What is Aldi like really?

[Bookworm75]

There's a rumour of an Aldi store opening in our town (obvs not for a while now I imagine with everything that's going on at the moment), and I'm wondering what Aldi stores are like to shop in. Are they really much cheaper than say Morrisons? And are they like 'normal' supermarkets inside or are they more like Costco?

Aldi products often come out top in Which? magazine, so cheap doesn't mean poor quality at all. I wish I had one nearer. The downside of the closure of the place where I volunteer closing down (15 miles away) is that I don't get to shop at the Aldi nearby on the way home!

I love Aldi - get almost everything from there (apart from the odd thing like Heinz beans I'll get from Tesco) I will never understand how people say they can't do a full weekly shop in there! They literally have everything it's only if you're fussy on brands like crisps etc

OP, you'll hate it, keep out and leave it to me!
Just learn the simple rule - chuck everything straight back in your trolley after it's been scanned. Bag it up at the shelf (usually) or at your car (currently, due to distancing)
If you bag it at the till you will be hated as an Aldi virgin who is slowing everyone down.

the stuff they sell is noticeably cheaper than elsewhere. They sel fewer lines than most supermarts.

You will find the things that suit you, and the things that don't.

e.g. their mayonnaise is the best I've found in UK shops. Their kertchp isn't/ I don't like their steaks because they're vacuum packed. Breafd and croissants, best in my town. Fruit and veg not so good, especoally tomatoes - always marked or bruised, presumably due to poor handling or packing.

German sausages, chocolate and ham - very good at the middle or upper ranges. Cheap stuff is cheap.

Budget meat pies and similar are noticeably budget. Premium ones are fine.

Good rice, oats, breakfast cereals. Good FR eggs.

Top washing up liquid and washing powders.

Some very good wines and spirits.

The only place you can get small free range whole chickens (under £5, I don’t need a large one) - also duck eggs. I rate their other eggs, meat, cheese, bread and veg. Generally as good as or better than more expensive competition.

I have shopped at Aldi for years for the bulk of our shopping. It helps focus what you really need . It’s quicker nice staff and saves a fortune.
Yes I do get things from other places, but I’m a lot more focused and organised & I don’t need to do that every week.
I have shopped in several Aldi’s and Lidl’s and don’t agree with the comment about it being messy & a free for all.

Sadly I do think some people equate a higher price , glossy logos & shop names like Waitrose with better quality when that definely isn’t always the case.

It's just like Tesco, there's shelves with shit on to buy.
But the shelves are all stacked with own brand stuff and the odd brand mixed in.
So if you go Tesco and buy McCain's Chips Birdseye pie and Mr Kipling cake when you go to Aldi you'll get own brand Chips, pie and cake and it'll be a fuck ton cheaper.
However, if you go to Tesco and get Tesco value chips, pie and cake, Aldi will be similar, perhaps a tiny bit cheaper.

Like bread, for example.
Hovis £1
Tesco own 50p
Aldi 48p
If you only buy branded, you'll see huge saving, if you only buy own brand you'll see small saving.

It knocked £40+ off my weekly shop - switched from Sainsbury’s. That’s all I need to know! Love Aldi!

I find I can’t always get everything but luckily our Aldi is also opposite Tesco so sometimes nip in their afterwards.

Their ice cream is properly lush as is their chocolate.

Don’t bag up at the checkout, do it at the bench behind the tills or at your car. Also, I love a browse through the random stuff in the middle. Keep an eye out for their events, they change them every week.

I can recommend their nappies and wipes, dishwasher tablets and laundry tabs.

Much prefer Lidl tbh.
We have two Aldis within driving distance, one brand new, so was very sadly excited to shop there. Unfortuneately their fruit and veg is in the turn in store never mind trying to use it a day or two later.
Will pop in there ( under normal circumstances), but my usual is local butcher, Lidl for storecupboard stuff and a fruit and veg van that parks up on a Saturday morning for the rest.
The coop gets a hammering during the week for stuff I have forgotten😁

So, for me, Lidl is better than Aldi.

We like it for some things. In ours, the veg is fine if you plan to use it quickly. It doesn't keep as well as the other shops.
We don't like their biscuits (except the Groovy Biscuits which are amazing) or crisps. Their bakery stuff is fine enough but not special.
Meat wise and cupboard item wise you can't go wrong.

We go there for top up bits and pieces but would struggle to do a week's worth of shopping.

I find aldi (and Lidl) false economy as I end up throwing away food that I've bought to try from there. A lot of the food tastes vile and their chocolate is very high in calories/fat compared to other brands.
The only thing I like is their cheese and their steak. The fruit/veg is ok but I wouldn't go out of my way to go there for it.

Different branches vary, but on the whole I've found Aldi great and saves us ££££ each month compared with shopping at Tesco. Can't always find everything you need, but it's pretty good. Great wine selection, really good cheese and fish, I have heard their smoked meats/sausages are great (we only buy kosher meat, so haven't had it). Their dishwasher tabs, washing up liquid, laundry liquid etc are all very good. Definitely a fan.

Such amazing wine

Meat's fine; veg is fine; dairy is fine . The rest? Also fine if you try different things to see how it goes.
I love it.

Ive been using Aldi & Lidl for years now & get most of our regular stuff from there (plus some interesting extras from the aisles of wonder). Produce is generally excellent & there’s a good choice of chilled (gorgeous deluxe salmon fillets in both), frozen, storecupboard & H&B. I gather pet food is good too but my cats disagree

Don’t get much meat & dairy from there now though, as I’m trying to stick to higher welfare, so that’s mostly organic or free range from Ocado.

Also make an occasional trip to B&M to stock up on storecupboard stuff & things like shampoo & dishwasher tablets (used to use Aldi’s own label but my glasses went cloudy - now use Fairy platinum)

I'd have Aldi (or Lidl) over waitrose any day.

I do a big monthly grocery shop there (booze, jars, tins, cheeses, bread, meat, frozen etc), and M&S or Tesco Express for top up shops.

Relatively cheap, not too much choice so it's quick, and some interesting things you don't see elsewhere. Good record on local food.

Fresh veg doesn't keep long though, big supermarkets do fresh produce much better. Sometimes it's cheap enough to more than compensate (sweet peppers, nice vine tomatoes etc).

Our Aldi is very much like a jumble sale although it's not very big; I haven't been since having DS because there is no way I could navigate it with a pram. There is stock piled up everywhere, lots of people milling around and massive queues. They do have some good bits and pieces but I wouldn't want to do it every week!

Their roast in the bag stuffed chickens are the best and I have tried every supermarket version.

Their croissants are yummy but their jam roly poly had hardly any jam so give that a miss

I hate it. If I go to a shop I want the thing I bought last week to be in the same place if I want to buy it again. And I want to buy brands I recognise. .

We do Aldi and Waitrose. Very good, I love the Aldi cheeses, the jaffa cakes, the oatcakes, the yoghurt, veg is fine too, the bistro salad is lovely, organic eggs, nuts, coffee. I don't get meat there unless it is venison.

There is stock piled up everywhere, lots of people milling around and massive queues

Different branches must really vary! Mine's nothing like that - tidy shelves, spacious aisles, no piles of stock, rarely more than 2 people ahead of me in the queue!

Oh and the shampoo, body lotion, conditioner and washing powder are good too.

Our local one is horrible, it's quite a small one and not purpose built. The fruit and veg is terrible quality and doesn't last, and I hate the checkout experience.
Also there's quite a few things I can't get there and they don't sell an acceptable substitute.

So I am sticking with supermarkets that have Self Scan, especially at the moment.