Supermarket Meal Deals

[Huntergreed]

A bit of a fun debate:

What is the best meal deal available from UK high street retailers, considering all factors including cost, quality and variety of food available?

For me, I admit the Tesco meal deal is a favorite, I do enjoy the variety of the Morrison’s meal deal, and I often find the boots deal is quite good quality.

I’m often let down by the M&S one which I find a disappointingly inflated price for similar quality goods.

Whilst on that topic, what are your “go to” selections for lunchtime meal deals? I’m almost always a chicken and bacon sandwich, a soft (but non-fizzy drink) such as oasis or a fruit juice, and a cake or chocolate bar.

 

[yorkie]

I generally find Tesco to be disappointing.

Sainsbury's used to be the best but it went massively downhill a few years ago (there was a thread at the time, I am sure!)

The best value is probably Boots these days.

I think M&S can be worth the extra but it really depends on what they have.

 

[Kite159]

I believe Co-Op in this area (not the Southern group) has changed from a flat-rate £3.50 for a meal deal to either £3.50 with a membership card, £4.00 without.

Also Boots charges a premium for London locations (£3.99 I believe).

If given the option at the regular Boots price, I will choose that as the snack options are more varied, then Tesco in 2nd place, before Sainsburys/Morrisons in 3rd in my eyes.

 

[Trackman]

Have voted for Sainsbury's because that's all I really use for meal deals and the sandwiches seem OK.

 

[roversfan2001]

Boots wins my vote, think it's £4.19 in airports rather than £3.39 but an absolute steal compared to the competition. Tesco used to be clear but they've gone downhill recently. If either Asda or WHSmith get a single vote then that's one too many.

 

[Mag_seven]

Boots gets my vote because they do good cheese sandwiches and millionaire shortbread.

 

[Andyh82]

Boots isn’t 3.39 anymore it’s now 3.59 and over £4 in London

 

[DelayRepay]

I'd vote for Boots because I think they have the best selection. I normally have some kind of chicken wraps, a bottle of Oasis and a chocolate brownie. Sometimes I have crisps instead of he brownie, depending on how I feel.

In close second place is Sainsburys because my local store lets you have a Costa Coffee as your drink. That makes the meal very good value, assuming you want a coffee. I also regularly get extra nectar points on sandwiches through the app, which can be used as part of the meal deal.

I find M&S disappointing - their sandwiches are not worth the extra money.

I have never had a WH Smith Meal Deal and I do not intend to!

My work canteen does a strange meal deal which is not advertised. If you buy a sandwich, crisps and a soft drink, you save somewhere between 27p and 55p. The staff do not know how the till calculates the discount. It is not based on an obvious percentage or total price. Sometimes people buying the same items receive a different discount. It's a bit like a lucky dip!!

 

[route101]

Generally prefer something hot when out and about. Boots for the selection.

 

[Scotrail12]

Tesco for me! Plain and easy.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Wetherspoons if time. Sit down, knife and fork, hot food and not much more expensive (brekky !).

Otherwise cheapest sandwich, Water fresh that morning from my tap (or 2l water from M&S - 50p still ?) and no sweeties.

 

[Kite159]

I wonder how longer Tesco will do their meal deal for £3, especially after the other supermarkets increased prices. I reckon it will become £3,50 for clubcard holders with no discount for non clubcard holders at some point. As bad as that sounds

(also as a first world problem, I dislike how most of the supermarkets have changed from including a little fork prepackaged inside salad/pasta boxes forcing a search to locate where the wooden forks are being kept in that particular store. I don't think it's that hygienic when they are kept out front as who knows whom has previously been into that pot and how dirty their hand was)

 

[Huntergreed]

I wonder how longer Tesco will do their meal deal for £3, especially after the other supermarkets increased prices. I reckon it will become £3,50 for clubcard holders with no discount for non clubcard holders at some point. As bad as that sounds

I’ve always said it’ll be a dark day in this country when Tesco can no longer afford to charge £3 for their meal deal. I fear that day is fast approaching.

 

[Kite159]

I’ve always said it’ll be a dark day in this country when Tesco can no longer afford to charge £3 for their meal deal. I fear that day is fast approaching.

Or they will go down a fudge route where they will keep the £3 deal but limit the sandwich options to the basic range (cheese, ham, egg mayo, maybe plain tuna) with everything else being £3,50.

So they can claim "meal deal from £3" in advertising

 

[brad465]

I’ve always said it’ll be a dark day in this country when Tesco can no longer afford to charge £3 for their meal deal. I fear that day is fast approaching.

To be fair the first Tesco meal deal I ever got was in 2013 at £3, so it's survived nearly 10 years at least, if it hadn't been £3 long before then.

When it comes to food quality it's a tossup between Tesco and Co-Op, but voted Tesco as the better price on top wins it over Co-Op overall. As @yorkie mentioned above, Sainsburys was very good until they changed selections around, particularly regarding the snack options.

 

[DelayRepay]

I’ve always said it’ll be a dark day in this country when Tesco can no longer afford to charge £3 for their meal deal. I fear that day is fast approaching.

That will be a step too far, after everything else this once proud nation has had to deal with over the last few years. I fear riots in the streets leading to the imposition of martial law.

Wasn't there a recent suggestion that the Government should ban meal deals?

 

[SuspectUsual]

M&S seem to have withdrawn the ham, cheese and pickle sandwich which is a shame

Tesco seems to have the best range, although Coop has by miles the best crisps (irresistible salt & vinegar). Tesco just about wins for me

 

[Blindtraveler]

I'm voted Morrisons as I like both the variety and the quality. Tesco is reliable but generally uninspiring and isn't my first choice if on my own that being said will be very happy to use it if I'm with someone who wants to go there, and more so if they have a clubcard, I've come out of almost every customer loyalty scheme in the last couple of years as can no longer be bothered with the plethora of cards or apps on my device.

Since Sainsbury's change the meal deal again either earlier this year or late last year I can't remember which, it has AS3 improved in terms of chase and variety. I would certainly go to WHSmith over ASDA, I find a lot of their food 2 Go is very disappointing although some of the special ranges like their Christmas sandwich are quite good

Where co-op falls down is the availability of product. When product is available it is good quality and competitively priced. Like several other posters on here have said though I am increasingly finding that it's not much more expensive to find something hot and good pub food or perhaps a local independent bakery is the answer here.

One final point, if you do want that m&S sandwich goodness as a treat, and you happen to be travelling from Edinburgh, Newcastle or king's cross the m&S sandwiches are slightly cheaper on the lumo eats platform then they are if bought on the station

 

[Jimini]

M&S for me. Love their ham and mustard sarnies, and the fizzy diet florida orange drink is delish. Throw in a packet of cheesy puffs and you're golden!

 

[Kite159]

That will be a step too far, after everything else this once proud nation has had to deal with over the last few years. I fear riots in the streets leading to the imposition of martial law.

Wasn't there a recent suggestion that the Government should ban meal deals?

I heard something similar in the along the lines of banning promotions on junk food, although I suspect it will be a case of shops having to reduce the snack elements to remove chocolate or less healthy crisps (depends where the government draws the line)

 

[Crossover]

I'm quite a fan of the Boots offering, partly for its variety. The savings can be quite hefty depending on what is chosen, too (one of the sides is Heck mini sausages, which are £3.25 per pack "loose" as I recall)

I kind of like the Asda offering as well, although I suspect it works out more expensive than the others. When I have got them before (mainly before our canteen at work reopened) I didn't always need a drink, so I could get a couple of sides instead, so there was greater flexibility

Sainsbury's used to be the best but it went massively downhill a few years ago (there was a thread at the time, I am sure!)

For me, the meal deal at Sainsburys is an "all else fails" fallback - the offering on the deal is limited to the cheapest of the items only. It isn't like they offer a tiered "package" with the more 'premium' range as a meal deal.

 

[py_megapixel]

Can't stand any of them. Supermarket pre-packed sandwiches are among the worst of the widely available takeaway foods, and I'm sorry to say that the promise of a slight discount if I also buy a bag of crisps and a drink is not enough to persuade me otherwise! If I haven't made a sandwich before going out in the morning for whatever reason (which is rare, as it only takes a minute or two to do and is not only nicer but also cheaper than a meal deal), I'd generally rather have a pasty or sandwich from Greggs or somewhere that makes them fresh.

On the other hand some supermarkets now have cabinets which they sell hot food from, and those are much nicer. So far I've only seen them in Morrisons and the Co-op.

 

[Jimini]

On the other hand some supermarkets now have cabinets which they sell hot food from, and those are much nicer. So far I've only seen them in Morrisons and the Co-op.

I regularly partake in a hot sausage roll from the Sainsbury’s Local hot food cabinet at Euston aye!

 

[py_megapixel]

I regularly partake in a hot sausage roll from the Sainsbury’s Local hot food cabinet at Euston aye!

I stand corrected then.

I'm not even sure where Sainsburys actually is at Euston!

 

[Bletchleyite]

I stand corrected then.

I'm not even sure where Sainsburys actually is at Euston!

It's a bit hidden away with the HS2 closures, but basically it's out of the right hand side facing the exits.

 

[W-on-Sea]

Being able to get two hot chicken thighs or drumsticks, with various seasoned versions available, as part of the deal, is a very strong point in favour of Sainsbury's IMO

 

[dgl]

Morrisons does a medium DIY salad as part of the meal deal which is nice, though CO-OP do seem to think a pasty is a snack which is a bonus.
ONE-STOP also do a good meal deal, even more so because they are convienence stores (albeit the brand is owned by Tesco).

 

[pdq]

Swings and roundabouts really. Morrisons have a range of shop prepared baguettes which are good. Sainsburys include some of their bakery pastries, although you have to go to the bakery area to find them in many stores. My local Boots had a good range - if they had any stock. I haven't seen the fridge more than half full for ages.

 

[Jimini]

I stand corrected then.

I'm not even sure where Sainsburys actually is at Euston!

As @Bletchleyite says: as you come off the platforms upon arrival and head towards the exits, stay right and walk past the ticket office / machine area to exit the station, then take a hard right and it’s there, next to Cafe Nero.

 

[ChrisC]

I very rarely eat standard supermarket sandwiches and when I do it’s usually only as a last resort because I can’t find any alternative. I much prefer to buy them where they are freshly made up in a local bakery or deli. Failing that one of the chains like Greggs would be my second choice. Some of the small local sandwich shops or cob shops as people call them in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire can also be good. When I was working I always made my own sandwiches with bread from a local baker rather than supermarket sliced bread.

I know that Waitrose isn’t included in this thread because they don’t do a meal deal but some of their speciality sandwiches, although quite expensive, are very good. Last week I had some Waitrose steak and caramelised onion chutney sandwiches and they were very good. I also like their various variety of sandwiches containing salmon. Many branches reduce the prices significantly towards the end of the day.