IKEA May Day madness … meatballs for £1 – a delicious deal

Forget the flat pack furniture … IKEA is famous for meatballs and this weekend it is celebrating its haute cuisine with a very special offer.

People visiting the Reading branch in Calcot can enjoy a plate for just £1, while children can eat for 50p.

The offer is for eight meatballs, or plant balls for vegetarians, and is from 11am daily from Thursday, May 1, through to May Day Holiday Monday, May 5.

No voucher is needed, but those taking advantage of the meatball offer will need to be IKEA Family members. This is free to sign up to and includes other benefits across the year.

IKEA Family is more than just £1 meatballs

IKEA Family is the IKEA version of a Clubcard. Scan your card when making purchases and you accrue points. There are other ways to collect points, including creating a profile, logging in to the IKEA Family page, attending workshops or events and booking and attending a planning appointment.

Once you’ve collected just 22 points you can start to redeem them.

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The entry level enables people to buy a slice of Daim cake for 10p, while 33 points means you can have a nine-piece breakfast for 50p. Save up for 45 points and it’s meatballs for 50p.

Points can be used to get money off home delivery services, with discounts staggered from £5 to £20.

Alternatively, people can save up to get money off their purchase: 125 points will save £10 on a spend of £11 or more, 250 points is £20 off a spend of £21 or more, and 500 points is a £40 discount from a shop of £41.

There are some caveats and terms and conditions, all of which are on IKEA’s website.

But the points isn’t the only benefit of joining the IKEA Family scheme.

Members can have a free cup of tea of filtered coffee on weekdays and there are regular special offers on food.

And the best offer is one you hope you’ll never need: free insurance. IKEA calls it Just-In-Case protection and it covers all manner of things: If a part breaks, is lost or is a bit of a square peg in a round hole, it is covered for 90 days.

That’s more than enough time to get the flat packs home, and start to be assembled.

Again, there are terms and conditions but it is a very generous benefit that gives peace of mind to anyone unsure if their DIY skills are up to twirling an Allen key.  

And if you don’t like meatballs, IKEA has special offers across the week

Every weekday, IKEA offers a Dish of the Day deal.

This is just £3 for a meal from its restaurant, and the selection varies.

At the moment, the £3 meals are:

• Mondays – Salmon fillet served with mashed potatoes, bean mix, lemon and dill sauce
• Tuesdays – Plant Balls: eight of them on a plate with mash, peas, that special IKEA sauce and some lingonberry jam.
• Wednesdays – Meatballs. Just the same as the plant balls, but meatier.
• Thursdays – Sausage and Mash. Two sausages with mash, leek and cabbage mix, with gravy. The sausages can be vegetarian or meaty.
• Fridays – Fish and Chips: a piece of battered haddock with chips and peas.

IKEA warns that the dishes are available while stocks last.

Full details of these are on their website, https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/food/

When is IKEA Reading open and when can I get my meatballs?

IKEA is open seven days a week. From Monday to Saturday, it is from 10am to 9pm, while Sundays is 11am to 5pm.

It can get busy in the car park at peak times, such as weekends, so planning an early or late visit may make it easier to get a space.

The restaurant is open earlier: from 9.30am every day apart from Sunday when it opens at 10am. It closes half-an-hour before the store does: 8.30pm or 4.30pm respectively.

The bistro – where hot dogs, ice cream and doughnuts are available – is open during normal store hours.

IKEA also operates a click and collect service, and items can be picked up from 8am to 9pm Mondays to Saturdays, 9am to 5pm on Sundays and, on bank holidays, from 10am to 9pm.

For more and to find out about its special events, log on to: https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/stores/events/ikea-reading/