Why are Ikea restaurants full of meat?

[Andy_T]

I really like the furniture and the shops, but not the restaurants.

Although ... it reminds me ... when I was a kid (1980'ish) there was the first All-you-can-eat-salad-buffet at the newly erected IKEA in Vienna, Austria.
The idea of any all-you-can-eat-buffet was totally alien then, so we went there just to try it out.

How I would love it if they still had that ... instead of their current paltry prepared salad dishes (most with corpse parts)

Best regards,
Andy

[Tofukitty]

I agree, and for 3 different countries! My in-laws tried to treat my husband and I at Ikea last year while on a shopping trip only to have us watching them eat as there was nothing for my hubby and I to eat. Ikea Germany doesn't even have the vegetarian hot dogs, at least the ones I have been to.

[leedsveg]

Is it me? Because if somebody says "IKEA", I just don't automatically think of food, especially vegan food. If I know that I'm going to be in 'a vegan wilderness' for a few hours and that I may not make it without food, I would take my own with me. This applies not just to IKEA, but to other places as well such as Ilkley Moor, the Yorkshire Dales, Bradford Uni etc. I really don't get the need to have to eat in IKEA, it's a bloody furniture shop, folks!


leedsveg (who is feeling a bit crabby because his evening meal is a bit delayed.)

[Andy_T]

Hello Leedsveg,

I agree ... however, IKEA prides themselves that the restaurant is an integral part of the shopping experience.
I remember, that - when I was a kid and following the standard omni diet - a visit with my parents always involved some kind of 'special' Scandinavian food that you would not get anywhere else. Unfortunately this normally contains dead animals.

Kitty ... I also deplore that in Germany the IKEA restaurants do not have veggie hotdogs. I usually just ask them to keep the wiener and just give me the bun, having filled it with pickles the price (€ 1,00 of 1,50?) seems somehow ok to me...

Best regards,
Andy

[leedsveg]

I agree ... however, IKEA prides themselves that the restaurant is an integral part of the shopping experience.

Hi Andy

I understand what you are saying but at the end of the day, IKEA is a furniture store and I think that it would be a bit unrealistic to expect them to cater for all "restricted diets".

"I'm on a glatt kosher, gluten free, nut-free, total plant food diet. What have you got for me?"

"Er, furniture?"



Leedsveg

[Korn]

Hi Andy

I understand what you are saying but at the end of the day, IKEA is a furniture store and I think that it would be a bit unrealistic to expect them to cater for all "restricted diets".

True. They also think of money. Since 20% of all food sold at the local IKEA here is vegetarian/vegan (falafel is cheap!), we'll probably see a similar development in non-Scandinavian areas as well. Maybe not Kosher food, but I reckon that they are smart enough to understand that if they serve something vegetarian, it should also be vegan/dairy/egg free, to accommodate to ("to"? or is it "for"?) more people's needs.

[leedsveg]

Hi Korn

I intend going to the Leeds IKEA in the next week or two to look for a computer corner unit. I've managed to find a comments page for the store but the latest comment (which to be fair is from August 2009 ) puts me off a bit!

Ikea Leeds is OK - but not the brilliant quality bargain store everyone makes it out to be. And the other users’ comments about the layout are true - when it’s busy that layout is a nightmare esp if you need the loo. But my main complaint is that the resteraunt doesn’t have many veggie dishes - in fact they have a disclaimer notice up saying that they can’t guarentee that ANY of their dishes will be suitable for vegetarians, which meant for a hardcore veggie like me I was left with the option of an apple and some plain pasta. C’mon Ikea, sort it out!

I think that we Brits probably put up with worse store conditions than you Scandinavians would Korn but I'll see how things are when I go and if appropriate, I'll complain.

leedsveg

["...to accommodate more peoples' needs" is complete and ok]

[Tofukitty]

As I see it, Ikea would love to be the size of Tesco if town planners allowed. Therefore, it would be in Ikea's best financial interest to cater to as many as possible as Tesco does and offer at least a veggie meal in their restaurants.

Build it and they will come.

[leedsveg]

As I see it, Ikea would love to be the size of Tesco if town planners allowed. Therefore, it would be in Ikea's best financial interest to cater to as many as possible as Tesco does and offer at least a veggie meal in their restaurants.

Build it and they will come.

Hi Tofukitty

Surely IKEA must do feedback studies/surveys, not just on furniture etc but on the whole "IKEA experience" including food? You don't just build an 'empire' like that by accident.

And I think we need to consider how few vegans there are around (as we wouldn't eat a lot of food that veggies do, catering for them doesn't really cater for us). My guess would be that in the UK, there are around 300,000 in a population of 60 million, meaning that 1 in 200 of the population is vegan. So does IKEA make more money by starting to cater for that 1 in 200, or by providing a "better food experience" for the 199 in 200 who are not vegan? However sorry we feel for ourselves, IKEA is a commercial enterprise and they'll only start thinking about, and feeding, us vegans if it makes financial sense.

leedsveg

[Andy_T]

Indeed, leedsveg!

They only listen to money talking .... so it's time to man the picket lines outside IKEA restaurants and protest the unfair treatment of vegans until their normal customers are really pissed off and it makes sense for them to offer a vegan menu to make us go away

Best regards,
Andy