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People who like getting their meatballs, hot dogs and flat-pack furniture in one trip will be pleased to hear that IKEA has just opened its very first high street restaurant in the UK. The restaurant is on King Street next to IKEA’s Hammersmith store and it offers cheap and cheerful meals 12 hours a day all week.
The Swedish company, best known for its self-assembly furniture, has instead assembled a menu filled with a variety of cost-effective dishes. It centres around the star-of-the-show: IKEA’s iconic meatballs with mashed potatoes, peas and lingonberry jam, for a reasonable £5.50 (the plant-based alternative comes in slightly cheaper at £4.95).
The kids’ meal, which offers pasta and tomato sauce with a drink and a piece of fruit, costs only 95p, while the breakfast menu offers a nine-piece cooked breakfast for £3.75. Aside from main meals, the new restaurant also sells IKEA café and bistro items, providing customers with snacks and pastries. IKEA’s restaurant replaces a former Wasabi and seats up to 75 people.
This all comes as part of the Swedish giant’s plans to ‘bring IKEA to you,’ which has already seen the launch of over 100 mobile pick-up points at Tesco locations, with 100 more planned for the future. The opening of the Oxford Street store is due for spring 2025, alongside a further expansion in the number of its dedicated restaurants in the city.
The Standard reported that the Hammersmith restaurant sold close to 2,000 meatballs on its first day and is currently on track to sell around 100,000 by Christmas. In other words, ‘meatball mania’ ain’t going away anytime soon.
The store is open from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, opening a bit later at 9am on the weekends.
IKEA Hammersmith, 38 King St, London W6 0YJ.
For more on new restaurants coming to the capital take a look at our list of the 11 best new London restaurant openings in November.
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