Friday Night Treat? Which Supermarket has the best Steak?

We've recently been drinking many of the best red wines you can buy from supermarkets. We've reviewed Lidl, Aldi and Morrison. It's been a wonderfully heady experience, but we thought there was something missing.

A great glass of red wine has no better companion; steak. Now, it's a Friday night treat, we're doing the shopping, so which supermarket has the best steaks?

We'll be looking at several of the biggest supermarket chains across the UK, in order to find the best supermarket steak (to enjoy with a glass of red!).

Just before we start...

Before we start, in our testing, we have tried all kinds of cuts. We're not trying to find "the best" steak; our objective is to find the best supermarket to grab a fantastic steak, regardless of the cut. We'll be looking at quality, value for money and other factors too.

Secondly, when it comes to price, we've looked at an estimate across all of the steak products. We found that supermarkets often say they price match the more budget options (like Aldi). This is usually done by reducing the size of the steak.

Waitrose - Best all round (£6.10 to ~£13.00)
Lidl - Best Value (£3.50 to £8.00)
Tescos - Best for all budgets (£3.30 to £12.75)
M&S - (£4.50 to ~£9.00 plus)
Sainsbury's - Best Selection (£4.50 to £12.00)
Co-op - £5.00 to £8.00

Waitrose - Best all rounder (£6 to £13)

Waitrose does have prepackaged steak, but the real gold standard is their in-store butcher.

If you're in a rush, the pre-packaged options are some of the best supermarket steaks you'll buy, but the key is to go to the butcher's counter and ask for their dry-aged steaks.

It is much more expensive than most of the supermarket steak options, but the steak is freshly cut and packaged right infront of you. Steak is always at it's best when it is fresh.

We enjoyed a lovely rib-eye and it was so soft, delicate and delicious. You could really taste the classic dry aged funk, and the fat had grassy notes. All it needed was a little bit of salt after a close sear, and it was to die for.

The best steak is found at Waitrose. Learn more here, or pop into your local store.

Lidl - Best value for money (£3.50 to £8)

Lidl may be a "budget" supermarket, but it's quickly becoming one of the UK's favourite stores. Yes, there are some things that need to improve (the premade meals, for example), but Lidl are hard to beat on their fresh produce (veg/fruit, bakery and meat).

When comparing Lidl steak with the other supermarkets on this list, we were genuinely surprised. It was delicious, soft, nutty and almost half the price of the others on this list.

Lidl also has a much better selection than Co-op, Tesco and M&S. In all seriousness, Lidl offers the best value steaks of any supermarket, and this is where I'l be shopping from now on (unless it's a proper celebration).

More information is available on the lidl website, and you can buy in store.

Tescos - Best for all budgets (£3.30 to £12.75)

Let me be honest, I don't believe that Tesco's has a good selection of steak. What they do well is provide options; this is true for their other products too.

Tescos is the best steaks if you need budget options. There are really cheap steaks that are perfect if you want a fix without spending a fortune, and the high-end quality that Waitrose is known for.

We grabbed a pair of Rump steaks, and they were delicious. Often with Rump the meat can be dry, and with cheaper cuts, gristly... Ours were perfectly fine, but the reviews are mixed.

There is a huge selection on the Tescos website, including the steak we got, or in store.

M&S (£4 to £9+)

There are many amazing things you can buy from M&S, and it is much better than other supermarkets. Unfortunately, M&S steaks are not in that category.

For the upper price bracket (similar to Waitrose), the steaks' quality and flavour are very similar to other cheaper supermarkets (like Sainsbury's).

The ribeye steaks a branded as Aberdeen Angus, which is often a signifier of quality in the steak world. They were fine, but for the price, not value for money, I am afraid.

Check out the steaks in M&S in store, or on their website.

Sainsbury's (£4 to £12)

After years of enjoying Sainsbury's "big" rump steaks, they stopped selling them in my local store. I was gutted.

Sainsburys's as a supermarket has a huge selction of streaks. From the standard pre-packaged ones, to organic branded ones and up to the butcher's counter.

Previously, I thought Sainsbury's was a little bit stingy with their steaks, but after some comparison, they sell their steaks larger than their competitors; a similar Ribeye steak in Tesco is 225g, Lidl's is 255g, while Sainsbury's is 285g.

The steak was decent, too. Nice decidant fatty flavour, a little bit of that dry-aged funk and fairly soft.

More info ca be found on the Sainsbury's website, or by visiting your local store.

Co-op (£5 to £8)

For a supermarket that brands itself as "owned by its members", it can be a very expensive place to shop.

If you're quickly passing by to grab a few steaks, however, you can't go wrong. Co-op sells a small selection of steaks, that are nice enough for a treat.

The issue is that a small 225g ribeye steak can be as much as £6. Compared to Lidl, which sells an equally delicious steak, it seems quite steep.

The steak we enjoyed was an Aberdeen Angus steak, and in fairness, it was delicious. You can buy the steaks on their website with delivery, or visit your local Co-Op.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, this post has been helpful and has given you an insight into which supermarkets offer the best steak, best steak options and which has the best value for money.

Obviously, this kind of post is subjective, so if you have any comments, please leave them below and have your say!