Marks and Spencer Dine in for two at £10 offer has been running for sometime now, but I hadn't seen it in the new shop that opened nearly a year ago in Livingston, until quite recently - probably because I went at the beginning of the week and it is only on Thursday to Sunday inclusive. I think it has become so popular at Marks that other supermarkets have followed and copied the idea but I have never been tempted in Tesco, as the selection was quite poor, the wine had run out etc.

We have tried this a few times now and only once have been disappointed with one product. Marks and Spencer are renowned for good quality food although they do tend to be quite expensive, but in a world where people want to cook quickly they certainly provide easy to cook and tasty prepared food. Saving on the washing up too as they tend to be in foil containers.
There is a choice usually of 1 Mains, 1 Sides or Accompaniments, 1 Dessert and a bottle of wine or non-alcoholic drink. I have heard that sometimes there is a choice with a starter too. The first one we had was a ready to cook salmon with a dressing and as we had plenty of potatoes, I choose Mediterranean vegetables. I followed the instructions to the letter but some of the peppers and onions were a little burned whilst others seemed not quite cooked. The dessert we choose was fantastic! Profiteroles and chocolate sauce, I love profiteroles but we couldn't eat them all and there was about 6 left for the following day. The wine - which was white was very acceptable and went well with the salmon.

Last Thursday we choose the Oakham chicken, I thought it was ready cooked as the skin was coloured but it was the dressing of honey and brown sugar and it needed cooking in the bag it was in and foil tray for 1 hour 55 minutes. We had selected Gastropub chips as a treat, and they were lovely not at all greasy and cooked to perfection. There was enough chicken for 4 people so it was used the following day to make Chinese pancake rolls. The dessert I have reviewed separately but waiting for it to go on Dooyoo. The Sicilian Lemon and Limoncello Panna cotta were sublime! We really enjoyed them and I will look out for them being a choice again!
The wine was again very easy to drink and once chilled was a very pleasant Chardonnay. I checked the receipt and we saved £5.13 on our deal, the chicken and wine alone came to over £10 so it was a brilliant deal, in fact it was a really cheap meal as we had 2 x £10 vouchers from our Insurance renewal!

The choice was excellent and I will add the selection from this week so you can get an idea of what was available. But on Marks and Spencer's website it does say that it depends on how long stock lasts and what is available, so if you go late in the day there may not be a very good choice.

Mains:
British Steak
Fresh to Dress Salmon Fillets & Chilli Dressing
Chicken Breasts with Caesar Melt & Prosciutto
Rotisserie Style Oakham Chicken
Ginger, Lime & Coriander Chicken Mini Fillets
Gastropub Paella
2 Mushroom Garlic Crispbakes (V)
Haddock Gratin
Accompaniments:
New Potatoes with Butter & Herbs
Gastropub Chunky Chips
House Salad Bowl
Twin Pack Coleslaw & Potato Salad
Traditional Summer Vegetables for Roasting
Caesar Style Vegetables
Parmentier Potatoes
Mediterranean Vegetables
Desserts:
2 Belgian Chocolate Souffles
2 Sicilian Lemon & Limoncello Panna Cotta
2 Raspberry & Vanilla Mascarpone Slices
2 Fresh Strawberry Tarts
2 Prosecco Rose Summer Fruit Puddings
Puff Pastry Kentish Bramley Apple Pie
Seasonal Fruit Salad
Mixed Berries
2 Banoffee Cheesecake Slices
2 Tiramisu
Drinks:
Cobborah Shiraz
Cobborah Chardonnay
White Zinfandel
Twin Pack Apple Presse
2ltr Valencia Orange

Cost - obviously is £10 for dinner for two, in fact if you had bought the chicken and the salad, Apple Pie and wine with the addition of some Potatoes you could feed four people for £10 plus potatoes but most of the meat or fish is just enough for 2 and so are the desserts.

I think this is a brilliant deal, I know several people who buy the offers every time they are available and a couple who buy 3 deals on a Friday to last over the weekend making the cooking very easy and saving a lot of money instead of going out, so in the present time when people are trying to reduce cost you can Dine in for £10 and eat well at the same time. Well done Marks you gain top marks from me.