IKEA Swedish Crayfish Party

FOR $ 9.99 YOU GET A BUFFET OF SWEDISH FOODS, The food was great but the staff was better, outgoing, friendly, and very helpful. I did like the crayfish, I had a platter was full of them but it takes work to get to the rewards. The Swedish meatballes were my favorite and that is coming from an Italian who makes his own meatballs. The restaurant was very clean and the set up is very easy to get what you want fast and easy, no space goes to waste. Everything the sell in their supermarket was at the buffet. There were many families there and above all they had live music. It was a treat of treats to start anyones weekend.

As festivals go, particularly at the price and especially for one being sponsor by, held and put on by and inside of a retail store, the IKEA Swedish Crayfish Party is a Five Stars Winner and one not to be missed.
In the words of IKEA: «Imagine a mild late summer evening. Friends gathered around a table set outdoors with bright red crayfish, bread, cheese, shrimps and various pies. And as the sun sets slowly, candles are lit and paper lanterns glow in the increasing darkness. Everyone is wearing paper hats and bibs, singing merry songs to accompany the snaps.»
As it is actually held indoors within the second floor IKEA restaurant, you do have to imagine the table set outdoors, the candles and increasing darkness of a late Swedish summer night but other than that, it’s all very real, very wonderful and oh so much fun.
I would have missed it myself, but thanks to Unilocaler Mary Ann C. who set it up as an UYE I made it but not by much since it sold out so quickly. Originally set as a one night event with three seatings it so quickly sold out IKEA was «forced» to extend to two night with a total of six seatings. And when I say «forced» I do mean forced because when IKEA originally announced the tickets as having been «sold out,» there was a near customer riot within the store.
The regular price is $ 12.99, but with the free IKEA Family Tickets available at any IKEA kiosk, only $ 9.99, which for all the Swedish styled (read dilled) crayfish you can eat along with Swedish meatballs, Swedish gravy, Swedish lox, herring, cheeses, lingonberry soft drink and varying desserts, the dinner bargain of a lifetime.
Being of Swedish heritage and having personally attending several late summer crayfish festivals in Sweden this was a real treat for me as IKEA managed to do it all so very, very well. Though I smugly thought the crayfish would have tasted different than those I’ve had in Sweden, they didn’t. I couldn’t tell the difference. They had that identical delicate dill taste, full flavor, texture and were all of large size. In fact, with the exception of the salmon which was smoked instead of a true «gravlax,» all of the food was the same and very much served in the same manner. Just looking at that huge vat of tasty crayfish set my mouth watering with me eating more of them than I thought possible.
The live Swedish music, the party napkins, bibs, and general festive décor of the place couldn’t have been better, but what really astounded me was how many different languages and people of so many different heritages and backgrounds all showed up as fans of Swedish food and Swedish culture. In fact, other than me muttering a few Swedish words to my dinning partner, fellow Unilocaler Jim D., and listening to the singer singing in Swedish, I don’t think I heard anyone speaking Swedish.
So a big hooray for Sverige (That’s how say Sweden in Swedish) and a big hooray for IKEA! It was a real classical Swedish late summer treat.