You hit the nail on its head. I think there's still hope for meat substitutes if they can improve their flavor while also lowering their price. But I'm not holding out hope for that.
https://groceries.aldi.co.uk/en-GB/p-plant-menu-ultimate-no-...
https://www.trolley.co.uk/product/linda-mccartneys-2-vegetar...
They taste delicious and are absolutely competitive with meat burger prices.
If you go for lean mince then you're at exactly the same price range: https://groceries.aldi.co.uk/en-GB/p-ashfields-british-extra...
That's lower calorie than the veggie burger, but you still have to do the prep yourself.
Or you can go for the quorn mince which is much leaner than all the above and costs less than the lean beef mince: https://groceries.aldi.co.uk/en-GB/p-quorn-mince-500g/501950...
They're not exactly like chicken but if you treat them as their own thing then they're a perfectly good substitute in things like stir fries.
Quorn bacon substitute rashers are also pretty good in a fry up. Again, they're not bacon but if you treat them as their own thing, very enjoyable.
Not sure anything substitutes for a good steak or nice bit of cod yet but that's only an occasional treat for us anyway.