The Troll Tavern — Restaurant in Helen

Absolutely terrible experience. Went in with a party of 11, expected to have a bit of a wait. Got sat very quickly (almost too quickly it would seem). Took close to 20 minutes for our server to arrive to get our drink orders. We were ready to order at that point. She got all our orders taken. She got our drinks to the table within 5 minutes. That was the last good timing or service of the night. 30 minutes go by without seeing our server or any food. Another 20 minutes go by and the server arrives with refills for our drinks, no mention of the food. Another 30 minutes go by (for those keeping time that’s 1 hour 20 minutes since the food order was taken) one of our guest asked someone else about the food. The response was that there were things going on in the kitchen. Not sure what that meant. After another 20 minutes (we are up to 1 hour 40 minutes now) the server comes by and says they were just waiting on the salmon for a salad. 5 minutes later SOME of the food arrives. We get about half the food that was ordered. We were hungry at that point so we started eating. The kids burger looked like it had been sitting in the window the entire time waiting on the other food. The rye bread for the Reuben tasted like they’d left a bag open for too many days and just remembered it. When my girlfriend started eating her salad with salmon the entire middle of the salmon was raw. We ate what we could that didn’t taste like 5 day old leftovers from the oven. Not once did the server show up to check on us. Some other employee in a purple shirt was there (unsure if he was a manager or not). When the server was told that we were charged for a pretzel that we didn’t get it and that half the salmon was raw she said ok and walked away with the check. Another guest was behind her when they heard her talking about “why was she complaining about her salmon when she already ate half of it”. At this point we just wanted to pay and leave. Unfortunately there was more that prevented that. The other group with us that was part of the 11 was missing food items as well that were still on their check. When the server was told about that, instead of helping take care of it or asking if they wanted it to go, she went and got the manager and argued that she had cleared plates off the table and they must have gotten the wrap they ordered. They did not in fact get the wrap because someone didn’t have a meal to eat. They eventually took the wrap off their check. All in all this was nothing but terrible service with no explanation for any of the wait we had for food or service. 0 out of 10 for this place. Would not recommend it at all. Good was mediocre to bad, service was the worst I’ve ever...

I wanted to take the time in the first time in my 30 yrs of earth to say how dang good it was.

The hostess Alanna and her teammate Cam were the best! They really gave such great attitudes towards me and my lunch mates when we placed our names and returned. We had a 45 min wait and we thought we were late, with the lines for everything bein so busy, but turned out just on time and they had the table ready. Everything was great. She also was doin so well, even helping a woman hang on to their dog to retrieve a friend. You can tell how kind her heart is. That is not just showing up to work, that is being a good person by nature.

The server at our table was smooth and efficient with all that we wanted and needed. We wounded up so full, I can't believe I had 2 more mugs of Dunkel lol

The three platter was the perfect way to get a bite of each German treat. The bratwurst was seasoned so well, but paired with the gravy or even beer cheese made it phenomenal. The knockwurst was a decent sausage; the flavor relied on itself being fully meat, not much seasoning. It paired well with the gravy and potatoes but I would recommend salt/pepper to your liking to give the sausage heft. The star of the show - the schnitzel. How in the world did they fry it so well??? I can't believe it, the tender flavor of pork n the batter was crispy but not overly chunky where you broke off just batter. It was just the pork itself! (rare for southern fried)

Overall, satisfied, check delivered and boxed up, we left with a good full set of bellies, and this cemented why I always come to Helen. Thank you and to your whole team for making my first time back in years a fully guaranteed great experience.

( Also I'm sorry you guys had to deal with the older woman who wore her hair up, sunglasses, and red sweater/shirt. No one deserved her attitude. You guys...

if i could give this place 0 stars i would!! first it took a 45 min wait to get seated after being told it would only be 20 mins. okay well i absolutely would’ve went somewhere else and really wish i had.

after almost an hour, we finally get seated. waiter was nice, drinks were good, but appetizers were store bought? pretzels were super dry and the beer cheese was flavorless and watery. they served the same beer cheese as a soup. it was nasty! i’ve had many pretzels, beer cheeses and authentic german dishes and this place is a disgrace to the culture!

then the entrees were the worst i’ve ever had in history. i wish i could’ve gotten a picture of the weird-battered, undercooked, grey-meated gelatinous weinerschnitzel they sat in front of me… instant potatoes and weird grey gravy and all. please. i did not eat that. it is actually so disrespectful what you all are serving to the people of this beautiful town and calling it german?!!!

yes the manager eventually came over and took the meal off my bill but not after her being rude, never apologizing, and seeming mad we hated our food as if her chef back there didn’t need to be fired. the manager tried to say she couldn’t see from where she was standing that my food was undercooked??? lol girl where you’re standing? instead of trying to be passive aggressive she should’ve been apologizing for wasting almost 2 hours of my day with this restaurant. she didn’t apologize once for her horrid kitchen or meal. i am always so nice to everyone but no one deserves to be treated poorly if they didn’t like what they were served. we tipped the waiter. wasn’t his fault. please don’t ever go here, there’s plenty of better food options in town with way nicer...