AIBU to think Waitrose ready meals are very poor quality

[Redburnett]

Just that. OH has recently bought a few and they have all been utterly tasteless. Examples included a breadcrumbed fish fillet with a very thick layer of crumbs and thin dry tasteless fish in the middle, spring rolls with leathery pastry and soggy tasteless filling, battered prawns with chewy batter and tasteless prawns, and nasi goreng with tasteless soggy egg and chicken bits and rice with a very hot but otherwise flavourless sauce. Honestly on one occasion I thought I had lost my sense of taste and did a LFT! I expected better from Waitrose.

Loads of quality of things are going down, M&S definitely too there’s been a decline. I had the chicken hot pot one the other day and it was awful, rubbery scraggy chicken and watery sauce.

I actually 90% of the time buy vegetarian ready meals when I occasionally have them because I don’t trust the meat to be nice quality at all.

*chicken hot pot from Waitrose

Ready meals are always shit no matter where they come from!

Ready meals are usually pretty disappointing, no matter which shop. I like the M&S gastropub lasagne and a couple of their curries but by and large ready meals tend to be a bit sad and bland. I do love the Waitrose chicken kievs though. So delicious.

Honestly on one occasion I thought I had lost my sense of taste and did a LFT!

I had a terrible fishcake with cheese sauce in from Waitrose, it tasted like they'd put the lemon tart filling in by mistake.

But I enjoy a lot of their 3 for £10 offerings, like the gammon with mango or the lamb kebabs.
And I love the rice with edamame for a quick meal.

Most of their complete ready meals are microwave only so I don't buy.

Don't get the taste the difference posh lasagne from Aldi it's absolutely disgusting

The Charlie Bingham ones are nice but they’re not Waitrose own brand; think you can buy them there though

I only shop at Waitrose occasionally because it's sometimes more convenient to go there rather to my usual shop which is further away and always busy.

I've never understood this whole idea that Waitrose is superior to other supermarkets, I think their stuff is generally rather poor quality.

I bought a couple of fishcakes from them a while ago. Can't actually remember what the fish was but they had leek in them; utterly tasteless, so tasteless in fact that I ended up throwing away the one left in the packet.

I stupidly didn't look at the fat content when I bought them, turned out they were massively high in fat as well.

I find their fresh fish, for some reason, seems to lack flavour as well. And don't get me started on their awful fruit and vegetables. If they're not half rotten when you buy them, they'll go off pretty soon after you get them home.

Awful place.

I thi k youre expecting too much in thinking a super processed, ready made meal that's sat in a box for a week will have anything nice left about it.

We started going to COOK instead for easy ready meals and they are sooo much yummier!! (Pretty pricey though).

@CatTerrier

Ready meals are always shit no matter where they come from!

Yup, pretty much.

@Redburnett

Why do ready meals.
Cook a few things one day and put in freezer in smaller portions so you have a selection!

Miles cheaper more fun!

Any one can cook a lasagne a chillie a spay bol etc.

We had some Indian ready meals from Waitrose recently and they were delicious. Not tried any others though.

@CatTerrier

Ready meals are always shit no matter where they come from!

Agree.

I'm not snobbish about food in the slighest, but 9 times out of 10, if not more, 'ready meals' are disappointing.

For ready meals i'd just choose a curry or lasagne rather than go for anything too fancy. Stick to tried and tested.

Sainsburys do a nice prawn curry

On paper one of my favourite pizzas should be the Waitrose Mushroom, Bacon and Marscapone. But I've had it several times when I could hardly taste anything, it was like eating cardboard. I don't understand how that's possible. And I do vaguely recall it being nice when I first had it, so I don't know if its me or the pizza that's changed. I wonder if they've take all the salt and fat out to make healthier?

I once bought a ready-crumbed fish from Waitrose. Except it turned out not be a fish, but a fish shaped fishcake. I examined the box very closely afterwards, and there wasn't a single word on it anywhere to clarify that it contain fishcake rather than the fish all words and pictures led me to expect.

@RandomLondoner, I thought the same and was disappointed by that pizza. Morrison's do a ham, mushroom and mascarpone pizza though that is delicious.

There was a post here not long ago talking about how good they were! I was honestly tempted as I'm going into hospital soon and thought it would be convenient for when I get out. I've never found a ready meal I've liked so was seriously skeptical, don't think I'm going to bother now.

COOK meals are great, though. I have only had one that I was less keen on, and all the others have been really nice. I don't think I'd be able to make as nice ones myself, especially for one person. They are expensive though. I don't like the microwaveable bowls as much either, but the main meals are really good.
I don't think all ready meals are full of shit and processed stuff. Some are just like you'd do at home, frozen.

I like the Waitrose ready-to-cook ones, few quite nice ones in there.

@SirenSays
Honestly if you can afford it only get the Charlie Bingham ready meals, expensive but lovely.
Also I think the chicken Kiev’s from freezer section are good.

The bog standard ready meals are shit wherever you go (CB aside)

Their pizzas are particularly poor. Iceland's stonebaked are better and a third of the cost.

Dh and a Singaporean niece adored the Waitrose Nasi Goreng. And they’ve both had the authentic versions in SE Asia.
Just saying.