Is Aldi really all that?

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New Aldi has quite recently opened up in town. DH wants us to switch to doing our weekly shop there. I'm reluctant. I find the whole till set up stressful - I'm used to the scan and shop and I don't really want to triple handle my food in and out of the trolley like the blooming hokey cokey (especially with young child with me)! I've also had some fresh produce from there that did not last well. He says we can do two smaller shops and would still save money, I just don't know if I can be bothered with the extra hassle/till stress/food going off. Is it worth it?

I was chatting with a friend about Aldi/Lidl yesterday and we both think that the Aldi and Lidl shops we have here in southern Ireland (county cork) are noticeably better than the ones we’ve used in England.
The grocery produce is fresh and good quality and we buy most of our weekly shop from there but still but a few bits from the main SuperValu supermarket.
I buy my Aldi brand Kavanagh’s porridge oats which look identical to the Flahavans Irish oats. The chocolate bars that are like Lily O’Brien chocolate etc.

Yes, it’s wonderful. I only started shopping there when a new one opened near where I lived two years ago and its saved me an absolute fortune. You can’t buy everything from there, that’s the only downside I guess but you can’t knock the prices or quality.

DH wants us to switch to doing our weekly shop there.
It seems that us means you. If DH wants to shop at Aldi, and I note he says " we could do 2 smaller shops", then he can bloody well do the shopping.
My DH suggested many years ago that we would save money if the shopping was done at Tesco, rather than Sainsbury. I agreed that this was a marvellous idea as it would also save me time and stress....because he would be doing the shopping at Tesco henceforth.
Needless to say I still do the shopping at Sainsbury's.

I love Aldi. I do my weekly shop there except for a couple of bits which I get from Booths (handily next door).

It's miles quicker and miles cheaper than Sainsbury's, Tesco etc. It saves me a fortune. You don't have to 'triple handle' your shopping in and out of the trolley at all. Just have your bags for life open in the trolley and be organised. I can easily keep up with the checkout person.

I find the quality generally very good, including the fruit and veg and meat. Ok so Waitrose/Booths might be a bit superior, but if my choice is between Aldi and any of the other non-top-end supermarkets, Aldi wins hands down.

I have tried a few different ones, some new and some old. Always busy and difficult to get to the shelves, when you do get to them there are big spaces where the goods used to be.

Fruit & veg goes off quickly, often stuff like blueberries are already growing mould but you can't see due to the way they are packed. Our closest one is a smaller, older one and is not too bad but they don't really sell much that we need or want.

I keep trying Aldi and Lidl but rarely get what I need so still shop in Sainsburys, one reason being they have some nice things that don't contain palm oil and a good selection of shampoo.

We usually do our weekly shop in Sainsbury’s then once every 4 or 5 weeks do it at Aldi (to stock up on chocolate, biscuits, chocolate bars on the pretence of needing to go for nappies ) but there are often a handful of things we have to pick up at Sainsbury’s as well. There are definitely savings to be had so maybe to a trial shop and see which of your normal bits you can get there then get the rest at your normal supermarket

I think its great - I think each store varies though. The fruit and veg at our local store lasts way longer than asda's but then ive seen others complaining that their fruit Is off before they've got it home.
It saves us quite a bit of money, and now there are certain things I will only buy from aldi.

I don't find the checkout process stressful its fine once you get used to it, and actually I prefer it than making small talk with a checkout operator while I pack all my shopping at the till!

The new stores are amazing though, nice wide aisles and I don't triple handle, I pack at the checkout, staff are really nice and I know I save at least £30 a week shopping there instead of say sainsburys. I have tried every supermarket and I have to say you do save money. As quality of produce goes I cook everything from scratch meat really good and dairy. If you are into your wine they do an amazing selection of drinks. I think I used to be hung up on brands etc, but once you get into a different way of thinking they have some lovely food at Aldi. I also think it depends on your store and how good they rotate fresh stuff. I always check the date on veg and make sure a get a good date on it. I did do a tesco online shop once and some of the stuff was out of date the next day,, so you do have to be careful any shop with sell by dates etc. If you are into ready meals, there fresh pizzas are really nice and good value, overall I would not go back to other super markets. I love my aldi!!!

I shopped exclusively at Aldi for ages. It is further away from my house so takes longer but I get a good shop. I dont really ever buy any prepated food, maybe the odd pack of biscuits and some chocolate,but I make everything from scratch si if you need basic food its perfect. I do find the fruit and veg lasts very well from my store but its constantly being emptied and refreshed, very fast turnover. I changed for a while to the closer Sainsbury's, even the basics are considerably more expensive, DH and I were shocked, and even though the store is physically bigger, the fast empty spaces mean there is a far poorer selection of fruit and veg and the like. What they have is often o its last legs too. I prefer Aldi so if I have the time will ho there out of preference, its stock suits me better and it's cheaper (although it is getting more expensive).

you are into your wine they do an amazing selection of drinks

I tried every rose recommended on aldi threads. They were all awful. I.wasnt sure what I did wrong

I like shopping at aldi, I find I can manage to do a full shop there. But unless I can get there first thing on a weekday morning, I tend to avoid it. The car park is ridiculous. It creates a traffic jam in both directions as there's a queue to park for most of the day.

It is possible to do a weekly shop at Aldi but if you buy own brand or discount brands from Tesco, you won't save an awful lot of money on most items.

The main exceptions are:

• their snacks (cereal and raw fruit bars) and chocolate bars are loads cheaper and exactly the same as big brands
• biscuits and jaffa cakes are only slightly worse but much cheaper

Don't buy the meat or fresh fruit/veg unless you are prepared to lower your standards. Definitely don't buy a whole, raw chicken without putting it in a separate bag because it probably will leak chicken juice all over everything else.

To be honest, I'd either stick to what you're doing or:

1. Tell dh if he wants Aldi food that badly, to go and do the shopping himself.

Or

1. Get the Tesco grocery app and the delivery saver subscription. You can sort any searched item results by price low-high which means you can always get the cheaper version without having to look for it.

My preferred option is 2!

Oh I do love a good Aldi bashing thread as it means you amateurs will stay out of my local one and I can get on with my shopping in peace.

I see we’re doing Aldi thread bingo on here, too.

Fresh fruit already mouldy, meat goes off too quick, meat is tasteless, food is all crap, it’s no cheaper than Tesco. Ha ha, this is all bollocks. But ooh yes, don’t listen to me, keep away, never go in there ever.

The fruit and veg at ours is great - this issue seems to vary. Flowers fabulous and often fair trade. Affordable free range chicken.

I shop at aldi's and home bargains.
I get discount in Tesco's and it's still cheaper to buy in aldi's.
Never had a problem with the food there at all. The wine is lovely so are the steaks . Even if you just tuae it has a stop gap between your main shop . See how it goes .

I’ve found the Aldi staff have stopped hurling stuff at you at breakneck speed in recent years - not sure if that’s a policy thing.

There is a packing technique that you need to implement if you want to avoid the packing shelf (which obviously is for noobs and amateurs), and it is thus:
Place items from shelves into trolley in roughly same order as you wish to pack your bags
Place items on conveyor belt in exact order you wish to pack
Open up three or four of their massive reusable bags (which are far better than any from any other supermarket) before cashier starts to scan
Dump items scanned into open bags in your trolley.

The key is getting it on the conveyor belt in the right order and getting your bags arranged in trolley before cashier starts. Sometimes I let people go ahead of me to give me time to do this if I have a big shop.

Would agree with the point made that it really depends on the branch, we have two locally, three miles apart geographically but also miles apart in experience! I think you have to pick a time to go to ours so the till and packing isn’t too horrific. I also take big IKEA bags and just chuck everything in that and pack properly by the car boot. It’s ok in ours for store cupboard stuff like tinned tomatoes and alcohol but fresh stuff is hit and miss.

I do like penberrh but I open the bags into the trolley before I start shopping so the bags are open and ready at the checkout.
I think my local Aldi staff are training for the scanning Olympics!

The produce in Aldi imo is better than Sainsbury’s - even if it wasn’t my food bill went down my over £40 a wk! Be a snob all you like I’d rather save money

I like Aldis. Never had any problem with the quality, I do check the fruit and veg before I put it in my trolley though. I hardly ever buy branded stuff, so couldn't care less if it's Aldi or Tesco/Sainsbury's cheapest brand.
The best bit is the the tills, the faster the better in my opinion. I've always packed as we go along, firstly I try and place it on the conveyor in the order I want to pack it, and secondly I'm pretty quick myself.

I can't stand the place, stresses me out no end but I see a huge difference in what I'm spending so have to stick with it. Other than the actual shop experience though I find the quality is fine

I love Aldi and have shopped there almost exclusively for about 12 years. Everything's good quality, in fact I prefer s one of their stuff to big brands (baked beans, shreddies type cereal, porridge oats, natural yoghurt) and their white wine is lovely. Never had any problems with fruit and vegetables and I buy all my meat and fish there too.

I do one shop out of 4 at a main supermarket to get specific stuff Aldi doesn't tend to have, then do the remaining weeks at Aldi. For packing, just have your bags out ready in the trolley and pack it straight in. I far prefer doing the Aldi shop it takes 30 mins instead of at least an hour in a main supermarket

Our local one is awful, I couldn't do a weekly shop there as they don't sell stuff I need. The fruit and veg are not great quality.

Can't be doing with the checkout either.

I can get most things I want in Aldi. You need there big bags lined up in the trolley when packaging and you can just pack straight into them. The one I go is fine for packaging and will slow down a bit.

They have some really nice things that I much prefer to Sainsbury’s and Tesco. Their wine is really nice, so is their gin and vodka.

Meat is good quality and much cheaper than other big supermarkets.