Heller’s Bakery

Heller’s has closed, its last day being this past Sunday. I read that the owners could not keep up with the rent, ending this institution’s long history of serving baked goods in Mt. Pleasant.

You want pie? Go to Hellers.
You want donuts? Go to Hellers.
You want a bagel, biscuit, or croissant? Go to Hellers.
Basically, if your into any baked goods, stop wasting your time reading this review and go to Hellers.

If you’re looking for a no frills, standard breakfast place, Heller’s will do the trick. Service staff could be warmer, but that doesn’t bother me.

I have a hard time writing this review because I really like the food at Heller’s. I used to go every single week for breakfast and often in the afternoon for a sugary snack, but I just can’t anymore. I work 2 blocks away and there are limited food options– so most people in my office have, at some point, frequented Heller’s. About 7 months ago, I saw a cockroach crawling into the kitchen door. I didn’t say anything to the staff, but mentioned it to a coworker who told me he had seen several cockroaches there and stopped going. About a month after that, i saw a cockroach in the display cabinet, crawling around the gingerbread. I tried to politely tell the woman that works there and she was so flat out rude, did not apologize or even seem phased. Out of desperation, I went today, hoping that my 6 month hiatus would be enough– I saw a large flying bug (not a fly or mosquito) in the display case right after I ordered my food. Since I paid for it, i still ate it and really enjoyed it, but i cannot continue going to a restaurant that has this kind of hygiene. I mentioned it at lunch today and found out that 3 other coworkers have had the exact experience! One of them told me she had a cockroach IN HER CROISSANT. I looked up Heller’s online i think with HHS and they have had many problems over the last several year– its amazing that they haven’t actually been shut down. Basically, I can deal with the grumpy staff and their rudeness, but cannot handle the gross-​ness. I’m done with this place forever.
clearly, problem has not been fixed

I should’ve known that my fellow Unilocalers have led me astray before. Their reviews often contradict those of mine. Not to bash my fellow Unilocalers, but I sometimes wonder what they’re rating when they’re reviewing a place. I mean — did you guys even try the food? You know — the thing they made themselves, from scratch? Oh, you didn’t? I’m sorry. You’re raving about the fact they offer flavored coconut water. Woo-​hoo. Let ME tell you about the food.
I’ve often traveled by Heller’s, but have always seen it when they’re closed, and had never had the chance to give them a shot. I won’t lie. The fact that their Unilocal reviews gave them 2.5 stars was also a little worrisome. Regardless, I trekked on. I went to Heller’s.
It was delicious. SO. DELICIOUS. I ordered a slice of their strawberry shortcake, donuts, rugelach, and a slice of vanilla almond cake to bring home.
OH MY GOD. The strawberry shortcake? Delicious, sweet, light. Not overwhelming with the frosting. The donuts? Sweet, decadent icing. Made the old-​fashioned way. LOVED THEM. The rugelach (raspberry and chocolate)? Authentically scrumptious with just a tinge of sweet. My Jewish boyfriend likened it to the kind his mom makes. You know when you get a ‘just like my mom’s!’ reference, it MUST be good. The slice of vanilla almond cake that I took home? It was sweet. Very rich. But phenomenal. And there’s a hint of licor — maybe Amaretto (as my boyfriend pointed out). A splendid experience.
I had also wanted to try a bagel sandwich from there, but didn’t, as they were sold out of bagels. Oy. I guess that means I’ll have to return!
As for the service, I had no complaints. They’re a bakery. I mean, do you want them to be licking your balls as you’re deciding on what you want? I honestly didn’t experience rude service there, so I’m not too sure what the other reviewers experienced (or expected)!
Anyway — if you’re into really good sweets, you’ll love Heller’s. I promise.

it’s a mixed bag at Heller’s. coffee is okay, bagel+egg sandwiches are great. donuts are pretty solid too. Big issue is their service, which varies wildly. Some of the staff their is polite, others are downright rude. could be a great spot. for now it’s just meh.

Heller’s makes great sheet cakes AND they deliver them to your door, which is so convenient when you’re hosting a party and trying to get everything else in place.
The cakes are delicious and colorfully decorated — I go with the standard flowers and writing, though they offer options like photo screening for extra. And their pastries are fantastic too. The donut (possibly cronut) they gave me along with my last cake was fluffy yet dense and smothered in crystallized sugar.
I can’t speak to the other food available at the bakery, but if you need sweets delivered, give Heller’s a call!

Terrible coffee. The espresso is long like a regular American coffee and it tastes awful. The iced coffee also has a terrible flavor. Nice indoor seating facing the street.

I’ve had two experiences with Heller’s. The first was a purchase of a carrot cake for a birthday. It had way too much icing on it. It ruined the cake. The second was for breakfast. The requested over-​easy eggs ended up being fried hard like a brick with a few slices of processed cheese on top. The seasoning on the potatoes is way off. I couldn’t put my finger on it. They were bland and watery, but I got a strong aftertaste of sage or something. The coffee is disgusting. I would suggest Heller’s invests in some better quality products as well as stop hiring young hipsters who don’t know how to cook or provide decent customer service.

I think I like the idea of this place more than the actual place. It’s got a nice Mount Pleasant neighborhood feel. The coffee tastes weird, kind of like burnt hotdog. The cookies were convenient but not actually good. I’d try it again and order something different though. Worth another shot, right?

Hellers is the neighborhood place you want to love, but just can’t. Still, I keep coming back, regularly, in the hope that it will get better. So much potential!
The coffee is awful and the cookies mediocre. Bagel sandwiches, what I mostly go for, are okay, but service is incredibly slow and somewhat grumpy.

As usual, the guy at the front was rude. The pastries looked as they have been sitting all day. I chose to get something cooked. I got a breakfast plate. It was ok-​nothing I couldn’t make at home.
I haven’t come here since December. I was hoping that it would have changed in the new year… maybe respond to the Unilocal reviews. But no they haven’t. Oh well. I tried again and was disappointed.

Heller’s has cronuts! I’ve never had cronuts before so I can’t compare, but the one I had was good enough to send me into a sugar coma for the next 5 hours. Worth it, but I recommend sharing. Breakfast sandwich and coffee were solid and the staff managed the long line decently. The selection and quality of food are worth a return visit.
Food — 4
Service — 4
Décor — 3

It’s really a shame that DC lacks solid bakeries. I came here on Christmas Eve needing sweet treats to bring to a close family friend’s house. They basically had nothing except for a few pies and Xmas sugar cookies, so I opted for 5 large cookies. The cookies were hard and tasteless — I probably could have bought better tasting ones at Safeway. They were pretty expensive, going for 2 dollars each. Also, they didn’t have a box to put them in! They packed them in a paper bag, which obviously isn’t appropriate for gifting. I asked them for better packaging and they didn’t have anything. Terrible selection and terrible service!

This place is right by my house. I often come here to get coffee because I don’t have my shit together and coffee doesn’t last long in my house.
Their coffee does the job — it’s drinkable at least… but it could be better. It’s kinda expensive though for what you get. I wanna say a medium latte with flavored syrup is about $ 4.50, so for that price, I’m expecting something really good.
The baked goods are usually sad looking. I’m a huge fan of Paul’s Bakery (though by Parisian standards I know it’s equivalent to Mcdonalds which says a lot about our American food). Anyway, I love going to the Paul in Georgetown, Tysons or Penn Ave. It’s charming, warm… the baked goods look beautiful and mouth watering. Hellers on the other hand … well think of it as Paul’s ugly busted tatted dirty younger sibling — the one with the Mohawk and VD. Actually, that’s a bad comparison as they have no relation to each other. So how’s this for a comparison — Paul Bakery is Gisele Bundchen and Hellers is like a middle aged stripper.
Which might as well because I shouldn’t be eating that shit anyway.
That said, their chocolate croissants are pretty good, but you have to ask them to heat it up. (Don’t bother eating it without heating it up) Once a month I have a hankering for sugar shock and I get a croissant and a latte. I enjoy every bite but always regret it.
Anyways — I’ve been here for breakfast and lunch a few times. I’ve had their salmon and lox, their gyro, empanadas, various egg and sausage sandwiches, the Reuben, etc. None of the food is good. I think I get super desperate and I forget like a dog with Alzheimers.
Service is prompt but the people there are super serious and unfriendly. Not rude, mind you. They just look miserable.
I don’t think they use high quality ingredients. Quality seems to be equivalent with IHOP. If you want good quality breakfast or lunch food, I recommend Dos Gringos down the street.

I really want to like this place since I live right down the street, but it really isn’t worth it. The food is expensive and not very good. It takes ages to get anything from the grill, and again… not very good.
I’ve tried ordering empanadas a few times, and they are decent. But the staff always forgets about it when they put it in the microwave. It will sit there for 10 minutes, or until you try to get someone’s attention. When you do try to get someone’s attention, you will be ignored or scoffed at.
And that’s the worst point. The staff are terribly unfriendly. I usually don’t care about «customer service» too much, but a few of the people who work here act like massive jerks for seemingly no reason.
Can’t wait for this place to get better, but it sucks right now.

Two and a half stars. Fairly warm inside despite the windows and door being propped open. Breads to go on a rack near the front. Half a dozen tables or so inside, armed with Tapatio and ketchup. Beverage options in the cooler included flavored Vita Coco. Out of croissants by noon on a Sunday, but I would learn on a later visit that the bagels are marginally better. They accidentally gave our breakfast sandwich orders to someone else, so we had about a half-​hour wait for some fairly standard egg & cheese on toasted bagels, halved. Egg was cooked through, a few nice crispy edges. Plain bagel was on the dense side. Sausage patty wasn’t too greasy but I’ll probably go bacon next time, plus a cronut for food coma. If I’m not too hungover, I’ll trek the extra few blocks to Le Caprice for better goods.
2014 update: when the farmer’s market across the street isn’t in season, Craft Kombucha taps 6 flavors by glass, bottles, and growler every Saturday from 10 am — 2 pm. Ginger is pretty well-​balanced and the blood orange makes great mimosas, but looking forward to trying coconut, pomegranate lime, elderflower, açai, concord grape, tangerine, grapefruit, blackstrap chinook hops.

LOVE the chocolate frosted donut WITH sprinkles of course. Cake is soft and chewy with rich and I mean rich chocolate frosting on top. The whole thing melts in your mouth. I recommend washing it down with a beverage because it is indeed a mouthwatering experience.
I didn’t love that there was no air conditioning on the muggy Sunday morning I went to get said donut or the less than friendly customer service. But hey– maybe they were hot too.
Oooo and $ 5.00 minimum for cards so bring cash.

Hellers, I will never forget you. I have not had a chance to visit you since 2008, but if I ever make it back to D.C. you will be my first stop.
The bagels. Specifically the everything bagel. Perfectly seasoned. 5 stars.
The chocolate croissant. Everyday. Sometimes twice.
I was in D.C. for 5 days and made 5 breakfast trips to Hellers. I could NOT help myself. Great prices don’t hurt either.

I give them a poor review because:
1) their food is just average, and most of all…
2) their employees are not friendly and are rude every time i go in there. I have tried to love Heller’s, but the bad service is enough to make me not want to go back.