Blue Gate Restaurant & Bakery — Restaurant in Shipshewana

Sharin a friends experience: So here is a tidbit of info to use however you like with the experience we had. We went to Shipshewana Blue Gate Performing Arts Center for a show last night which was outstanding! When we booked the tickets we couldn't get a room at the Blue Gate Garden Inn (right by the Pe1rforming Arts Center). We were able to get a room at the Van Buren Hotel not far from "downtown". Nice and clean. We would stay again. We chose when purchasing our tickets for the show to include the dinner buffet which was back at the Blue Gate restaurant (downtown). We were expecting food deliciousness like we have had in the restaurant on the main level before. (The buffet was in the lower level). It was a disappointing meal, mainly due to food not really being HOT and some things a little tasteless. The fried chicken wasn't crispy...good but not like served in the main restaurant. Now, don't get me started on dessert. Okay, I started...I went for a piece of blueberry pie and what I got was a slice of thicken gelatin with a berry or two that got stuck rolling through!🤮 And not even good crust! I couldn't get beyond a few bites. So then, I thought I'd give the coconut cream pie a chance. Nope...couldn't get beyond a few bites of that either. Don tried the cherry pie after sampling my two pies and said the same of the cherry...gelatin without the cherries. We were DONE! We walked up to the bakery, thinking we would see something to take back to our room. Same type of pies as we saw on the buffet with the awful crust. At that point we didn't even want to buy anything else. Now, where I'm going with this is, we would eat in the restaurant at Blue Gate Restaurant like we have before. That meal was very good. But never doing the buffet AGAIN.👎 So this morning, after driving from our hotel to the Blue Gate Garden Inn (by the Performing Arts Center) to have the breakfast buffet there, we were disappointed once again. It was a nothing buffet with very little offered. Don said the made to order omelet was good. To do over again, we would have just gone to the regular Blue Gate Restaurant (downtown) for both dinner and breakfast, as our experience for a meal has been great. Dessert Alert We drove to The Essenhaus in Middlebury (7 miles away). The bakery there has tons more, which we have bought items before and been very happy with. Today it was a blackberry pie and angel food cake for the freezer. The pie is filled with blackberries and the crust was not too far from my mom's pie crust.😋 To each their own opinion, but that is ours. We definitely would like to return for a show and dinner at either Blue Gate Restaurant or...

During my visit I found the overall experience to be mediocre, which led me to give it a three-star review. The buffet was advertised as serving Amish-style food, but upon closer inspection, I noticed that the food presented did not align with what I would consider traditional Amish cuisine. Some dishes were mislabeled, and others had no labels at all, making it challenging to discern what exactly I was scooping up and placing on my plate. This lack of clarity was disappointing, as I had hoped for a genuine Amish dining experience.

On the positive side, the servers and hostess were excellent. They were friendly, attentive, and guided me to my table promptly. Additionally, my chosen beverage was delivered efficiently. However, there was a significant issue with the checkout process. Unfortunately, my server failed to deliver my ticket to the table, which became a problem when it was time to leave. As a result, I was unable to check out properly, leading to an awkward and frustrating situation.

I ended up loitering around the lobby for about 25 minutes, waiting for the staff to figure out my ticket number and complete the checkout process. This wait felt like I was being held hostage, and the staff could only apologize without resolving the issue effectively. It was surprising to learn that they could not access my ticket number from the back end of their system, which I found troublesome and chaotic.

What disappointed me even further was that the prices for the buffet remained the same every day of the week, yet the staff struggled to ring me up for a standard buffet with water. This lack of flexibility and efficiency in the checkout process left me feeling frustrated and dissatisfied with my overall dining experience.

To summarize, the food quality was below average, earning it a two-star rating. The servers and hostess, on the other hand, were outstanding and deserved a five-star rating for their excellent service. However, the checkout system's poor performance and lack of resolution brought down the overall experience to a one-star rating. All in all, while the restaurant had some positives, the issues with the faux Amish-style food and the inefficient checkout process made it far from a...

Well this was my first experience at the Blue Gate Restaurant and I have an excellent review to share with you! We started with a loaf of fresh bread and butter then came our salads I usually order ranch but this time I decided to order French boy was I surprised by the light and well seasoned dressing-it was absolutely delicious and I didn’t leave the bakery without a bottle of this special recipe! Then came the family style 4-meat Dinner with ham like no other roast beef that melted in your mouth meatloaf that was to die for and yummy fried chicken. We were also greeted with homemade dishes of green beans, egg noodles w pieces of chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and last but not least the dressing. We ordered it for the two of us but it could have fed a large family that’s for sure!!! Everything I mean everything was so delicious that I wished I had 2 stomachs!!! For Dessert I ordered Custard pie it was like no other custard I’ve ever eaten-delectable!!! I want to share a very important suggestion that is for those of us that pay the $26+ for our meal I say we should be able to bag the initial order that’s left on the tray but anything extra for the all you can eat is a no, no! It would be so much easier for the restaurant to prevent waste and us as customers would love love love to take our leftovers home to enjoy another meal at home. We hate throwing good food out I know you know we’ve heard the cliche many times about starving people not only here in the USA also elsewhere. This will not only help maintain our clean conscience and needless waste I really hope you take me up on this suggestion it will benefit all-really!!! Thank You so much for your top notch cleanness not only from the beautiful bathroom also the bakery, restaurant, and flowery surroundings that we’re greeted by when we arrive!!! Keep up the good work!!!! We will be back to experience Amish hospitality...