Blue Gate Restaurant and Theatre: Dinner and a Show in Shipshewana

If you visit Shipshewana, Indiana, chances are you’ll eat at least one Amish-style meal at the Blue Gate Restaurant, enjoy a show at the Blue Gate Threatre, or treat yourself to some goodies at the Blue Gate Bakery. We doubled-down during our Shipshewana visit, eating two meals and taking in two plays at the Blue Gate Restaurant and Theatre.

Blue Gate Restaurant

Since its start in the 1980s, the Blue Gate has grown from a 50-seat, one dining room restaurant to 1200 seats spread through nine dining rooms, plus the bakery and theater, all under one roof.

Blue Gate Restaurant and Theatre

Fun fact:  In 1996, combined Blue Gate properties in Shipshewana used 1,587,000 eggs in their recipes!

Blue Gate buffet

The Blue Gate Restaurant offers a buffet or a family-style meal. Not that hungry? You can order off the menu. On our first evening in Shipshewana, we ate in the lower-level buffet dining room. I had been looking forward to savoring Amish fried chicken and my favorite, Amish noodles. Both of those items were on the buffet, along with more meats, side dishes, a full salad bar, and pies. We had gotten there late, and the pie selection was depleting quickly. I chose a chocolate cream pie before it, too, disappeared. The chocolate dessert was the perfect finish to my meal.

BlueGateRestaurantBuffet

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Blue Gate family-style meal

The next night we dined on a family-style meal in the main floor dining room. The meal includes fried chicken and your choice of roast beef, turkey, or meatloaf. We chose meatloaf, my husband’s favorite.  Add to that green beans, mashed potatoes, noodles (yay!), homemade bread, and dessert. We were far too full to even touch our dessert. Instead, we took our fresh peach pie with us to enjoy later.

Blue Gate Family-Style Meal

Blue Gate Bakery

As we walked through the bakery, I was tempted to pick up some treats for later. I planned to come back before we left town, but it didn’t work out. There’s our reason to return to Shipshewana sometime soon.

Blue Gate Theatre

With a little over 300 seats in the upper-level Blue Gate Theatre, there isn’t a bad seat in the house. We saw a matinee performance of Mennonite Girls Can Cook, a light-hearted play about a local cooking show that may have a chance to go to Hollywood.

Cast of Mennonite Girls Can Cook
Cast of Mennonite Girls Can Cook

We also saw The Home Game. The Home Game is about a young Amish man who dreams of playing major league baseball. His dream comes true, and he goes off to play in the majors despite his father’s objections. The story, based on the Parable of the Prodigal Son, brought both laughter and tears.

Other shows and plays are scheduled throughout the year. The Christmas show is especially popular. You can purchase show tickets separately, or choose a dinner-theater combination.

If you visit the Blue Gate Restaurant and Theatre

The Blue Gate Restaurant and Theatre, located at 105 E Middlebury Street in Shipshewana, Indiana, is open Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner. They also serve breakfast on Saturday. Check the website for exact hours, menus, and theater schedule.

Accommodations

We stayed at the Blue Gate Garden Inn during our visit to Shipshewana. Check room rates

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BlueGateRestaurantAndTheatre

Disclosures: The LaGrange County Convention and Visitors Bureau and Blue Gate Hospitality hosted our visit to Shipshewana. Our meals and theater admission were complimentary. However, any opinions expressed in this article are my own.
If you book a room through the “Check room rates” link above, I will receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

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2 thoughts on “Blue Gate Restaurant and Theatre: Dinner and a Show in Shipshewana

  • October 20, 2017 at 6:19 pm
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    I’ve recently discovered Amish Noodles! Buffets are awesome as well! Sounds like a great place to eat!

    Reply
    • October 20, 2017 at 8:19 pm
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      Yeah, Amish noodles are the best!

      Reply

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