Is it still as good as in the late '70s?
I miss the burgers, they were the best.
By the way is that the same place where they'd have bluegrass music too.    [30 Aug 2002 19:37:08]

Food: -   Service: -   Ambiance: -   Overall: -

     ­Anonymous   

Best burgers!    [25 Oct 2003 17:16:15]

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     ­Anonymous   

You CAN'T have it your way!
The sign over the kitchen says it all "This isn’t Burger King, you can't have it your way". Well I managed to find this out the hard way. On the way back from the coast our caravan (3 cars full of hungry beachgoers) decided to make a stop at the fabled Helvetia Tavern because they were RUMORED to have the best burger in town, so naturally we wanted to experience this hamburger nirvana for ourselves. The building is full of charm, and the atmosphere was casual which is exactly what we wanted.

After taking 3 seconds to review their expansive menu (6 or so choices), it was decided that my girlfriend and I would split one of these "so called" monsters, and to top 'er off we added an order of onion rings for another $3.95 (REALLY?? $3.95, it's more like a side order. They are REALLY proud of these things) because we heard they are nothing short of paradise. When I asked the waitress if she could "split" the order she winked mockingly at me and said she would bring an extra plate and a knife so that I could do it myself??? When the food finally arrived I was underwhelmed by the presence of 10 or so minuscule onion rings, the hamburger bun looked like something from Safeway’s throwaway "feed it to the birds" rack, and the size....well lets just say that Stanich's has NOTHING to worry about. But the real surprise hit me when the bill arrived. "Sorry we don’t accept credit cards, but there is an ATM around back." So in total my burger and onion rings ended up costing me $15 dollars by the time I added in the ATM extortion.

Is this Helvetia's idea of customer service, well like I said in the first sentence, YES (But is "my way" asking TOO MUCH? just take my credit card).

Ohh if you decide to adventure into the bathroom (err closet) from hell…Beware!    [18 Apr 2005 19:46:36]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Avoid This Place

     ­Anonymous   

Good burgers, surly service
I have had lunch at Helvetia Tav three times in the last three months. The food is very reasonably priced but the servings are nothing to write moz about. Average at best. The upside? It's a darned good burger, either the regular or super. The fries have consistently been hot from the fryer, crunchy and delicious. I would suggest not straying far from that recipe... burger and fries, beverage of your choice and call it good. Be prepared for the "take it or leave it" attitude from the staff, if you take that kind of thing personally you may well be better off elsewhere. But on a nice summer day, the back deck is tough to beat for a quick get away lunch!    [15 Jun 2006 13:13:25]

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Recommended Dishes: burgers, fries

     ­bbqjunky   

A Must Stop
We visit Oregon about twice a year. We never go home without a stop or two at this hamburger joint. My wife and I normally split the large burger and an order of onion rings. We have never ordered anything else and probably never will because the burger is such a treat.    [31 Jan 2007 18:28:29]

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Recommended Dishes: Hamburger and Onon Rings

     ­Dale and Lucy   

For All Who Hear Raves
For the last year my husband has heard nothing but raves about "Helvetia Tavern" at work. And the same time I have heard nothing but raves at school. So we finally decide to try this tavern food that is so fanatically raved about.

We get there (no problem), we get a booth (no problem for a Friday night, we just had to clean it with napkins), then we wait....and wait...and wait (There is 6 bar staff on duty that we saw!). Then we wonder if we need to order from the bar directly, so we ask the table next to ours. No, the staff waits on the tables...so we wait..and wait(meanwhile, the barstaff is watching the games on tv and BSing about the weather.) Finally we get service, and our order is taken..then we get second service(they couldn't even keep up with the 10 tables to know who is served). As we wait some more, fighting off the vicious attack of hundreds of flies that were also looking for dinner! The food comes, decent homecut French fries, but grocery store onion rings (with no onion in them). At the same time the food comes, so does the bill(I actually think the bill was dropped off before the food even!) They had Burgerville's "secret sauce" (1000 Island Dressing with ketchup mixed in.)

By that point we just wanted to leave. We go to pay the bill, and lo and behold..no debit, only cash or check...again no problem.

This was our first and last visit to Helvetia Tavern in Hillsboro Oregon.    [16 Aug 2008 01:07:44]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Black Butte Porter

     ­Anonymous   lee dot rose at verizon dot net