This Amazing Restaurant has Shipshewana Smelling Delicious all Day!

The Blue Gate Restaurant and Bakery in Shipshewana, Indiana, has amazing food, baked goods and gifts you will not want to miss.

I can’t tell you the number of times I have been shopping on Harrison or Middlebury street and -- hungry or not -- just can’t resist the smell of delicious homemade fried chicken wafting along the way. Those delicious aromas are coming from none other than the famous Blue Gate Restaurant & Bakery right here in Shipshewana

When you enter this restaurant (just on the corner of SR 5 and Middlebury) be ready to decide whether you want to order from the menu (including family-style dining) or enjoy the All New lunch and dinner buffet. This virtually never-ending spread of traditional made from scratch family recipes and Amish favorites even includes a large dessert bar.

Starters

Whatever dining option you choose, you have the incredible opportunity to tear into a delicious slice or loaf of fresh baked bread (that by the way… you must top with sweet Amish Peanut Butter or Homemade Apple Butter). Next a selection of fresh salads and 20 sides will tempt your taste buds and get your appetite ready for the flavorful feast to follow.

Lunch & Dinner Buffet

When you walk up to the piping hot food selections, you will think you have just stepped into Grandma’s house (10X’s Ten). From mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy, mac & cheese to cooked apples, green beans and other fresh veggies you will need to take it slow if you still want to have room on your plate for the main fare. Tender pot roast, pulled turkey and that oh-so-mesmerizing fried chicken still await you… and oh my stomach is growling just writing this post!

Once you have your fill of savory, you can’t pass up the large selection of sweets to end your meal including the peanut butter, fruit pies and other Blue Gate favorites.

Menu & Family Style

To begin, your table will be served a delicious loaf of homemade bread and if you know what you want, most (if not all) selections from the buffet are also available on the menu. Some items are only offered as a daily feature so be sure you know ahead and visit that day if you can’t live without your personal favorite. Saturday is my personal fave.

Other items are available for order that are not available on the buffet like the signature sandwiches. You won't believe the enormous pork tenderloin topped with creamy coleslaw, the flavorful buffalo burger (another personal favorite of mine), juicy grilled chicken dinner and a number of other choices that change with the seasons.

Breakfast Favorites

The Blue Gate breakfast menu is full of so many choices, I have a hard time deciding. So, I will start with my youngest son, whose favorite is definitely the biscuits and gravy. Me, I love everything else from the Farmer’s breakfast featuring fried mush and crisp slices of bacon to the tasty Amish Frying Pan that could feed more than one with Homefries, onions, peppers, sausage and bacon all scrambled and fried together, smothered with cheese, two eggs and topped with sausage gravy.

Have I mentioned the sweet treats?

Now you really can’t leave without trying one of the famous meringue pies or any of the other locally made selections too numerous to mention.

But, if your waistline just won’t allow for it, make sure you hit the bakery and take home a whole or half pie (yes, you can purchase half a pie - fruit pies only) for your stay in town… or for the road home.

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They have great shopping too!

The Bakery and Restaurant also features a number of unique gifts and candies both in the bakery and in the store located in the basement that you will love to browse either while you are waiting for a seat (if there is a wait) or after to burn off a few of those well worth-it calories you just enjoyed every bite of.

Oh, did I forget to say fresh doughnuts… You can’t spend time in Amish country and miss the opportunity to indulge in a treat as delicious as these. Just look into this little guy’s eyes and you can guarantee that this piece of doughy deliciousness will not last long, but the sugar high I can't promise!

If you are staying overnight there is plenty to keep you busy. Enjoy a show at the theatre next door, take in a carriage ride or just walk through town and enjoy the many shops that line the square of downtown Shipshewana, IN. Shopping is also seasonally available at the Midwest’s largest flea market (May-September) and year-round at the amazing weekly antique and misc. Auctions.

Now hurry up and plan you stay or better yet, jump in the car and drive on into town. The food is hot, delicious and waiting for you to enjoy.

Looking for other places to eat or things to do in Shipshewana? Download our ​Download Amish Country Trip Planner