Denise G.
Yelp
I visited this place before - but it was YEARS ago. They definitely didn't serve hot food at the time - just pastries and breads - so imagine my surprise when I saw a bowl of tasty looking soup show up in my feed and it was from Bernhard's! I LOVE soup - even during the summer, so I knew I was heading there today.
Interior / Exterior
Building is located on Atlanta Rd (down from Dobbins AFB / Lockheed entrance). The building is definitely older, but it appears to be fairly well maintained. There is dedicated parking lot - shared by Bernhard's and La Peda's. The interior appeared clean and well-kept. There are no lovely bakery smells, but no stars deducted for that. Lol. They have have a main room with checkout counter, baked goods, etc and a separate room with dry goods, seasonings, candy. There is no dining room (as mentioned by other reviewers.)
Customer Service
I called before driving over because 1) I wanted to make sure they were open - with COVID, you never know if a place is still in business, or if they have modified hours, or if they've closed due to someone's illness or death and 2) I wanted to check to see if they had chicken noodle soup today. The young lady who answered the phone was SUPER friendly. She took her time answering my questions thoroughly and she was just so positive and upbeat, she made me even more excited to come in and try the food. She explained to me that they don't have hot soup, sold by the bowl. Instead, you purchase the soup as a 'boil in bag.' I was a little bummed because I had already conjured up images of a French Melt accompanied by a side of hot, yummy chicken noodle soup.
Once I made it there, both the cashier and the young lady who'd answered the phone gave me an enthusiastic greeting. And they were both masked up! It's no easy feat to be warm an enthusiastic through a mask.
Food
The pastries all looked delicious. So do the deli meats and sausages. There was a cylindrical case with cakes that was oddly positioned, but the cakes looked good too. I quickly snagged my frozen chicken soup. They also had green cabbage stew, red cabbage, tomato basil soup, green bean soup, split pea soup, creamy potato soup and soljanka (Russian stew). I ordered a French Melt, but once I saw that they had a Schnitzel sandwich, I had to order that as well. I finished my order with a ham & cheese croissant. (It's a square, filled-croissant stuffed with ham and cheese.) See photos.
My French Melt was DELICIOUS. See photos. I don't know if that was Brie, but it was good. The Schnitzel sandwich was pretty tasty as well. See photos.
Other
In addition to the French Melt and Schnitzel sandwich, they have a 3-Cheese Melt, Hot Pastrami, Muffuletta, Philly Cheese and Smoke Brat sandwich. I was surprised, but pleased, to see a Philly Cheese and Muffuletta in a German bakery. They have all the German favorites like Goulash, Cabbage Rolls, Rouladen and Sauerbraten.
Overall
I love this place. Everyone was super friendly and welcoming. Even the chef. (I had the chance to speak to him when I inquired about the green cabbage stew.) If I had to complain, I would say the portion of ham on my French Melt was a bit sparse. My Schnitzel sandwich was good, but between the density of this bread and the breading on the schnitzel made it a little dry. I would order this again, but I would ask for more tomatoes, or perhaps a different type of bread. I hate half of the French Melt and 1/4 of the Schnitzel sandwich and was stuffed. My sweetie had the other half of the French Melt and the rest of the Schnitzel sandwich and he was still rooting around in the bag looking for more stuff to eat. I had to hide the ham and cheese croissant for tomorrow. I haven't tried the soup yet, but I'll update my review once I've had the chance to try it! I'm so excited.