For 40 years, Chef Carlos Rivero has run Indiana’s only Spanish restaurant right in downtown Valparaiso. Today, that same Tapas Restaurant is becoming Valpo’s sizzling date night destination — for first dates, anniversaries, and every generation in between.
Ask around Northwest Indiana where to go for date night, and Don Quijote keeps coming up. Not because it’s new. Because for four decades it’s been the one restaurant built entirely around an idea that happens to be the perfect recipe for a great date: small, shareable Spanish plates, a glass of wine, and a table where the conversation doesn’t stop.
Why Don Quijote Is Valpo’s Legendary Tapas Restaurant
Restaurante Don Quijote opened in 1985 as the only Spanish restaurant in the state of Indiana, and it remains one of the few authentic Tapas Restaurants anywhere in the region. Chef Carlos grew up in a small village in Pontevedra, Spain, trained in Madrid’s top hotel kitchens, and built his menu around the tradition he learned from his own father — a celebrity chef whose cooking was so celebrated that neighbors planned weddings around his visits home.
Tapas are Spain’s small, shared appetizer plates — as the Spanish Tapas page explains, the tradition is said to trace back to using a small plate, or “tapa,” to cover a drink and keep the flies away, which evolved over time into the small dishes served alongside drinks at tapas bars. That culture of sharing and sampling a variety of dishes in one sitting is exactly what makes tapas such a natural fit for date night.
It’s also worth noting Chef Carlos introduced al fresco dining to Valparaiso 40 years ago, when the idea barely existed here — Don Quijote’s outdoor seating is now considered legendary, and the restaurant’s original sangria remains the version every other patio in town is still chasing. This Tapas Restaurant in Valparaiso began a movement that has helped make Valpo a destination for date night and young lovers that want passion!
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The Date Night Menu — Built for Every Stage of the Relationship
As a Tapas Restaurant in Valparaiso, Don Quijote’s Date Night Menu is organized around a simple idea: no matter where you are in the relationship, there’s a clear, delicious starting point. Here it is as one simple menu — ready to save, share, or post.
