Ikea’s meatballs are available in the restaurant and the Swedish Food Market – and there’s also a vegetarian option

In countless families across the UK, if you announce a shopping trip to Ikea, an excited chorus of “Meatballs!” will follow. For many, no trip to the Swedish furniture store is complete without a helping of meatballs from the restaurant.

It’s fair to say that Ikea’s meatballs are iconic. They have been on Ikea’s menu since 1985 and now, Ikea sells more than a billion of them in its restaurants across the world every year.

But why are they so popular? We tried the meatballs at the Ikea store in Exeter and came up with several theories.

Read more:Exeter fish and chip shop crowned the best in the South of England

Ikea’s gently seasoned meatballs are made with pork, which gives saltiness and juiciness, and beef, which gives flavour and texture. The meatballs are served with mashed potato, peas, a cream sauce or light gravy, and lingonberry jam, and the combination of these is simply magical. It’s a delicious, comforting dish.

A portion of 12 meatballs costs just £5.50, and there aren’t many places you can get a complete, nutritious meal out for that price. You’ll probably want a drink with your meal, and that need not cost much either.

Water is free, and the Nordic fruit water, with choices including elderflower, lingonberry and raspberry, is just 75p. Filter coffee or tea costs £1 – but it’s free from Monday to Friday if you have an Ikea Family card. If you want a latte or cappuccino, it’s £1.50 – or 50p from Monday to Friday if you have an Ikea Family card.

The standard size of a portion of meatballs is 12, but if you want a lighter meal or a child’s portion, you could have eight, and if you’re extra hungry, you could have 16.

Ikea stores are huge, and thanks to the one-way layout, customers are likely to walk a fair distance during their visit. The restaurant is perfect for refuelling its customers, and perhaps bribing some more reluctant shoppers to tag along.

Ikea calls its meatball meal “as Swedish as it gets” but it’s not very common to see meatballs on the menu at other restaurants – and even less common to find lingonberry jam. It’s likely you don’t eat meatballs as often as other foods and therefore, when you do have them, they’re more special.

Ikea also sells its meatballs in its Swedish Food Market so you can enjoy them at home. A 1kg bag of frozen meatballs costs £5.95. Cooking at home is never quite the same as eating out, but you can also buy lingonberry jam (£2.25 for 400g) to help replicate Ikea’s main dish.

The menu also has 12 plant balls served with mashed potato, peas, lingonberry jam, and cream sauce for the same price, £5.50. Alternatively, vegetarians could opt for the veggie balls served with wheat pilaf, green peas and a tomato, basil and red pepper sauce for £3.50.

Ikea’s restaurant serves more than meatballs, of course. New additions to the menu are the smoky aubergine and goats cheese tart served with Hasselback potatoes and tender stem broccoli (£4.95) and the Chicken Schnitzel with the same sides (£5.50). There’s also the salmon fillet (£5.95).

If you don’t want a whole meal, there’s a selection of cakes such as the rainbow cake (£2.45) with all profits going to a LGBT+ charity as June is Pride Month, Swedish Apple Cake (£1.55) and Daim Cake (£1.85). There’s also soup, salad and a selection of pastries and fruit.

There’s also a bistro next to the Swedish Food Market which sells food including hot dogs for 75p, fries for 85p, doughnuts for 50p and ice cream for 60p.

A visit to Ikea’s restaurant is a different experience to most other restaurants. It’s more like a canteen – you queue up with a tray to get your food, you join a different queue to pay for it, then you help yourself cutlery and make your own drinks, before going to find a table. It has some novelty value.

The restaurant itself feels like an extension of the shop floor, with distinctive furniture and lighting. For most of your wander around Ikea, you won’t see any natural light, but the restaurant has large windows which will restore a sense of calm to your brain, and anything you eat is going to taste better while that’s happening.