I Ate IKEA Food For Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner & Here's Why It's The Best Date Spot

Okay, but can we talk about the Swedish meatballs?

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The front of an IKEA store. Right: A plate of Swedish meatballs.

This Review article is part of a Narcity Media series. The views expressed are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.

Swedish furniture retailer IKEA is the place to go if you need nice, affordable furniture that you don't mind spending a few hours assembling (while yelling curse words).

But one thing that might not immediately spring to mind about IKEA is their food.

Nearly every IKEA store has its very own food court where you can cruise through, pick what you want and sit down for an affordable meal before or after you cruise the showroom.

And, while my house is filled with IKEA furniture, my belly is not often full of IKEA food. So, I set off to my local store to see if they can execute three full square meals as well as they can a MALM and if it can be my new go-to romantic date spot.

Breakfast

The Daim cake.

Tristan Wheeler | Narcity

I arrived at IKEA at around 11 a.m. and beelined straight to the cafeteria. Unfortunately, IKEA's breakfast menu is not that extensive and my only options that would fit the bill were cakes and cinnamon buns.

So, I scoped out a slice of the iconic Daim cake, bought it and tucked into it.

The slice of almond, caramel and chocolate cake was definitely a lot sweeter than what I'd usually have for breakfast but, it was super tasty.

The crunchy caramel was a definite highlight, but for anyone wanting to have breakfast at IKEA, it just is not that tenable unless you have a major sweet tooth or are going to share it with a hot date for brunch.

It's definitely suited more for dessert, which makes sense because it is a slice of chocolate caramel almond cake.

After I was done, I got up and did my first lap of the store.

Total Cost: $3.14

Rating: 3 / 5

Lunch

The Swedish meatballs with potatoes and steamed vegetables.

Tristan Wheeler | Narcity

An hour or so later, I figured it was time to sit down for lunch.

This is where I went all out for the most classic of IKEA meals: the Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, gravy and a generous dollop of lingonberry spread.

All washed down with a bottle of EARTH bottled water.

Sitting down with this, I really was in hog heaven.

Something about everything on the plate was super satisfying. Maybe I am secretly just a meat-and-potatoes type of guy?

I was sure to combine everything on each bite and when I was done, I was perfectly satisfied. What a meal!

Next time, I'll be sure to bring my partner because heck, it might not be the most romantic date spot in the city, but it is a really fun, quirky, and affordable time.

Total Cost: $12.41

Rating: 5 / 5

Dinner

An IKEA hotdog with the rest of the busy store in the background.

Tristan Wheeler | Narcity

After lunch, I did another slow lap of the store. Grabbed a few items and, before I knew it, another hour had passed by.

So, given I was still pretty full from lunch, I opted for a smaller dinner. And right behind the tills, I spotted the coveted $1 hotdogs.

I got one and boy, what can you say? With inflation, the only thing you can get for $1 these days is a punch in the nose, let alone actual food. So, just having a nice little snack like this for so cheap was really nice.

As I sat with my hotdog slathered in ketchup, I munched and thought about my four-hour IKEA day.

I smiled because anything that ends with a $1 hotdog is a true success.

Rating: 3 / 5

Ultimately, after eating my way through IKEA, I think it's safe to say that a meal at IKEA is really something you can't go wrong with. Especially with how affordable everything is there.

Plus, the store has started rolling out some vegetarian options, so if still want the joy of meatballs without the meat, they got you covered.

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