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

I can't do.lidls for any more than a few bits because it feels like a cash and carry, cluttered and annoying.

I can do a whole job in Aldi, I don't tend to though. I don't find the fruit lasts very long, steaks are good though. Alcohol nice. I do make a point of going in for the little sourdough crackers, mini pepperoni and protein yogurts.

Tend to do weekly shop at Tesco or Waitrose, cause I shop online and I their apps work well for me.

Like M&S too.

Couldn’t disagree more. The quality and taste of Waitrose fruit, veg and meat is so much better. It is more expensive because the meat, even in the value range, is higher welfare, and they are one of the very few supermarkets that pay farmers fairly.

I totally understand why, when money is tight, people can’t shop there. But Aldi simply isn’t better. (And yes, I have shopped there, and all the other supermarkets!)

Range is poor if you want to do a full shop. Not a great place to shop if you are a foodie and really want to buy variety.

We've gone back to shopping at Sainsbury's & Morrisons, because the fruit, veg and milk from Aldi & Lidl just doesn't keep.

Some of their fruits and veg are great, others crap. Those Stamford eggs are like chalk, so no thanks.

Lidl's pastries - yum. I try to get there early though before the handsy people get in.

That being said, Aldi hasn't stuck for me because not everything is great and I hate being stoned with my groceries at checkout.

We always end up back at Aldi, occasionally we've switched to Asda or Tesco but ime Aldi has the best fruit and veg, meat and meals selection than the others. I can spend half what I would in Asda on a full shop in Aldi although I do go to one of the bigger supermarkets once a month to get branded items, washing stuff and things that Aldi don't stock. It's a no brainer for me, it means we have spare cash elsewhere to do things as a family every month.

My brocolli was covered in bugs 🤮 like full of little flies when I opened it! I absolutely not a snob about food shop and buy most stuff in asda but the bugs put me off the fruit and veg for life!! Autistic OH likes their toothbrushes though so I do still pop in for them and buy some other non fresh items

I've gone hybrid for shopping (because I have no life and plenty of time). I go to a proper butcher, fishmonger and greengrocer, and then get other bits in Lidl. It feels a bit like shopping in Toytown, but the quality is excellent, and I spend less than if I went to Sainsbury's for everything. Plus, i couldnt buy fish like thst in a supermarket, because supermarket fish is mediocre at best. I do go to Aldi for their Nandos-knock off garlic peri-peri sauce, which is amazing.

Used to live near one. It was more expensive than Sainsbury's if you weren't normally a big brand buyer in the first place and most of the fruit went off by the time you got home - add in the minimal likelihood of getting anything gluten free and it was a complete waste of time and often money to then have to go to Sainsbury's to actually cover the rest of the week.

I think ALDI used to be a WC thing when it launched here but then became a MC thing, almost like a class marker

Love Aldi and it’s our weekly go to place to shop. I’ve been shopping there for a few years and never had a problem with products turning bad quickly (Asda on the other hand! 🙄)
I do enjoy Waitrose, m&s etc for occasional bits now and then but can’t justify doing my main shop anywhere other than Aldi (and Lidl’s at a push but don’t like it quite as much!)

sorry @SayLaveee no idea why that quoted you!

Jesus the middle class thing really multiplies every day on here.

Its fine. It’s a shop. You’ll be ok.

I always find these threads hilarious with people tripping over themselves to say how awful Aldi is!

Our local branch opened about 15 years ago & I've stopped there consistently every since!

I'm in ireland & lots & lots of the produce is irish - jam, soda bread, butter, milk, yoghurt, cheeses, meat & poultry, eggs, sparkling water, cakes - to name just few Irish producers we buy weekly.

Plus delicious wines & small batch irish gin

Ive literally NEVER had an issue with fruit or veg going off faster than any other shop.

I adore the specially selected range

Glad you've discovered it op. When I first converted I was doing the bulk of my shopping in m&s!

Now I'm also loving Dunnes which has MASSIVELY upped its game in the last few years.

Why doesn’t everyone shop there?!

I can't answer that, but I can say no one I know who uses Aldi uses it exclusively. It's a very good shop, but like a lot places, you have to work your way through your purchases to see if you really like everything. For example, I once had Aldi ketchup at someone's house and I swear it is the first & last time I have that stuff anywhere near my gob.

That said, anything else I've ever had from there has been ok, but I do have a wide tolerance for most things when it comes to groceries. My husband is the shopper in our house, and he will patronise Aldi (we have one in walking distance) but his regular haunt is Asda and has been for over 20 years. He finds it's not great this last couple of years in terms of stock availability, and has tried Tesco, but found it was just the same only with different things out of stock, plus it's more difficult to get to.

Reputations stick, both positively and negatively. This is why some household names such as Grundig, Beldray, Tower, and Salter have enjoyed a reprisal in recent years, as people remember them. Likewise it's taken Aldi decades to shake the image of a cut-price supermarket, and to be fair, back in the 1990s it really was an undignified unsophisticated shopping experience. The first time I set foot in one, the woman on the till was ringing up the prices, having memorised them (that was what they had to do in Aldi back then), there was a huge queue, and people being served were saying to her "take this off...how much is it now? OK, take this off as well...". I thought I was never going to get out of the place and it was years before I went back.

Today's Aldi is a world apart from how it used to be.

I buy a lot of fruit and salad, Tesco definitely lasts the longest, then Lidl, Morrisons and Aldi last! Their bloomer bread is good, and their chocolate. I shop for work there but my home shopping is all done in Tesco, no real price difference imo but much bigger choice.

FWIW I've just been robbed in the coop, 6 standard items, £28!

its very much luck of the draw with your local shop, in my experience. Have been in some lovely aldi and lidls but we eat nearly all veggie and I'm lucky to get enough decent veg for two days from our local lidl, plus the bread was visibly mouldy on the shelf once in our local store, which has put me off a bit.

although middle of lidl is addictive

I love Aldi but since they stopped doing click and collect, I don’t really go there. I really like the convenience of click and collect or deliveries, and turns out I am happy to pay for that convenience. I do sometimes pop in to stock up on certain things but weekly I’ve gone back to Tesco as it saves so much time doing it online and just collecting or having them deliver. Never had any issues with freshness of produce.

I like Aldi too. There are plenty of staff to deal with self checkout tantrums, unlike Sainsbury's, and not as much noise somehow. The quality is on a par with Tesco and Sainsbury's I think. Stock can be a bit hit and miss.
When I get home I compare prices on the receipt against prices on the Tesco app and it averages about 15% cheaper overall each time, comparing like for like/ weight for weight (yes I am sad but my supermarket bill was getting out of hand!).
Clubcard prices are sometimes a bit cheaper, but usually require multi buys. The only thing Aldi is more expensive for is red grapes! And no loyalty card points, but they equate to about 1% off so not much.

I don't think Lidl or Aldi are any cheaper than Tesco nor do they have everything I need so would have to go to two supermarkets. I also shop online which saves me adding extras to my trolley that I don't need thus saving money. Neither Lidl nor Aldi do online shopping and I hate the time wasted in going shopping so will stick with Tesco.

Yes. You are the first middle class person to ever venture into an Aldi.
It's not like they have had record growth year on year, won loads of taste-test awards, and have opened up so many shops in the last decade they will be overtaking asda as the third biggest supermarket chain within the next year or so.
It's not like there have been endless think pieces outlining the exact same faux surprise as you "Who knew the plebs actually ate decent food?"
There have even been tv shows with poshos downgrading to Aldi and expressing surprise at the edibility.
Do some people not think stuff is real until it happens to them, ffs?

I hate Aldi.

They’re closing the Ripon branch. Heartbroken 💔

I know some people are snobby about Aldi but I really like it. It's our closest supermarket so it's very convenient. I've never had an issue with fruit, veg or meat like people claim too. I've even been converted to their own brand beans after being a Heinz snob for decades, not the ketchup though, thats one step too far.

Their prices have jumped up recently. I don't find them as competitive any more. Often they don't have usual things in stock, and good luck if you're vegan hoping for them to retain the majority of stuff from their veganuary range.