Helen Bernhard Bakery

My special order birthday cake was extremely dry. It tasted as if it had been cooked days ago. It was burnt and the banana filling was super thin and flavorless. No effort to design just name in gold edible glitter. Super disappointing.

Incompetent to say the least and mostly just a scam to take your money for the least amount of work. Wasn’t what I specifically ordered, it was sloppy and disgusting. It wasn’t ready or even started when I arrived and it was dry!
I emailed this company asking if they could make a Buttercream knife palate painted cake and sent 2 pictures (attached) I got a call from them and spoke to a woman who said they absolutely could and it was no problem. We discussed all the details of the cake and I felt confident about my decision of choosing this bakery with 100 years of experience. I arrived this past Friday Feb 21, 2025 at 12:15pm for my agreed time 12:30pm pick it up time. I was told it would be 10 minutes. I happened to look to my left and saw a man just starting what looked to be the cake colors I ordered. 45 minutes later the cake was brought to me unfinished. I was very confused bc it looked nothing like the pictures I sent. It was messy and sloppy. 25 minutes later they said it was done, it was awful and nothing like what I ordered. I asked them to fix it 3 times and every time I was met with rudeness and unprofessionalism.
This isn’t a design you just whip out of a plastic icing bag in 10 minutes as the buttercream is to be painted on with a knife and refrigerated. The cake is more taller than wide. The bakery lied to me, was unprofessional, rude, and completely incompetent. When you say you can recreate a cake and charge $95.00 for it, I expect you to make it as close to possible as promised. I was over a hour and a half late as it was, due to them not even starting until after i got there and was on the way to the party and had to purchase this cake to not show up empty handed. The cake was tasteless and dry and beyond a disappointment.This bakery is a scam and I wouldn’t waste your time or money here. We would have been better off getting a cake at the dollar tree.

Food: 1

Service: 1

Been shopping at Helen’s for years. Decided to stop in today spontaneously. Picked up a counter cake for a friends birthday and grabbed a couple treats. My Mom loves loves loves Helen’s eclairs but today they were the worst. the pastry was way overcooked and the frosting tasted like bitter plastic. so disappointing. then tried the strawberry shortcake special. was mushy, had no flavor and the berries tasted old. I will say the counter cake was fresh and good but I wish someone had been there that could have written Happy Birthday on it. For spending $100 and most of it went in the trash except the cake is pretty disappointing. Not what we expected from Helen Bernhardts.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 4

Ordered a 8" Black Forest cake for my wifes birthday, everyone enjoyed it.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: My Birthday Cake

Best jelly donuts in town. Also, quite a bit less expensive than the other donut shops.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Pastry

I recently ordered a cake for my Mom's 70th birthday. It wasn't inexpensive but it was PERFECT. I asked for a huge heart-shaped overdecorated pink champagne single-layer boat a la movie studio birthday parties of the 1950s, and they delivered. Seeing this thing wheeled out for the birthday song was magic. The cake itself was delicious and super moist, even two days later stored in the box. I've had mixed results with Helen's case cakes, and I think the workaround is just ordering something custom and fresh and not relying on what's readily available that day in-store. You won't be disappointed!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Pink Champagne Cake

So delicious! Totally recommend this place!

My wife knows I love carrot cake so she had this bakery make one for my birthday. Not only was it almost $70 for a small cake but it was dry and disappointing. I am always amazed by establishments with such high ratings that provide such horrible product. Anyhow like I mentioned my wife went out of her way to go to this bakery because she wanted to get me something special but sadly the product was so subpar. It is shocking.

Anyhow, my recommendation would be get your cake from a convenience store it is higher quality.

Food: 1

Service: 1

Everyone is so friendly and helpful I've been eating these Donuts since I was a kid and it always feels like a luxurious treat because of how great and consistently everything taste

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Pastry

Less Cake, more froasting.

Wheelchair accessibility: Very little, had to search

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 2

Service: 2

Absolutely perfect cakes - always beautiful and delicious. Classic.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

As the oldest Bakery in Portland Helen Bernhard stands out as one of a kind, a real family owned bakery that makes great baked goods and is a cornerstone of the community. Everyone should stop by and grab some of their sweet treats, you won't regret it.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Apple Strudel, Pastry, Apple, My Birthday Cake

So many choices! I landed on the maple glazed. Glad I did!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Wonderful and delicious! Fantastic service and yummy treats and pies for Thanksgiving!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Wedding Cake, Pastry, Apple

Best bakery in the city! High quality product, and excellent customer service. We've had them do wedding cakes, birthday cakes, celebration cupcakes, and holiday pies. Our friends always rave about the treats we bring. I can't say enough good about this small local business. 100 years in business, they certainly do it right.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5