-
February 2024 by Subir K.
Love the new SF Ikea - we got a bed and a nightstand from there. Despite it's small size, the showroom in the basement had a ton of things - home and office - to look at and get a feel for. Also, because it's new - the high number of staff is super-awesome, and the number of people are lower. It's so much nicer than the Emeryville or the Palo Alto Ikea where you're fighting through a crowd everytime you go and can barely find any Ikea employees. The downside - no parking on Market, only a garage behind the Ikea. But it's easy to get there by bus and they're offering free delivery of items - for how long, I don't know. It was also easy to return a broken item - without having to drive over the bay bridge and fight parking, traffic and the long customer service lines (no line at SF!) HTH.
-
February 2024 by Pamela L.
*******This review is focused on the food court.***** I was curious and wanted to know if the food was just as good as I remembered it to be when Ikea opened its first store in Emeryville (2000). The food court is simply decorated; tables/chairs clean and no debris on the floor. The restroom is located on the same level and is located in the food court area. There are three restrooms which are monitored by a security person. Security is cordial and when I told them that the restroom needed cleaning, they had someone clean it in a reasonable amount of time. In most food courts, you can smell aromas. This food court didn't have any. You order on a kiosk and pay. You wait for your number to be called on your a receipt; pick up your food and look for a table. It reminds me of any fast food places except that this place is clean and not greasy. The wait was about 10 minutes for my food to arrive. The containers/utensils/napkins are recyclable. The bins are clearly labeled: compost/recycle/trash. The only complaint I have is that the recycle bin was overflowing. It seems weird that the workers didn't notice this when Ikea is all into recycling. I just disposed my trash in a bin that wasn't filled. Yes, that's bad but didn't want my trash to overflow onto the floor. Meatballs are 4 for $1,50. It comes with a tiny flag - well presented. The bite size meatballs are smaller than what I remembered. The gravy tastes better than the meatball. I suggest you get two orders of the meatball. Cinnamon bun ($1.50) wasn't warm nor hot. It looks like it was there for a long time and stale looking. I would not recommend this. Mac and Cheese ($3.99) looks awful but surprisingly it did not taste bad. I ate it with the meatball gravy and it was yummy delicious. I would order this again with an order of the meatballs. When mixed, it was great. The Cappuccino ($3) was luke warm and served in a stained cup (the lip of the cup looked like lipstick stains). I told the cashier and he said it was probably some strawberry syrup that got on the cup. I asked for a Cappuccino replacement. The cashier had to ask his supervisor if I could get another Cappuccino. I then had to reexplained and showed the supervisor the stained cup. After some hee hawing between the supervisor and workers, they agreed to make me a new Cappuccino. This experience should never happen. How can they expect a customer to drink from a stained cup and make them pay for a replacement? My total bill for lunch was $10.85. I won't go out of way to eat here but if you happen to be in the area, give it a try. It's fast, clean environment and efficient. Food is decent for the price. After eating, I roamed the store. You can find sale items throughout the store. I had to remind myself that "I don't need anything." It was difficult but I did end up purchasing a panda stuffed animal that I couldn't resist. Their self check out is great and there are many staff standing by to offer assistance. The staff is personable, approachable, friendly, and pleasant to deal with. This is a great place if you need anything - from furniture, linens, food items to measuring spoons. I will return to buy the frozen meatballs and other entrees. They are all reasonably priced. When I return, I might try the the hot dogs in the food court. I never had Sweden hot dogs before.
-
January 2024 by Melissa S.
This Ikea felt like it had everything I needed without making me completely lost as I walked through. Had a great time and the veggie dog was the perfect cherry on top! I don't know why more people aren't talking about it. Only negative about this place is they can't sell items on display unless certain team members are there who know how to do this.
-
January 2024 by Vickie B.
I was pleased overall. My first impression was that there were more workers than customers until I went to the lower level. I want this place to succeed so I can go to ikea without hopping on Bart or taking the car out. This ikea is supposedly smaller than most ikeas, but it did not seem small. There is a self checkout that isn't like a self service grocery store, and I am a little concerned to try it when I have freezer space for my Swedish meatballs. The exit door is in an area that looked like it was under construction, so we went out the entrance. I felt the area was safe, although tourists may feel a little wary if they walk much more west. That being said, it won't bother the rest of us. I like this store. It is clean and well stocked. It had nice displays of furniture for small apartments, which is extremely useful in the city. If you are looking for food, you will find a decent selection by the entrance as well as on the 2nd floor by the cafeteria Hubby used the extremely clean restroom, which seemed to be unisex private rooms. An employee will punch in a code, and you will have your own little bathroom sans tub. I am glad I came. I will return.
-
January 2024 by Gilbert Y.
Nice clean modern warehouse but is inconvenient to shop there because of no escalators, elevators or free parking. So you will have to carry your items up and down the stairs and you have to pay a premium for downtown parking.
-
December 2023 by Jennifer T.
This is my second time shopping at the SF IKEA. Finally got to try their meatballs. I ordered the meatballs plate that comes with 8 meatballs, mashed potatoes, peas, and cranberry sauce for $10. I'm glad I added 4 meatballs for $1.50 more since this is my dinner. Around $12 something and got a free coffee by entering my loyalty card. I also bought a baking pan here for only $2. Only the display one was left so I took one and ripped off the sticker that covered the bar code. The self check out let me pay for it so it worked. I came on the day after Christmas after work, so it was really quiet. I'm surprised they didn't restock the baking pans. I'm glad IKEA opened in SF - a lot of good deals! Come before February to enjoy the 5% off loyalty card discount before they discontinue it. I won't go out of the way for the meatballs meal cause it's a bit small on the portion size. Wish it also came with spaghetti haha.
-
December 2023 by Chris S.
We did a meatball tasting, and yo the meatballs here rly slap and like holy cow dude the veggie balls are only 60 calories?? Better value than McD's chicken nuggets maybe
-
December 2023 by Andrea H.
This is a new location and a bit smaller than suburban ones. However, they have a great selection. They have an area right near the door with frozen and shelf stable food items, along with a self checkout. It's very convenient if you want to stop in to grab some frozen meatballs. They are in the process of adding additional features to the store, so I look forward to seeing how that turns out.
-
December 2023 by E J.
I'm not sure why an IKEA suddenly opened in SF in August 2023, when many big box, department, and chain stores have closed since the pandemic started. It's come as an unpleasant surprise that all of a sudden, an overrated, poor-quality chain opens when SF is going downhill. SF has lost a good chunk of its population due to being elitist and overpriced, and people have lost jobs during the pandemic. Anyway, this IKEA is as expected: -Decent looking, like mid-level, a little more chic than others I've been to, because this is considered downtown SF. -Employees who are as usual in SF and the world - fairly decent and respectful to most types of customers, and all of a sudden, rude to the most stigmatized types. -Most customers have disdain towards certain types of customers, too. Some richer techie or other professionals here, with expensive clothes/bags, but this is SF. -Ordering process with the machines and the slightly contemptuous employees is a little frazzling. This goes for the cafe, especially, but also the self-checkouts. -Not that interesting, with a lack of more unique, novelty, aesthetic items. Mostly just basic and bland, as Nordic/Swedish things are known for.
-
December 2023 by Veronica L.
So clean, so neat, so fun!!! The staff is definitely geared towards service. So easy to get to. Love it and will definitely be back to shop more. Fabulous prices for amazing quality.
-
December 2023 by Elaine Y.
Note - This is a review for the annual Julbord food take out in the food court only. Came here for the Julbord special on 12/8/23. Traditionally a Scandinavian feast served during Christmas time. In the larger Ikea, they have the buffet style which I wanted to try but never got round to it, so I was excited to see this on the website at the downtown SF. It was available till 6pm, so I rushed over after work and got there at 4.30. They advertised the meal for $24.99 and for family and friends, it was $19.99. However, download the App and remember to scan the bar code before you order, to get the discount. I received 2 boxes of food, one hot and the other cold. As I was checking the menu, I asked about the dessert and marinated fish. Turns out they ran out of cake and salmon gravlax and could not replenish the tables as it was the end of the day. So I was disappointed because it was part of the meal and I did not receive it. Also, I wish the staff would let me know drinks and other items were self serve, instead of me having to enquire about them or let customers know ahead of time, that certain food items have ran out, before they order. I suggest IKEA include an extra dessert box for next years Julbord to avoid disspointment.
-
December 2023 by Sydney J.
I needed to pass some time in the area, so I decided to check out the new IKEA since I have been seeing shoppers in downtown SF carrying IKEA bags with their purchases. This is an unusual IKEA, in that it's smaller overall and doesn't have its own parking lot, plus you have to navigate a bit more into the store in order to reach the cafeteria (if you were coming just for the food) and the dining area is very small. They sell some edible goods like chocolate in another section which is also pretty small; this location doesn't have a to-go section for ice cream, meatballs, cinnamon rolls, hot dogs etc. like the IKEA in Emeryville. I also had to get employees to let me into the bathroom, although the one who did was very friendly and was proactive with opening the bathroom for me when they saw I was heading toward it, so I appreciate that. There are still quite a few smaller and relatively more portable goods you can buy here, which makes sense given this is a location intended more for those who are traveling by public transit and would likely not be practical if you needed to transport larger, heavier furniture. It's a convenient location, but probably not the best if you want a larger selection and/or to be able to use the convenience of a car and you don't live in SF.
-
November 2023 by Allen T.
This review is only for the Swedish Deli on the 2nd floor of the new Ikea on Market St. I ordered meatballs with extra meatballs at the self-service kiosk, and they were ready a few minutes later. The food was served in a compostable box with a wooden spork. The meatballs were tender and delicious - just a bit fatty with a nice meaty flavor, and were complemented perfectly with the creamy brown gravy and lingonberry jam. Unfortunately, the mashed potatoes tasted like powered mashed potatoes, like what you'd get from a bad school cafeteria, and the peas were a very unpleasant yellowish green, as if they had been sitting in a steamer for a couple of hours. Although the sides weren't that good, the meatballs themselves were fantastic and I would certainly want to come back again. The price was super reasonable, and is a very good deal. Regarding the rest of the Ikea store - the entrance facing Market street is heavily guarded and access restricted, so the interior of the store seemed clean and safe, like what you'd find at any other Ikea. The store itself seemed pretty small - perhaps only 1/6 the size of a regular Ikea, with a strong emphasis on small items that can be carried home on foot. Unlike other American Ikeas, there is zero parking.
-
November 2023 by Denise C.
IKEA! I have Ikea in my room right now. They have Ikea in emeryville and Palo Alto and the old one in Baltimore MD This one opened and it's welcoming and fun like the old Ikea's years ago now They have Christmas things and I had some food..hot dog frozen yogurt and a fountain drink it's super fun Ikea!
-
November 2023 by Andrew V.
This is a different ikea experience from Emeryville or Palo Alto, but a good one. Great show room. And great to go items. Plants!!! So many and cheap. The staff is the best part. Efficient and trying their best in a tough neighborhood. I can't wait to go back and try the meatballs.