IKEA Bistro & Exit Cafe

Yes there is a line, but not at 8:30 pm on a Saturday night!
I like how blatant IKEA is to lure you on over with the cinnamon smell waffing at you while you stand in line to pay for more items than you intended to get (Dang you As-​Is)!
I saw them taking out some lovely and fresh cinnamon buns, and sent my sister to grab a pack of them buns.
I’ve gotten the soft serve before which is good, my sister likes to get a cone and cup to make herself a rooter float. The sundaes are a bit of a miss for me, too much fruit topping in my opinion, but its right up my lil sister’s alley.
I actually like to get their bread mix, veggie balls, and various other things from here. Helps with some meal prep that I do. Plus you’re usually in and out of here in 10 minutes (what a couple minutes after you spent 2 hours in the store).

Do not go on a Saturday! The line is VERY long and it takes time to get through it. They do not add anyone to help move the line any faster. It just is what it is. I must say though I tried the new new chicken meatballs (and for those that are GF the server said that they are GF). I LOVED them! I liked them way better then the regular meatballs they have. I got the child’s portion that comes with 5 meatballs and mashed taters and gravy and then I asked for the jelly that they put with the other meatballs. My nephew who is GF ate them and loves them. He just did not get them with the gravy. They also have veggieballs that are vegetarian and GF. Beginning June 15 they will start carrying the chicken meatballs in the market for sale.

Two hot dogs, soda, and chips for $ 2.50. Amazing! However, I don’t think the dogs are very good and they are pretty small. The store has various Swedish delicacies like frozen meatballs, pickled herring (many different varieties), cheeses, drinks, cookies, etc. I used to buy Swedish Crisp Bread there but a couple of years ago they stopped selling the big brand name I was used to growing up in Sweden, and IKEAS’s own brand is just not very good. They also used to sell delicious Swedish Marabou chocolate, but unfortunately discontinued that too.

The IKEA soft serve is literally my favorite ice cream ever. It’s right up there with McD’s soft serve.
All the other food is just okay. It’s cheap (ish), but you get what you pay for.

Ribs for 8 dollars?! Chicken tenders for 5?
Ridiculously affordable. I always forget that the food is decent here.
Great way to spend a friday night:
Hop into ikea… grab some food at the bistro. (Ribs and chicken tenders!). Walk the meal off. Buy some things for the house.
Buy a pack of cinnamon rolls and a cheap frozen yogurt cone on the way out.
Park next door and catch a movie at AMC. Date night for under $ 35. AMAZING.

OMG $ 0.50 hot dogs and $ 1 ice cream cones! What’s not to love. They have good deals here, and its right next to the packaged food section so you can pick up some yummy fjordenjutegraffenflukenjargen or whatever you call it.

I’m only reviewing this for the buy one get one free frozen yogurt /​ice cream. However, there were 3 of us, so I skipped out, and looked at the little market instead. Which leads me to a story i’d like to share. Don’t worry, it’s fairly short.
My sister got married in Denmark (it’s the north border of Germany) a few months ago. I went to a bar there that had this special «iced tea» that was very fruity and delicious. The next day, at breakfast, my friend ordered a drink that had elder flower. It was the same flavour as that iced tea, and I absolutely loved it. I bought that drink for every meal I had.
Upon the return to the states, I didn’t find any retailers that sold this drink. Up at the restaurant, I bought a small box thing of it and it was good, but just not quite the same. It still hits the spot though. Down stairs they sell the box drinks, as well as in bottles!
A bottle is 4.50, so it’s quite expensive. I’ll be back for a case. I’m going to test out this recipe and i’ll let you know how it is:
½ bottle of elder flower juice
1.5−2 oz vodka
1 oz orange juice
1 squeeze of lemon
1 squeeze of lime
Anyway, the rest of the bistro has a bunch of other stuff from the frozen meatballs, to cheap hot dogs (not as cheap as costco), lots of drinks, ice cream, bake a home cookie dough.

Cheap hot dogs (50 cents)
Cheap vanilla froyo in a cone ($ 1)
Fast and inexpensive. Might as well stop here after that arduous journey through IKEA.

$ 2.50 for 2 hot dogs, chips, and a soda?! Costco food court ain’t got nothin’ on this Bistro. I like how their soft drinks cost $.50 less than the restaurant upstairs. But that’s how they get ya! You’re less likely to get a refill, because you’re almost out the door. They have other goodies like cinnamon buns, pizza and vanilla froyo in a cone, which I got. For $ 1, it was good! Why complain about food that is dirt cheap?
Ballin’ on a Budget.

Cinnamon bun and a cup of coffee will set you back $ 1.75.
Not exactly grandiose fare from a patisserie, but it’ll do if you are IKEAing.

I’ll eat practically anything made from lactose, but I’m not sure if the Ikea cones qualify as an actual food product. They sure look good — like a creamy white light at the end of the warehouse tunnel — but sadly, they taste even more fake and foamy than the McDonald’s cones.
Sure, I ate the whole thing. I was stressed! But would I do it again? Even after surviving the Ikea maze? I sure hope not.

I can’t believe you guys are dinging a place that sells 50 cent hot dogs.
The hot dogs are FIFTY CENTS. How could you possibly hate on that? What else would you expect from a place that sells food that cheap?
Boyfriend graciously treated me to dinner here. It cost us $ 4 for two people. Saving money here means more money to blow on other things, like lavish meals and vacations.
I am happy to give this place five stars because I’m not about to go into a long critique of a FIFTY CENT HOT DOG. Seriously, some gum ball machines are fifty cents and you can’t even buy a plastic «homies» doll for fifty cents.
You just keep on doing what you’re doing, IKEA Bistro & Exit Café. I support you.

I like the cheap hot dogs, its a fantastic snack. If only it wasn’t so hard to balance all my purchases and my hot dog. Sometimes my hot dog ends up on the floor. :(

Would it seem odd for someone to visit an establishment that was known for something other than food, just to eat? I’m not too proud to admit I’ve visited gas stations for BBQ and tacos. I’ve also frequented Ikea’s downstairs snack shack for $ 0.50 hot dogs. But, this time I was hell-​bent on eating Thursday’s roasted chicken and mashed potato special at the proper restaurant. Like a proper human-​being. What would one expect for $ 2.99? Probably what I received.
Personally, I rather enjoy the feel of a cafeteria, especially when it doesn’t smell like brussel sprouts (even when they’re not on the menu). More so, I enjoy the feel of a cafeteria in the middle of a department store. It gives me warm memories of my nana-​induced visits to the Woolworth counter, staring at the jade green Hamilton-​Beach milkshake mixer, caressing the chrome trim of the counter top, legs dangling from the tall stools. It’s all about nostalgia, and the older I become, the more I crave nostalgia.
I grabbed a tray, a piece of pie with almonds, whipped cream and chocolate ($ 2) and made way for the chafing dishes of warm food. What was that, disgruntled employee? It’ll be twenty-​minutes until more chicken comes out of the oven? Come again? Oh, and you’re also out of the mashed potatoes. Well, isn’t that special? Sure, I’ll wait. It’s not a problem that you’re holding my hunger hostage. I’ll just hold myself over with my dining companion’s Swedish meatball combo meal. If only they had cheese curds, the Swedish meatball meal could have been poutine. French fries (remember, out of mash), meatballs, teaspoon of lingonberry sauce and all covered in gravy for $ 4. Thirty-​minutes later, my ill-​received chicken quarter (leg and thigh attached) with french fries (still out of mash) came to me.
Honestly, it wasn’t entirely awful. The meat was falling off the bone tender, kind of highly seasoned, and homey feeling. I don’t know where else to get a $ 3 meal that isn’t fast food or some hand-​held street food attire. I imagine it would have been a lot more complete with mash instead of fries.
More importantly, once we sat in furthest North corner, away from demanding minion-​offspring, sounds of pleading parents and soiled tabletops strewn with steamed carrots, we insulated ourselves. We watched the sky turn hues of gold and orange while the sun set over the San Francisco bay, turning palm trees into mere silhouettes. Now, if that view ain’t worth $ 3, I don’t know what is. Who knew it was possible to turn sharing a bottomless carbonated drink and $ 3 chicken and fries into something romantic.
I find the oddest shit romantic.

More frozen yogurt! YUM! Free frozen yogurt? Even better! Don’t get me wrong, it’s not expensive at all at $ 1 a pop but who doesn’t like free stuff? You can sign up for IKEA Family and you get a print out for a free frozen yogurt.
This place is great because after you get tired shopping and going around and around… you end up at this heaven of goodness. Cinnamon buns for $ 1 each, cheaper if bought in 6-​pack. Hotdogs at 50 cents each. No quite sure how they taste, but I’m sure they’re not going to be best thing ever. But it’s a good way to end a trip at Ikea!

Ikea bistro had a bunch of crackers, cookies, chocolates, sodas, pancake mixes stacked in front of their entracne to the registers. ignored thm all and went for the bargain items.
–froyo (1), sweet tasting, just a couple ounces
–hot dog, (fifty cents) probably chicken and mystery meat. just chewy.
skipped the soda (1)
& the coffee (.75)
quality of the food wasn’t all that but they were charging what it was worth.

This is an excellent bargain for ‘home cooked” food.
$ 0.50 per hot dog
$ 1 for froyo
$ 1 for 5 meatballs (everyone must try!)
$ 1 for cinnamon pastry
I got two hot dogs and 5 meatballs as a snack and when I was done I was stuffed! I couldn’t even eat any dinner. Only $ 2 for such a satisfying meal.
I love dripping the gravy from the meatballs onto my hot dogs for a much more savory bite. Combine that with the sweet ketchup for a kicker!
The bad thing about this place is that the wieners aren’t consistent in size. My friend received a 3 in wiener that barely covered 60% of the bun while I got one that covered probably more than 4 in of my bun. There is no excuse for a major hot dog distributor to have inconsistent hot dogs.

For what it is, it’s awesome. You won’t find better prices anywhere. Free coffee before 10AM? So there! And it is decent coffee too.
I like the cinnamon rolls. They have a touch of cardamon in them. Yummy.

Best cheap cinnamon rolls (6 pack for ~$ 4?!), fro-​yo for $ 1, hot dog for 50 cents, 10 swedish meatballs for $ 1. A yummy vegetarian wrap (mung bean sprouts, tomatoes, carrots, etc), salmon plate, meatball pancake plate, and more for under $ 7??? A cinnamon pastry with coffee for 75 cents? Large chocolate bars for only 99 cents of 3 for $ 2.54?
IKEA, you make me swoon with your quality breakfasts at unbeatable price. Next time you think about that McDonalds or KFC, turn around and come here.

$ 1 nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt for the road, please.