It’s no secret that meal deals are probably the quickest way to have a bite on the go for fairly cheap.
As a student, it is important to budget and keep track of your finances, as well as make sure you get that minimal daily calorie intake.
Meal deals might seem like a great idea for that, especially as a busy student on a lecture-packed day.
With the City Campus located right in the city centre, NTU students are spoilt for choice when it comes to the range of shop-bought lunch.
Here are some of the meal deals we picked, along with their prices and how much money it saved us.
Tesco Express, NG1 4FQ
Tesco is easily one of the safest options to get a meal deal from, and the reason for this is its sheer variety of sandwiches, wraps, salads, sushi and pastas to choose from. Tesco has a sandwich for nearly everyone, and the number of different possible combinations to choose from means that students aren’t limited to the same meal over and over again.
There are lots of Tesco buildings located around NTU City Campus, such as Shakespeare Street (opposite Arkwright), Victoria Centre, and Lace Market.
The prices for all meal deals are great value at only £3.50 without a clubcard, or £3 with a clubcard.
I opted to get a Chicken and Bacon sub for my main, valued at £2.75.
The sub isn’t the most impressive quality when compared to the likes of Greggs, but for the value price, I can hardly complain.
I also picked up a packet of Prawn Cocktail Walkers’ Crisps for my snack, valued at £1.
To wash down my food, I also grabbed a Caffe Latte Cappuccino drink, valued at £2.75.
The total value of the products came in at £6.50, meaning I saved £3.50 with a clubcard.
Adam Eaton
Grumpy Mule, Nottingham Trent Student’s Union
Definitely one of the more convenient businesses available for students is the Grumpy Mule café which is located inside of the NTU Student Union building (opposite Boots Library).
Students won’t need to travel far to pick up a sandwich, drink, and snack from this café, and because it is located in the Student’s Union, you will have lots of seats and tables to choose from.
I decided to pick up a Chicken Jalapenos Baguette as my main, valued at £3.50.
I thought the baguette was a little bit under-toasted, but generally quite tasty.
I also picked up a packet of Sweet Chilli crisps, valued at 90p.
Lastly, I picked up a Fanta drink, valued at 90p.
The total value of these products came in at £5.30, meaning I saved 80p.
Will Hugall
Greggs, NG1 6FB
Greggs is a fantastic place to grab yourself an afternoon lunch, and NTU City Campus is littered with them. From Victoria Centre to Old Market Square, a Greggs bakery can be found around most corners.
Although slightly more expensive than other food retailers, the quality is top-notch.
Customers can choose a cold meal deal for the price of £3.50.
I picked up a Roast Chicken and Mayonnaise main, valued at £2.95.
The baguette was very delicious, and the chicken/mayo ratio was just right for my liking.
I then grabbed a Large Orange Juice drink, valued at £1.60.
The total value of the products was £4.55, meaning I saved £1.05.
In addition to this, students with Unidays or Student Beans can also pick up a free sausage roll or sweet treat alongside their sandwich and drink.
I decided to pick up a scrumptious Tripple Chocolate Muffin as my sweet treat.
As a bonus, you can also find Greggs on delivery service apps such as Just Eat.
Adam Eaton
Victoria Centre Boots, NG1 3QS
Located just five minutes away from NTU’s City Campus, Boots is a great option when it comes to getting a meal deal in city centre.
The price of a meal deal there is £3.59, having increased from £3.39 back in March.
For my main, I opted for a Pesto & Sunblush Tomato Pasta Salad worth £3.15.
While this may not have been my favourite store-bought pesto pasta, it was definitely filling, and the pine nuts accompanied the pesto really well.
For my snack, I picked a Nomadic Yogurt & Oat Clusters priced at £1.40.
You could really feel the chocolate and the oats were really crunchy, which I liked, however, there weren’t many honeycomb pieces.
Finally, for my drink, I picked a Lipton Peach Ice Tea priced at £1.40.
The total value of the products was £5.95, meaning that the meal deal saved me £2.36.
Rucsandra Moldoveanu
Sainsbury’s, NG1 3ED
I decided to branch out from my usual Tesco meal deal and head to Sainsbury’s instead.
I was surprised by the difference in choices, with Sainsbury’s even having some hot food options for their £3.50 meal deal.
I kicked off with my side, 3 hash browns at £1.20.
Then, despite emptier shelves than I expected, I found a Red Leicester Ploughman sandwich (I admittedly picked the tomatoes off when I ate it).
Then for my drink, I decided on a Naked Red smoothie for balance, priced at £2.45, only 5p less than the sandwich.
The meal deal saved me £2.65, which was a nice amount to see knocked off the total.
The sandwich was on malted bread, which isn’t my go-to normally, but it was tasty, nonetheless.
The hash browns were average since they had gotten cold in the few minutes between me buying the meal deal and sitting down to eat it.
Despite this, overall, it was tasty and a nice change from my usual choices.
Rose Taylor