11 Facts You Didn't Know About The IKEA Food Court

Are you a big fan of the famous blue-and-yellow-themed Swedish home goods chain? For many, there's truly no place like IKEA. Where else can you go to find the greatest discounts on furniture, even if you have to build it all yourself — and what other warehouse-style store is known for its meatballs? That's right — IKEA isn't just a superstar retailer because of its furniture products. It's gained a reputation that most furniture stores can only dream of: a place to go for an indulgent and delicious Swedish meal.

You're probably already familiar with IKEA's Swedish meatballs or the chain's classic food court hot dogs, but what about the other IKEA food court secrets you haven't thought of before? From the psychology behind IKEA's food court to scoring the best deals on meals throughout the year, there's a lot more to learn about the IKEA food court than you might expect. If you're an IKEA regular, these are the tips you should make sure you know before you next decide to go get lost at an IKEA warehouse.

In the 1950s, IKEA's founder, Ingvar Kamprad, discovered that the number one reason why customers were leaving IKEA stores was because they got hungry. This was a huge loss for IKEA — its warehouse design cleverly led customers through cheap items and deals they couldn't pass up. Except those who spent a long time at the retailer — theoretically, the people who should be filling their shopping carts the most — would eventually be lost to the call of an empty stomach.

To combat this issue, IKEA came up with the simplest solution of all: install food courts in every single IKEA warehouse. To convince customers to stay in IKEA stores longer, the food would be cheap, convenient, and feature a wide variety of items that customers truly couldn't get anywhere else. This way, customers could curb their hunger in-store and get back to shopping right away. IKEA's food is so cheap, it actually ends up losing money on every single meal. But this doesn't matter to the retailer giant. After all, every one of the customers IKEA doesn't lose to hunger will end up spending much more than IKEA food costs to produce in the first place.

Another benefit of IKEA's food court was that it encouraged families to shop more and stay longer at IKEA because they now had a place to take their children to help get them off their feet. Families could rest up and feed everyone for cheap before they got back to shopping — another way IKEA's loss leader creates more sales in the end.

In order to prevent IKEA customers from wanting to go somewhere else to grab food, the retailer's rule is that each of its stores must offer the cheapest food within 30 miles. That way, its customers don't even bother looking for a less convenient, out-of-store option in the interest of saving money — the best option is already right in front of you when you reach the end of IKEA's warehouse maze. Especially in the U.S., with fast food restaurants being prevalent pretty much everywhere, this price modeling keeps IKEA's food court items as cheap as they can be.

Even if you aren't planning on buying any furniture from IKEA, you can use this trick to save a good deal on fast casual meals. As long as you live close enough to be able to drop by every once in a while, you can get a full meal for just a few dollars at IKEA's food court. And unlike Costco, you don't need to be an IKEA customer or a member in order to dine there.

You might already know that IKEA's entire maze of a store is designed to draw your attention to certain items — which are so specific that IKEA has rules on how it places each of its items to ensure customers will always be adding things to their carts. But what about the food court itself? There are a few reasons why the IKEA food court is where it is.

First of all, if you get tired and hungry while you're shopping, you're going to need to make your way to the exit of the store regardless, so IKEA isn't losing any sales by placing its food court last. But if you're just trying to get through the store and buy food without looking at anything else, it'll be quite the challenge.

IKEA wants you to see the entire store as you walk through it. This means that — shortcuts aside — you'll be taken through every section of the store as you hunt down the food court. Cheap items, bargain deals, the store's bestselling furniture, and even discounted used-and-returned items will all beckon you no matter how hard you try to concentrate on finding food. These items are often placed near or right before the food court to convince you to take advantage of an IKEA deal before you go to eat.

If there's one thing to know about the IKEA food court, it's the deals that are offered every single day of the week. For example, you can get 50% off your entrees at all U.S. IKEA restaurants on Tuesdays — or you can grab specific plates for cheap all day on Mondays.

If you want to make the most out of your meal — whether breakfast, lunch, or dinner — look on IKEA's website for the day that gets you the best deal based on the meal you want to order. Don't forget to look out for combo offers (like days when kids can eat for free), too.

There is one last hack to be on the lookout for, though it's no longer offered as frequently as it once was. Occasionally, IKEA will give customers the option to scan their receipts after they make a furniture purchase and have the total of the money they spent at the IKEA food court deducted from how much they spent on furniture. Though this offer used to be year-round several years ago, IKEA switched things up to only promoting the offer every once in a while. It's such a good deal, it's always good to keep your eye on IKEA's website and social media for it — just in case your next shopping trip happens to line up with a week where you can get a meal for free.

If you want something to do while you're waiting around for IKEA to open, you can go into the IKEA Restaurant and buy breakfast before the rest of the store is open for browsing. Frequent shoppers already know that IKEA has two different food courts: the Bistro (for quicker meals and food court classics) and the Restaurant (for sit-down IKEA meals). You can get IKEA staple meals at both, but the hours and menu items can change a bit between the two.

If you're lucky enough to have an IKEA Restaurant food court near you, then you might be able to snag an early breakfast at IKEA before the rest of the store even opens. While most IKEA stores will open around 10 a.m., some IKEA Restaurants will open at 9:30 a.m. This means that you can be first in line for the best IKEA products without having to wait outside before the store opens. What better way to hash out your IKEA shopping strategy than over a plate of pancakes with lingonberry jam?

IKEA Restaurants globally will offer sweet deals on holiday dinners throughout the year. For example, IKEA celebrates Christmas with a classic Swedish feast known as Julbord. Customers can nab tickets through the IKEA loyalty program for around $10-$30, depending on location, and be treated to a huge buffet full of holiday classics like pickled herring, ham, meatballs, and glögg (aka nonalcoholic sweet wine).

IKEA has also offered significant discounts on meals at IKEA Restaurants for Valentine's Day and might have other discounts available around certain holidays to entice you into its restaurants to celebrate. Julbord is the biggest food-related IKEA holiday (and you'll have to buy tickets in advance since they sell out quickly), but other celebratory IKEA discounts are available to all customers.

You can learn about the best food court deals in your area on IKEA's website, and you can also find holiday-related announcements on IKEA's social media. Keep in mind that many of the best IKEA food court deals are restricted to IKEA Restaurants, not IKEA Bistros, so make sure you've got an IKEA with a restaurant inside near you before you get too deep into planning an IKEA holiday feast.

There's another hidden reason why IKEA's food court meals are so cheap. When customers purchase food at IKEA, they notice the low prices on every food item. Subconsciously, this makes you feel like you're getting a really good deal on IKEA items. You start to associate the retailer — which already prides itself on low-cost furniture — with impressively competitive prices.

When you save so much money on food by eating at IKEA, it makes you feel better about your outing budget-wise. Even if you're spending a lot of money on furniture, you got a great deal on your breakfast, lunch, or dinner at IKEA — so you basically feel like you're saving money overall, even if you're really not.

In fact, IKEA's food court may even drive customers to spend more at IKEA later on when they score a cheap deal on the retailer's food. If you feel like you're getting a really solid food court meal for just a couple of dollars, you might decide to take the money that you would have spent on lunch otherwise and apply it toward furniture. Even customers who weren't planning on buying anything from IKEA otherwise can sometimes get drawn in by this psychology play. The house always wins, right?

Even the most regular IKEA customers sometimes get confused about IKEA's lingonberry jam (and what it's there for in the first place). While delicious, U.S. IKEA customers might not expect to have the sweet-and-tart jam served alongside their classic Swedish meatballs, which are already laden with gravy. Especially since this same kind of jam is already a prevalent topping on sweeter menu items, such as pancakes or waffles, the presence of IKEA's lingonberry jam next to savory dishes seems strange at first.

In Sweden, however, lingonberry jam is traditionally eaten with meat as part of the main dish. Lingonberry jam is used to balance out richer and heavier meats, and it's also very commonly paired with hearty and fatty dishes like meat and gravy. This explains why IKEA's meatballs come with both gravy and lingonberry jam. The lingonberry is also native to Sweden, which makes it the most prevalent kind of jam in the country (and also makes the lingonberry difficult to find in the U.S.).

So, what's the best way to eat IKEA meatballs with jam? The answer is simple: just take your meatballs that are already covered in gravy and dip them into the jam. If you want a lighter, slightly sweeter, and more refreshing bite, take more of the jam at once. If you're already a fan of rich and comforting heavy meals, then start with just a bit and see how you like it. Don't be afraid to pair the jam with the potatoes and gravy the meatballs come with, too.

Some IKEAs (most notably in Germany, though they can be found across many international IKEAs) will have spare parts vending machines in stores. Pay for the spare parts you need, like missing screws or misplaced bolts, and you'll receive a voucher for the food court in the same amount in exchange. This makes stopping by the spare parts machine before you grab a hotdog a win-win. Just one spare part gets you halfway to a meal.

Not every IKEA has this unique feature just yet, however — a drawback of all IKEAs being different across the globe. If you're in the U.S., you can typically find the spare parts you need online for free. However, not all hope is lost for U.S. customers looking to get a food voucher. If you have IKEA furniture that you've used, loved, and are now looking to get rid of, IKEA will buy it right back from you, as long as it's still in good condition, of course. In exchange, you'll get store credit to use on whatever IKEA purchases you want — including at the food court. That means free IKEA meatballs for days.

Menus are different at every IKEA store (most noticeably internationally). One example of this is that IKEA stores in the U.S. have begun charging extra for toppings that used to automatically come on certain items like hot dogs, netting a slightly more disgruntled customer base. In other countries, however, you can still get your food court toppings included. This is a good thing to know if you're IKEA-hopping because some stores will actually net you a better deal than others.

With this, keep in mind that the menus from IKEA to IKEA can change across the globe. An IKEA in Sweden won't have the same menu items as one in the U.S. — something you might not have known if you haven't traveled around IKEA-hunting before. If you're an IKEA superfan, it might be fun to check out a new IKEA anytime you travel outside your home country — they're bound to have at least a few different menu items to try, like the baked dough panzerotto from IKEA France or biryani at IKEA India.

IKEA has made headlines by posting its recipes online before. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, IKEA released its top-secret meatball recipe since customers could no longer visit stores due to the global lockdowns. Not every IKEA recipe is present online, but IKEA's website has a section chock-full of IKEA at-home recipes created by the brand's chefs. Many of these recipes will feature items from IKEA's food court menus or products that you can only buy at IKEA, like the brand's infamous vegan plant balls.

IKEA's website will also teach you how to prepare IKEA staples their way (such as salmon or dessert-style IKEA pancakes). These items frequent U.S. IKEA menus, which leads you one step closer to recreating them at home.

Generally, however, it's probably cheaper to just go to your local IKEA to buy the items yourself (especially if you're only craving a single serving). For example, the ground beef and pork mix for the meatballs alone can cost more than twice as much as a single serving of meatballs at IKEA, depending on your location. Though these recipes will net you more portions than IKEA food courts will, it's more cost-effective to try them out at IKEA first — even if you end up getting more than one serving.