IKEA Restaurant & Cafe

Specifically about the kids play area inside the Café: I am HIGHLY DISAPPOINTED in the redesigned kids area. It’s less than a quarter of the old play area footprint, it’s open on 3 sides instead of enclosed, has less than a third of the toys there were, and there is about 24″ of carpet for kids to use, so most end up sitting on the linoleum. The wall mounted toys are a plus, but do not make up for the loss of the old play area. WHY mess with a good thing?

In order to gird ourselves for the always wearying maze of visual/​tactile stimulation that is IKEA, my friend and I immediately headed to the IKEA café upon parking. (Don’t get me wrong, IKEA is one of my favorite places, but one must admit that it becomes draining after several hours.) Merely stepping foot into the restaurant made me feel like I had been transported to Sweden itself, what with those foreign multi-​layered carts to transport your trays of food as well as the sparse, practical ambiance. Actually, I think a lot of IKEA’s appeal has to do with the font that they use on all their menus, products, etc.; it’s very friendly and round-​looking.
The set-​up was slightly deceiving: there appeared to be two lines so we chose the one on the left and waited patiently, only to be told that there was no food on that side! Confusion! We then waited in the medium-​length line on the other side, while we wondered aloud whether people in the area come to IKEA solely to eat, rather than shop. We had a very cheerful server spoon us ten meatballs, gravy, and mashed potatoes. His positivity was surprising, as one can imagine that working in the IKEA cafeteria could lead to some grumpiness. Alongside two juice boxes (elderflower and, of course, lingonberry), our total bill rung up to $ 7.39. The salad bar, salmon and cupcakes all looked a bit sad. It was an easy decision to choose the meatballs.
The little meatballs reminded me of hot dogs, in that they tasted very processed. They were also very soft and spongey. To be sure, I did enjoy my meatballs, but I did stop to think whether I was eating horse meat or some other such undesirable animal. The real highlight was the elderflower juice, which tasted like sophisticated grape juice. Although the juicebox container revealed that there was 0% juice inside (unlike the 10% juice in the lingonberry juicebox), I really embraced the fake-​ness regardless. It would be an excellent mixer.
I do wish that they sold the famous IKEA cinnamon rolls & ice cream in the restaurant, instead of downstairs by the checkout counter. However, I guess that’s on purpose so you are somewhat motivated to push your way to the end of the IKEA maze despite your total exhaustion?

I love IKEA. It has a different brand of crack than The Container Store. I can tell you how IKEA gets so many employees. They started as customers who couldn’t find their way out of the store!
I don’t know the difference between the restaurant and the café. My best guess is that the café is the area on the main level, near the check out area. That is the area I am reviewing. I think IKEA secretly pumps the aroma of sticky buns and pizza into the air. There are some great food choices in the restaurant and downstairs.
I decided to take a 6 pack of sticky buns home. I bought a slice of pizza in the store and decided to add a drink. The pizza slice was not much bigger than my cell phone. I took a bite and pulled out a piece of hair. Yuk. I returned the pizza and the employee was apologetic. She gave me another piece of pizza. The second pizza was «normal» size. I don’t understand why the slices aren’t all the same size to start with. I would be reluctant to purchase food in the downstairs café again. When there is one hair, there are more. No one wears hairnets downstairs.
I called the 888 number for IKEA customer service. I was taken hostage with loads of company information before I even had the option of pressing a number for customer service. I gave up after 20 minutes on hold.
I highly suggest the store. I don’t suggest the café by the main entrance.

The hubs and I had to stop by IKEA to look at some desk pieces, but to get some fuel in preparation for the furniture-​hunt, we decided to get some breakfast at the IKEA Restaurant & Café. Located on the 2^nd floor, right off of the entrance escalator, there is a gigantic area to dine-​in. I had the Gravad Lax with Bagel (this was already ‘pre-​assembled’ on a plate, with a regular sliced bagel, a little individual-​sized cream cheese, and two slices of the lax, sprinkled with some dill; I just wished that there was an option for the bagel to be toasted or warmed! The cream cheese was barely enough for the larger bagel, but the lax was pretty tasty), and the hubs had the Swedish American Breakfast (this came with two Swedish pancakes, scrambled eggs, two turkey sausages, and breakfast potatoes; I wasn’t a fan of the Swedish pancakes or the lingonberry sauce (had a funny taste to them), but the breakfast potatoes were pretty good). I think I’m more of a fan of just sticking to their Swedish Meatballs, as they are little mounds of juicy goodness with the perfect amount of gravy! :D When you stand in line, you just grab a large tray; if you are a family of 3+, there is a little ‘tray’ cart to add multiple trays so you don’t have to carry any (perfect for those with children). Service was quick and efficient, and there are some condiments and silverware up by the cashier. Once you’re done, you drop off your used plates/​trays at the tray kiosk and go on your merry way. Just note that kids eat free on Tuesdays, up to two per adult entrée purchased.
+good gravad lax
+meal specials
+kids eat free (up to 2 per adult entrée) on Tuesdays
+plenty of dining area
+located right off of the escalator on the 2^nd floor

How can you not like their $ 1 breakfast? Eggs, hash browns and turkey sausage for a great price. Plus, if you have an IKEA Family card, you get free coffee/​tea and refills. My inner cheapskate is addicted to this place!

Love this place especially Tuesday’s when children eat free (now with adult meal.) the children love it because of the cool play area. I like it because of the Euro atmosphere, cool
music and the cool inexpensive items on sale. Also the way the building is structured, you burn a lot of calories walking (the same can be said for the parking lot. The people watching is great too, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Love that ikea has a restaurant onsite, because we spend so long here when we shop. Kids meals are reasonably priced. They have healthy-​ish options such as salmon (they will refrain from putting mayonnaise-​y sauce at your request), and the mashed potatoes are good. Not sure why they don’t sell alcohol — I think the VA ikea has wine. There is definitely ample seating — the dining room is huge, though it always looks ragged. But j guess that’s what happens when you expect people to clean up the tables themselves. This location seems to rarely have two lines open — today we sat on sofa and watched as the line backed up into the store (easily 50 people waiting) before they finally opened the second line.
Coffee drink from the machine is only $ 1.50 and it was surprisingly nice!

This is the only IKEA in the DMV that I’m aware of and the cafeteria does not disappoint. Why would you not pay an extra $ 1 or 2 for 5 extra meatballs? Do it!

I love IKEA! I can’t get enough of IKEA café. I love their mac and cheese and ribs! It is a great place to grab a bit if you are in the store.
PS– The ice cream downstairs is YUMMY!

I’m impressed with the cafeteria!
— Swedish meatballs: 10 meatballs with gravy, mashed potatoes, and lingonberry jam. Awesome flavours, and depending on your preference, so well cooked that I didn’t need to chew much!
— Chicken tenders and fries: we say they were sitting in the hot bar area and cooked in advance, so were a bit skeptical, but they were surprisingly tasty, although fries were just warm.
— Mac & cheese with steamed veggies: great mix of veggies, and great mac & cheese!
They have a huge cafeteria upstairs, and it was clean and open till 8:30pm. I’d like to try their apple pie and BBQ chicken wrap next time.

Pleasantly surprised and proof that looks can be deceiving. So if you’re looking for a bite to eat during your shopping at IKEA, the café has tons of options from soups to salads to hot meals, and even desserts.
Of course I got the Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes and gravy, which was excellent. My friends both got the short rib meal, which I tried some of and it was really good too.
I can’t complain that the entire bill was only like 24 bucks for 3 adults, which you could spend just as much at at a fast food joint for less quality food. So the price satisfied me here.
Now is this a place I’m going to go out of my way to dine at even if I don’t need to be at IKEA? Of course not. But whenever I have some shopping to do, then I’ll definitely make sure I’m hungry so I can have a meal here.
⁴⁄₅.

Alright, here’s the deal. Homie heard about this here swedish meatballs but I was mad skeptical about the whole situation. But yo, this place flat out got the sizzle going on for it. Those meatballs were off the charts and I got the lingonberry juice, which put the right finishing touch on the meal. Regardless of the fact the place resembled way too much like a high school cafeteria, the proof is in the pudding and their stuffing was mad good. Would come here just for the food again, dead serious y’all.

I came in with pretty low expectations, and they were certainly exceeded, hence the 4 stars.
I had the meatballs with mash which was the Ikea Family Special for the month. I really enjoyed it. I also got the crisp bread, which is delicious with ligonberry sauce. The husband had the crab cake sandwich — downside here is the husband hates tomato. He asked for no tomato so they took it off of the lettuce and onions that were also on the sandwich. This meant there was tomato residue and seeds left on the lettuce and onion, which he then had to pick off. Is it that hard to just grab a piece of fresh lettuce and onion for the sandwich?
I do love the carts that allow you to put multiple trays so that one parent can go through the food line while other adult provides supervision of child (ren) at a table. I think Disney needs these… I wonder if they accept suggestions.

This place is very cheap and everyday it has deals if you have a family card. Yummy and a wonderful place to hangout with friends.

My husband and I stopped in for an early dinner before shopping yesterday. We were pleased by the menu selection because our local Ikea locations in NJ weren’t this varied. We ordered the 15 piece meatballs with mashed potatoes, lingonberry sauce and gravy, a side of cornbread ($ 1), the 2-​piece Maryland crab cakes with veggies and rice, the midsummer salad (romaine lettuce with strawberries, blueberries, canned tangerines and canned pineapples with a side of poppyseed dressing), and a slice of strawberry shortcake.
The meatballs with mash and sauce was great! The crab cakes were okay. It came with an overpowering tartar sauce that gave it some extra oomph, but you can’t expect too much for just $ 10. The salad was surprisingly good and everything tasted fresh (except the canned fruits). The cornbread was nice and lightly toasted. The strawberry shortcake bordered on being cloyingly sweet, and this is from someone with a sweet tooth!
We asked for water glasses and it was free from the fountains. We found some dirty tables so we had to keep walking through the dining area until we could find a clean spot. (I hate when people can’t be bothered to bus their own table like EVERYONE else!)
We left feeling pretty satisfied and were ready to conquer the Ikea sales floor. This is a super convenient food option and an excellent idea on Ikea’s part because furniture shopping can get quite stressful and laborious on an empty stomach.

Who doesn’t love Ikea Swedish meatballs with lingonberry jam??? I love going for the foods — just fun and different. The tables are bused regularly each time I have been even when it’s busy. We have had positive experiences each time. Maybe we are lucky? Or maybe I don’t mind cleaning up the table a bit. The food is inexpensive and easy.

I used to live around the corner from the White Marsh location. That location used to serve free breakfast (scrambled eggs, fried potatoes and sausage) on Monday mornings from 9:30 until 11 AM. Most locations still offer free breakfast on national holidays and today was no exception. I got in line at 10:48. Two minutes later one of the staff members came and put up the chains, closing the line. Even the two servers were bewildered about why the line was cut off ten minutes early.

Definitely become a family member, you get free coffee with your good and can deduct from your total purchase if it’s more than $ 100
I love the gravad lux as it reminds me of Glada Laxen in. Stockholm. This was not available today.

I’m convinced that the sole reason for IKEA café is that people would be murdering people if they had to go through the marketplace on an empty stomach.
The good: You can get a pretty big meal here cheap. The chocolate cake is good as long as you don’t google search it. (Seriously. Just trust me. It’s been recalled for reasons I refuse to think about) The meatballs are edible and the lignon berry jam is pretty damn tasty.
The bad: The meatballs are only edible. Salads are incredibly sad looking. The service is usually a miss. The coffee.
I don’t know. If you’re hungry and at IKEA you could do worse. But if you’re there and don’t need to eat… well you’re probably better off holding off.

Expensive and the food reminded me of school lunch back in elementary school. The ribs were still cold, and so was the chicken! I heard some days the food is really good. Other days the food is bad, and so i guess today wasn’t my luck. However, the cinnamon rolls were SPECTACULAR! I’d recommend those every day of the week!
All in all bad experience, but maybe it was just a bad day for them!