All expats heaved a sigh of relief when IKEA finally opened in Sofia at the end of 2011. All those little things that make life easier are now only a short drive away, as well as, of course, major items like furniture and kitchens. Additional services include home delivery, curtain sewing, home assembly and recycling containers for old electrical items(small), bulbs and batteries. This is a large IKEA store on two levels with the popular kiddies creche, an enormous restaurant, a snack bar at the exit and a good food shop for those Scandinavian treats, including frozen salmon and the famous meatballs. It gets busy at the weekend but during the week shopping is very pleasant  and their early morning promo of a cheap breakfast and unlimited coffee is a great social service to the local pensioners who seem to thoroughly enjoy their day trip to IKEA even if they are not shopping.