Swedish meatballs ($8.50) & Lingonberry organic drink ($0.80)!
The classic IKEA Restaurant order: Swedish meatballs with mash, gravy and lingonberry jam, plus an organic lingonberry drink. $9.30.
The meal you basically have to get when you’re at IKEA: Swedish meatballs ($8.50) with a lingonberry organic drink ($0.80). 😋
What we had ($9.30 total):
- Swedish meatballs: a plate of meatballs in cream gravy, with mashed potato, broccoli and a dollop of lingonberry jam
- Dryck Lingon: IKEA’s organic lingonberry drink
IKEA’s köttbullar are a proper guilty pleasure, and this plate is exactly why people detour to the cafeteria mid-shopping. The meatballs were small, tender and savoury, sitting in a smooth, creamy brown gravy, with a scoop of mash to soak it all up and a few florets of broccoli for token greens.
The magic is the lingonberry jam on the side. That tart-sweet Scandinavian berry cuts straight through the richness of the meatballs and gravy, and getting a little jam, a little mash and a meatball in one forkful is the whole point. The lingonberry drink doubled down on that flavour, a fruity, tart-sweet juice you can really only get here, and at 80 cents it is a steal.
Cheap, cheerful and comforting, it is the same reliable plate the world over, and a happy reward for surviving the showroom.
Overall: 4.5 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Tender meatballs in creamy gravy with that essential tangy lingonberry, classic IKEA comfort. Would re-visit.
