I spent years hearing about IKEA‘s meatballs. “You have to try them they’re soooooo good,” roughly a million people told me. But when I finally got to try them I hated them. Absolutely hated them.

Although the majority of Ikea shoppers go to the Swedish retailer’s sprawling stores to buy furniture or home goods, an estimated 30% of customers go to Ikea just to eat at the chain’s restaurant and ...