IKEA Richmond

Hey everyone! It's been quite a while since I posted because of school, but now school is over for the summer, you will be hearing from me more!

RICHMOND IKEA

Recently, the Richmond Ikea just changed buildings from the old to the new. The location is still the same. Here is the site: http://tinyurl.com/7flvuzs. A friend and I decided to visit the new Ikea for lunch because we were attracted to their opening special ($4.99 for a Salmon dinner).

Parking
 

My first impression as we were driving in to the parking lot wasn't too good because the instructions in the parking lot was like a gong show. There weren't clear signs around as to where  to park. So when you enter from Sweden way, remember to drive all the way in, regardless of the opening and aim to park under the new building. Or else parking outside the old building will make it farther to walk to the new building.

The Actual Restaurant

The actual restaurant is pretty good. It is significantly more spacious than the last one, and this time they've made it so that there are two lines with identical products. 

There are many selections with regards to what you can get. When you line up, the line starts in the dessert section (I think they did this on purpose so you would buy the dessert, which costs more first, then be to lazy to put it back later). There are almond cakes (for $1.99). I got one from my visit there and it tasted pretty good. However, I would advise people who don't like fat to avoid them because they contain quite abit of fat. There are also assortment of juices (keep in mind, if you are thinking about Ligonberry Juice, they are cheaper if you buy glass of pop for $1 because they are refillable at the fountains.

Next up is the meal section. My favourite dish to get is the Vegan Pasta because it has a good taste and is only $1.99 which is a steal! However, the day I went I decided to get a Salmon Opening Special. (It's the picture on the left). It was only $4.99. It included 2 vegetable medallions, a piece of stuffed salmon and a collection of vegetables. They tasted fine, the salmon with the stuffing was very good. The vegetable medallions tasted good too. The creamy centers and the broccoli taste was very appetizing. The only downside to this dish was the vegetable collection. It was a bunch of broccoli and carrots that I have never seen before. The colour looked very weird, almost as if it were made out of play-doh. It tasted very watery and lacked tasted in general. Otherwise, the dish was good. Other popular choices from this section are meat balls, french fries and occasionally, they switch up the menu. Here is the website to check on the latest menu. http://www.ikea.com/au/en/store/richmond/restaurant (THE SPECIAL THIS WEEK (MAY 17TH-JUNE 3RD 2012 IS FISH AND CHIPS FOR $2!!!!!)

There are other food here that is good for on-the-go. These includes sandwiches which tastes regular but they are priced very reasonably.

After the meal section, it's the soup/salad section. I always like getting their soup because it is only $1.99 and it includes a roll.

WARNING: Soups come with free rolls. However, sometimes the cashier will charge you for the rolls, so make sure that you check on your receipt if the $0.49 is charged. 

They always have a cream of broccoli or cream of (something, it can be bacon or etc...). They taste pretty good, and is full of flavour. The other thing I always get is the garlic toast (warning: lots of fat!) which are only $0.50.

After this section, they have a section where you can grab cinnamon buns, which you can also get downstairs at the bistro.

That said, most of the food that they serve at the restaurant comes from frozen food. The medallions, meatballs all come from Europe where they are imported. The salad seems local, so if you are very concerned about preservatives from frozen foods, I owuld recommend getting something such as salad or sandwiches.

Another thing I like about the new Ikea is that there are meal carts, so instead of carrying your tray around, you can put it on a cart and wheel it to where you are sitting. Also, there is free wi-fi and a kids section for parents that makes taking a meal at IKEA more enjoyable. In general, the Richmond Ikea restaurant is a great place to bring kids and to just eat. 

In general, here is how I would rank them:

Cleanliness: *****

Value:****

Taste:****

Location:**

The location is accessible by transit, but only a limited amount of buses go thru here. The one that I usually take, if not driving is the 430, which comes once ever 100 years... kidding, once every 30 mins. It's wise to check the schedule on www.translink.bc.ca