Which is the best meal deal on the high street? As Waitrose becomes the latest to offer main, side and a drink for £5 or less, FEMAIL puts the 8 shops to the test – with surprising results
- FEMAIL tested the best and worst meal deals on offer at UK supermarkets
- READ MORE: Which meal is the BEST deal?
Waitrose recently launched its first ever lunchtime meal deal to help families in the UK battle the cost-of-living crisis.
The supermarket’s customers can now get a sandwich, wrap, salad or sushi, as well as a snack and drink for £5.
Previously, the upmarket chain was one of the only major supermarkets in the UK to not have their own meal deal.
Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Co-op, Marks & Spencer and Morrisons are among the big supermarkets that offer a drink, sandwich or salad and snack for a bargain price.
The only major supermarket without their own deal is Asda – while other high street spots like Amazon Fresh and Boots also have lunchtime deals for shoppers.
But which is the best deal and which leaves something to be desired? Here, FEMAIL puts them all to the test, with surprising results…
Boots
Elmira loved the £4.50 deal from Boots
Cost: £4.50 (with advantage card. Normally would have been £4.99)
Rating:
What’s in it? Southern fried chicken wrap, eaw coconut water, Activia yoghurt pot with muesli mix
VERDICT: As far as meal deals go, this one is top tier.
The selections you’re able to get for under £5 are incredible – I ended up going for a wrap but other options included sushi, salads and sausage rolls.
The good thing about the snack selection is that they offered a really wide range with everything from savoury fridge raider type bites, sweeter treats like Soreen loaf or some fresh fruit – so you can hit whatever spot you need at the end of your main.
In terms of the individual flavours of the meal I picked out, the chicken was surprisingly tasty and the batter didn’t get soggy, which is often times the risk with fried chicken style selections. The coleslaw provided a refreshing cut through the protein and the BBQ sauce was smoky and sweet.
The yoghurt was great, and was honestly a whole meal in its own right as well as refreshing dessert.
I ended up not even eating dinner because I was so sated. Great meal and for the price you’re paying amid the cost of living crisis, is basically a steal.
– Elmira Tantarova
Morrisons
Ellen thought the sweet chilli chicken wrap left something to be desired
Cost: £4
Rating:
What’s in it? Sweet chilli chicken wrap, cheese & onion crisps, Vita coconut eater
VERDICT: The wrap was soggy, wet, you could tell it wasn’t fresh, couldn’t taste any of the sweet chilli, overall, quite tasteless.
However, it was good value as I also got coconut water, which is usually about £2.50 on its own in stores, and crisps all for £4.
A great selection of meal deals in Morrisons in Wimbledon, you could get sushi, wraps sandwiches and salads as a main.
They also had a large selection of fizzy drinks, juices, coconut water and normal water to choose from for the drink.
While for a snack you could choose from various types of crisps including a low-calorie option or you could grab a fruit pot which was another healthy alternative.
I didn’t see any bars or chocolate as an option for the meal deal snack.
– Ellen Coughlan
Amazon Fresh
Bridie was left stuffed by the mac and cheese from Amazon Fresh
Femail’s Bridie Pearson-Jones was delighted by the options on offer at Amazon – which included hot foods and pastries
The drink selection at Amazon was exceptional too – with iced coffee and kombuca on offer
Cost: £5.50
Rating:
What’s in it? Mac and Cheese, Prawn Cocktail Crisps and Iced Coffee
VERDICT: While this is certainly at the pricier end of meal deals, the selection really stood out to me as miles better than any others.
Notably, there’s a really good selection of hot food, including wraps and pastas that just aren’t on offer in other supermarkets.
It more on par with somewhere like Pret or Costa – but cheaper!
I picked up a Mac and Cheese, crisps and iced coffee – a similar selection in a cafe would be well over £10, so £5.50 it’s certainly not bad.
The portion was massive, I actually couldn’t finish it, and the mac and cheese was creamy and delicious.
The selection of drinks and snacks is great too. There’s baked goods, which if you’re savvy enough means you can pick up breakfast and lunch for a £5.50.
Plus the drinks are really premium too, expensive kombucha and iced coffees are included in the deal. Would definitely go again!
– Bridie Pearson-Jones
TESCO
Alanah enjoyed the wrap from Tesco, but thought the carrots were missing crunch
Cost: £3.50 (£3.40 with Clubcard)
Rating:
What’s in it? Evian water, spicy bean with cheese wrap, carrots and hummus
VERDICT: Tesco had a great choice of options, even at 8pm.
For £3.40, this made a great meal. The wrap was lovely, and I’d definitely purchase again.
I’d usually go for a more exciting drink- but after a hot journey on the tube, water was the most appealing.
I knocked off one star for the side option- carrots and hummus. The carrots had no crunch and were sadly very soggy! I’d opt for a safer packet of crisps next time
– Alanah Kholsa
CO-OP
Bridie thought the selection of sandwiches at Co-op was disappointing – but enjoyed the prawn crackers
Cost: £3.50
Rating:
What’s in it? Simply cheese sandwich, Itsu Prawn crackers, Pepsi Max
VERDICT: There wasn’t a massive amount of choice at my local Co-op when I headed there in need of a lunchtime meal.
But, at £3.50 for a filling meal you can’t complain – especially in west London.
I opted for the very simple cheese sandwich, for a lack of veggie options, and the slightly more exciting Itsu prawn crackers.
The drink selection was good – although no kombucha, CBD drinks or iced coffee – so opted for a Pepsi Max which I saved for later.
– Bridie Pearson-Jones
WAITROSE
Bridie was delighted by the range of options and bargain prices at Waitrose
Bridie said there was something for all taste and diets in Waitrose
Cost: £5
Rating:
What’s in it? Houmous and rainbow grain bowl, Itsu Prawn Crackers, Trip CBD elderflower water.
VERDICT: What a selection, and what a bargain! The grain bowl alone was £4.50 so to get the expensive CBD drink and prawn crackers with it felt like a steal.
Great mix of sandwiches, pasta bowls and salad – with heaps of veggie, vegan and gluten free options.
The only downside is it wasn’t super clear what was included snack-wise, but once you can tell there’s a great selection on offer.
– Bridie Pearson-Jones
MARKS & SPENCER
Ffion was pleasantly surprised with her selection from M&S which was ‘full of flavour’
Cost: £5.50
Rating:
What’s in it? Feta cheese, slow-roasted tomato pasta salad, along with caramel rice cakes and peach and raspberry water
VERDICT: I was pleasantly surprised with my selection – which was all full of flavour and kept me going until dinner time.
For £5.50, this is certainly on the higher-end scale of your meal deals, however, I will admit that the range of choice is much better here compared to your average high-street shop.
But, while it was certainly delicious, would I pay for this every day? Most likely not.
Because of this, M&S loses points from me, but if you ever feel like treating yourself to a more luxurious lunch, I would highly recommend it.
– Ffion Haf
SAINSBURY’S
Bridie tried the gg and cress sandwich, salt and vinegar crisps and Trip CBD drink from Sainsbury’s
The supermarket also offers a £5 deal with more expensive options
Bridie was impressed by the drink selection at Sainsbury’s which included iced coffee and energy drinks
Cost: £3.50
What’s in it? Egg and cress sandwich, salt and vinegar crisps and Trip CBD drink
Rating:
VERDICT: The selection at my local Sainsbury’s wasn’t amazing, in the standard £3.50 deal there wasn’t many veggie options beyond and egg and cress or plain cheese sandwich.
In the ‘upgraded deal’ there are many options – delicious salad bowls, chickpea wraps and things that are much more exciting.
I would say it’s not super clear what’s on offer and what isn’t, and it would be very easy to head to the check-out thinking you’ve bagged a £3.50 bargain and instead pay a fiver.
That said, I was pleasantly surprised by the range of drinks on offer. CBD water, iced coffee and expensive energy drinks as well as Innocent smoothies.
The snack selection was less impressive, there was only crisps at my Sainsbury’s and not a massive range.
The sandwich was decent, pretty much exactly what you’d expect from a supermarket sarnie. All in all not bad but nothing special.
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