IKEA Is Cutting Its Restaurant Meal Prices in Half This Summer

IKEA furniture is known for being tasteful and affordable — if also sometimes relationship-challenging to assemble. The same, minus the assembly caveat, is true for the global chain’s in-store restaurants. And now, those Swedish meatballs, salmon plates, sides of mashed potatoes with lingonberry jam, and mood-replenishing cake slices are about to get even more affordable.

Ingka Group, the main operator of IKEA stores, says it is cutting the price of IKEA restaurant meals in half Monday through Friday — and letting children eat for free. The move to lower its food prices was initiated “to side with customers amid cost-of-living pressures” and “help people stretch their budgets, nourish their families, and find a little more joy,” the company says in a press release.

The restaurant-meal price cut will take effect in a variety of countries worldwide, including Austria, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K. and, yes, the U.S. Offers and timing may vary by market.

In its U.S. IKEA locations, Ingka is currently offering its “Kids Eat Free” deal Monday through Friday. U.S. IKEA locations will also be offering a 50 percent off meal deal on weekends in July. And in August, IKEA U.S. will offer 50 percent off meal prices Monday through Friday.

“Food has always been very important for IKEA, and we wanted to enable even more people to enjoy our restaurant offer while exploring our home furnishing range,” Tolga Öncü, Ingka retail manager and chief operating officer at IKEA Retail/Ingka Group, says. “Securing the lowest possible price for our products is always our utmost goal, and this is even more important in today’s times of economic uncertainties and cost-of-living pressures.”

In addition to the price cuts, IKEA is also bringing new “healthy” and “affordable” dishes “inspired by Asian flavors” to its menus.

“We always look for ways to bring more variety to our food offer, especially with new plant-based options," Lorena Lourido Gomez, global food manager of IKEA Retail/Ingka Group, says in the release. “We will soon launch our very first falafel, adding this popular food to our restaurants and, later, to our Swedish Food Markets. Good quality, low price, and making a positive difference for the planet – those ingredients remain a guiding star for our food business.”

Sounds like we may soon learn how to say “falafel” in Swedish.