IKEA Play Café

When my friend Rachel passed along the news that IKEA was bringing back the pop up shop in downtown Toronto and this time the focus would be on food and nature, I was beyond excited! Despite the struggle of mastering the assembly of IKEA furniture, I'm the biggest fan of IKEA. In fact, I often used to stop by there to pick up some coffee, dinner and frozen yogurt when I lived nearby.

With a fun game around every corner, I can definitely see where the name of this pop up shop — IKEA Play Café — came from. Rachel and I totally rocked the Kitchen Dance game, which is basically an IKEA'd version of Dance Dance Revolution. It was so much fun!

As soon as you entered the pop up shop, you were given a wooden spoon that you could tap on your favourite products to build a personalized wishlist that you could then pick up at the cash register. If I didn't have to carry these items with me through the city, my list probably would have gotten a bit out of hand. I mean, look how cute the tiny turquoise pot is!!

This nature-inspired hangout spot looked super cozy, and I could imagine spending a good amount of time settled in here with a good book if this was in my own home.

Side note: you can't go wrong with a good set of pots and pans! This wall of cookware goodies was very tempting.

Typically, I'm not a fan of anything yellow, but paired with the grey pillows, these chairs are adorable. They were so comfortable to lounge in! Also, this phrase couldn't describe Toronto and city living better. It really is still possible to live large while in a small space. You just have to have the right decor!

Now, onto the food part of our tour. I love that IKEA is never afraid to try new things and step outside the box for ideas. They had a café section, where you could grab your favourite meatballs (regular, chicken or veggie) and load them up with toppings and sauce!

I selected the veggie meatballs with sweet chili sauce. Then I added a waffle bit onto one of the veggie meatball bowls and crunchy potato chips on the other. Of course, I paired the veggie meatballs with an apple cider for a refreshing taste.

IKEA always has the most innovative and fun events happening, and this one certainly didn't disappoint! I actually wish the café was open all year round.

Did you stop by the IKEA Play Café? What was your favourite part about it? What combo did you grab to eat?