Bodensee Restaurant
German
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Location and hours
Location
64 MUNICH STRASSE , Helen, GA
(706) 878-1026
Hours
More details
Reviews
Overall rating
(187 reviews)
Let me note that when we arrived for lunch, it was just after noon on a Sunday. There were only 2 other tables seated, and we were a part of 4. By the time we recorded our sodas, the restaurant had started to fill up. Our waitress seemed to disappear for long stretches, and other than bringing our food out and carafes so that we had refills, we didn’t see her until we asked if we could get our check.
The seating was too close to other parties for starters. We sat in what appeared to be the old waiting room. We ordered the ribs and they were not smoked but rather boiled in water or such. Very tender but not restaurant quality. If one cannot do it right then do not attempt it at all.
JoJo was a great server and very attentive,the food was the best German food ever!
Bodensie is always excellent, but something seemed off. Too many people on costume/uniform, too bland wine, salad dressing not homemade, some sinister undercurrent. I know the owners have been there a long time.
They don't serve tap water, as the majority of other eating establishments do. You must buy a small bottle of water and they are $2 each. The schnitzels for each of us was only luke warm, as were the German noodles. Neither had the proper breading. I had the jaeger schnitzel. The gravy for that was over $3.00. All German restaurants I've eaten in before, the gravy is always atop the meat when served. The gravy was also very salty. They provide no bread to have with your meals. Having eaten here on more than one occasion in the past, this dining experience was probably the worst. Doubtful we will return. Prices for food items are pretty steep. Maybe it's because there are so many tourists and they jack up the prices.
The food was good. It was rather crowded, but they had tables set up outside for Octoberfest and we got to sit there.
Had a very load tourist group next to us. Otherwise the experience would have been excellent. I know the restaurant isn't responsible for its patrons.
Food was fresh, delicious and authentic. Service was friendly and effective
Prices somewhat high. Use to give salads with some of the meals. They now charge extra 2.50 extra . No free water, they will sell you bottle water for $2.00.
Prices somewhat high. Use to give salads with some of the meals. They now charge extra 2.50 extra . No free water, they will sell you bottle water for $2.00.
Prices somewhat high. Use to give salads with some of the meals. They now charge extra 2.50 extra . No free water, they will sell you bottle water for $2.00.
Great, authentic German food and nice atmosphere. Good service too. We intend to introduce it to friends.
Great, authentic German food and nice atmosphere. Good service too. We intend to introduce it to friends.
Great, authentic German food and nice atmosphere. Good service too. We intend to introduce it to friends.
Authentic German food. Owners are very friendly and are actually from Germany. They really are quite hands on with their business.
This is an authentic German fare restaurant. The owners came from Germany and are very involved with their restaurant.
Friendly and fast service. Our waiter explained all the dishes we asked about and gave suggestions
Friendly and fast service. Our waiter explained all the dishes we asked about and gave suggestions
Everything about this restaurant has gone down with the exception of the service. We have been several times but the quality of the food and portion size has really waned. I miss the delicious salads that came with the meal. What happened to the delicious large schnitzels?
The food was NO GOOD. It was over cooked and did not taste good.
The food was NO GOOD. It was over cooked and did not taste good.
great food, good service, just a little too loud, but ok........
great food, good service, just a little too loud, but ok........
great food, good service, just a little too loud, but ok........
The atmosphere was lovely, with all new wooden tables and artistic mountain scenery decor. The food was delicious.
Our server Joseph (Jo Jo) was excellent. Friendly service and a great place to eat. I had Weinerschnitzel and my husband had Holzfaellersteak. Both were outstanding. Can't wait to go back and try another dish
the food is perfect. they give good service. we enjoy what they serve us. The best german restaurant in Helen...........
Service was a bit undetermined. Atmosphere nice but a bit worn - for example in one room there are these sheepskin rugs to sit on - which are cool but they are very work out.
Service was a bit undetermined. Atmosphere nice but a bit worn - for example in one room there are these sheepskin rugs to sit on - which are cool but they are very work out.
Long wait but the food was good. Tables are pretty crowded together and the restaurant was loud. Expect a longer meal period as it was very busy and food and drinks took longer than normal.
They were out of rolls and had nothing to give in their place. The beef roll was very dry and it was pretty pricey.
server, Chase, was great. Food is great. Restaurant is clean and people are friendly. Great German restaurant...
server, Chase, was great. Food is great. Restaurant is clean and people are friendly. Great German restaurant...
Food was average Americanized German food. Decent. Nothing special. Decor was a bit worn. Service was great.
Food was average Americanized German food. Decent. Nothing special. Decor was a bit worn. Service was great.
The waitress was Great! Took my sister for her Birthday, she enjoyed it.. The food was Awesome!! We will be back soon..
Server was very helpful in helping us make choices from unfamiliar choices. Food was delicious.
My scallops were raw!! They did not give me fresh ones, cooked the ones on my plate again - which made them crisp and tuff!
Porkchops were too salty to eat. Veal was too dense and breading too heavy. Enjoyed the vegetables and brie.
More than adequate portions including from the bar
Amazing food and service! Waitress was kind and attentive. perfect!
Extremely overpriced for the small amount of food you get
Ordered the sampler platter for 2. Meats were dry. Potato salad and red cabbage bland.
We were dining with our two dogs and felt very welcome on their indoor patio.
Our waiter Austin was by far the BEST we have ever had!!!!!! Will definitely recommend this place and Austin to everyone!!
The waitress was very helpful with all menu items, friendly and was just great!
So much fun! It was one son's birthday, other son's graduation from Vet school and my early Mother's day celebration! One of my sons and his wife live in Tampa FL...so we celebrated with me, my sons Tyler and Greg, Greg's wife Tanya and her parents Dexter and Delilah. The food and service was fantastic! Especially the appetizer for the mushrooms!
So many delicious options. We try something new each time we visit and have never been disappointed.
The food and service was excellent. We went on a Saturday lunchtime...not too crowded...enjoyed it so much!
All the food was good, and the waitress was very nice
The waitress Stacey was very friendly and efficient.
The food & atmosphere was enthralling.
We enjoyed our visit and the service was good, but my first order of fresh trout was not available, and my next choice of smoked trout was also unavailable. I ordered the salmon, and it was overcooked and dry.
Food was mediocre for the price
I was raised in Germany and know real german food. Bodensee is the best ever. The food is delicious, reasonable and most of all freshly prepared, including desserts. Service is great and the owners take an interest in their customers satisfaction.
Excellent from top to bottom - hostess provided us the seating that we wanted (dining room rather than porch); waitress was more than accommodating with substitutions and extras. Lastly there were no questions asked when we provided our $15 coupon.
Excellent from top to bottom - hostess provided us the seating that we wanted (dining room rather than porch); waitress was more than accommodating with substitutions and extras. Lastly there were no questions asked when we provided our $15 coupon.
Real German food in Helen, Georgia. Taste of the food and service was excellent!
My husband's meal was okay but my German potato salad was cold, tasteless and contained raw bacon. The sauerkraut was so salty it could not be eaten
Nicole, our waitress, was very attentive to our needs.
Great German food. Great service.
Very good place
The food is as authentic as you can get in the states .
I ordered Escargot and Shrimp Scampi. The escargot was on mushroom caps which were overcooked and rubbery. The shrimp with the scampi was unpeeled and I had to dip in hot butter to peal the shrimp. The backed potato was 1/2 cooked. I tried to send the potato back as was told that's the way all of our potatoes are cooked. My friend had sausages with home fried potatoes. Her potatoes were underdone and uneatable and she said the sausages were ok.
Our food wasn't that great. It was definitely not the worst I have had, but it was fairly flavorless. The servers were very friendly and nice but nothing really stood out to me.
The last time I go to the place. It has steadily gone downhill since the owner built the restaurant and moved from his leased facilities at Hofbrau House. The prices are extremely high for the quality of the food. The menu is misleading (is, french fries served rather than potato wedges as the menu stated). No apologies from the wait staff, and no reason other than that it has been this way for "awhile." The quality of the appetizer smoked trout was ok but not outstanding and not worth the $20 price tag. The escargot was also very pricey and was over cooked. The bread served with these items was two pieces of toast that looked like wonder bread, The pricey side salad was a greens mixture swimming in the house dressing.The only positive note was a good and healthy and fairly priced glass of Chardonnay. It seems as if the original owner is not even there anymore, it is such a far cry from what it was, As mentioned earlier, steadily gone downhill over the past 5 years.
The service was excellent and the food was delicious!! Got the cheese/onion and bacon Spaetzle. Delicious!!!
Food was absolutely delicious. Our waitress, Stacy, was fun and engaging. A great place to eat!
The French Onion Soup was excellent as was the Shrimp Cocktail, but we were unhappy that there were only 5 shrimp....kinda hard for 2 people to share 5 shrimp. I rated this restaurant a 3 because of the poor service of our waitress.
Delicious food, big portion sizes, friendly staff
We have never had a bad meal there. Been going for at least be years.
We have never had a bad meal there. Been going for at least be years.
The food was very good with generous servings. Authentic German cuisine, would highly recommend. Plus they are actually open during dinner time. Other area restaurants closed at 6, in the summer in a tourist town. Bodensee is great after a day of tourist activities
Great Food and Great Service
The first time we went to eat there they were closing soon so we just had a couple beers and. And back the next day. Waitress told us what deal to get for our money. Cost more than we were told previous day.
The food was excellent!! It was all handmade from scratch. We will definitely visit this restaurant again.
The same meal for the same price is lacking at lunch time . There is no bread served with the meal and even the salad did not have all the ingredients.
always!
Great atmosphere
Two of the four in our party did not enjoy their meal. One was way too greasy and salty. The veal snitzel was not seasoned and the breading had an odd unplesant taste. We should have sent it back. The other two in our party enjoyed their meal.
The food and service was very good. We never had to wait for waitress to get another drink. She was always making sure we did not need anything.
The server was very friendly, efficient and knowledgeable about the menu. The food was excellent. We had the schweinebraten.
Very Good
Food was excellent. Service was superb.
The food was great. The waitress was great also. We will be going back for sure.
Very Good
salad with their homemade dressing was excellent---they should bottle it!! everything was very tasty, pleasant atmosphere
Love the authentic food and good service.
The food was delicious and the service was great. Jeff is a funny guy and made our visit very enjoyable. The salad was excellent and quite a surprise. They need to bottle that dressing.
The food was delicious and the service was great. Jeff is a funny guy and made our visit very enjoyable. The salad was excellent and quite a surprise. They need to bottle that dressing.
We were just disappointed that they did not have bread for lunch even though we ordered off the dinner menu.
Very Good
Took over an hour for the dinner to be serves after the bread and soup!
The French Onion soup was magnificent, as were the garlic shrimp and pork chop w/sauerkraut. The Italian cream cake and strawberry shortcake cheesecake were indescribably good. The atmosphere was pleasant and the service exceptional.
Good food and service
We have always enjoyed our meals here.
food ,service and atmosphere all great.
Great food and service
Food was quite good. Just a slight concern in the amount of food for the $$ spent. Very small dinner portion sizes.
Our server Kristin was very sweet, attentive and helpful with the menu. We enjoyed all of our food. The food was served quickly, and was quite tasty. I had the pork schnitzel and my table mate had the house combination platter.
Food very good, service excellent.
Food was very, very good. My wife had a salad with over 10 shrimp and I had a Reuben sandwich. Prices at lunch were reasonable. Atmosphere was good. Service was EXCELLENT.
very clean and welcoming. great service and food.
Food was excellent, waitress was great and attentive. food was served quick
Best dining we've had in Helen.
Great service with Koren. Great food also. we stop by every year when we are in town.
Veal Schnitzel with Spaetzle- Fantastic. Also enjoyed the Gyro. Several families with kids when we were there.
Drove 50 miles to eat here and based on previous reviews.
Not only was the food excellent, but our waitress (Debby) was fantastic.
We'll definitely be back and we'll tell our friends about it as well. :)
great server, debby. Great food. Great atmosphere. Love this place. Great german food. highly recommend.............
Great food. Great service.......everything is great at this restaurant. The best German food you will eat anywhere!!
They took out the onions so that my husband could enjoy all the food at our table.
Quick service good food
Authentic and fresh German cuisine. Very enjoyable.
Great food, waitress very helpful
nothing special, overpriced
We always enjoy Bodensee, indoor or outdoor dining, it's the greatest! Love any of the food we have ordered, and it's always service with a smile! Good place for all 7 of the family or just my husband and I.
This quaint German cafe has wonderful, authentic food that is moderately priced. The service is always excellent and everyone is pleased to share your dining experience. We often travel with our dog and grandchildren, and the atmosphere on the patio is perfect for both!
Our food was great , coffee great ! Black forrest cake was bland, not much flavor.?? overall iur experience was great! Thank you!
Food was exceptional and authentic German.
The service was great, the waitress was great and the food was excellent!
a little overpriced we think but the food is great.........
Very slow service and received a broken glass for refill.
outstanding. Great personality, lots of smiles and help us with our menu choices
Ordered from lunch menu, salad was excellent, service was excellent and entree was excellent.
Great food; great service; friendly owners and servers. Small intimate and act like they REALLY care you came to dine with them.
nice atmosphere. We love Matt, our waiter, and the food and service are excellent....
We do not live near this restaurant but we love to eat here when we are in town. The prices would be a little high for our budget but the rest.com makes it affordable for us. We tried the mixed grill tonight and it was fantastic.
A lot of garlic in the food, otherwise very good.
The food was fantastic. We have eaten at many German restaurants and have to say that this truly is one of our favorites. Portion sizes were very filling as well with leftovers. It was a little weird when we got there with a line out the door. They don't take names for those waiting, you stand in line and wait. The wait time was very reasonable and well worth it.
Not much for ambience, loud, but was clean. Food not as good as some German restaurants, but portions generous and food tasted good. The older lady serving was absolutely outstanding, working hard and still always smiling and nice.
It took about 10 minutes after we were seated to have someone acknowledge us and take our drink orders, but the server was very friendly. They probably could have used one more server on duty that evening. The food was delicious.
The wait staff was friendly and made recommendations for our first time meal. The food was delicious and menu prices were reasonable. We will definitely return.
Spaetzle best ever!
Excellent service:)
Everything was great--Matt was a terrific server and the food was fabulous - would recommend this place to everyone
Very nice place and patio, very friendly
Staff very friendly and socialable
Food very well prepared, plentiful portion, good price.
Unbelievable service and the best Reuban sandwich I have ever eaten!
food was ok and outside they had a music man. You could park there free if you dine and walk into Helen. WARNING, DO NOT USE THE SIDE EXIT UNTIL THAT ROAD IS PAVED. DAMAGED UNDERSIDE OF MY CAR EXITTING RESTAURANT PARKING LOT. THEY SHOULD POST SIGN ACCORDINLY OR BLOCK EXIT UNTIL ROAD PAVED.
The whole atmosphere created a truly "German" feeling!
Great family atmosphere. The roundsteak with horseradish cream sauce was excellent.
Waitress was very good and the owners were very friendly
The owner personally oversaw our experience and answered any question that we had.
Very authentic German dishes...all very fresh
Friendly staff in a neat city. Great German food.
The Restaurant is very inviting, clean and the wait staff is excellent, very professional and happy!! The food presentation is wonderful and the taste is excellent. Prices are very good !
The Restaurant is very inviting, clean and the wait staff is excellent, very professional and happy!! The food presentation is wonderful and the taste is excellent. Prices are very good !
The quality of the food and service was wonderful.
It was o.k. For the price, this should have been dining at it's finest, with beautiful decor and nice "facilities"....It lacked in those departments.
Very nice server . She was very attentive and helpful with suggestions.
Excellent food and wonderful waitress
The customer service was excellent.
I didn't realize there was an extra plate charge of $3.00. I wish our server would have told us.
Excellent meal. Will always go back to this restaurant whenever we are in Helen GA.
The owner welcomed us to the Bodensee, the order was taken very promptly and served efficiently, the food was excellent and fairly priced, and we were even allowed to leave our car in the parking lot while visiting the Oktoberfest in Helen. Alles Wunderbar!
very freindly chef came out to talk to us.
Great food, great service.
Food was good as always. BUT the service was lacking this time. My drink glass became empty less than halfway thru the meal. The waitress made a point to drop her head every time she went by our table. I finally got her attention after the 5th trip by our table and just had her to get me a to go tray so I could finish my meal at home where I had something to drink with it.
The food was excellent. The waitress explained that the German Sausage is made fresh right there! It was delicious!
We will return SOON....very nice....friendly people nice atomophere
Great food, will return and have told others to try it too!
Best place in Helen for real German food. My husband was born and raised in Germany, we have tried all the German places in Helen and we always end up back at the Bodensee.
FOOD WAS WONDERFUL! PORTIONS WERE HUGE!!!
FOOD WAS WONDERFUL!!! SERVICE WAS GREAT!! WILL DEFINITELY RETURN
Exceptional service, wonderful food, and an owner that really cares about your experience there.
great food, big portions. Even the kid's meals were huge.
Meal was missing parts and waitress had to repeatedly return with the rest, including silverware,a sharp knife, mustard, etc, etc.. Wine list was ultra expensive for type of wines.(Cheap wines normally, were 30-50 dollars)Food was nothing special, portion given to my husband for sauerbraten was tiny. All in all, a big disappointment.
The food was great. Each of us ordered a different entree and all were pleased. The lunch portions were very plentiful.
The food was WONDERFUL however it was extremely heavy on the garlic for most of the members in our party. The service was excellent!
Food was nasty! Everything was over salted!
Food was exceptional and service too
Come with an appetite!
food was great and workers helpful and friendly
Our server was really helpful, patient, friendly. The food was FANTASTIC!! My grandmother is German, and it reminded me of her.
Our server was really helpful, patient, friendly. The food was FANTASTIC!! My grandmother is German, and it reminded me of her.
Good German lunch!
The staff was welcoming and friendly and the food was excellent. This is REAL German food ( with other choices on the menu) and since my husband was born and raised in Germany he was thrilled to find good, authentic German cooking.
The food was excellent and the lady who served was very helpful and nice. We thoroughly enjoyed!
Good food but overpriced.
The Food was excellent, our server was very courteous and helpful with the menue and the atmosphier was very tranquill had an enjoyable lunch.
Exceptional food, very hospitable server, friendly owners create a great dining experience!
We have never had German food. It was wonderful. The staff was very helpful in selecting our entree. Will go back if we have the opportunity.
The food was good, but the portions were quite small. Even with desserts my wife and I left a bit hungry. The service was fair, but the overall feeling was that it is run largely as an "assembly line" operation - not very personal. and therefore not as enjoyable as it could have been.
Food and our server Tracey, was excellent.