The supermarkets’ best value dine-in Valentine’s Day deals for 2023

Aldi

Best deal: £7.27, or £11.26 with wine

Once again, Aldi has declared itself the winner of the battle to provide the cheapest Valentine’s Day dine-in deal. Starting at £3.63 per person for three courses, the most cost-effective option comprises mini heart-shaped garlic bread (£1.29), heart-shaped lobster filled pasta (£2.99) and a Specially Selected vegan chocolate melt in the middle heart (£2.99). Adding a Grapevine pinot grigio (£3.99) makes for a meal with drinks at £5.63 each.

The discounter is also adding a host of more luxurious options for those looking to spend a little more. It has added limited editions such as scallop & champagne gratins, Wagyu sirloin steaks with smoked salt & wild garlic butter, oysters and Wagyu-basted thick-cut chips.

In addition to the steak-heavy SKUs, there are also vegan Specially Selected pies and mushroom arancini.

Meanwhile, kids can get involved with their own special supper in the form of heart-shaped nuggets and a heart-shaped cookie.

For the adults, there are plenty more wines including sauvignon blanc, merlot and vegan prosecco.

Asda

Best deal: £15

Asda’s Valentine’s meal deal includes a starter, main, two sides, dessert, and either a bottle of wine or box of chocolates for £15.

The supermarket says users of its Asda Rewards app will also earn £1.50 in their cash pot for purchasing.

There are 17 new items included in the deal for 2023, including vegan mushroom arancini hearts, 30-day dry-aged sirloin with smoked garlic butter, chantaney carrots with citrus yuzu, and dark Belgian chocolate hearts.

For starters, there are five options including a new truffle mac and cheese with slow-cooked British beef, chicken liver parfait with raspberry jelly, and packs of vegan mushroom arancini hearts with truffle dip.

In addition to the steak, futher main course options include wild & roast garlic-stuffed Yorkshire-bred pork kiev cutlets, British duck breasts with morello cherry sauce, Aberdeen Angus beef burger with smokey bacon & cheese heart, braised British beef cheek parcel with a creamy porcini mushroom & peppercorn sauce, cod fillet with samphire & sicilian lemon & marjoram butter, plant-based wellington with mushroom duxelle, and ’nduja-stuffed chicken parcels.

Asda is aiming for classic crowd-pleasing sides, with its triple-cooked chips and dauphinoise potatoes. While for dessert, it’s gone classy with Italian espresso tiramusi cups and dark Belgian chocolate hearts with raspberry. 

Shoppers can round out the meal deal with either a bottle of wine, such as the Extra Special Malbec Merlot or Extra Special Sauvignon Blanc, or a box of Extra Special Chocolates.

Co-op

Best deal: £12 for Co-op member card holders (£15 otherwise)

Co-op’s deal features a starter, main meal, side, dessert and soft drink.

There is also an option to upgrade to wine for £16 for Co-op members or £20 for non-members.

The deal consists of 14 of Co-op’s Irresistible range, such as garlic and parsley tear & share with camembert and soft-set scotch eggs for starters, 28-day matured prime British hereford steaks and salmon & prawn en croute.

Other options include buttered mash potato and strawberry kisses cheesecakes, made with double cream vanilla and finished with a white chocolate heart.

There are plant-based alternatives included in the deal too. Irresistible Mediterranean antipasti selection is new to the range, while mushroom wellington parcels, triple-cooked chips, dark chocolate and raspberry velvet tortes return for another year.

San Pellegrino Lemon, Diet Coke and Coke Zero make up the options for the alcohol-free deal, while wines comprise prosecco, sauvignon blanc and rioja crianz, all of which are vegan.

Iceland

Best deal: £8

Starting at £4 a person for its value steak deal, Iceland’s deal includes just a steak main course with two of either its Luxury 28-day matured Aberdeen Angus rump steak or Luxury 28-day matured Aberdeen Angus beef sirloin steak, in addition to chips and peas.

More sides and desserts come at an extra cost, with the two steaks, chunky skin-on chips, Luxury beer-battered onion rings and chocolate fudge cake in Iceland’s Luxury bundle coming in at £12.75.

For a slightly bigger steak at an extra £1.50 per person, the retailer will substitute in its Big Daddy sirloin steaks or Big Daddy rump steaks.

Marks & Spencer

Best deal: £20

The M&S deal includes a starter, main, side, dessert and drink.

The retailer says its deal is bigger than ever this year, offering potential savings up to £17.50.

Some 30 products feature in the deal, which will be recognisable by their pink packaging. 

Starting out with options including Coquille St Jacques, prawn tempura with sriracha mayo and prawn cocktails, M&S has set out its stall to become the store of choice for seafood aficionados.

Beyond seafood, leek & cheese soufflé tarts, a three-cheese bake and duck parfait with orange glaze make for a choice of posh opening courses. 

Mains on offer include cod with tomato, paprika & sherry, as well as 21-day aged sirloin steak with heart-shaped garlic butter, rump steak with peppercorn sauce, herb-crusted lamb rack and chicken cordon bleu. Some come with cooking instructions courtesy of Sparks’ partnership with celebrity chef Tom Kerridge. 

The obligatory triple-cooked chips feature among the sides, in addition to rosemary hasselback potatoes and cheesy spring greens.

For dessert, melt in the middle puddings make a return to the deal. Billonaire pots, made with layers of biscuit, caramel mousse, caramel sauce and chocolate ganache, are also on the menu.

Marks has also paid attention to speciality diets, with gluten-free and vegan options available. Plant-based options include crispy tempura vegetable fritters, mushroom stroganoff pie and creamy berry dessert pots.

The retailer has identified sparkling rosés as a theme of Valentine’s Day, including Conte Priuli Rosé Prosecco and Fizzero Rosé, while it has also included alcohol-free raspberry and strawberry-flavoured sparkling wines in the deal.

Morrisons

Best deal: £15 for My Morrisons members (£17 otherwise)

The Morrisons deal includes a starter, one main, two sides, a dessert and a choice of wine, prosecco or soft drink.  

Morrisons’ The Best range makes up many of the items featured in its deal, 22 of which are new for 2023.

New starters include camembert tear & share bread with cherry bell peppers, chipotle cauliflower wings, antipasti platter and salmon mousse.

The retailer has also added cooked duck legs with a blood orange and honey glaze, rump steaks with peppercorn butters, spaghetti carbonara, scottish salmon fillets with hollandaise butter and a vegan mushroom-stuffed butternut squash as main course options.

It has also incorporated three Gü dessert options: vegan dessert, chocolate & honeycomb dessert and hot chocolate molten middles. Its new own-label desserts include caramelised biscuit profiteroles and a cheese selection.

Its six wine SKUs included in the deal comprise Menestrello Prosecco Spumante, Chevaliers St Martin AOP Bordeaux, Fairbank Wines Sauvignon Blanc, La Bellamente Pinot Grigio Blush, Isoletta Vatarratton Pinot Grigio and Isoletta Nero D’avola. 

For non-drinkers, there are a host of options including sparkling lemonades and Morrisons’ presses.

Sainsbury’s

Best deal: £15

The Sainsbury’s deal comprises a starter, main, side, dessert and drink – either a wine, G&T or alcohol-free alternative.

The hero among Sainsbury’s starters is its Taste the Difference scallop gratin. The premium own-label range products make up all the food SKUs in the Valentine’s deal. Other starters include a vegan antipasti platter, vegetable tart and non-vegan antipasti platter.

In line with the tradition of the day, Sainsbury’s has two steaks on offer for its main course: rump and sirloin. It is also offering pork belly, Scottish salmon en croute, wild garlic chicken kievs and a plant-based wellington.

It has capitalised on white chocolate as an easy-to-decorate dessert with white chocolate & raspberry cheesecake slices, white chocolate profiteroles with strawberry crème pat filling, as well as lemon tarts, chocolate melt in the middle desserts and vegan raspberry & chocolate torte.

In addition to canned gin & tonics from Sainsbury’s own range along with proseccos and wines, the drinks option also features Shloer Celebration pink fizz and McGuigan’s alcohol-free sauvignon blanc and shiraz.

Tesco

Best deal: £12 for Clubcard holders

It includes one main, one side, one dessert and one drink, alcoholic or non-alcoholic.

Tesco says its Valentine’s meal deal is an “inflation-busting” £12 for Clubcard holders, cheaper than last year. It includes a bottle of Finest prosecco, alone worth £10.

New additions for this year are a vegetable moussaka, truffle mac and cheese, heart-shaped potato croquettes with black pepper and parsley, raspberry royale profiteroles and a chocolate brownie heart.

Other meal components returning include mains of ranch steaks plus garlic, herb & peppercorn butter, duck breast portions in a raspberry hoisin sauce, British beef burger, chicken legs mushroom white wine & tarragon, beef bourguignon pies and smoked salmon gratin.

The retailer also has a range of vegetarian dishes, such as tomato, mascarpone and basil risotto.

There are also wines new to the meal deal offering for 2023, including malbec, sauvignon blanc and  cinsault rosé. Peroni also joins the deal, alongside Nozeco rosé and a duo of Bottlegreen’s sparkling pressés as a booze-free alternative.

Waitrose

Best deal: £20

Waitrose has a host of deals, but for £20 customers can choose a starter, main, side, dessert and bottle of wine. From a variety of Waitrose’s own-label ranges including its standard tier, premium No 1 lineup, vegan Plant Living and Duchy Organic ranges, the retailer has vegan and vegetarian options in all courses.

Its other deals include a £7 stir fry meal deal comprising a protein (meat, prawns or tofu), a pack of stir fry veg, a sauce and rice or noodles; an £8 pie supper deal, which includes two pies and two sides; a £9 plant-based deal with two mains and a side or dessert; and a £12 meal deal from Waitrose’s No 1 range, featuring a main, side and dessert.

Starters in the £20 deal comprise Scottish poached salmon mousses, Heston from Waitrose Bloody Mary prawn cocktail, Scottish mussels in garlic butter, bacon leek & roquefort tartlets, cheddar & emmental souffles, tomato & thyme soup, layered mushroom parfait and a Spanish tapas platter.

Mains include ribeye steaks with bearnaise, sea bass with tomatoes & olives, beef bourguignon, rump steaks with chimichurri, coq au vin, lasagne, truffle & parmesan chicken kiev, slow-cooked duck with apple & cherry ketchup and a no-beef bourguignon.

Sides are watercress spinach rocket salad, Mediterranean roasting veg, potato gratin, green vegetable medley, white mash, cauliflower cheesem, frites and vegan dauphinoise potatoes.

The retailer identified blonde chocolate as a returning trend from its heights of Easter last year with a blonde chocolate dreams pudding.

Other desserts comprise churros, raspberry panna cotta, Heston from Waitrose espresso martini choc tortes, rhubarb & custard love hearts, a cheeseboard, fruit salad, melt in the middle chocolate puds and sicilian lemon tarts.

The meal deal’s drinks line-up includes two Tails cocktails, as well as alcohol-free Thomson & Scott Noughty Sparkling, and a range of wines.