Ikea internationally

[lisianthus]

We went to Ikea in Perth recently and I was struck by some of the differences to the one we used to go to (Lakeside, in Essex). In particular, I hadn't realised that the cafe would be so different. There was sushi, which seems to now be a child's menu staple here, and a lot more salads, as well as a lot more people to help throughout the store (which was great, actually).

It got me wondering- what is your local Ikea like? Do German ones serve noodles and dumplings and the French ones have a huge list of cakes for example?

[laptopwieldingharpy]

Appart from the horse meatballs which have now ben removed from the shelves in hong kong, on the menu: hotdogs, caramelised chicken wings and a sort of potato hotcake.

[MooseBeTimeForCoffee]

The one in Edmonton, Canada is no different from the one in Leeds.

[SavoyCabbage]

That's funny because the one I go to in Melbourne is exactly the same as the one in Nottingham I used to go to. Except instead of fish and chips, there is schnitzel. And everything is three times as expensive of course.

[howcomes]

The Coventry one is streets ahead of the ones in Toronto, no tasty chocolate or Swedish fish sweets, no pear cider, no nothing except meatballs, hotdogs and ice cream.

[Naoko]

In Holland they do a lot of cold smoked or cured fish, salads and sandwiches. Also delicious chicken satay with peanut sauce and chips. Lots of cake too.

[TheCatInTheHairnet]

The one in Paramus NJ is just like a British one, except for they've dropped those yummy round tubes of chocolates and don't sell Diam bars.

[Isthiscorrect]

The one in Dubai sells schwarmas, otherwise it the same with the exception of the bargain corner which is shite. The curtain making section is brill, 2 day turnaround.

[Labootin]

The Dubai one also delivers and ASSEMBLES free if you have a minimum spend (which IRRC is about £80)

[Labootin]

I've never bothered with the ikea cafe tbh .. My trip is straight in and out have mastered the art of the weird shortcuts.

[Shanghaidiva]

China - chicken wings, still have the horse meatballs, special chinese dish every week.
the real difference is here the parents tuck their children up in the beds for an afternoon sleep and then doze in the chair next to them.

[KLdragon]

Whenever I think of the Ikea cafe in Dubai I always think of that table rage story where a couple of emerati guys attacked a Canadian couple for sitting on what they perceived as their table. It was a terrible story the canadian woman who was pregnant at the time ended up with a broken jaw!!!
Haven't ventured to the Ikea cafe in KL yet (always looks really busy though , Malays love their food) but will be there on Thursday so will check out the menu then

[TheAccidentalExhibitionist]

France - a large selection of cakes and wine!

[ripsishere]

YY, same in Switzerland wine with your horse balls?
The KL one has similar main courses, but the snacks include curry puffs rather than folded pizza that they have in Belgium. Hotdogs are a staple in every single Ikea I've been in.
The KL one gives you raw onion as well as ketchup and mustard.

[DolomitesDonkey]

My husband works in a Dutch one and one day we met an American from Michigan who travels the world visiting ikea. For fun.

Horse ball verdict here met with giant shrugs "what's the big deal? We eat horse in the Netherlands".

[DolomitesDonkey]

Fwiw, if anyone wants a part-time job and doesn't speak the local language they seem to have a flexible policy. My husband has worked with a South African, Irish , German etc. and even the manager doesn't speak Dutch. The lady who runs the "posh coffee bar" is a Brummie - although am reliably informed her Dutch is flawless.

[HRH008]

The one in Munich is just like the ones in London, sorry, no extra dumplings here! Though we do have Brezn`(soft doughy pretzels).

[fussychica]

The one in Murcia (Spain) is very similar to the one in Bristol and unfortunately still about an hour or more from where I live.
Not used the cafe in Bristol for anything but coffee so can't comment on the food.

[TheAccidentalExhibitionist]

Ooh, good to know Dolomites

[BikingViking]

The ones in Copenhagen don't have a 'Swedish Shop' where you can buy groceries (which is fair enough really - Sweden is only 20 minutes away and most of the stuff in there can be bought in normal supermarkets anyway) and 10 years ago, the one in Gentofte, Copenhagen used to have a coloured theme of red and white rather than blue and yellow (it's now blue and yellow, can't remember when it changed). You can also borrow a free trailer to take your goods home - either one for the car or one for your bike :o

Food is pretty similar to UK, although probably more open sandwiches here.

I did notice that the little play stand things for children dotted around the shop have touch screen kid's games on them in Denmark, but in the UK, they just seem to have 3 sides of non-computer games (for want of a better word).

I remember when my parents lived in Germany, my mum always harping on about how most of the flatpack stuff there was only available in certain wood colours (she called it baby poo colour) rather than the pale / white/stained wood colours you often find in Scandinavia. Can also remember a friend in the States saying that the drawers in cupboards there are bigger than the same drawers for the same cupboards in Europe? Not sure how much I believe that one though - if they just seemed bigger or she actually measured them and compared.

Think they also adapt their bedding accordingly - we have a weird mix of UK, German and Danish Ikea bedding with different pillow cover sizes (massive squares for German, smaller squares for Danish and rectangles for the British).

[BikingViking]

Bloody hell - scuse the novel, I have obviously way overthought this :o

[ripsishere]

Not overthougt, clearly just an Ikea lover.
It never ceases to amaze me that I've bought the same ironing board in four different countries and they are all the same

[lisianthus]

Wow. i am thinking the Michigan guy might have the right idea. The Dubai one sounded like the King of Ikea what with the schwarma and putting together, but the fight club aspect puts me off.

Holland sounds pretty fabulous!

[Missymoomum]

I can't remember what king of food the one in Beijing serves but i know it's pretty similar to the Nottingham, Warrington and Wednesbury ones i've been to in the UK. I also love the fact that you can all their lovely biscuits and sauces from there . The most amusing thing though about going to the one here is the fact that the locals like to go as a day out and can be found sleeping on the sofas, in the beds etc and their children are tucked up in cots or trolleys lined with cushions!!

[TheAccidentalExhibitionist]

Bloody hell Missymoomum good job Ikea don't sell toilets, otherwise the locals would be on them too