Ikea Café Brings Swedish Flavors to Red Hook
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Brooklynites have more to look forward to than just sleek home furnishings with the opening of the new Ikea in Red Hook: The Scandinavian decorating destination will also include a café, bringing Ikea’s interpretation of Swedish cuisine to the neighborhood.
The company has seen its cafés flourish worldwide, from Hong Kong to Long Island, and now city residents, too, will be able to enjoy Swedish meatballs with lingonberry sauce, herbed salmon, and an array of indulgent desserts.
“Lingonberry jam, I like that,” Dan Sharkley, 44, said on Wednesday to a woman behind the counter at the Ikea Café in Hicksville, N.Y. Mr. Sharkley, of Port Jefferson Station, N.Y., lived in Sweden during his senior year of high school and said he visits the café to get a taste of the country he once called home.
He believes the new Brooklyn location will “bring in a little bit of Scandinavia,” and will add to the wide variety of ethnic food already available. Mr. Sharkley recommends the signature meatballs, calling them the “most authentic” dish offered.
Other choices on the relatively small menu include more familiar dishes such as macaroni and cheese and pasta marinara, making the eatery a family-friendly destination. Desserts include the Daim torte — a chocolate and toffee tart made with crunchy Daim candies that Ikea imports from Scandinavia.
Lisa Jones discovered the café while shopping at Ikea — but now comes to dine there even if she’s shopping elsewhere. “I like the cafeteria style,” Ms. Jones, 52, of Plainview, N.Y., said. “I’m confident that the food is fresh and hygienic. Ikea stakes its reputation [on the café].”
Ms. Jones thinks that Brooklynites are going to love the newest edition to their ever-expanding borough and that the café will provide “a contemporary European experience.”
The store manager of the Hicksville branch, Lars Meyer, attributed the success of the cafés to the addition of a breakfast menu, which he said has brought in loyal customers.
Mr. Meyer, a native of Copenhagen, Denmark, said that diners at the café get a “connection to Swedish tradition.”
Red Hook “has Ikea as a totality to look forward to,” he said.
