Kids eat free at IKEA Wednesday.

IKEA runs kids eat free on Wednesdays from 11am to close: one free kids meal per adult meal for kids 12 and under, for IKEA Family members, and the membership is free. The cafeteria format eliminates wait times with hungry children, high chairs and boosters are plentiful, and kids meals come in sensible portions of meatballs or plant balls. Some stores add a Smaland play area, and the pricing stays low.

The Swedish meatballs: cream sauce, mashed potatoes, and lingonberry jam, unchanged since 1985. Plant balls carry the same comfort for the meat-free.

Mac & Cheese, Meatballs

Limited to kids 12 and under, 11am to close, dine-in only. Ends August 31, 2026.

Always call to be sure.

IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad introduced in-store restaurants in 1958 on the theory that nobody shops well on an empty stomach. The Swedish meatball became the signature in 1985, served with cream sauce, mashed potatoes, and lingonberry jam, and grew into one of the world's most consumed dishes. Canadian stores follow the global format: the Swedish Restaurant sits mid-store to encourage a break, the Bistro by the checkout pours soft-serve and sells the famous hot dog, and the Swedish Food Market sends frozen meatballs and lingonberry jam home with you.

The menu keeps moving: plant balls and veggie balls arrived for meat-free eaters, meatball poutine made its Canadian peace, and seasonal specials rotate through. Pricing stays remarkably low. It is cafeteria dining, unapologetically, and that is the point.