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When your well-heeled pal next says to you, "Hey, fancy hitting M&S for lunch?" you might need to reconsider your immediate, "No thanks, I've got yesterday's bolognese in the fridge" reaction.

You see, M&S is no longer an exclusively bourgeois option. Last month, it elevated its £10 meal deal, expanding the range and reintroducing the necessary inclusion of a bottle of wine.

Now the upmarket supermarket has brought out a £3.50 meal deal. Which is bizarrely affordable when you consider its snack selection is the reason you can't afford to buy a house.

We heard about the new lunch time deal thanks to Mirror reader Jack, who today sent us in a picture of his lunch (always welcome).

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Yes, a honey roast ham and farmhouse Cheddar sandwich, a bag of posh crisps, and a bottle of cloudy lemonade: £3.50 – not too shabby. We think the guys over at Meal Deal Talk would find it a pleasing selection?

Jack told Mirror Online: "It’s great value. They’ve undercut Boots on price [in London, where it's £3.79]. It's a game changer if you automatically head to Boots on a lunch hour".

Jack did concede, however, that Boots includes "pretty much everything" in its deal, while M&S is distinctly lacking – particularly in the salad department.

M&S' lunch time offerings include sandwiches such as poached salmon and watercress, Wensleydale cheese and carrot, and egg and bacon. Crisps are typically M&S posh – think Red Leicester and onion – and drinks range from Florida orange juice and sparkling mandarin to the more traditional Coca-Cola and ginger beer. Full list here.

Discount-hunting website Hot UK Deals also noticed M&S' new foray into inexpensiveness. On it, a supermarket savvy user posted a picture of a squirrel and wrote: "M&S has a new sandwich meal deal on. Selected sandwiches, 500ml soft drink (inc Coke) and a packet of crisps for just £3.50!



"Had the Chicken, avocado and rocket sandwich today – delish!"

A questionable sandwich choice. But still, others in the forum were excited by the prospect of M&S lunch times.

One user commented: "I always get Tesco's at £3, but paying an extra 50p is worth it for M&S sandwiches. Love them."

Another said: "I do prefer M&S sandwiches to most pre-packed. Would like to see the list of the ones included in the deal."

The thread sparked an intriguing debate on sandwich quality across Britain's high streets. Indeed, many still feel M&S, at £3.50, is overpriced. Others pointed out quite reasonably that the deal only includes the basic range – wraps, subs, and premium sarnies don't qualify.

Gorskar then mentioned a dark period in meal deal history: when Sainsbury's drastically reduced its range. "Still miffed that the Sainsbury's meal deal doesn't include any decent sandwiches now - it used to be the best, and its now gone to the worst!" he said...

...Before offering a fairly comprehensive (his opinion, of course) roundup of supermarket deals.

M&S - was too expensive, might check them out now.

Co-op - pretty poor selection, and its more expensive at £3.50 now (I think). Still better than Sainsbury's, but the price and average sandwiches has kept me away for a while now!

Tesco - reasonable. At £3 you get an OK selection, but not the best. Often get this.

Boots - yes, very good! Boots near my office doesn't do sandwiches though.

Morrisons - definitely the best. £3 gets you the best sandwiches + decent snack & drinks. Unfortunately none near my office.

There remains a lot of love for the Boots meal deal across the board.