Blue Gate Restaurant & Bakery

Only 3.5 stars? Unilocal,what has gotten into you?
Now, it could be that I have simply been taken over by the tourist trap that the Blue Gate unquestionably is. Is this 100% authentic Amish cooking? Probably not. Is it the most «Amish» dining experience available? Probably not. But when the food tastes this good, I don’t think much of that should come into play.
The main thing here that I indulge in here is the chicken and noodles. Holy moly. I saw a few reviews saying they weren’t good or were tasteless? What!!! They’re SO good! It takes a lot for me to give high praise to «down home country cooking» kinda stuff like this… a lot of times I think this style of food is just bland and boring. But Blue Gate knocks it out of the park, especially with chicken and noodles… the noodles are perfectly cooked, the chicken is succulent, the gravy is good (and I usually don’t like gravy) and the mashed potatoes blend well with the rest of the dish (not too grainy, too lumpy, too runny, or too thick).
The fried chicken is also great. Probably not as good as fried chicken in the South, but for Indiana this is probably almost as good as it gets. I had the chicken pot pie for the first time today, it was good but I would probably not order again. It needed more potatoes and less celery. My grandpa always orders the beef manhattan… I don’t care for it but it must not be all that bad!
The bread they bring out… oh my. Like chips at a Mexican restaurant, you just keep eating. Except this is fresh-​baked, delicious bread… they have special Amish peanut butter spread for it, but I just eat it straight up. It’s that good.
The desserts here are good too. My grandpa doesn’t care for the strawberry pie, but I highly recommend the Dutch apple pie… the crumble on top makes all the difference, and it. Is. Delicious. Also definitely get the snickerdoodles they sell in the bakery section. Easily the best I’ve had.
So while EVERYTHING here isn’t perfect, I still don’t understand all of the negative to mediocre reviews. Even me, generally bored by this entire food genre, am currently nursing my overly full stomach from two (2!) visits to the Blue Gate in one day. (That’s right, it’s so good that we come twice in a day when we visit Shipshewana.)

This is for their new breakfast buffet. As someone who has been coming to The Bluegate for over 25 years (back when it was a little blue building) we have seen many changes. One of these has been the food quality. Although nothing could compare to quality of the Amish cooking of long ago, they have kept the quality above average. That is until now. We tried the new breakfast buffet located on the lower level and my wife and I were greatly disappointed. The pancakes and sausage were terrible. Such a shame.

I kind of hate to give the Blue Gate a «5,» because I try to patronize the smaller, mom-​and-​pop restaurants and bakeries when I’m in the area, and not the big ‘tourist traps’ like the Blue Gate… But — the food is wonderful, the ambiance is very nice, the service is excellent, the restrooms are stellar, and the pie is the best I’ve ever had.

I loved it the people were awesome. The place is gorgeous. Really neat area. Food was great.

I have always wanted to visit the Blue Gate but I had no idea it had somewhat of a circus atmosphere. I have had much better food at Amish family reunions, to be sure. The noodles were virtually tasteless, but the roast beef had a wonderful taste. It was stringy crock pot beef – not the slices of roast beef we were expecting though. They had pickled beets and eggs which I was excited to introduce to my husband as I would never make them but remember them from my youth. The cream pie and the apple pie were both very good. The waitresses were very sweet girls but we had to hunt them down for drink refills. Im glad we went, but I don’t think we will go back next time we’re in town. There are too many other options which will hopefully be more authentic.

Comfort food, Amish style, is Blue Gates niche, and they do it well. Think fried chicken, or beef and noodles, with lots of home style sides to choose from. This is not groundbreaking cuisine, but good fare, served with a warm smile, in a charming, spotlessly clean atmosphere.

I love the Blue Gate! If you’re looking for comfort food while spending the day in Shipshewana, this is the place to go.
The Blue Gate offers a variety of sandwiches, salads and soups as well as entrees. You can choose anything from fried cod to a turkey dinner to liver and onions.
My mom loves the chicken and noodles dish. It’s served with mashed potatoes and a side item. Today she had baked apples and they were great.
Both of the times I’ve been to the Blue Gate I’ve had sandwiches. The chicken salad and BLT are great! The onion rings were huge!
Then there are the desserts and baked goods! The smell in the bakery is amazing!
They have a great shop that sells pickles, candies, mustards, etc!
Prices are reasonable!

Given the restaurants available in the area, the Blue Gate is always a solid option. The restaurant is very large, and there are many options to choose from. You can order family style, and share a variety of dishes including roast beef, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables, homemade bread and your choice of pie, bread pudding or ice cream. If you order family style, it’s an all-​or-​nothing deal. Either you pay for everyone at the table to enjoy family style (~$ 20 each) or you can’t get family style at all.
The food is very good in my opinion. I particularly love the roast beef and noodles. It reminds me of the delicious beef noodle soup commonly served in Taiwan, however, it isn’t served as a soup here. The beef is tender, and the noodles are thick and flavorful.
Also, the Blue Gate has an all-​you-​can-​eat special on Friday’s for fried fish. I would highly recommend the fish as well. While you are at the Blue Gate, you should stop by the bakery and check out some of the baked goods, and other items for sale. I really like the whoopie pies, the amish peanut butter, and the pies. There are many other great foods to choose from as well, including cinnamon rolls, and many different canned goods. For Northern Indiana, the quality of food here is pretty incredible.

We stopped here after a long day at the flea market and buggy ride around town. We were all very hungry and opted for the all you can eat buffet. We had two seniors and two preteens with us and they all seemed to enjoy their meals. There was so much delicious looking food to choose from, I didn’t know where to start. The chicken, soup, mashed potatoes, were delicious. The desserts were even better, and the breads were all so good. We come to Shipshewana once a year and will be sure to revisit this restaurant again.

Been beautiful place. The food is typical bland amish style food with little to no seasoning.

We were seated quickly and before the estimated time.
FYI: There are no vegan proteins at this restaurant. The only vegan item is the mandarin chicken salad without chicken. They have a black bean burger but it is not homemade and not vegan. Just like Das Essenhaus, the bread, Amish peanut butter spread, and veggies (except steamed) are not vegan. The margarine had trans-​fat.
The two restaurants are nearly identical with what they offer, except Blue Gate doesn’t have a list of food ingredients or allergens available. :(I enjoyed my protein-​less salad, the server was friendly, and the place was spotless, but they seemed slightly understaffed for 2:30 — 3:30 service in the restaurant on a weekday. Besides the veggie burger, they only have fried cod for a Pesco vegetarian (which is okay if you eat fried food).
Our non-​veg dining companion enjoyed her Cobb salad. Items were beautiful presented.

SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!
The only reason it gets 1 star is because the salad bar was decent and that’s where it stopped.
Soup was Cream of Potato and it was bland and watery. The chicken was very salty, the «noodles» were soggy, the mac n Cheese was soggy n bland, the stuffing had no flavor and was bland and the cheddar garlic mashed potatoes tasted gross. To say the least, we won’t be back again. Utterly disappointed and hopefully I don’t have an upset stomach later. $ 35 bill and McDonald’s serves better food on the Dollar Menu smdh

Let me describe The Blue Gate Restaurant this way: If your travels ever take you within an hour of Shipshewana… this is where you are having dinner. The authentic Amish cooking reminds me of my Grandma’s house.
From the moment the fresh loaf of bread with special butters hits the table… be warned to pace yourself. You’re going to order all 4 meats family style. The fried chicken is as good as it gets. Other standouts include the roast beef, and noodles… but everything is amazing.
Don’t leave without ordering pie! Even if you have to take it to go… and be sure to stop by the bakery/​gift shop to grab something for later. I love getting cheese here, but there are plenty of amazing snacks.
Give yourself an hour before dinner to explore the shops of Shipshewana. The Amish culture is something people rarely have experience with. I’m not a huge shopper… but even I thought it was fun to look around at some of the cool stuff around town.

The only reason I’m giving it a star is because it is convenient to all the attractions. I really hope the buffet isn’t comparable to the regular meals and am hoping my terrible experience was a fluke.
To start off we ordered unsweetened ice tea, which we had to get sent back since it tasted like it had artificial sweetener in it, which could have been disastrous since it screws with my body.
The main dishes were bland. The noodles were soggy and dull. The ham was dry. The roast beef was cold. The meatballs were like burnt meatloaf with sauce. The apple crisp was bland. The macaroni and cheese just tasted like macaroni with a bland sauce. The fried chicken was very salty.
The deserts were ok. The chocolate pie was off. What I thought was butterscotch pie was a light peanut butter taste, which didn’t seem right, but was still good.
The only thing I did like was the salad bar, but that’s a no brainer to prepare. Just give me some spring greens with bacon, banana peppers, cheese and dressing and I’m a happy camper.
I will never be going there again and will keep traveling to Essenhaus for our anniversary there every year.

Carb overload! Hey, carbs are cheap and you’ll get a lot of that at the Blue Gate. We started out with some freshly made mini loaves of bread. On your table, there is apple butter with cinnamon and a peanut butter/​marshmallow blend that are quite tasty for an appetizer while you wait for your meal.
I started with a salad that was just ordinary head lettuce with some ordinary veggies. Not much fiber, but that’s what they had.
For my entrée, I ordered the beef & noodles daily special. The picture had shown half noodles /​half beef + mashed potatoes & gravy on the side. Awfully high in carbs, but I wanted something that would be a no-​brainer for our waitress, since our group was large and we were trying to keep to a schedule. What arrived was a plate that was half mashed potatoes, half home made Amish noodles and less than one ounce of beef on the entire plate. This was smothered with bouillon cube gravy and call it lunch.
Fortunately, one of my friends had ordered liver & onions, and found her portion to be too large, so she gave me quite a bit of her meat — which was tender, not rubbery. I was grateful to have some protein, since I was one of the drivers for our convoy and had to stay awake during the long trip home.
Dessert was fairly nice: strawberry rhubarb pie with a brown sugar crumble topping. The pie crust was a hair gummy in the very center and not very brown at all so I know they were using shiny silver aluminum pans in the kitchen. I left behind most of the crust because it didn’t have much flavor. I admit that I’m very picky.
So for our group of seven it was about an hour and a half to get through lunch. Our waiter was a very young girl who needs some polishing. She was trying hard. She offered to refill my water glass without being asked, but she spilled some water onto my lunch. Also handing plates and clearing were awkward, but she was sincere and was doing her very best.
My advice is to stick to the meatier dishes and you should do fine. If I hadn’t gone with the daily special I would have gotten a hamburger, but if I go back I’ll definitely get the liver & onions. Wrinkle your nose if that’s not your taste, but some of us like all those vitamins!
Two of my friends were using walkers and one a cane, so when we left the restaurant I ran out and got the car. I pulled into the little curved drive off of Middlebury Street so that they would not have to walk very far to get into the car. That made things easier on our group, so keep that in mind if you are with someone who has difficulty walking.

This place is so good and the service was amazing and the food is so good. This place is very busy. Put ur name in and get in line its pretty fast.

The Blue Gate restaurant serves ‘Amish’ homestyle cooking that one may order individually or order family style. We opted for family style and it was a home run! Family style will run each person 16 – 19 bucks (see photos and menu) and will serve up unlimited amounts of hearty country goodness.
All family style dinners include Fried Chicken and your choice of an Additional Protein …
roast beef
meatloaf
smoked ham
Family style also includes the sides…
mashed potatoes
stuffing
gravy
vegetables (we had green beans)
homemade bread
chicken and noodles
dessert (pie, bread pudding or ice cream)
beverage (pop *yes, we say pop in the Midwest*, tea, water)
Bottomline: Bring your appetite and get ready to throw down.
The service was wonderful and the food hit the spot. My personal favorites were the fried chicken, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. My mom raved on about the delicious bread pudding and my husband love their pecan pie. Our visit was a top notch ‘Amish’ feast. We can’t wait to come back and visit again. Boarding on ⁴⁄₅ stars… I rounded up since our server was so awesome and friendly.

Despite the tourist trap nature of the small town of Shipshewana, Indiana in LaGrange County, I couldn’t resist the overcrowded charms of the Blue Gate Restaurant & Bakery, an Amish-​themed restaurant/​bakery/​theater complex fairly similar in presentation to the nearby Essenhaus. Owned by the Riegsecker family, the Blue Gate Restaurant & Bakery is one of several Riegsecker owned ventures in the area including Riegsecker, Inc., Blue Gate Theater, Blue Gate Garden Inn, Shipshewana Furniture Company, and Riegsecker Cabinet Co.
I must confess that more than once while perusing Blue Gate that I found myself thinking I’d stumbled into a cross between Essenhaus and Cracker Barrel, mostly owing to the fact that Blue Gate’s large retail area felt a lot more kitschy to me but, for the most part, in a fairly good kind of way. The choices for dining on the evening I arrived included going with a stage production they have nightly called «Josiah for President» and, yes, it’s as corny as it sounds. However, once again, I do mean corny in a good kind of way. Then, you could simply go into another large dining area and order from the menu OR you could partake of their buffet for $ 14.95. As I’d just wheeled 26+ miles, I decided that a buffet sounded like a reasonable option and not that much more expensive than regular prices. The buffet included most of the country style foods you would expect including fried chicken, grilled chicken, pot roast, a variety of vegetables, stuffing, breads, etc. Of course, desserts were plentiful including my beloved chocolate pie.
While the large dining area felt a lot like gathering at Grandma’s on a Sunday after church (with a whole lot more people), there was something quaint and charming about the rather simple presentation of the buffet in non-​cafeteria like warmers that were for the most part effective. They didn’t flinch when a member of my party asked to be seated closer to the buffet, a request likely made out of consideration for my need to carry food and get through the crowd.
As was true at Essenhaus, the emphasis here is on country cooking with an Amish/​Mennonite theme and largely devoid of the razzle dazzle. There wasn’t a single item I hate that I didn’t completely enjoy and for the most part really loved. While I certainly wouldn’t call it the best meal I’ve ever had, it was a quality meal at a good price and the chocolate pie that finished it off was a little piece of sugar coma heaven.
There was one part of the experience that bugged me just a bit and it related to atmosphere. While I understand the need for strong communication in a facility as big as Blue Gate, several of the supervisory folks went around wearing headset/​bluetooth type devices that really distracted from the whole Amish/​Mennonite theme. The first time I noticed it I found it rather jarring and I couldn’t shake the idea that I found it really distracting.
For those who are intrigued, Blue Gate offers its bakery items online and also does catering and can handle groups. If you find yourself in Shipshewana, you owe it to yourself to check out Blue Gate Restaurant & Bakery.

The smell that comes along with walking through the doors of this establishment is enough to make you wanna stuff an Amish doughnut in your face. I can’t describe it, but I imagine that it’s close to what heaven smells like.
It took some time to get seated. We waited around 45 mins and it was a little after lunchtime on a weekday… and the restaurant is huuuge. So, it was really busy. After we were seated, it was smooth sailing from there. Also — they give your table a loaf of bread. Eat it all and smother it with the peanut butter on the table. DO IT.
If you’re not familiar with Amish food, you should take it on a date. It’s just comfort food more than anything. Warm, meaty, delicious, lots of carbs, etc. Get whatever floats your boat and takes you back to simpler times. My simpler time was chicken and noodles with mashed potatoes. Tasty. Buuuut, the noodles were a little over-​cooked. It had good flavor, but I was a little underwhelmed.
If you happen to be in Shipshewana, and you don’t want to eat the flea market food, I’d say this is a good option. Also, take a look at the other Amish places in the area before you for sure commit to Blue Gate.

This is an Amish/​Mennonite restaurant, gift shop, bakery and concert venue that looks like it was picked up from Pigeon Forge or Orlando or some other tourist trap and dropped into Shipshewana. Yes, the bakery and the food are top notch, but you can tell it is not 100% authentic; rather, it is clear that the menu and the whole enterprise have been set up to offer an «Amish experience» for tourists, even as actual Amish buggies clip-​clop down the street outside.
As far as the food goes, I fell in love with the Amish Peanut Butter and bread; as well as the incredibly moist fried chicken. There are a lot of regional favorites on the menu, but again, parts of it read like an IHOP menu (oriental chicken salad? vegetarian burger? chicken fingers?) I made the mistake of ordering a sugar-​free apple pie slice for later (not nearly as good as I thought), but my friend was raving about her raspberry pie. I ordered the sweet potato casserole as my side dish to the fried chicken and it was so rich and sweet that it was practically a dessert.
All in all, I am glad I visited, but I know there are more authentic restaurants in the area that I will make a point of visiting next time.