To think I might be missing something to have totally had my head turned to Aldi?!

i don’t have an Aldi but do shop in Lidl frequently. It’s so much cheaper for every day things but I do find a pretty vast difference in the quality of some things, especially fruit. I pretty much will only buy fresh fruit from Waitrose because although it costs more, I don’t have to throw away literally half a packet of raspberries the day after purchase like I do if they are from other places (and I do means literally).

Oh Booths! I live in the south but we used to holiday in the north and I loved shopping at Booths

I agree with this. I used to shop in Aldi and have stopped doing my main shop there. Not only have the prices risen but also the quality has gone down. One example is the Mrs crimble dupes, they used to taste exactly the same. Now they taste of wax. Chocolate used to be cocoa butter, now palm oil. We used to go mad for all the Christmas stuff but the last couple of years we found nobody really liked a lot of it anymore.
There are still some things I make a trip to Aldi for but I’m finding that list gets shorter and shorter.

At our Aldi the staff are so helpful, M & S Foodhall across the road not so much, really rude at times which pisses me off - what exactly are you paying extra for. Yes, I shop mainly in Aldi, quicker as not so much choice and has all the basics we need; do like a potter around a Waitrose or our local Booths though.

I used to do a weekly shop there with Click and Collect as it was so much cheaper and it was good. But then they put their prices up so there was less difference, the fruit and veg quality was too variable/unreliable, and there were more and more things they stopped selling or randomly didn't have and had to be topped up at Tesco or Sainsbury's, defeating the price and convenience. So now I get a delivery from Tesco.

local Asda here is dire. never tidy, always grubby looking with massive gaps on shelves and long checkout queues. My Sis who lives in a different distant county says the same thing about hers.

I think my local WR is going downhill. Poor variety, has closed its deli counter that had lovely stuff and was always busy, often sells out of stuff. No local Aldi. Local Lidl very variable, I agree about the short fruit and veg life and yes I have had the smelly chicken issue as well, also sweaty slimy fresh mushrooms. On the up side, some of the foreign specials are nice and they used to do a really good pack of gravadlax with the mustard sauce but stopped it. Ocado for me. A wide variety of prices, quality generally very good, price matched to Tesco and I can get marks stuff there AND delivered.

I like a lot of Aldi stuff. The Australian ad campaign says "Hey, it’s cool. We know you see other supermarkets. But you'll save more if you shop at ALDI first". Can't argue with that!

Agree that Lidl slightly better due to bakery and more nuts.

Oatly oat milk, plain pizza bases

Main shop Aldi but go to Tesco for tea , sainsburys & gluten free ( Aldi have started GF) for pork ribs, marks for veg & fruit & yelow stickers, Lidl but not very often for stuffed vine leaves, very rarely Asda.

I don’t mind the non edible stuff like nappies or toys but Fresh stuff is very poor quality and wine is a bit dire but main reason I avoid is (and this does sound snobby) but the check out queue is so bloody long! And you need a pound for the trolly! Who carries cash these days?

Why doesn’t everyone shop there?! @Ipll

For the same reasons you didn't shop there all this time until now.

Also, depends on the area, I'm guessing aldis in some towns for eg that don't have Waitrose, are more chaotic and "colourful" and not always worth the hassle.
City Aldis are crazy (Manchester city centre anyone 🙃)

Having said that, I do go to Aldi early morning mid week a couple of times a month in between either Tesco or Sainsbury's.

For me it’s random odd bits you’d routinely find in a decent sized supermarket but not buy often. Stuff like glacé cherries (rocky road is my default food donation) sea salt, lazy garlic / chilli in jars (exists dometimes in middle aisle) garlic purée seems to have been discontinued, dental floss. Possibly this is location dependent and they stop selling stuff that doesn’t sell well.

Oh and lemon curd now they seem to be putting it all in the iced buns and not stocking jars of it!

99% of my stuff comes from Aldi but it’s very specific stuff from elsewhere!
marmite rice cakes. Sainsburys crinkle cut gherkins (because they taste like McDonald’s ones and I have a… slight addiction). Umami and chipotle paste. Marigold bouillon. OXO cubes

To all those saying they can't get a full shop, can you say what you can't get? Is it for pets or babies?

I'm in the US and was converted to Aldi by an old neighbour who spent time in Germany in the 1960s. Irrelevant to UK shoppers, I know, but I buy almost everything I eat there and find the quality is great. I save 20- 25% per week over prices elsewhere. Plus staff are friendly and the checkout system is user friendly (US Aldi is owned and operated by Aldi Sud).

I do most of my shopping at Aldi, and top up with the odd thing I can't get there at Sainsburys or Morrisons. I think the quality of food is good, I've never found that fruit or veg lasts less time than from other supermarkets.

I work part-time in a coffee shop that also does a light lunch menu. The owner buys a lot of his stock from Aldi, and we consistently get compliments on the quality of the food, with customers often asking who our suppliers are. The bread (sliced bloomer) and the blackcurrant jam are a particular hit.

I also like the self-service tills - they are very fast, there's rarely a problem with them not recognising an item etc.

The only thing I'm not keen on at our local shop is that the staff all seem to talk to each other on headsets while serving you - and not just about shop talk, but about what they got up to at the weekend! I'm never sure if they are talking to me or a colleague. It doesn't seem to happen at the Aldi in the next town over, so possibly that's just the staff at ours.

Lots of us do and have been for years. You're a bit late to the party! 😁

Love Aldi. Their pork and apple sausages are a staple for us. Lidl do excellent Manuka honey, low fat mince is great and coffee dupe of Alzera for less than half the price. Sainsbury’s for deli stuff.

If you normally shop at waitrose Aldi will seem very affordable in comparison. But Aldi prices have risen enormously in the last year or so. I prefer lidl.

I agree. I used to shop at Waitrose and went into Aldi when my income suddenly dropped. I was absolutely amazed at how much cheaper my first shop came to. Still a massive Aldi fan, but get things like meat and fish in Sainsbury’s. Can’t believe how much of my hard earned cash I must have frittered away in Waitrose over the years!

Try a Sunday morning at 9.30, tills open at 10 but you can browse before
usually by the time I get to the tills at 10 is when it’s getting busy

My local one is great, I took my dad who walked in and just looked stunned. His local one always has empty shelves, messy, lack of stock etc etc
I never have any issue getting special buys, shelves always full and we have a 9.30 Sunday morning group we get there ten mins early for a chat

The odd bit I can’t get I’ll go to Sainsbury’s. I do prefer Lidl cottage cheese to Aldi though