New M&S food store - must buys

[Givemestrengthorvodka]

Very excited that a new M&S food store has opened up where I live. What are your must buys? I'm going to create a wish list shopping list to start working my way through.

Best garlic baguette ever (standard one). My big food store has a special fridge where they make garlic bread out of the previous days bread - amazing.

Rosemary and sea salt focaccia and San Francisco sourdough.

Also deli coleslaw.

Those pink iced jammy buns were a feature of my childhood and are still the same (in 40's now).

the steamed prawn dim sum...
their freshly made garlic bread (in the fridge by the fresh bakery) I love the cheddar and red Leicester garlic bread
their jam doughnuts
the fresh bread
all fruits and veggies
mango and crayfish salad
shallot tarte tatin

I was going to say those too!

@weareallcats at ours in York they chop the bread up, put it in the freezer with fat slices of garlic butter in between. My freezer has many of these…really I should just buy reduced push loaves at do it myself

The ketchup is amazing and really cheap!

I was going to mention the ketchup too. DH is a ketchup fiend so we go through loads, the M&S one is about a £1 and he insists it’s better than any other brand.

Also…….

Cherry Colin the caterpillars
Gastro lasagne
Piccolino tomatoes
Cheese tasters
French salted butter
Any of the cream cakes
Rogan Josh curry sauce
The microwave rice packets are great

I am sure there must be more as I spend over £100 every time I go but that list doesn’t seem that long😂

Colin the caterpillar cookies

These.
Decaffeinated tea bags.
Their own window cleaner .

Sorry and this. Love it.

Profiteroles stack.
Morello cherry sponge pudding
Prawn dim sum

I asked my husband and he said - and I quote "their knock-off wotsits" [cheese tasters]
The cinnamon buns are yum and I will second the poster who flagged their lemon curd sultana buns.

They do a pink beetroot cabbage and apple coleslaw that's really nice. Around the same time they brought out a smoked Chipotle coleslaw which tasted like someone had stubbed their fag out in a dish of clapped out julienned veg that had then been put in a plastic carrier bag with some malt vinegar and left to swelter in the sun. So er, don't get that one.

The only other things I can think of are unhelpfully no longer available - they used to stock a red wine with New York on the label that was fab but is long gone. And they did a wensleydale cheese and carrot chutney sandwich that I think is discontinued.

And if you're in Wales they're selling an Anglesey salted honey butter in Welsh stores only. Desperate to try it :(

I have a list as long as my arm now and a real concern about my future waistline.

For regular goers, when is the best time of day to get reduced produce? The store is soclose I can nip along anytime so hoping to get some end of day items when possible if I can time it right.

Raspberry royale yumnut

Someone told me Wednesday is the best yellow sticker day - this may not be true or may be store/location dependent

Absolutely these!

As someone else has said, the chocolate covered chocolate bourbons
( they only came out in the Autumn )

cheese scones, either fresh loose from the bakery, or in the 4 pack prepacked.

double chocolate hot cross buns

chocolate covered raisins

yumnuts ! either individual or in 3 or 4 packs, a variety of flavours.

yes ! I do have a sweet tooth :)

I don't buy food to eat at home from anywhere else, I will buy butter / bread / milk etc. in a supermarket but actual food is M&S for me and has been for years and years.

Regarding a Sparks card, as it is a ' loyalty ' card to ' encourage ' you to shop there, it costs nothing and all you have to do is tap it at the till.

Check your m+s account or your emails, this week I have a free pastry ( or a yum nut ! ) and a free farmhouse loaf of bread,
I also have 20% off jeans and nightwear and socks for x days.
Some weeks/months I have nothing ' free ' at all.

hazelnut spread - OMFG
sandwich biscuits with jam and thick cream between them
pretzel rounds in the crisp section
dark berry purple yoghurts - so creamy
cheese
Victoria sponge cupcakes in the bakery

This thread is amazing, so much stuff I haven't tried. My recommendations:

• chocolate covered cookie dough bites
• chocolate chip shortbread
• jaffa cakes (sooooo much better than McVities)
• mushroom pappardelle ready meal
• another vote for the Mexican layered dip
• cheese 'sausage' rolls

THE CHOCOLATE COVERED BOURBONS

Regarding ' yellow ' stickers, they are done 3 times a day,

So the morning crew ( one hour before opening ) will reduce every item that is that day's date, by x %
The 2nd reduction is around 4 pm onwards by a better x %
The 3rd and final reduction is about one hour to 30 mins before the shop closes.

The single serve profiteroles are delicious too. They have this layer of choc mousse then the layer of the thick chocolate sauce hardened in the fridge.

The hot cross buns are the best supermarket ones by a mile, the salted softer butter, dirty fries (naughty but v nice!), fresh baguette, the bananas are always good there! DC love the bakery cookies, pack of 5 I think

Truffled Gouda.

Loads

The bakery, all of it.
Frozen garlic bread that you get by the bakery, not from the freezer section
Their very berry much at Christmas. I’ve got their Easter one to try.
Fruit
Steaks
Their cheese selections
Frozen pastries
Beef pasta bake