Supermarket crowned overall best in UK thanks to 'innovative and delicious' food

This supermarket has been named the ‘best’ in the UK (Picture: Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

There are eight major supermarkets in the UK and working out which to shop at can be tricky, as they all have their own merits.

Asda often launches unique chocolate, Aldi and Lidl have the bargain prices, Waitrose offers some luxury, Tesco and Sainsbury’s have more than just food in-store, and Morrisons is helping to keep the kids entertained.

But if you’re wondering which one is the best when it comes to taste, then it’s Marks & Spencer that takes the crown.

The Good Housekeeping Institute has announced the winners of their Food Awards for 2024, and it’s M&S that was named the best supermarket.

The team at GHI based the results on their many taste tests from over the last year and the high street favourite came out on top in 16 different categories — from best ever sausage roll to best barbecue foods.

M&S was named the best by the Good Housekeeping experts (Picture: Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

M&S was praised for its premium store cupboard essentials, ‘innovative’ new launches and generally ‘delicious’ products. Its new low-alcohol 0.5% Fresh & Bubbly Fizz was hailed as a particular highlight from the tests and an example of why the supermarket is doing so well.

And it wasn’t just the experts who loved M&S, as 3,000 readers also cast their votes for their favourite products and shops, and the supermarket scooped another four wins in the best ready meal, best special occasion meal, best dessert, and best sandwich categories.

The store’s Gastropub range, which is intended to be ‘restaurant quality’ was the number one choice for ready meals, with fans arguing that M&S ‘does a better job than some local pubs’.

Standout ready meals included the fish and triple cooked chips, and Metro.co.uk can certainly attest that the latter really are worth the hype. Lifestyle reporter Alice Giddings recently tried the triple cooked chips and branded them the ‘best oven chips she’d ever had’ as they were ‘crispy, fluffy and well seasoned’. Yum.

The ‘Best Ever’ range from M&S scooped the special occasion meal accolade, with shoppers claiming it lives up to the name. Dishes here include fish cakes with a melting cheese middle, and lasagne with a twice-smoked pancetta ragu.

M&S shoppers loved the Triple Cooked Chips and so did Metro’s Alice Giddings during a taste test. (Picture: Metro.co.uk)

Meanwhile the supermarket’s range of classic puds, such as trifles, sticky toffee, bread and butter, crumbles, and tiramisu proved the most popular with shoppers and looking at reviews on Ocado, it’s not very hard to see why.

The M&S Best Ever Trifle (£7) has rave reviews despite the steep price. One customer wrote: ‘Simply the best. It’s not cheap but it is the best trifle ever. They have that right.’

Another posted: ‘Amazing. The best trifle I’ve ever had, generous layers of fresh cream, creamy rich velvety custard, fresh berry compote and sponge which I would love a bit more of as it disappears into the fruit. Overall it’s absolutely gorgeous. I loved it so much I had to hide it from my husband as I didn’t want to share it with anyone!!’

And as for the sandwiches, Pret came pretty close to scooping first place, and while we all love a cheap Tesco meal deal, it seems that the majority of people are opting to buy their lunchtime snack, wrap, salad, or sausage roll from M&S.

Other supermarkets that fared well in the awards included Lidl, which was proclaimed the best for wine, coming out on top across 80 supermarket wine taste tests.

The experts claimed the budget retailer was the place to go if you want ‘interesting, well-priced bottles’ and suggested wine lovers try the Azinhaga de Ouro Portuguese Red DOC Douro Reserva, which is just £6.99.

The red wine is a must-try from Lidl, according to taste tests. (Picture: Lidl)

Tesco also got an accolade as it was voted the best online grocery retailer by shoppers for the second year in a row.

This comes after M&S was revealed to be one of the fastest growing supermarkets in the UK.

At the start of February, sales at the supermarket had grown 11.6% over the last 12 weeks.

The other fastest growing was Lidl, as their sales had jumped by 13.2% at the start of 2024.

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M&S, the nation’s middle-class supermarket of choice, also recently announced a number of price cuts, in a bid to become a more ‘affordable’ rival to Waitrose.

The retailer slashed the prices of 65 items in its ‘Remarksable Value’ range, with the likes of baked beans, instant coffee and long grain rice becoming even cheaper.

The latest discounts were in addition to the 200 price cuts M&S announced last October.

Products will be getting 6% cheaper on average, but bargain hunters will be able to find items with even larger reductions.

Frozen strawberries (350g), for example, will see a whooping discount of 22%, going from £3.20 to £2.50. Meanwhile organic Fairtrade bananas (5 pack) will go from £1.90 to £1.60, representing a 16% reduction.

Other products with reduced prices range from its Chunky Vegetable & Chicken Soup to the M&S brand Sensitive Shower Gel. The price lock will remain in place until after Easter.

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