Does anyone do food shopping at m&s?

[SandyChick]

Just wondering what peoples opinions are of the quality of fresh stuff ie meat, fish, veg

I mainly shop at asda and sometimes tesco. Asda is closest to us so it's the most convenient option. The problem with asda I find is that fresh food is going off straight away. We probably only ate 2/3 of a punet of strawberries as the rest had gone off etc.

I had a look in a m&s simply food yesterday out of curiosity really. I was surprised to see that they price check with tesco.I expected meat & fish to be cost much more than asda but it actually wasn't.

Am thinking of doing a good shop there next time so would like any feedback if anyone shops there.

Thanks

i've found the meat to be much more expensive in m&s and am surprised that you think otherwise...?

other than that the fruit is of a much higher quality than asda etc but again you pay a premium

We shop for fresh meat, veg and fruit at M&S about once a week.

For convenience we do also get fresh meat, veg and fruit delivered for Sainsbury but prefer M&S for freshness and quality.

I do not notice it being appreciably more expensive at M&S than Sainsbury deliveries though. Feel the freshness and quality is worth a little extra.

Just really wish M&S would do proper online food ordering and delivery like Sainsbury though. I do not have a car so rely on getting heavy bulky stuff delivered.

I only really looked at what i was planning on buying this week.

whole chickens were £3.99 (not sure on exact weight but were similar to size I usually get at asda) [hmmm]
They had 1000g of mince beef for under £5. 2 salmon fillets for £4.66.

There's a sainsburys next door so I think I'll go to m&s and have another look and if no good can go to sainsburys instead.

I find it quite a lot more expensive TBH. Although this may be because our M&S is a Simply Food (albeit a large one), and I'm not sure if they price differently.

I'm fairly lucky in that we have Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, M&S and Sainsbury all within a 5-10minute drive, and have found Sainsbury to have the best cost:quality ratio. We still get fresh items at M&S for a treat now and then though.

Did you know that they price check down and up?!

So if it is cheaper in Tesco then they will price it down but if it is dearer in Tesco they will mark it up.

It's a swizz.

M&S is where I go for naughty food treats such as ready meals and ready made porridge and nice cakes that I haven't made myself.

I find their dry goods okay price wise and the deli stuff fabulous and excellent value for the quality but tbh it is cheaper to buy my Taramosalata and Tzatziki from Sainsbury's or Morrissons and the taste factor isn't too awfully bad to bear.

M&S is ready meal heavy. There isn't a great choice of meat and veg after you discount the pre prepped veg packs and stuffed and rolled joints, etc. in my store anyway.

Waitrose is better I think.

I buy pretty much all our food from M&S and really notice the difference in freshness and quality of food. They always have deals on, so we don't spend as much as it might seem ie 3 for £10 on selected fish. So we eat tuna, sea bass and salmon for £3 per meal (only 2 adults to feed).

Everything else from Waitrose or sometimes Tesco.

I agree w hobbgoblin that M&S don't have a great range of meat and veg once you discount the pre-packed stuff, but we aren't that adventurous. Waitrose has wider range.

You did ask, Sandychick.

That was to my previous post, should check for typos before i post.

A morrisons opened near us a few months back. I might try there. Only downside is that you have to pay for parking there!

Sorry- lots of cross posting. wasn't at op, I had made a typo mistake in my previous post.

We buy a lot of food from M & S - I think it's pretty good value. We buy our other stuff from Sainsburys (online.) I also wish M & S would do online delivery.

"So if it is cheaper in Tesco then they will price it down but if it is dearer in Tesco they will mark it up.

It's a swizz."

are you saying that they change their prices to match Tesco and put them up or down accordingly?

If so i need to correct you as i'm a manager at M&S and we are not authorised to change prices instore. The price checking comes from head office and changes to prices are communicated from them and will be consistent across all stores.
Getting defensive of M&S!!!!!

There are some really good bargains to be had in the food hall, lots of 3 for £5 in deli (which includes cold meats, quiche etc), £2 for £6 meat (mince etc) and then dine in which is usually every couple of weeks which ruin Thurs - Tues.
In my opinion they meat is a much better quality than the supermarkets (with the exception of Sainsburys).

Also we are stocking brands in lots of food halls from August so you can get your Kellogs cornflakes, heinz beans, cola cola etc.

I mainly shop with Ocado for convenience (Waitrose also price checked with Tesco apparently) but if M&S delivered I'd get a lot from there. Some things are dearer, some things aren't, but you can almost always rely on the quality, especially if you're buying things you'd buy anyway. I have given up with soft fruit from anywhere else - fed up with hard watery strawberries than turn mouldy after a day..

I do my basic shopping at Tesco, but most of my fresh food is from M&S. They regularly have deals on meat, fish and chicken, their fruit and veg are streets ahead for flavour and they do great treats! I am in Ireland and I dream of shopping in Waitrose

I occasionally food shop at M&S as there's one near work.

I find it very expensive - mainly because it's all pre prepared veg and convenience foods in there, for which you pay through the nose. They don't really sell many basic ingredients.

Quality wise it's not bad but, IMO, not as good as Waitrose. (mind you their egg pasta is excellent). And the own brand only thing annoys me a bit.

charliebrownsmum, i noticed the branded goods and have to say they make the stores look tatty and cheap

I don't go to m&s to buy kit-kats

Love M&S food - I wish they did online shopping! There are some good deals in there and the food is great quality. I can't see it costing you the same as Asda for your weekly shop though and they may not have everything you usually buy.

I agree that M&S meat is often good value. Also the deli stuff - they do the best coleslaw IMO. So whilst I wouldn't do a full shop there I will often pop in at the weekend to get bits & pieces for lunches or if we are having a BBQ or the Dine In for £10 deal. Love their chorizo sausages!

M&S food is marvellous. We used to live next to a Simply Food, and it's just as well we moved. We have saved a fortune. But I ended up buying loo roll there.

Depends on what you buy. I find their fruit to be better quality and on par with ASDA especially when they do deals. That said their range isn't as much. I do love their grapes and strawberries though.

We had a BBQ last weekend and I needed to buy meet. ASDA had 3 for £10 on chicken, sausages and burgers. M&S had exactly the same and their stuff was marinaded so I didn't need to marinate separately. Plus, the meat at M&S certainly looked to be better quality, especially when it comes to susages!

We get some things from M&S everyweek some things are just better quality frm there but the same price as tesco etc. But i couldnt do a full shop in there as there isnt as much choice it is mostly ready meals.

I really miss not having an M&S near me but it is largely pre prepared food. When I was out of work I had some M&S vouchers and I actually counted what it cost and it was high but as said, the quality is higher.

The 3 for £5 offers on prawns, fish and so forth are great bargains and I regularly have them for salad lunches at work.

My nearest is Asda and they do have some great bargains but their meat is terrible in the main. Veg is hit and miss - broccoli was diabolical all last week.

Our local Marks has started stocking staples such as Heinz, tetley and persil.

Slightly off track here but bear with me. We recently found out that our long time ignored Air Miles, or whatever they call themselves now, can be used to buy M&S vouchers