the craving to the kitchen. Prices come from each restaurant's own menu and can change.

Hours are what each restaurant publishes. Oktoberfest and holiday weekends are busier and hours can shift.

Prices from The Heidelberg's menu and the Bodensee food menu on its website. Confirm at the table.

Bodensee is at 64 Munich Strasse and run by Master Chef Aurel Prodan and his wife, Doina. Prodan trained in Romania, moved to Bavaria in 1981 and to Baden-Wuerttemberg in 1990, according to the restaurant's About page. The house signature is the homemade garlicwurst, and dinner runs to sauerbraten, Tafelspitz, Schweinebraten and roasted mountain trout with almonds and dill sauce. Read the full Bodensee guide for the whole menu.

The Heidelberg has been on N Main St since July 4, 1977, when Harold and Terry Link opened it as The Forge, a German-and-American place with blacksmithing touches. In 1980 they went all German and renamed it Old Heidelberg, painting it blue and white. A pub, a second dining room and an outdoor terrace came in the late 1980s, and the terrace was later enclosed as the Bierhimmel Konzerthalle on the top floor. The current owners took over in 2013 and shortened the name in 2018.

The menu covers nine schnitzels, the sausage platters above, Sauerbraten with a sweet-and-sour sauce, and a Gulasch with spaetzle. Its website says both that it's seating first come, first served and that it takes dining room reservations, so call ahead at 706-878-0061. Our Heidelberg guide has more.

Hofer's cafe cooks family recipes from Germany alongside other favorites. The lunch menu lists Wiener and Jaeger schnitzel, Rindsroulade, a Bavarian butcher's platter, rainbow trout, a spicy Hungarian goulash over homemade noodles and a Spaetzle Schwarzwald with ham, peppers and Parmesan. The online menu PDFs aren't dated, so check with the cafe about current dishes.

Muller's takes a Central European route: a Fried Cheese Steak of mozzarella or brie stuffed with ham, Hungarian goulash with Czech bread dumplings, Wiener or Jaeger schnitzel with mushroom gravy and grilled bratwurst with sauerkraut. It's open seven days from 9 AM.

The Hofbrauhaus at 9001 N Main St has been a landmark long enough that the visitors bureau calls it one of Helen's. It was recently updated and redecorated, and it runs the G.I. Germany Pub alongside the restaurant. The Old Bavaria Inn at 8619 N Main St is a restaurant and lounge selling German food, steins and lederhosen; call 706-878-3729 for hours.

Troll Tavern sits under the bridge on the river. Its German entrees, schnitzel and bratwurst platters, run $24 to $30, and the patio is the draw on a mild afternoon. Service dogs only.

Helen's Oktoberfest is the season when German food and the Festhalle go together, and the Fasching parties pick the theme back up in winter. The table collects the dates; the Oktoberfest guide has admission and the full schedule.