Furniture retailer IKEA has opened the doors to its first stand-alone restaurant on the UK high street in London.

Shoppers in Hammersmith will now be able to visit the IKEA Restaurant to enjoy the retailer’s iconic meatballs and other affordable treats, directly on King Street.

The new restaurant is the first time IKEA has created an exclusive dining space on the high street – opening next door to the newly revamped IKEA Hammersmith City Store.

The space, formerly home to a Wasabi restaurant, has been kitted out to seat 75 diners, serving a wider range of iconic Swedish dishes and allowing customers a welcome break to their shopping experience.

“We know how much our customers love the IKEA restaurant and we’re excited to celebrate the opening of our very first high street restaurant,” said Matthew Gould, Market Manager at IKEA London City. “Fans of our delicious dishes can recharge during their shopping trip with our famous Swedish meatballs, pop in for a traditional Swedish ‘fika’ break for coffee and a sweet treat, or find an affordable meal for the kids right on the high street.”

To celebrate the restaurant opening, IKEA Hammersmith is offering IKEA Family Members £5 off in store when spending £5 or more at IKEA Hammersmith Restaurant on the same day, until 30 November.

As part of its nationwide expansion plan to create a more accessible shopping experience, IKEA UK has invested significantly in providing more flexibility for customers – aiming to be closer to where people live, work and shop.

This includes launching over 100 mobile pick-up points at Tesco stores across the UK, with a further 100 pick-up points planned, and two new City Stores set to open on Oxford Street and Brighton.