Helen Bernhard Bakery

Helen Bernhard Bakery never fails to bring joy to our hearts?their cakes have always been a family favorite! Not only are they beautifully crafted, but they?re also perfectly soft and never too sweet?just the right balance every time. Our most recent cake truly exceeded all expectations. We shared an inspiration photo and some character toppers, and what they created was beyond anything we could have imagined. They brought our son?s cake to life with incredible detail and creativity. Absolutely magical!

The first 2 pictures are of what I emailed to them to make sure they could make it. The other messy ones are of Helen?s incompetent cake decorator. He is incompetent to say the least and mostly just a scam to take your money for the least amount of work. Wasn?t what I ordered, it was sloppy and disgusting. It wasn?t ready or even started when I arrived to pick it up!!!! 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

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

Helen Bernhard Bakery is truly a gem. From the moment you walk in, the smell of fresh-baked goods wraps around you like a cozy blanket. Their cakes, pastries, and cookies are consistently fresh, beautifully crafted, and absolutely delicious. The staff is always friendly and helpful, whether you?re picking up a custom cake for a special occasion or just grabbing a sweet treat to brighten your day. Their buttercream frosting is a standout ? rich, smooth, and not overly sweet. And if you haven?t tried their c

So many delicious treats to choose from. I went late on Sunday afternoon and a few of the cases were discounted half off but they still tasted fresh when we enjoyed at home. The cake donuts and sticky bun were my favorites. I will definitely go back again earlier in the day next time to catch some different items.

Can't believe it took me so long to try this place. It's not like it's new. Family owned since 1910 I think their sign said. Regardless, this is yet another delicious destination of Portland to be placed well above Voodoo. Got donuts and a cake and both were indescribably tasty. Excellent service and really cool neighborhood. Even if you're not in the area, go out of your way to try this place. You definitely won't be disappointed

The service was great. The cake was perfect! I placed my order over the phone and they nailed it. Could not be more pleased.

Wow-this is the driest cake I?ve *ever* had and I don?t think it?s freshly made. Fred Meyer cake is significantly cheaper and significantly better quality. I?m not kidding-this cake seems like it was frozen for a year, defrosted and then left to sit on the counter for 2 days before it was sold - That?s exactly what it tastes like. Even the frosting is lacking in flavor and texture.

Want to thank all of you at Helen Bernhard bakery for making my 16th wedding anniversary a truly memorable celebration. The cake turned out fabulous! ????

I was really excited to pick up my cake. I was trying to look at it before taking it and before I can finish the cashier says ?there?s someone behind you?. Beyond rude. I took maybe a minute. Please be kind to your customers.

This Bakery is the Best! I had a 9" German Chocolate Cake made for my sisters birthday. I only asked for 3 roses but they gave me 6 instead. They went above and beyond what I even expected. The cake was very moist and so Beautiful! This is definately my favorite bakery and it should be yours too!

This long time bakery is a favorite in the neighborhood! I love the selection of pastries, cakes and breads. They have great holiday cookies and I always leave with something new. Great service and parking!

Talk about amazing. We were thrilled to have our custom cake turn out so great and the staff did such a lovely job on it. Not to mention they were able to complete it in such short notice (less than 24 hrs). This was the talk of the party, and everyone was impressed with such attention to detail. Thank you for recommending the pink champagne with raspberry filing, it was so delightful. *Update, we ordered another custom childrens birthday cake and it did not disappoint. They were able to take my ideas and c

They're donuts and pastries are the best on the east side. I've never had a jelly donut with so much filling, and it's not the usual canned stuff. Flavor and texture is the same as their pie filling. The Marion berry is out of this world.

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 i

On my 40th birthday my husband bought my birthday cake from you and it was so dry and tasted 14 days old. It was awful. I wanted to hope it was a fluke and so fast forward to my birthday this year, and my cake was once again old tasting, falling apart, sour buttercream I?m sorry but I had to leave a review this time You have ruined 2 of my birthday cakes and it?s too many times now. I do not recommend this bakery at all..

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

We get my twins birthday cakes from here every year. It really is the best bakery. They made exactly what I asked for and it was beautiful! The cakes were also very delicious!! This year we got a chocolate cake with raspberry French cream for one of my son's and a banana cake with peanut butter French cream for my other son! They were dino themed !

I was in town visiting and stopped by one of my favorite bakeries. Celebrating 100 years . I use to go by a couple times a week on my way and way back from work. I missed it but the plus side is I?ve lost 10 lb?s since.

Helen Bernhard Bakery made our wedding cake and it was perfect! It was literally glistening and had everyone raving about how delicious it was. We also really loved the experience of choosing multiple flavors to sample. I would definitely recommend it as we discovered some flavors were lighter or denser than others. We ended up with the white and carrot cakes with an apricot french cream and it was the perfect balance of sweetness. The service was also really great and made the whole process from the beginn

HBB had a wide variety of cakes to choose from and are a highly recommended bakery in Portland. They offered affordable taste testing's and delivery services as well. Their customer service was impeccable and gave us ease knowing we were in good hands. The cake was delicious, I still have some left in the freezer for special occasions, but HBB also provides you a complimentary mini cake for your first year anniversary to commemorate the occasion! We had the white swiss buttercream, white cake with apric

Many 1-star reviews below complaining about stale goods. Unfortunately I have to agree. They actually are good bakers but need to seriously change their approach and stop selling old, dry, pastries next to the fresh ones. Very sad.

This might be my new bakery. Can't Believe I've never been here before. Having a custom sheet cake made. Bought 1 dozen delicious donuts!

We used Helen Bernhard for our wedding cakes! The cakes were stunning and exactly what we asked for. We loved the bakery because the cake flavors were simple and delicious, they had a ton of variety, and the frosting is the perfect amount of sweetness. The main cake is decorated to resemble henna and the grooms cake is Manchester United themed. Thank you so much for the wonderful cakes!

Been coming to Helen's for a few years now and have been impressed with yummy bakery goods , however, this past year it is notably going down in quality, there is no consistency in the taste of the exact same baked goods I've been buying since I first originally visited , one of the best cake slices I've enjoyed was the Neapolitan cake but it hasn't been available anymore, I've tried the other cake slices but they are dry , to much pasty frosting and very little yet dry cake , I also use to enjoy the mini c

Couldn't say enough about this place. From macarons, to cookies, donuts, turnovers, cakes, breads... they have it all and its winderful. Always busy but the service is very prompt and courteous. Get in here, you'll love it!

They made us the most beautiful wedding cake I could have ever dreamed of. Picture does not do it justice. The roses sparkled. It was soft, yummy, gorgeous. My dream cake for the most reasonable price I found in the area. Delivery was right on time. No hassles. Thank you to everyone who took part in creating this masterpiece. I will forever remember this beauty. Edit: First anniversary: my husband got me a cake for our first anniversary. Beautiful and tasty, again!

Came here on a Sunday morning to take advantage of the lower priced items. The bakery is in a great location with large front-facing windows that let in a glorious amount of morning sunlight. Parking is super easy, there are two lots on either side of the bakery as well as street parking. The bakery has a fantastic array of options, from breads to cookies, doughnuts, cakes, and more. The staff were helpful and quick, keeping the line moving while following good social distance practices. We grabbed a half p

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

Helen Bernhard Bakery has been an icon in Portland for 100 years !! We have purchased cakes for birthdays, parties, etc. for over 30 years now and they never disappoint !! The cakes are wonderful and many special order options are available. We have never had a bad cake from Helen Bernhard and as far as we are concerned, there are no better cakes available!! Their other bakery items are delicious as well. The staff is super friendly and helpful. If you're looking for a delicious and awesome looking cake, t

This is one of my favorite places to go to get bakery items and cakes. I feel this place has been around for a very long time. My favorite cake here is the strawberry pink champagne cake. I also enjoy their pastries.

THE BEST CAKE EVER!!!! Where to begin.. This was my first time purchasing from HBB. Part of the reason I wanted to work with them is because they support The Blanchet House and have donated baked treats for people in need. I called them up a week before and got info on what was needed. I then emailed them with a ton of details (photo examples, a list of prioritized options, a photo from their site) while also noting that I wanted the decorator to have artistic and creative freedom. HBB called me back a co

This is a classic, non-pretentious bakery, perhaps the last one in Portland. Where else can you walk out with a weeks worth of treats for under $30? This is THE place to go for good old fashioned baked items. Staff have always been very kind and provide quick service, there's a reason this place has been in business for 100 years.

Helen Bernhard Bakery is Portland?s oldest bakery. Just celebrated their 99th birthday. This place is amazing and it?s next door to the Cadillac Cafe.

I purchased this Lemon Meringue Pie Saturday and I couldn't have have been more disappointed. It's always been such a treat to visit Helen Bernhard and my partner has always went to them a few times a year to get cupcakes for all his staff at OHSU. The Meringue was very flat and overall the pie had an odd flavor that nobody was able to identify. Maybe it was old or something but definitely not good at all.

Loved the old bakery recipes. Great coffee as well. Lots of family history with this 100 year old bakery.

Beautiful cakes!! Delicious as usual. Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is the best. Really good decorated sugar cookies too. They are pretty and tasty.

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.

Got the BEST cupcakes for an 11 year old's birthday party. Everyone loved them. My favorite was the Red Velvet with cream cheese frosting. I can still taste it. It was so good. They have amazing baked things and they are ALL incredible. Go get some!

We used this bakery for our wedding cake. It was easy to coordinate the design, flavors, and size. The pick up was smooth and we received a tasty yet beautiful cake. 10/10. (Topper in the photos was ours, we just got it off of Amazon, super easy to put on)

It's an ok cake, but honestly I've had better cake from Safeway that was way less expensive.

The peanut butter cup, chocolate cake was a big hit. Delicious and beautifully decorated. They came through for me with my last minute plans. Staff was very helpful.

We picked up sliced bread and a number of tasty treats. Rosebuds, Valentine's cookies, donuts. Helpful staff at 17th & NE Broadway in Portland, Oregon. Near Irvington neighborhood and the old Lloyd Center area.

I've been coming to Helen Bernhard bakery since my son was 1 yrs old he just turned 27 in April. Sometimes I'm last min like today the day before mother's @8am & was able to place an order like always. I picked them up @130pm they are always there on time #MyGod

Cake was visually very appealing. That being said the chocolate cake was dry and hard. The chocolate cream filling was minimal and bland, and the spiced frosting was oily and bland as well with barely any "spice" flavor at all. Definitely will be looking elsewhere for future events.

I love Helen's! Delicious, old school baked goods. My favorites are the almond ring and the brownie with mint buttercream.

Spent $50 on a special order cake. It was so dry, it was inedible. Emailed the bakery, no response. Very disappointing

Dropped by about an hour before closing to pick up a cake for a birthday. There were several cakes to chose from, making it hard to decide which one sounded the best. I ended up with the strawberry pink champagne. The birthday boy approved and we very much enjoyed the cake! I also picked up a beautiful loaf of marbled rye. They had several breads available...and so much more. I'll be going back for donuts, muffins and cookies in the future!

Cakes are nice to look at but every one we?ve ordered over the years is so dry. The frosting is good and I?m not a frosting fan but the cakes as so dry I can?t even finish a slice.

My husband's work had the maple bars and said they were so good and wanted to take me there to get some treats. We got a lot of different pastries, cookies, donuts, and cressants. The lady behind the counter was so friendly and talked to us about the history of the shop and the original owner. Cool pics on the walls and informative.

Our family has been coming here for years! We ordered our wedding cake from this place, and it was a delight. We stop by several times throughout the year for treats. We usually get the eclair and chocolate donuts with nuts, but everything is made very well!

Love that they are open early. Very good cinnamon cake donuts, but a little spendy for being so small. Crispies were tasty but not so "crispy". Great apple turnovers!

Worst customer service ever. There is someone behind phone name Wendy either owner or employee, making excuse about the way your cake sample look. And refuse to accept the order. Either close your business or train a professional employee

It?s hard to debate whether this bakery should receive a 4 star or a 5 star review but I am gonna give them 5 stars primarily for the way the cake filling has been made. 5 star review.

The cakes are always amazing! They are so light, fluffy, and very flavorful. I really like that their buttercream isn't too sweet. They are also very reasonably priced.

We got our parent's 50th Anniversary cake from Helen's. It was beautiful and delicious! Each tier was a different flavor. Amazing! The employees where professional and everything from the tasting to delivery went perfectly.

I love this bakery and have been going to them since I was a teenager and picked up my cake today. They do an awesome job.

Helen Bernhardt Bakery has wonderful Eclairs! Light and fluffy, with lots of filling. Some of the best I have had. We also ordered a cake for a friend?s birthday. It was awesome. It was a chocolate cake with mint filling and mint frosting. Very moist and flavorful. I was impressed. All of their baked goods look great, I can?t wait to try more of them.

My husband surprised me with this beauty.... honestly I don't know how you guys did it but it was the best cake ever!!!!! I was so happy when I opened the box, I kept it for 3 days tho didn't want to cut it ?? thank you so much!!!! ?

I was coming in from out of state to visit my son. His girlfriend's birthday was going to be during our stay and I wanted to order a special Monsters Inc cake. I sent them a picture of the cake and Helen Bernard Bakery came through and made the cake identical to the picture sent. Red velvet cake with raspberry filling and frosting that was very light! I don't live in Portland but wanted to recognize great food and service while I was here. It's so important to give reviews to help businesses out during thes

I bought Red Velvet Cupcakes and 2 donuts; outrageous flavor. The boston cream donut waa a meal; REAL CUSTARD! Old school, THE ONLY SCHOOL! Friendly staff, THANK YOU for your great service.

Helen Berhards makes delicious cakes. I was very disappointed with our last order though, as they totally butchered the spelling of my son's name on the cake (it was his birthday cake) despite the spelling being read back over the phone multiple times. When this was discovered at pick up they did not offer anything to resolve it- no discount on price, no removing of the writing to make the spelling right. So we were left with a very expensive cake that looked cheap with the major spelling error.

This is a Portland staple. They make excellent cakes, cookies, and breads! A must stop.

Update: the owner reached out and gave me a $150.00 credit. Which in my opinion was not enough. Also claimed he had been attempting to contact me. Absolutely untrue we had been emailing back and forth previously with no problems. A simple reply to the thread would have worked. Again excuses and poor business to say the least. If you have a special event I?d suggest not trusting this business. I purchased 3 cakes from this location. I spent $516.00. When I picked the cakes up the main cake was absolutely ho

My son ordered my birthday cake last week and picked it up on Saturday, 8/31. It was awful! The cake was clearly dry and stale, the frosting tasted of nothing but old butter, and the frosting used for the decorations was so dry and hard it crumbled as we tried to eat it. It?s obvious that the recipe is bad and that the cake sat for quite a while before being picked up. The dryness is what I would expect in a cake that?s been refrigerated for a week. We won?t be back.

They did a PHENOMENAL job interpreting exactly what I wanted for our wedding cake - awesome job cake designers!! Im so sorry - Google wont seem to attach the photo to this review, but I was the one that requested the base look like it was watercolor painted, and it was just gorgeous! Also, the flowers were from Joanne's :)

For 3 years in a row, our daughter has requested the red believer cake with plum cream cheese frosting as her birthday wish. Not as her cake at her party. Her wish. She asks for a big cake, and invite all her friends to eat her favorite cake with her.

Great baked goods. Helpful staff. A little pricey at times. I have noticed that the size of baked goods has decreased. I was there today (03/08/25) and the fritters, pershings, and Boston cremes were all smaller than the last time we were there. Six doughnuts were almost $15.

An old school bakery with a modern touch. Their donuts are the best anywhere. I highly recommend this place over any of the more popular places in the Portland area. The maple bars are excellent and the raspberry filled donut is bar none, the best filled donut that I have eaten in my life. I didn't call it a jelly donut because not like jelly at all, its more like a pie filling. You can tell that it has real fruit in it. I have only had their donuts but based on those, I'm going to say that the other items

They did such an incredible job translating our vision into reality! This cake was the best I've ever had.

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.

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

Solid ?meh.? There is a huge variety of options to choose from - with the usual consequence that happens with an emphasis on quantity over quality. The Swiss rolls were bland, and the eclair soggy. Nothing I?ve tried on my three separate visits has been particularly exciting. I also haven?t had great experiences with the staff when I?ve asked questions, typically getting somewhat gruff responses. I did enjoy some of the cookies, and it?s nice that there is a parking lot! So, if you?re looking to grab a cup

The best German Chocolate cake I have ever had.

This place was so charming, the staff were so helpful and sweet, and they have the BEST cake pops. I'm so picky about my cake pops, but theirs have the perfect levels of moistness and sweetness! I've never had macaroons like theirs either, and they're just so good!

This is just a classic old fashioned bakery in the very best way. Super quick and friendly service (one employee was dealing with the most particular and exacting customer ever and never showed an ounce of frustration). There are so many bakery cases filled to the brim and it was hard to make a decision! We settled on red velvet and German chocolate cupcakes, chocolate petit four, chocolate covered coconut macaroon, and a swirly danish of some sort. All absolutely delish! My favorite was the petit four and

Definitely not my taste. I went there and got some cake which was beverage. It tastes okay, not really fantastic. They don?t really have price labels. I mean some of them do while the 3/4 of them don?t. That makes me uncomfortable asking for the price. Only feel thankful that?s not too sweet like other bakeries.

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

When your person turns DiRtY 30...I got Theeee moistest chocolate cake with raspberry filling, Boiled icing and chocolate bittersweet drip...yeahhhh....so delicious. So, dang good! I love Helen B. I added the squidy toy??

they did a really wonderful job on my birthday cake last year! was expecting something so pretty to not taste as great, but the cake was amazing.

For a holiday party we ordered a chocolate with raspberry filling cake. It had a very light and airy chocolate sponge with a nice tart but sweet raspberry with not to much frosting covering. I am going to request this when my birthday comes around. It was picked up with no issues and was on time for the time they set

You can tell the quality of a bakery by the simplest item. Buy the butter cookies. Taste pure bliss. Then enjoy the 4 cases of baked goods. Staff is patient, patient and... patient. There are a LOT of choices. And they have a small parking lot!

HB never disappoints! Got cake for my mothers bday and it was gorgeous. The cake is moist, flavorful and crazy delicious!!!

Oh man, where do I start? This is by far the most beautiful and yummy yule log I've seen! Everything from the cupcakes to the lemon bars are out of this world.

Nice cookie and donut shop. They have discount on certain days

They always make a beautiful and tasty cake :) lovely little old fashioned bakery. edit: another year, another beautiful cake. thank you guys!

Being asked for a tip when all you did was hand me donuts, is a bridge too far. Tip culture is out of control.

Got a 7 inch Black Forest cake($52!!) for a birthday and a Lemon Meringue Tart. Price for that small cake was very high but since the reviews are so good- decided to try them. Cake was very bland on taste.chocolate filling was very thick and kinda tart and very small amount of filling- which means the main taste was the bland cake. The lemon tart filling also had a odd taste- not the standard flavor we had hoped for. Some people must like their products, but we were not impressed with their flavor ingredien