IKEA Restaurant & Cafe

IKEA Restaurant & Cafe
317 Alexandra Road
2F IKEA Alexandra

60 Tampines North Drive 2
4F IKEA Tampines

http://www.ikea.com/sg/

Salmon Lasagne (SGD $8.90)

A (Little) Taste of Sweden
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 6
Ambience & Setting: 4
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 3
Value for Money: 6
Spent about SGD $14 per person.

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Update May-2018: Ikea celebrates its 40th anniversary since opening in Singapore in May 1978. I've been periodically visiting IKEA Restaurant & Cafe over the years, since the last time I wrote about it on 28 August 2010.

The ambience at IKEA Restaurant & Cafe has remained bright, clean, spacious, and modern casual. The service at IKEA Restaurant & Cafe is still self-service, cafeteria style where you order, pick-up, and make payment, before proceeding to your seat. The food at IKEA Restaurant & Cafe remains a mix of Modern European and Swedish cuisine, and the quality is consistently good. Portions remain sized for individuals, and prices are still affordable and wallet-friendly, budget about SGD $14 per person for a meal here.

IKEA Restaurant & Cafe has their own in-house beer, which is fairly straightforward and inoffensive, but not as exciting as a craft beer. The 2 varieties here are the Beer Dark Lager (SGD $3.50) and the Beer Light Lager (SGD $3.50).

Beer Dark Lager (SGD $3.50)

Beer Light Lager (SGD $3.50)

The Lingonberry Drink (SGD $1.20) is made from wild grown lingonberries from the forests of Sweden. This thirst quencher has a fruity sharp sour sweet flavour, quite refreshing.

Lingonberry Drink (SGD $1.20)

The Mushroom Soup (SGD $3.50) is thick and creamy rich, with a good portion of tender button mushrooms within. However, the earthy savoury salty flavours are too intense, and will leave you feeling thirsty. Skip this.

Mushroom Soup (SGD $3.50)

The succulent Chicken Wings (SGD $3 for 2 pieces / $6 for 4 pieces / $8 for 6 pieces) remain a highlight here. The juicy tender chicken meat has a crispy skin, with a bold savoury salty sweet flavour. Extremely satisfiying, and I observe it to be a must-order for many people here. Highly recommended!

Chicken Wings (SGD $3 for 2 pieces / $6 for 4 pieces / $8 for 6 pieces)

The Gravad Lax With Potato Salad (SGD $6.50) is served chilled, and is so refreshing on the palate. It features a base of thinly sliced, herbed smoked salmon, tender and moist in texture, with a succulent smoky herbal sweet savoury salty flavour. Garnished with crunchy bitter arugula / wild rocket leaves, juicy sweet green peas, crunchy waxy potatoes, and a lemon wedge. Finished with a bright lemon dill cream sauce / gravy, which has a tangy zesty sour herbal flavour. Delicious, and a good choice of appetizer for sharing. Highly recommended!

Gravad Lax With Potato Salad (SGD $6.50)

The Swedish Meatballs, Potatoes & Lingoberry Sauce (SGD $6.50 for 10 pieces / $8.50 for 15 pieces / $10 for 20 pieces) remain as good as ever. The tender pork and beef meatballs have a nice bouncy chew, while the coarse mashed potatoes pair well with the savoury salty brown meat gravy and tart sour sweet lingoberry sauce. I usually get the medium portion, which makes for a good meal. Highly recommended!

Swedish Meatballs, Potatoes & Lingoberry Sauce (SGD $6.50 for 10 pieces / $8.50 for 15 pieces / $10 for 20 pieces)

The Salmon Fillet, Broccoli Potato Cakes, Broccoli, Lemon Dill Sauce (SGD $9.90) looks small in portion, but is actually quite filling. The fresh fillet of salmon fish is tender, moist, and succulent in texture, with a light sweet savoury flavour. The steamed broccoli is too soft and one-note in its vegetal sweet flavour, but pairing it with the tangy zesty sour herbal cream sauce of lemon and dill helps. The most tasty item here is the broccoli potato cakes / medallions, with a tender soft texture and a bold savoury salty flavour, made from broccoli, potato, leeks, onions, and cheese. Good!

Salmon Fillet, Broccoli Potato Cakes, Broccoli, Lemon Dill Sauce (SGD $9.90)

A rather novel idea, the Salmon Lasagne (SGD $8.90) features wide, flat lasagne noodles, layered with tender slices of fresh salmon fish and spinach, coated in cheese. Warm and comforting with its soft, tender textures, albeit a little too savoury salty cheesy in flavour. Very filling though, this is best shared.

Salmon Lasagne (SGD $8.90)

The Almond Cake With Daim (SGD $3.50) has alternating layers of chocolate, caramel, and almonds, with crunchy and soft textures, and a bold nutty chocolatey sweet flavour. Fairly rich on the palate, this is best shared.

Almond Cake With Daim (SGD $3.50)

The Swedish Apple Cinnamon Pie (SGD $3.50) has a crumbly soft texture, with a bold fruity sweet spice flavour. The large chunks of apple within are properly soft, while the pie crust has a lovely buttery taste. I felt the filling of apple cinnamon paste was overly sweet though, and I wasn't able to finish this decadent dessert.

Apple Cinnamon Pie (SGD $3.50)

The Princess Cake (SGD $3) dessert has changed from a vibrant green marzipan coat to a pretty in pink marzipan coat. Within, the soft and moist butter sponge cake is layered with a sweet sour raspberry jam and cream, releasing a bold fruity sweet flavour when bit. Good!

Princess Cake (SGD $3)

Princess Cake

The Blueberry & Raspberry Cheesecake (SGD $3.50) has sharp sour sweet fruity flavours from the raspberry and blueberry. The cheesecake itself is shaped like a pie, with a light, moist, soft texture, and a delicate creamy cheesy taste. Overall a decent rendition.

Blueberry & Raspberry Cheesecake (SGD $3.50)

After all these years, a Hot Dog Plain (SGD $1) remains as affordable as ever. I usually top it off sauces to make a Hot Dog With Chili & Mustard. This features a fluffy soft hotdog bun, with a simple chicken hotdog weiner sausage that has a snappy case, a bouncy texture, and a delicate savoury flavour. Still a highlight of any visit to IKEA Restaurant & Cafe, and at this price, it's pretty good. Worth ordering!

Hot Dog Plain (SGD $1)

Hot Dog With Chili & Mustard

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Original Post, Aug-2010: Best known for their Furniture, IKEA is also gaining fame for their food..... especially their Swedish Meatballs. Coming by the IKEA Restaurant & Cafe at a pretty late 9pm, we still had to wait a good 20 minutes for a table, as the place was extremely packed.

Service

Cafeteria style: Self-serve. Join any of the (long) queues, and pick up the dish you want. However, be prepared for occasional shortages of utensils, plates, etc., due to the overwhelming crowds. Also, you might find yourself wondering how to pick up the desserts, as some don't come with their own plate. (eg: Punsch Roll).

Staff don't take orders as well, as they mostly are concerned with preparing food. Clearing of tables - Supposed to be self-serve as well. Though IKEA has kindly provided a few cleaners, they normally are overwhelmed by the crowds. Be prepared to clear your own table.

Food

The star of IKEA Restaurant & Cafe would have to be the Swedish Meatballs. Made from both beef and pork, they pack a lot of flavor, and go well with the brown sauce provided. They also provide a Lingoberry sauce, which tastes almost like cranberry sauce, just less sourish and with less acidity.

Swedish Meatballs, Potatoes & Lingoberry Sauce

The chicken wings are good too..... Not as oily as you'd expect.

Chicken Wings

The Mushroom Soup I tried was bland. Thumbs down.

Mushroom Soup

The rest of the food items are pretty average, though they do rotate their menu on a daily basis. Their Kids menu and Halal menu also play it safe, the food is edible, and relatively tasty. Average, but not something I would travel here just to eat. IKEA Restaurant & Cafe also has a Breakfast menu, but I doubt I'll ever have the chance to come here so early just to try it.

Chicken Thigh, Mashed Potatoes & Coleslaw

Nuggets & Fries

A few Desserts stand out for being unique to Sweden.

Punsch Roll is a kind of sweet pastry, covered with Marzipan and contains crushed cookies, cocao, and some sort of liqueur called "Punsch". Purposely colored Blue & Yellow to resemble the Swedish flag, it is quite tasty, but I thought it was a little too sweet.

Punsch Roll & Diam Cake

Princess Cake is a sort of sponge cake with whipped cream and custard, covered with Green Marzipan. Very nice, and again, extremely sweet, even more so than the Punsch Roll. Those with a sweet tooth will love it, for the rest, you might want to share.