Is Marks and Spencer now the best value supermarket in Ireland? Yesterday, I was working in Dublin city on a very busy freelance writing job and I needed to grab a quick take-away lunch. A work mate reminded me that M&S have a great value lunch offer: a sandwich, packet of crisps, and drink for only €2.75.
I got there just after 2pm. The sandwich counter was swarming with people looking to avail of the same great offer. There wasn’t a lot left so I reluctantly picked up a brown bread Smoked Ham and Mayonnaise sambo.
Although M&S food is always reliable I had pretty low expectations for this sandwich. It was, after all, very cheap. I was wrong. What I got was fresh bread without that crusty staleness you often find at the corner of prepacked sandwiches, a really generous portion of high-qualty ham, and sweet, tangy mayonnaise. Much nicer than the usual, stodgy muck served by many sandwich bars.
I couldn’t resist picking up a few more special offers. For €6.50, I got three meals for one: two portions of Fish and Chips and one of Bangers and Mash. In the same deal I could also have picked up Cumberland Pie, and Chicken and Mushroom or Steak and Onion Pastries.
I also got three of M&S’s delicious yogurts for the price of two: one of these imaginative creations combines two of my favourite ingredients in the world: honey and ginger. Wow. Meanwhile, buying one carton of soup got me another for half-price.
My rampage continued with two one litre juices, two bars of dark Swiss chocolate, and two packets of their scrumptious prawn crackers. All in all, I was pleased at punch with my bill at the till: just over €27. This will easily provide two of of us for decadent treats for the whole weekend.
M&S seems to be doing very well at the moment; they’re always busy and they’ve even won over my bargain-hunting dad. My work mate Dave points out that if you get there about half an hour before closing, you’ll find even more knock-down prices.
Granted, you won’t get a lot of your favourite brands here and you’ll be unlikely to do your full week’s shopping. What they do have is great food that’s much cheaper and nicer than comparable offerings in other supermarkets; it just goes to show that people will respond to good value.
I think the best supermarkets for value are Lidl, Aldi and M&S. For the brands, it’s a toss-up between Tesco, Dunnes, Superquinn, and SuperValu: much of a muchness. I’d like to see one of these four really step up with offers that capture the public imagination.
This weekend, M&S’s ever-popular dinner offer is back again. As usual we’ll be posting full details here.