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Categories: Diners, Scandinavian [Edit]
Neighborhoods: Mission Valley, Serra Mesa
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While they may be better know for their wackily-named, bargain-priced, unoffending Swedish furniture, this review is for their food alone. Served cafeteria-style, the long line indicated something of interest and, upon closer inspection, I found the catalyst of the crowd. Meatballs, millions of them, were on sale.
In an early celebration of the holiday season, Ikea was offering their $4.99 meatball plate for only $1. I only happened upon it, but it was too good a deal to pass up so my friend and I ordered two plates. Soup was also $1 per bowl (down from $1.99) so we also grabbed some of their clam chowder to try. The meatballs were served with gravy, mashed potatoes, and a lingonberry sauce that reminded me of a Swedish thanksgiving dinner. Despite looking tiny, the plate of meatballs was surprisingly filling. The clam chowder had a smooth texture even through the bits of vegetables throughout the soup and the whole thing was well seasoned.
While the food wasn't the best thing I've ever had, it was pretty tasty. Plus, you absolutely can't argue with the price. Anything at an 80% discount, while keeping up with quality, tastes that much better. However, like any great deal, this one won't last so I highly recommend dropping by, making a beeline for the cafe, and grapping some meatballs for lunch. Both you and your pocketbook will be glad you did.
Food: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Price: $
Atmosphere: 6/10
The ultimate 99 cents menu - for kids . . . . kids meatballs, kids mashed potatoes, kids mac & cheese, kids chocolate milk. = very happy kids.
My own fare . . . meatball plate (15 in all) $4.99 and hot bev ($0.99) -- still cheap and really good.
** in the end - a happy family :-)
All-You-Can-Eat Crayfish @ Ikea!?!
Who? What? Where? When? but... WHY?
Who cares!?! Just EAT the damn thing!
$9.99 for All-You-Can-Eat Crayfish is a pretty damn good deal, and it comes with a drink! I sure ate my share... 3 plates of crayfish swedish meatballs, scallopped potatoes, salad, and dessert... WOW.
*rubs belly*
I'm not eating crayfish again till next year...
This event only happens once a year folks, so make sure you come out next time. Oh, and don't forget to wear your fat shirt... mine sure came in handy!
Cheap , Good Eats, The meatballs are freaking good.
The FURNITURE IS CHEAP, LOOKS COOL BUT ISNT THE BEST QUALITY.. however the food is pretty dang good.
Their all you can eat crayfish summer event (for $9.99!) was more than expected! I thought...ok a pile of crayfish (still would be a good deal)...but no, cheese and crackers, drinks and coffee, salads, meatballs and potatoes, and desserts. And festive decorations, bibs, and candy packet party favor at the end. In addition their service was extremely friendly offering immediately to take pictures, plates, etc.
While the food was pretty tasty (especially for the price and all you can eatness) I do admit they could hold off a little (or a lot) on the salt (I'm actually really thirsty right now as I type) so make sure you hydrate.
it is what it is. Ikea will not go broke cause their food is average. It's even better when you are hungry. My daughter asked me why I like the meatballs when I don't like meatloaf. I didn't like the meatballs as much then. My daughter can and does read minds, be careful.
When they dubbed Citizen Kane in Swedish, they changed "Rosebud" to "Ligonberry."
It honestly makes more sense that way. Ligonberry is 100% pure distilled awesome. It's... the jam! (Ba-dum tish, thank you, I'll be here all week, try the Swedish meatballs.)
The rest of the food is good too, with excellent bang for buck. Too bad about the screaming kids and obnoxious crowds.
I love how someone is trash talking the IKEA restaurant, comparing it to Burger King. For what it is, I think the IKEA restaurant does a great job. From a place where you can furnish an entire home for less than $300, you can also be totally hunger free for less than $5.
If you want amazing food, go to a restaurant and spend some good coin. If you want something quick and cheap and delicious before a day of deciphering illustrated assembly instructions, then go to town at the food court in IKEA, but don't be an ass and talk $hit.
I love the IKEA Restaurant.
I love the meatballs and the gravy and the lingonberry sauce and the lingonberry drink and their coffee, both regular and decaf. I love their salmon and their shrimp and their pastries and their dill sauce and their little red potatoes and just everything! I've never had anything there that isn't delicious! And I love that I can afford it all and even sometimes get two entrees so I can taste both if I haven't been there for awhile. And I love that not only is it all delicious there but it is all available to buy packaged and/or frozen to take home and enjoy even more!
I love the IKEA Restaurant.
Sample menu:
Deluxe Breakfast Plate
Scrambled eggs, bacon, Swedish pancakes with lingonberries, potatoes, and coffee.
$1.99
Open-face Shrimp Sandwich
Served open faced on wheat with cold-water shrimp, hard boiled egg, and mayonnaise.
$2.49
FAMOUS SWEDISH MEATBALL PLATE FOR ONLY $4.99 15 Swedish meatballs with potatoes and sweet-tart lingonberries.
BIG SWEDE BREAKFAST PLATE AVAILABLE FOR ONLY $2.99: Scrambled eggs, bacon, Swedish pancakes with lingonberries, potatoes, French toast sticks, sausage patty, and coffee.
I thought this was good, only because I was deathly starving tonight. I got the Swedish Meatballs, that one vegetable dish with sweet basil sauce, and the Almond cake dish. The first two reminded me of a hearty tv dinner. It was soo hearty, I'm thinking of taking my mom there to share my meal with.
I really liked the way it's cafeteria style dining. I like those types. It's interactive, and although the workers remind you of lunch ladies from middle school, you don't really have to deal with corny waiters or crabby workers.
Looking for food on a budget? Look no further. The prices are great here and the selection of food is pretty decent. Meatballs, mashed potatoes, lingonberrys - this place has it. Oh and that lingonberry juice...excellent. IKEA's restaurant seems to be a fancier Costco, with better upscale food.
Okay---Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, berries and a drink for 4.99? Amazing!! These meatballs are delicious. Pretty cool for a furniture shop!
Tony hates it when I drag him through the crappy maze that is Ikea.... but he tends to whine less if I promise him a meatball.
Honestly, I go because it's neat to have meatballs with berries. I guess I just like the lingonberries because i like saying lingonberry...
lingonberry..
lingonberry..
lingonberry sauce.
kinda wierd... but definitely not lame sauce.
Swedish meatballs are the bomb!!!
Skip the day-care atmosphere of the restaurant and take your swedish meatballs home. A giant bag of meatballs, 2 packets of sauce mix, and a jar of lingonberries is 11.99, and it will make dinner for 2 for at least 4 nights along with potatoes on the side. They also make a good potluck meal. I like to bring them to work and tell everyone they are a secret family recipe. Ha! I'm not even Swedish but everyone thinks I am.
This review is 3 stars because the smelly toddler-land restaurant is a 1 but the meatballs are a 5.
Ok, so this is Ikea. I'm referring to the 2nd floor restaurant and Yelp has no category for Swedish or just plain restaurants so diner will have to suffice.
They have a manager's special - seems to be constant here - $5.99 for about 16 Swedish meatballs covered in a gravy, some red objects (perhaps cranberries), and a boiled potato along with a salad or soup and a dinner roll. I believe the beverage is extra - perhaps $0.69 but I can't recall at the moment.
The special is not too bad. Watch for shady people here though, especially on the items you can take yourself off the racks (such as cheesecake, etc). I have observed several people take plates, some even sniffing them, and then putting them back on the rack for others to unsuspectingly take. People, didn't your parents teach you how to behave in public? Once you've taken, touched, smelled it - it's yours. Do not put it back on the rack for the next person. If you don't want it then tell someone or place it on top of the cooler where no one is likely to take it. We don't want to share your germs or other nasty habits.
Drink glasses are small here - perhaps these are the size they serve in the "home country." Expect a 6 oz glass. At least the refills are free - by the time you get ice in that glass you will have a 3 oz drink and constant trips back to the soda machine.
I've not had the chance to try a breakfast here yet. The objects displayed in the picture for that meal "intrigue" me.
Finally, people - you need to buss your own tables here. That means taking your tray back to the tray return and not leaving it for you mom, maid, the next customer, etc. to clean up. Don't be so rude and lazy!
I'd stop here every now and then but it's nothing special. Perhaps if I had a 100% love affair with Swedish meatballs it would be different. I'd be more likely to make a return visit to the snack shop on the 1st floor for a $0.75 hot dog. There is something mystical about those (and I generally don't do hot dogs that have been rolling around on those little rollers but these are different - actually good for a quick snack!).
This place is the shits. What happened here?? Ikea restaurants used to be so good and decently priced with their assortment of different types of entrees. What do they have now for dinner? Old chicken strips and french fries. If I wanted to pay $5 for chicken strips and fries, I would've gone to Burger King where they would've done a better job too. Their saving grace was of course the meatballs. But even their meatballs tasted a little off this time. They also no longer serve the meatballs with boiled yellow potatoes, but have opted for the cheaper and easier to mass produce, mashed potatoes, instead. Oh, and they also got rid of their chocolate dame torte cake for dessert. I officially hate this place. One star for how much this place sucks and one star for having the intelligence to keep their customers around by still making those meatballs with the gravy.
I went in with three friends. One had some macaroni and cheese, and crudités. The other, a vegan, had nothing. When he asked at the food counter about what was available for vegetarians, he was offered the salmon (the server pronounced it "saLmon"). There wasn't anything that appealed to me. Some babies at another table seemed happy to be there, although I have no idea what they were eating. I watched a man with a backpack who had short-cropped hair and the demeanor of a parolee, looking about in all directions while avoiding eye contact. He went from the entrance to the food line and departed with bottled water and ? without bothering to go by the cashier. I guess he didn't like what IKEA had on the menu either.
Dont bitch. If you choose to eat at Ikea's restaurant ( and I use the term restaurant very loosely ) then you should know what you're in for.
See the heat lamp ? Yea, thats the first and maybe the only red flag that you need. I cant even decide if the breakfast combo at McD's is better or worse .
The only reason why I even came in here is because I was supposed to meet up with a few friends at 10 am but they neglected to adjust their alarm clocks for daylight savings time, so I had time to kill.
Overall the food isnt bad and it probably wont make you sick but its pure filler. I really have no reason to come back unless I have my niece or nephews and I can feed them for 99 cents each.
No I take that back. I'd rather go to McD's
IKEA jokes aside, the restaurant is surprisingly good. Although I was born in Sweden it's been decades since I've tasted real meatballs and theirs come pretty darn close. Desserts are very tasty as well. And, it's all very cheap.
By the way, the berries are called lingonberries and can be compared to cranberries. You can even get the drink at the soda machine, which I would recommend trying. If you like the drink enough, you can buy the concentrate on the 1st floor.
I've never had any of their sandwiches, but friends have said they've never been disappointed.
And, yes, you can buy the sauce for the meatballs on the 1st floor as well.
I usually don't like the selection of meat balls, etc they have at the ikea restaurants but their creamy veggie pasta is excellent and they practically give it away just to get you to stay longer at ikea to shop. Their strawberry mousse dessert was good too. Great place to feed your children (if you have any).
I'm embarrassed almost about how much I liked the Ikea restaurant! The Swedish meatballs were really tasty with the mashed potatoes and ligonberry. I liked mixing all three together.. You can purchase jars of the ligonberry if you wish to have it at home. My friend and the Italian style meatballs with salad.. also really delicious. Wow.. now another reason to go to Ikea! And so so cheap!
Go for the meatballs, everything else is rather average.
well you get what you paid for, the cashier was not too nice-she told me there is no refill while there is no such thing in print and I saw tons of people refill.
the food was good- I mean the meat ball, my son and I absolutely love it.you can get the meat ball from the 1st floor frozen isle, but not the cream sauce . I tried to to replicate it , with no luck
ok i actually love the cafe here.....cinnamon bun and coffee is good before starting a long day of shopping!!!!
The chicken marsala was surprisingly good and only cost $5. Free refills on the drinks (try the lingonberry one, our favorite). They used to have boiled potatoes but have now replaced them with mashed potatoes, which I actually prefer.
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