On a rainy Thursday, my friend and I, who were pinching pennies until our Friday payday, headed down to Sargent Drive in New Haven to take advantage of IKEA’s bargain dining.
The first thing you see when you enter IKEA is large signage trumpeting some of IKEA’s dining bargains. (Remember, a simple click on any image will enlarge it, making all wording legible.)
There were yet more bargains on the back of the signage.
We headed up the one-way escalator to the second floor,
where we immediately encountered more dining signage.
Something about IKEA’s wide open spaces just makes you want to skip.
We hooked left and soon found the gleaming cafeteria.
We studied the standing
and hanging signs, deciding what we wanted.
Resisting desserts like this one,
my buddy and I got in line and placed our orders.
We checked out the salad and drink stations,
and then headed to the checkout line
where there were wonderful large chocolate bars manufactured for IKEA in Germany for sale for less than $1 apiece (which, sadly, I failed to photograph but which my family loved).
Then we found a table by the railing in this dining area,
where we could see customers coming up the escalator.
So what food did we get? My buddy got a combination meal of fifteen Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes and lingonberry sauce, a small salad and a beverage for $5.99, or $6.37 with tax.
Here is his meatball dinner,
his (not so) small salad ($1.99),
and his lingonberry juice ($1.49).
But I was focused on my own loot.
I ordered the Thursday special, a quarter chicken and mashed potatoes for $1.99.
I added two garlic toasts for $0.99
plus five meatballs for $1.00.
With tax, my total came to $4.23!
After we finished eating, we disposed of our trays
and checked out the nearby dining areas.
We were pretty content at this point, but I felt I should include the downstairs market and bistro as well. So we took the elevator down (otherwise, you get drawn into the shopping maze), which contained signage helpful to parents.
The market was full of tempting goodies.
While much more limited than the cafeteria upstairs, the bistro
had some great values, too.
I got two hot dogs
and a cinnamon bun (I forgot to photograph the latter) for just $2.00.
At fifty cents apiece, those hot dogs constitute a serious threat to the Long Wharf food trucks. We headed with our tray into the bistro seating where I polished it all off.
I finish with signage that should be of particular interest. The first shows the different daily specials.
The second promotes an all-you-can-eat Swedish Easter dinner on Friday, March 23rd (advance reservations required).
Be there or be square!
IKEA, 450 Sargent Drive, New Haven, 203-865-4532
www.IKEA.com