to think Aldi/Lidl aren't THAT cheap?

[carlajean]

I go to one or the other now and again, and come home thinking 'blimey, all that food for so little money' but there is always at least one item which is disgusting (this time it was the cider - it tasted like fizzy apple juice with several teaspoons of sugar added). So, if you factor out the horrible stuff, it really isn't that much of a bargain, IMO.
I haven't got time to shop there for what IS good, and then go somewhere else for all the other stuff, and I can never get everything I need from them.
I know they're amazingly popular, but can't see why.

Lidls vegetables are awful. I've bought them from 3 different parts of the country and they go off within a day or so. Their mince is horrible, very fatty. They only bits I really like are the christmassy cakes/biscuits. it's not worth the walk to the other end of town to go there.

Oh gosh, my Lidl offers ground beef with 20%, 10% or 5% fat. I just choose 10% and it's fine for us. I think the fruit at my Lidl is very good as are the tomatoes, celery, cucumbers, broccoli, cabbage, peppers and herbs.

Best value of all the supermarkets is lidl. They binbags are amazing. Really strong. Not had a bad anything from them. Alp week this week. Try the curry sausage.

I've never had a problem with the fruit and veg - always been high quality, unlike our local Tesco.

The veg is really good from lidl too.

Not in all Lidl's Bruffin, clearly.

I buy loads of fruit/veg/salad and it lasts just fine.

I this thread made me wonder if I really was saving money at Aldi so I compared today's Aldi shop with Sainsbury's online prices. I massively gave Sainsbury's the benefit of the doubt - used their special offers and Basics versions. I compared weights very carefully as well. I saved £10 by shopping at Aldi today, and it would have been more if I hadn't compared with the Basics range.

The only problem I have had with their food is that the meat doesn't always last until the given date. Otherwise I have weaned my family onto the Aldi versions of most things.

£10 may not sound like much but it was a small shop - usually I would buy double what I bought today.

More than that, I can get round Aldi in 45 mins for a huge shop, and that's including looking at the stuff in the aisles of temptation.

I am very happy that more people don't shop in Aldi - it's already way too crowded.

I'm a convert to Lidl. True, I can't always get everything but it's worth it for:

chocolate.
pastries-the pecan and maple syrup one in particular.
bread.
Orange sorbet thingies.

I agree with those who say less choice is better. And I love the random crap aisle. I've even bought perfume!

Minecraft
Ive bought in Dorset,Herts and South London and its all the veg and fruit have really not been good.

We have every major supermarket within a few miles of my house, their super stores to their locals. Still both Lidl and Aldi have only managed to get smallish stores here though, so I do find it hard to shop regularly in either. Most of it is dedicated to the special offers section on clothes , homeware etc. or store cupboard stuff. So my experience could be biased.

There's vast quantities of sugary cereals, snacks and chocolate. When I am in there I will pick up some for lunch boxes and treats if it's at a price I like. My kids love Krave but they don't get it often, Santa gave them a box each last Xmas The Aldi version isn't as nice but if I am in there I will pick up a box to mix in with other cereal.

But I can get very similar prices at other supermarkets on store cupboard stuff if I don't buy it at full price. Tesco economy choc chip cookies are similar in price to Aldi cheapo ones. I got 4 tins of chopped toms at £1.50 at one of the big stores last week. There isn't a whole lot in economy pasta between stores.

I've had some nasty stuff like Aldi own brand monster munch. Then the Aldi pesto genovese at 99p is very good compared to more expensive own brands. So I have my regular delivery from one of the big stores but then every few months go to Aldi or Lidl and stock up on things that we like, if they're at the right price. Then experiment with a few other items.

I've had mixed experiences sopping at Aldi and Lidl abroad too, it really depends on the size of the store and what they happen to be stocking or have on special.

sainsbury's is cheapest for value fresh tomatoes
morrisons is cheaper in fuel to get too and has things like brown basmati rice and wholewheat pasta. they have cheaper chopped tomatoes occasionally, cheaper red onions. and a few other bits that are more or less the same.
asda have cheap uniform.
aldi have more or less everything else needed.

depends what you buy though. I buy mainly fresh and frozen veg and fresh fruit, bread, milk, cheese which are less variable in flavour.

Flavour or price?

Read that again, flavour.

say with a tin of value beans.. they can be yuk or ok depending on which store. a red onion is red onion whichever store.

I've given lidl the benefit of the doubt on many many occasions and while yes it is cheaper I've then had to go to morrisons to get the bits they don't have and likes some other have said, the fruit and veg doesn't last 2 minutes.

I've also noticed recently that my local lidl has gone so down hill in terms of choice. Snack foods, sugary cereals and ready meals seem to have taken over.

I can't stand having my shopping thrown back at me at the till. Then the re packing.

I still sometimes go to aldi to save but it's so much better having sainsbury deliver or even just going to sainsbury or morrisons.

Carton of basic tomatoes is less than 40p in sainsbury.

Lidl and also always knock spots off the other supermarkets in newspaper/magazines 'blind' consumer surveys.

Also, i refuse to do the silly repacking thing. They just have to wait while I put it in bags.

4 cans of tomatoes are £1.50 on ocado/waitrose

No one has to repack at Aldi or Lidl.....just take some of those huge Ikea blue bags and as the stuff comes hurtling at you at the checkout just place in the Ikea bags. We take three bags, one for chilled/frozen, one for store cupboard stuff and one for just in case we more than expected

I honestly don't have a problem with lidl fruit and veg. The odd thing does go off a bit quicker than you might expect but that also happens when I buy my veg from the local farm shop and other supermarkets too.

At work we get food delivered from ocado and I find a much larger percentage of their fruit and veg gets wasted due to going off quickly or just being bad quality; strawberries that are mushy the day after delivery, apples arrive bruised, supposedly perfectly ripe pears that are like rocks.

I dont have that problem from ocado, my strawberrys always last a week if they arent eaten before. I did have a problem with an item in my veg box and they refunded the whole box for a couple of tomatoes

I send more in aldi and get less food for my money than I do in my local tesco. £60 in aldi the other day I left with 4 small bags of shopping... £80 in tesco and I can fill the whole trolley. I also hate the random crap in the middle of the veg/frozen isles. Items not priced up and the cues are stupidly long. Scan and shop all day long here.

I'm kind of on the fence I think. Some stuff is a lot cheaper, other stuff not so much. I am starting to shop between Sainsburys and Aldi and probably saving overall, but the nutritional value isn't as good in Aldi, for example the orange juice has a lot much sugar than Saintsbury's, so I am torn between healthy value and saving the 15p a carton.