to think aldi isn't that cheap.

[Happypenguin2014]

I am not impressed tbh.

Anyone else not impressed?

I'm always quietly pleased when I read some more people saying they'd never shop in Aldi again. Good, because since all the advertising it's getting bloody busy in there! Our local Aldi was expanded recently and has a larger selection of fresh fruit and vet, plenty of choice of meat etc. There are of course some products I'm not keen on, but I do most of my shopping there and make significant savings over doing the same shop elsewhere.

I think it's a bit daft to condemn the produce as being poor quality rubbish though. It clearly isn't, the awards and consumer tests don't lie - some of their stuff is really good. Even the cheaper Xmas pudding I brought last year was miles better than the "finest" Tesco ones I used to buy.

I wasn't impressed either.

Yes, it's cheaper, but I ended up having to go to Sainsbury's anyway as I couldn't get everything I needed.

I have a coeliac DD and our local Aldi sells nothing gluten free - I cook mainly from scratch but still need GF flour/baking powder, etc, our Aldi only sells their own brand baked beans and things like that which we all hate (the only thing we're fussy about in this house is Heinz baked beans).

Aldi isn't particularly local, and in the opposite direction to Sainsbury's (which is much, much closer) so it's not worth the journey

Our Lidl is equally crap.

I have a cash and carry card and found it's cheaper to buy certain items in bulk from there

I have never had anything cheap and nasty from aldi.

I was an awful brand snob as well.

Pasta, rice, tinned tomatoes, cheese, meat, pizza, fish, veg etc all the staples I use to cook meals taste exactly the same as from anywhere else.

I don't eat ready meals or anything as a rule so I don't know what that stuff tastes like (except their pizzas are pretty good for a quick meal) but I can't tell the difference in taste between their food and asda/tescos/sainsbury's food and that comes from someone who for years refused to buy anything that wasn't a brand name.

I bought the children loads of yoghurts the other day and there was no difference between them and the named brands.

The only thing I can't bring myself to buy is their gravy granules.

Definitely depends on the store. A friend kept telling me to go, I took pics inside the store and she was
Went to another one which was loads better but it's not close enough for me to shop there, plus I usually shop at 1 or 2am

I agree, I think there is more variation between Aldi stores than other supermarkets. Ours is ok, we generally do 3/4 shops there but recently we went to a different store whilst away and it was much bigger, better layout, more parking than our local Aldi. I only recently tried Lidl and it was amazing, even had an instore bakery with freshly baked bread. I was impressed!

Our Lidl is so big that I struggle to keep the children under control who see the big open space as an invitation to run around madly (clutching their bag with a jam doughnut), seriously I have never been to a supermarket with wider aisles.

The fruit and veg is about half the price of the big supermarkets.

I do 3/4 weekly shops in Aldi, and a monthly one in Sainsburys or Ocado to get the things they don't do. I also do a quick pop into the local health food shop to buy eggs, yoghurt and pulses.

Aldi frozen pizza is nice. So I am told by my family.

I've been shopping at Aldi for a year now - I love shopping there and I've saved loads. It's definitely cheaper than other supermarkets and much better quality than Tesco/Sainsburys. I don't buy Tesco food but would get their milk at a push, I still buy bits from Sainsburys very occasionally.

Waitrose is IMO the only alternative to Aldi in my area. I buy milk, lurpak and various bits there, but the majority of my shop is now from Aldi.

I took my Dad in there recently he was shocked at the prices he couldn't quite believe it although they shop in M&S. He wont convert though he likes the staff in M&S. I prefer Lidle but please feel free to not shop there/get in my way.

I also wish that everyone would bugger off and leave Aldi to me! Thursday lunchhour when I do my shopping is now mayhem. It used to be empty.

molly sorry to disappoint I do not buy ready meals I cook from scratch when we dont eat out, and the quality was that shocking and such poor choice of fresh ingredients I wouldn't feed it to a dog!!

Infact the ham we bought which was the best looking pack on the shelves had slithers of bone that my 2 year old had on a sandwich, bone fragments sorry but that's a disgrace I would rather shop for decent fresh stuff and spend more to get it.

I've had bits of bone in aldi meat too
I used to buy their free range eggs which were a great price
I ran out and paid more for Booths eggs and the taste was amazing, all the family noticed the difference
Aldi eggs are cheap and tasteless. OK for baking I guess

We don't have an Aldi near here, but bought a few things once on holiday. Some were fine, some were definitely a bit poor quality.

This morning I needed lemons. 42p in the Co-op, 33p in Waitrose

I wonder the same Igneococcus. Our aldi and lidl are both clean, well stocked and there is great choice in fruit and veg. In fact, aldi's strawberries were the best I've had this year compared to the flavourless offerings I got from tesco and asda.

Personally I like the checkout. I like just shoving it in the trolley to pack at my leisure after - I have a system (sad!) I don't like the way the other supermarkets do it - still as fast as aldi, and you frantically trying to pack it all before the cashier is done and demanding payment (or maybe that's just the supermarkets I go to!)

For a lot of things I like the limited choice. Jut how many different tins of kidney beans do you really need to stock anyway? Plus I keep picking up the beans in chilli sauce instead of water because the packaging is identical and the chilli sauce bit written really small (curse you tesco!)

I went to Aldi once and I did like it. I bought a few bits - serum, cereal and some dark chocolate if I remember. I would love to do a big shop there but I don't drive and they don't deliver (no excuses for not taking it on the bus other than being small, weak and wimpish!)

This thread has inspired me to go on Friday.

simple shopping is fine, but find i have to top up at main supermarkets to get the other items.

Lidl had large trays of strawberries earlier this year ipswitchwitch which were great and at the moment those flat, squashed-looking peaches are a family favourite. Yes, they need to be eaten within a day or two but that is pretty normal for ripe fruit. I prefer that to fruit that sits around rock hard for 2 weeks and then goes off suddenly with a window of about 10 minutes inbetween when it was actually nice but I will almost certainly have missed it.
I don't mind the checkout system but I grew up in Germany and I'm used to the insanly speedy checkout when they still had to enter the price of each item. Having to look for the barcode and turn the item does slow the checkout operators down in comparison to someoone who is good at remembering prices and typing them in.

YANBU
I've also tried to see the hype but I really cant. On the occasions I've shopped there I end up nipping into Tesco for all the things I can't buy.
I went into Aldi with Mum the other day actually and did think some things were expensive in there.

I do go in to Aldi and Lidl, though usually just to look at the special buys.

Ok I have never set foot inside aldi or lidl. What are the foods people rate from these shops. Was thinking of trying them out at the weekend.

I rate the continental meats - bratwursts, frikkadellan, hams. And the fruit and veg which has always been good at my local store.

In the interests of scientific (not very) research, I have just Tesco-ed my midweek top-up Aldi shop. The Aldi shop (inc cherry plum toms, rolls, cucumber, bananas, organic milk, cheap chocolate for baking, grapes and leeks, came to £14.52.

The equivalent in every way from Tesco (the only difference is that the Tesco shop includes 150g less cherry toms and two more muffins as the pack sizes vary) came to £16.66.

Now £2 might not seem much but you can multiply that by 3 or 4 for my bigger weekly shop, so I am saving £10 a week minimum. And the quality - well it's great. I have no problem feeding my children the salad and the fruit and the bread I have bought .

I do think the shops may vary tho - seriously, the Aldis I use are all clean and perfectly presentable, and the produce lasts well.

I don't do a full shop at either one Yana, I use local butcher and smaller shops and the local Tesco as well.
I like some of the cheeses at Aldi, a Scottish brie and a Scottish blue cheese and I like some of their olives. There are some green olives with citrus which my dd would finish in one go if I'd let her. I also buy skincare there. I started using their Expert (I think) day and night creme and really like it, also their body moisturizer is cheap and good. I use the one in the maroon bottle (anti-aging).
At Lidl I recommend the bakery stuff, we like especially the ciabatta buns and the buns with seeds on top, the rye bread is nice and my children like the muffins, jam doughnuts and biscuits, dp likes the almond croissants. Lidl used to have really good coconut milk but they don't anymore (at least ours doesn't). I hope it comes back as a special. I used to love their Deluxe fruit and nut granola but that has also disappeared. I usually check their specials, a few weeks ago they had loads of different Italian cheeses or sometimes they have fresh chorizo which is really nice. I have had some strange crisps flavours from them and not all work but some are great, like a Chorizo, cheese and chilli flavour, also when they have Deluxe sea salt crackers, I stock up, I love them. I buy wine there and also their version of Pimms (Jeeves) is nice. Our cat is addicted to the cat sticks but doesn't like any of the other catfood.
I don't buy ready meals except when they have a Polish special and there are pierogie, they are nice (the cheese/potato ones, havn't tried the meat filled ones).
And finally. I love the Lidl popcorn, plain sugar one, I wish they would stop selling it because I struggle not to buy it.

You didn't disappoint me, doingit, you made me chortle. I like chortling :)

There must be huge variation in stores from the sounds of it. I live in a city and every aldi I've been in has been clean, friendly and with good quality produce. I'm hoping they get a bakery like lidl, then my life would be complete