More than meatballs: Ikea opens its first UK standalone restaurant in London

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2024/nov/01/ikea-uk-restaurant-hammersmith-london

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Diners hail ‘great price’ of dishes at Swedish furniture chain’s food outlet next door to its Hammersmith store

Its meatballs are as famous as its flatpack furniture, with a meal in one of its restaurants often the highlight of an Ikea trip.

Now shoppers can enjoy an Ikea meal without lugging around their kitchen sink – literally – as the furniture company has opened its first standalone restaurant on the UK high street in King Street in Hammersmith. Located next door to its west London city store, the space seats 75 people and serves a range of Swedish dishes.

Diners can choose between its classic meatballs with mashed potatoes and peas, tomato and basil pasta, fish and chips, and salmon with couscous, as well as two cooked breakfast options. A children’s tomato pasta dish is available and comes with a soft drink and piece of fruit.

The restaurant also serves items from the bistro and cafe menus, including hotdogs, ice-cream and a range of desserts.

Mckenzie Lake, 22, who was visiting the restaurant with her sister’s boyfriend, Fearghal Cooke, 26, said they popped by as they lived locally and found Ikea food to be very affordable. “We usually come for the food. I like their hotdogs,” Lake said. “I think it’s a great price for the food, for sure.”

Cooke said he enjoyed Ikea food because of the convenience. “We live just up the road, so it’s very close. [The food is] affordable. It’s a good price. You used to get more mashed potatoes – but I’m Irish, I want more potatoes. It’s good.”

Items on the menu are the same price as in the instore Ikea restaurants across the UK, ranging from 95p for the kids’ meal to £6.95 for the fish and chips or salmon meal. A meatball meal is £5.50 and the plant-based equivalent costs £4.95.

Alice Anberree, 39, visiting the UK from France with her mother, Annie Anberree, 78, said she liked the restaurant because it was quiet and cheap.

“There is no music … I really like that, that there is no sound,” she said. “You can have coffee for not that [much] and there is wifi, so I could come and work on my laptop … It’s much cheaper than anything else in London.”

The owner of Ikea bought Topshop’s former flagship store on Oxford Street in London in 2021. However, the opening was pushed back until spring 2025 – about 18 months later than initially planned – after problems with water leaking into the basement. An Ikea city store is also due to open in Brighton, East Sussex, in late spring.

Matthew Gould, the market manager for Ikea London City, said: “We know how much our customers love the Ikea restaurant and we’re excited to celebrate the opening of our very first high street restaurant.

“Fans of our delicious dishes can recharge during their shopping trip with our famous Swedish meatballs, pop in for a traditional Swedish ‘fika’ break for coffee and a sweet treat, or find an affordable meal for the kids right on the high street.”

The restaurant’s normal opening hours are 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm on Saturday, and 9am to 4.30pm on Sunday. Breakfast is served till 11am, after which the standard menu takes over.