IKEA dining halls packed as cost-conscious Aussies ditch restaurants
Is Swedish furniture giant IKEA’s dining area the next big dining trend?
It seems the furniture giant is emerging as an unlikely competitor to Australia's casual dining sector, with shoppers reporting packed restaurant floors while the retail showrooms sit near empty.
Sydney shopper Sam visited an IKEA on a Friday night and found the dine-in area overwhelmed.
"I was floored when I realised everyone was heading straight for the dine-in section. There were so many people, especially families," she said. "It looked like tables were hard to come by as there were people waiting to be seated."
IKEA's Family Friday promotion offers selected breakfasts, mains and desserts at $5 each, while a new Thursday "Feed The Family" deal delivers a meatball or plantball meal for four at $33 — $8.25 per head.
In a cost of living crisis, price becomes the driver.
Tim Prevade, IKEA Australia and New Zealand's food manager, said the retailer has noticed growing appetite for its "affordable food offerings".
"We are seeing a high number of families dining with us, taking advantage of the affordability of IKEA food to still be able to have that experience of eating out together, especially at a time when the cost of living is high," Prevade told Yahoo Lifestyle.
He said the dining area has also begun functioning as a "third space", drawing university students studying, mothers groups meeting and customers playing board games for hours.
"It's become a meeting place for the community where a calm, welcoming space meets delicious, high-quality, affordable meals, snacks, drinks and coffee throughout the whole day and evening," Prevade said.
The traditional meatball plate with mashed potatoes, peas and lingonberry jam remains the top-selling main, while the almond, chocolate and caramel dessert based on the Swedish chocolate bar, otherwise known as DAIM cake, leads dessert sales.
The trend lands as operators face weakening discretionary spend. A FoodService Association Australia report released last week found six in 10 Australians are eating out less than they were a year ago, with cost increasingly determining whether diners go out at all.
Almost two-thirds of Australians expect cost-of-living pressures to have the biggest impact on their dining decisions over the next three years, the report found, with no near-term easing anticipated.
For hospitality operators, the shift points to venues competing less on cuisine and more on perceived value, family-sized pricing and all-day occupancy, which suits IKEA's heavily subsidised food operation perfectly.
Jonathan Jackson, 17th September 2026
