A neighbor recommended Essenhaus to me and said it was a local favorite, so I had to try it out. Honestly really glad I did! While waiting to be seated there was a bunch of stuff to look at like the little shops and bakery, so it didn't even feel like a wait. I tried the buffet and my favorites were definitely the chicken and roast beef. Both were super good and tasted homemade. The whole place just has a really cozy vibe and everyone was really friendly. I can see why people around here love this place! read more

Das Dutchman Essenhaus - Outside View - Bakeries Near Me - Middlebury, Indiana

I love Das Dutchman Essenhaus and routine eat there every 1-2 years when we visit Shipshewana. We usually have a great meal and pleasant experience. Last week was different. The non-buffet restaurant was crowded, so we took a seat at the counter. The server was busy managing multiple tables along with the counter, and seldom came by to check on us. She would also forget requests and fail to bring things we requested until we asked twice. I ordered the Dutchman Burger and immediately experienced buyer's regret. The burger tasted off--like it was a day away from his expiration date. The initial taste each bite was okay, but always end with a gamey, off-putting taste. We will definitely be visiting Shipshewana again and will each at DDE. However, I won't get that burger again and hope we don't come at a time when the servers are overworked and distracted. read more

Great bakery and shops to peruse through and enjoy the yummy baked goods. Love the Amish peanut butter - tastes like peanut butter whipped with honey. Absolutely delicious read more

Das Dutchman Essenhaus - Peanut butter on keto bread (brought to take home) - Bakeries Near Me - Middlebury, Indiana

Great service! Buffet has a great selection for soup, salad, main course, & desert. Even the coffee was very good.

Food was good chicken greasy. Really like the flavor of dinner but desert was limited and extra for pie . It's all you can eat pie should be included not extra . read more

I was so excited to dine here and I was thoroughly disappointed. I had the meatloaf, green beans, and mashed potatoes and gravy. I've had better food in the hospital. It lacked flavor and character. The sweet tea must have had a falling out with sugar because the sugar barely showed up while the sauce on the meatloaf was three times as sweet. Ugh. This was a poor attempt at serving food. The best part of the meal was the pie crust on dessert and the kind wait staff. read more

Exactly what you expect it to be. Gift shop, bakery, full of people at the buffet. Party of 18, with a reservation; they still had us wait, probably 15 minutes past the time we expected. Service was quick and friendly, buffet was as expected; not bad, not great. Homestyle comfort food, salad was very fresh for the time of year. Roast beef was a pass, way overdone. Chicken was good, for mass production broasted chicken. Beef stroganoff over noodles was the best thing there. Bakery items were delicious, especially the maple iced cinnamon rolls! read more

I had the meatloaf sandwich...I mean what can you do to meatloaf? It was horrible. I barely ate one half of it and I couldn't eat one more bite. It was this ground up tangy tasting meat. Didn't have the consistency of ground beef...more mushy. The tanginess was disgusting. I've had lots of meatloafs out and this was horrific. I wonder the last time the chef tasted it. My friend got the chicken sandwich and she said it was the toughest chicken she ever ate. She left half of her sandwich on the table too! I mentioned to the cashier that I normally say the meal was fine, but this time I had to say how bad the meatloaf was. Her response was, "some days its better than others". What? read more

Went here to celebrate a birthday! The choice in food was good for a buffet but it mostly tasted of premade food service brand sides and generic boxed pastry assortments. They did have 2 giant sheet cakes out but it was out on a table with no sneeze guards of any type so I avoided them. The place is large but older and feels like you're stuck in the 90's. The fried chicken was good and any deserts like slices of pie are an additional charge per slice and not included with the buffet. read more

Das Dutchman Essenhaus - Mac and cheese, beef and noodles, fried chicken. - Bakeries Near Me - Middlebury, Indiana

Food is plentiful and delicious. Service was basic. It's not a quiet relaxing place but the Dutch apple crisp is worth going for!

Wow does this place pack people in! Prepare for a wait and just embrace the shopping. We waited about 35 minutes during lunch rush and visited the bakery for cookies galore. Once in, we were lucky to get to sit inside a buggy! Food was great and our server was very nice and checked back several times. With ice cream sundaes and pie it was about $75 before tip for two kids a one adult. read more

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A bit of a unique experience. The restaurant is split into sections. There is a large section that offers a buffet and a smaller section where you can order off the menu. The two are on separate sides of the building. The server was quick and attentive. The broasted chicken was crisp and juicy as hyped. The homemade noodles were REALLY tasty. I felt like the quality, portion size, and price was Spot on. We will return. read more

It's Das Good! A fun dining experience in a cafeteria style which has lots of farm related decorations. Wide variety of meats and vegetables, but leave room for desert because they make some out of this world pies and cakes. If you are traveling in northern Indiana put this place on your bucket list, it's a must stop to refill your body. Everyone was friendly and helpful. Take time to wonder around the property before hopping back in the car, they have some fun shops and unique photo ops. read more

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Amazing experience! You feel like you are in another country!Great experience at the Das Dutchman! One of a kind place with a huge Amish style buffet which includes an incredible fresh salad bar, pork, fried chicken, Mac & cheese, endless other dishes, and desserts including cakes and puddings. The place is huge with a cute bakery on the side. Only $19.99 for all you can eat! There is also a bakery inside and a big selection of souvenirs. read more

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Good home cooking, nice homey atmosphere. The food was pretty good. We ate on the 'menu' side of the restaurant, and ordered fried chicken with dressing and gravy. The noodles were just meh. Rolls were okay. Walked around, and all the way back to the bakery. Brought home a pecan pie half and cherry handpies. Gift items were ridiculously priced. Short-handed, as seems to be true everywhere, so there was quite a wait for a Friday mid- afternoon, but our server was fabulous. read more

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Taya waited on us on our visit this past weekend and what a transformation. Fantastic service and management was also amazing. Sometimes you just have to realize that we all have bad days and one bad day does not define who we really are. read more

We stopped here for a family holiday meal and brought a few of our party for the first time. The kids loved smelling things and looking at the items as we waited to be sat and enjoyed the buffet. The price was decent and the food was good. Being an hour from home I wouldn't make the trip just for this but for a holiday trip for the entire experience around was worth it. read more

I went to the bakery as there was too much food for me with their buffet or off the menu choices. But I can always find room for a custard -filled pastry! I bypassed the creme ones and went with a pudding -like fill and chocolate on top. Delicious and yes I ate the whole thing!! Will try the banana nut loaf tomorrow... bought a small one. Quick service in the bakery. Food looked great in restaurant, I was not that hungry, read more

Das Dutchman Essenhaus - Inside filling! - Bakeries Near Me - Middlebury, Indiana

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The place reminds me of an old Bavarian inn with an Amish touch. It's clean and the staff is friendly. We were seated right away. We chose the buffet for $19.99 per person which was a great choice. The variety of dishes will satisfy but not overwhelm you. What they do have out is done well. The chicken was outstanding along with their roast beef and baked steak. The dessert bar was the only thing that didn't make us go oohhhh. I would come back just for the meats. It will be a stop again the next time we are in the area and looking for a meal. read more

Das Dutchman Essenhaus - Bakeries Near Me - Middlebury, Indiana

Sooo good. Pie is amazing. Service is great. Clean area and quick set ice. Nice country laid back feel to it.

We came in to the bakery due to a friend recommendation. It is a beautifully laid out bakery with lots of decadent items to choose from. There is also a refrigerated area where you can get some items to take home. There are pies and breads and much more. The bakery is down the hall from the restaurant. And beside the gift shop. So you can do lots of shopping and eating in one place. The employees were friendly and helpful. I bought a chocolate peanut butter pie for my husband. The price was reasonable. I didn't try it. My husband did say there was lots of whipped cream. He enjoyed it. read more

Das Dutchman Essenhaus - Chocolate peanut butter pie - Bakeries Near Me - Middlebury, Indiana

Very good food and our server was great. We did have to wait about 30 minutes before getting seated.

Our family of 18 was accommodated by a very nice hostess. Our food was outstanding, everyone raved about it. We will certainly come back next time we are in the area. read more

I grew up eating here, and it was great to bring a bunch of friends who had never been to anything like Essenhaus. The food is delicious and service was great. Everyone was going back to the buffet for many trips. It was nice to eat in the "barn" part of the restaurant, since it's so unique. When I was a kid I also always enjoyed eating in the buggy that they turned into a booth. The pie, bakery foods, and local goods are all worth trying as well. Essenhaus restaurant and grounds have plenty of shopping to explore for a very well-rounded experience. Highly recommend a visit if you're in the area! read more

Das Dutchman Essenhaus - Baked goods - Bakeries Near Me - Middlebury, Indiana

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Located in Middlebury close to Shipshewana this Amish restaurant is a great place to visit. We chose to sit in a black buggy to eat inside! It was so cool and very comfortable! It even had lanterns inside! They have either the buffet, family style, or you can order off the menu. We chose the buffet. It includes two fluffy rolls and the table included the peanut butter and Amish butter they make. I really loved the noodles they make. Delicious! The fried chicken was so crispy and good! They had lots to choose from lasagna, dressing, turkey, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and much more. The waitress was very friendly and attentive. Check out the gift shop and the bakery they also have. Lots of pies, rolls, jams, peanut butter and more you can purchase. read more

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We sampled a few items from Das Dutchman Essenhaus, that our friend brought us from Middlebury, IN. This is an Amish establishment in Amish country, and my friend stopped into the bakery to pick up some things. We took extreme caution not to choke on cinnamon when sampling the large cinnamon bun/loaf item that was a newly introduced product. It wasn't very sweet and the dough was soft like a bun, although the filling inside was vanilla cream flavored. I would say this was ok, more appealing to the eyes because of its grandeur of scale. The peanut butter topping on the donut was the best part, it had the same sweet dough as the loaf but the chocolate filling was very scant inside. The glazed donut was fine. My disappointment was that my high expectations were not met. I had envisioned that Amish made baked goods would taste a certain way and be made with high quality sourced ingredients. The Essenhaus Amish peanut butter, the first ingredient is Light Corn Syrup and the third ingredient after Peanut Butter is Marshmallow Cream (which also contains corn syrup and sugar). These are produced products with an Amish Country Kitchen label but similar to what you would find at your neighborhood grocery aisle. read more

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I don't normally like my face, but this was fantastic. The chicken was juicy and flavorful. The bread pudding was out of this world. The mashed potatoes and gravy were amazing. So was the stuffing so was the apple crisp etc. etc. Service is friendly. read more

I am so sad. We have always told everyone how yummy their food and pies are. We ate there last night. My husband and I were so disappointed. We got the fried chicken, dressing, green beans, rolls and butterscotch pie. Chicken was not crispy, dressing was bland, beans were like out of a can, rolls dry. Our pie was okay, but not as good as years before. We live in Ft Wayne and will not drive that far for such a disappointment again. read more

went to essenhouse with family for a saturday lunch was dissapointed with most of the food. salad bar was by far the best choice. ribs were dry pasta dish seemed to be overecooked supposed to be known for chicken was not goods and had to wait twice to get any ands it was not that busy .not hardly any dessert choices I will not visit again blue gate just down the road is much better basically same choices better quality best part about the day was the server read more

Essenhaus is riding on its past laurels when it comes to their food. They still have the same "homemade" menu but the quality is quite poor at times. They do not keep their buffet stocked and clean. Quite often food is low, dried out and the whole service table is a mess and just not tended to.This is from more than one observation and time. The waiters are not always prompt, though generally friendly. The mashed potatoes do not taste fresh or real. The gravy is not of homemade quality--very canned. The meats are often dried out. Overall, have seen a fall in quality of food, presentation and service in the past few years, whether on the buffet or plated. My elderly mother likes to go there, based on past memories, but the last few times (generally every 6 months) we have come away quite disappointed in the quality of food, especially. Not as tasty, not as homemade and fresh simply not as good as in the past. Change in cooks perhaps? read more

Service: 5 stars. Our server was Naomi and she was friendly, attentive, always clearing plates and offering anything we needed. Food: So this was our first time, definitely some hits and misses. Mashed potato 3 stars Gravy 4 stars Stuffing 5 stars Salad bar 2.5 stars (not much more than basic toppings at the bar. I think they could have some other things.) Beef 4 stars Strawberry rhubarb pie 2.5 stars Soft serve icecream 3.5 stars. Comes in a cup. Ambiance: Kind of reminds me of a Cracker Barrel with all of the items people can buy? But with a Christian theme. Knickknacks, stained glass, jewelry, garden creatures, and a long hallway to walk down to the buffet, which is separate from the dining with a menu part of the e building. Also, a lot of people and hallways are not very wide so they seemed to get stuck looking at things to buy and creating a traffic jam. Bathrooms were very nice. Staff was very nice. read more

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Pie not included in the buffet so that was disappointing. The food was just ok and there was very little variety. The cooked vegetables tasted like they were canned, the fresh vegetables were ok but not great quality. The fried chicken and the roast beef were good. Service was friendly and efficient. read more

Really nice experience here. I stopped for a late lunch, arriving around 1:30 pm on a Monday, so it wasn't especially busy. I ordered the buffet and everything was excellent. The server was very pleasant and efficient. She took my drink order right away and brought refills before my glass was half empty. She brought hot, fresh rolls, one whole wheat and one white. The salad bar items were very fresh, and there was a nice variety. All the usual salad items plus some unique salads including old fashioned jello salads. The hot items were delicious, including mashed potatoes, noodles, gravies, dressing, corn, green beans, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, and much more. I especially loved the noodles. They were thick and truly just like the noodles my grandma made. Definitely homemade! There were two soups available, chicken noodle and the soup of the day which was cheeseburger. Desserts on the buffet included bread pudding and peach cobbler, plus two varieties of donut holes. I look forward to returning the next time I am in the area. A great experience! . read more

Das Dutchman Essenhaus - I sampled peach cobbler and bread pudding. - Bakeries Near Me - Middlebury, Indiana

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Excellent service by Anna! Food was great and we even got to sit in the buggy. We've been coming here for about 45 years. It's been fun to see the business grow and develop. Same great food and service. read more

Wow! What a buffet! The salad bar was super fresh, the pulled pork, pot roast and fried chicken were perfection. The ambiance is great and if you can eat inside the amish buggy, even better! The apple strudel with vanilla pudding topped it off. We didnt watch any sides because we had already eaten many of them during our thanksgiving meal. The proteins, salad bar and desserts were amazing! I have used the prayer on the place mat many times since visiting this location: Lord, thank you for the friends and family around us, the love between us and the food before us. Amen! read more

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It has been 10 years since my last review of Das Dutchman Essenhaus, a Middlebury, Indiana Amish styled restaurant, bakery, inn, conference center, and entertainment hall that also features a handful of retail shops on its rather large campus. While it's a tad kitschy at times, the truth is I've grown to love this place and it's low-key charm, friendly employees, and overall vibe. While I tend to stay relatively affordable when it comes to my Tenderness Tour events, I knew I was wanting to stay at Essenhaus when I decided to put Elkhart County in my fundraising tour this year. It was a bit of a splurge, however, it was entirely worth it. For those unaware, Elkhart and LaGrange Counties have a high population of the Amish community. While Essenhaus maintains a simplicity about it, it has enough luxuries (cable television, free Wifi) that most should be comfortable. And yes, despite the Amish theme both electricity and plumbing are present here. As I had a long day of wheeling prior to my arrival, I did not arrive in time for the shops. I was also gone just before they opened - however, the shops consist of clothing, quilts, country decor, and more. The food is consistent with the Amish theme with some variations. They have both buffet and menu options along with an extensive pie menu. The restaurant is known as the biggest restaurant in Indiana. I was pleasantly surprised that we didn't have a wait when we arrived as every other time I've been here there's been a decent wait. The rooms tend to be a bit larger here. I was able to snag a wheelchair friendly room this time around and the only real problem was a slightly heavy door and a somewhat high mattress. However, I was able to work with both. My room was comfortable, the employees were wonderful, the food was delicious (and the server top-notch in terms of being timely and hospitable). It did seem like there were fewer employees dressed in traditional dress this time around (I have no idea if they're actually Amish, however, the Amish/Mennonite clothing is common here and a good majority of the women wear head coverings. Das Dutchman Essenhaus does offer an entertainment hall that features occasional concerts and theatrical shows with most having somewhat of a faith-based flavor to them. They also have a quilt garden and offer a cruise-in on a regular basis that features some terrific older cars. As I noted, the Amish do frequent Essenhaus and you will likely see quite a few in the restaurant with their buggies in the parking lot alongside the tourists. During this visit, I found the Amish super friendly and I even picked up some small souvenirs this time around. I also visited the bakery, though I will admit I found the donuts a bit less than fresh. This was a very restful stay for me after a hard day of wheeling and I loved having a little time in the morning to enjoy the bakery. I suppose my five-star is a little sentimental, however, I do love coming here and I've simply not had a bad experience. So, ten years later I'm finally boosting this up to a 5-star experience while acknowledging the Amish theme and more traditional dining may not appeal to everyone. It absolutely works for me. read more

Food and servers were great. It was a bit confusing trying to figure out where to go once inside. We would have liked someone to walk us to the correct register, especially since they weren't busy. read more

The food was extremely delicious. It was very cultural. As well was the service and servers. The ambiance was very relaxing and exciting. Also surprisingly we spent more on gas than on food here. I highly recommend this place to anyone visiting or dining. read more

Overall, waiter was great. Food was equivalent to large portion of cafeteria food. Everything tasted like it came from a box.

Service was excellent. We looked at buffet but opted for menu dinner. The buffet had a big salad bar but no beef and no pies. The beef and noodles was good, particularly the mashed potatoes and gravy underneath. The Coleslaw is vinegar based not mayo based but fresh and flavorful. The breasted chicken was moist but lacked that fried chicken crispiness and was a bit bland. We each were served one roll and delicious apple butter was on the table. The strawberry and pecan pie were good...not amazing, but good. read more