IKEA: Food & Furniture

Let me ask you: where can you buy toilets seats, snuggle under bed covers and spin in office chairs while munching on some Swedish meatballs? IKEA Richmond! I was planning to have a candle-lit dinner with Joanne there, but I don’t think the IKEA staff would appreciate my open flame… So, to romantic things up, we decided to eat near the windows for the glorious view of the grand parking lot.

IKEA’s new seating area is HUGE! There’s even long tables for larger parties! (Maybe I’ll host my next birthday here?)

If you haven’t eaten at IKEA before, it’s quite similar to a cafeteria line at school. Just line up, pick up packaged drinks (like water, milk and juice) and desserts on the way, and then order your mains.

{ Here’s a pop, coffee and tea station where you get to enjoy FREE REFILLS! }

{ Don’t forget to grab your handy dandy cart! The Swedish think of everything! }

I ordered the Salmon w/ Hollandaise Sauce alongside Vegetable Medallions and Assorted Vegetables ($7.99). For this dish, I really liked the fact that there was a bountiful amount of vegetables! It’s not often that I get served veggies in cafeteria-like settings like IKEA… not even school, where they’re supposedly advocating healthy eating (but that’s an issue for another time). The assorted veggies tasted as they should; what really stood out was the vegetable medallions! They tasted like a well-seasoned hash brown that’s stuffed with veg!

As for the salmon itself, it was quite disappointing. The hollandaise sauce was simply garnish as it didn’t have any flavour whatsoever. The salmon was a bit on the dry side, which is expected anyway since they don’t cook them to order! Luckily, it still tasted like salmon :P

Joanne ordered the BBQ Beef Ribs & Chicken Dinner w/ Fries ($7.99). We got the breast piece… Just hearing the words, “Chicken Breast,” you know it’s gonna be drier than a freaking desert – and I was right (I’m surprised I didn’t see a mirage). What’s worse was that the chicken was really bland as well; essentially, it was like eating cardboard.

The beef, on the other hand, 9001 times better! The barbecue sauce was rich, flavourful and not overly sweet. And the BEEF! I would order the dish just for the beef! It was tender, boneless and HUGE: it was like the size of my fist. Really awesome :) Sitting beside the chicken and beef, the fries shined a golden glow and echoed an audible crunch when devoured… much better than I expected.

There’s more food! Joanne and I decided to share a plate of 15 Meatballs w/ Mash Potatoes and Gravy ($3.99). I’ve never tried these babies before, but I wasn’t hesitant to dive in :)

Munch-chomp-salivate-chew… I can see why this is IKEA’s most iconic dish! They’re definitely simple, but they tasted awesome! To my surprise, they were really moist on the inside. There was great flavour that didn’t need elevation by salt, which was perfect because I hate foods that taste like the ocean. The mashed potatoes tasted good as well, way better than Save-On-Meats!

Have you ever had a McDonald’s ice cream cone? Well, IKEA’s Frozen Yogurt tastes EXACTLY like it, except it’s probably a wee bit healthier for you since it’s yogurt. And what really drives this simple cone up my list of favourite desserts?… It only costs $1!

This place is definitely a place of great value! Joanne and I were stuffed to seams, and we even had some food leftover on the plate. Also, you get to enjoy exploring the wonderful IKEA displays that you wish you actually lived in!

Final Bytes

1. On weekdays, meatballs are cheaper by $2! We went on a Thursday :)
2. Ask for the chicken leg, instead of the breast that tastes and feels like bark!
3. Great place for a cheap date :P Girls love IKEA :D

Foodobyte’s Rating