to think Aldi isn't that brillinat?

[ssd]

maybe I just haven't got into the hang of it yet, but I've been going for a while now, and whilst some of it is a lot cheaper than say asda, I just find some of their stuff not that great and I'm having to go to asda to buy it again

anyone else like that?

I think with Aldi the quality varies a lot between stores. So for some people their very first experience of Aldi may be a shop that doesn't look especially clean, items stacked willy-nilly and in the ones that don't have a large chilled foods area, fruit and veg that's already starting to turn. It's understandable that even if you buy something to try you might be predisposed to thinking its inferior!

My best tip for Aldi is to check how big the chilled food sections are. In my experience if that section is small the store tends to be a lot warmer so fruit and veg spoil quicker and breads and cakes are almost stale when you buy.

I have a really good one very close to work so it's handy to pop in on the way home. Very clean, really good selection of fruit and veg, prepared salad, fresh fish and so on and an ok range of organic items. Yet there's one about a mile away from that one which is a shit hole according to some colleagues. I've encouraged them towards "my" Aldi and they've been amazed at the difference!

Ok I can't get everything we want there as there are some branded items we prefer. I don't mind spreading my shop over two supermarkets and while I know time and convenience is a consideration I really think that our desire to get everything under one roof helped the more established supermarkets screw us over for years.

I do like Aldi (and Lidl too,) as I the quality of their foodstuffs is excellent, and I am always delighted when I have a trolley full of stuff that looks like it's thirty quid's worth, and it comes to £18!

That said, I agree with the folk who say you can't do a full shop there. I like a certain brand of coffee, and cappuccino, and one type of chocolate, and Aldi and Lidl don't sell them. We do have a huge Sainsbury's half a mile away though, so get the bits we can't get from Aldi and Lidl from there.

Aldi and Lidl are really food though; so it's no surprise that they are doing better than any of the 'leading' supermarkets.

SoupDragon, it might be that you've got lucky with the particular items you buy, but most of the produce at Aldi is labelled with a four digit code, e.g. 4205. The first two numbers refer to the week of the year and the second the day of the week (so, in this case, week 42 and Friday). I believe that refers to the date they should be taken off display.

Go check it out next time you're in or even Google it! There was a documentary about Aldi on the BBC, I think it was, quite recently and people were complaining about it on there too. It's use is deliberate so customers will unknowingly still buy products close to their best before dates.

There is even an app, apparently, that people can use I store to work out dates and see how fresh everything is! In response Aldi have started to label some produce differently but much of it remains unchanged.

There. You learn something new every day!

Also agree with a previous poster that you are through the checkouts much faster than any other store. And the staff are friendly where I come from. (In Aldi AND Lidl.) In Morrisons, AND tesco, the staff are super slow, and in Tesco they are as grumpy as hell.

One thing I dislike a bit about Aldi and Lidl is how whether you have 3 items or 93, you still have to wait in the same queue. No '10 items or less' tills. That said, they do open another checkout quite regularly, and I have never waited more than 5 minutes to get served.

Another thing is, Aldi and Lidl just have low prices and don't have silly tokens and vouchers that take ages to sort at the till with all the fiddling and farting about. Morrisons, Sainsbury's, and Tesco could learn some lessons from Aldi and Lidl.

I must be really lucky given they all have a date on!

I should buy a lottery ticket:o

I mean Aldi and Lidl are really GOOD, not really food! (Not in my last post, the one I posted before that!)

I've shopped in Aldi on and off for 20 years. I do keep going back to Morrisons and occassionally Ocado. Aldi can be great for basics and some of the specially selected stuff is fab. But Norpak isn't as good as Lurpak, mature cheddar not as nice as Cathedral city, oven chips not as nice as Aunt Bessies, don't rate any of the cereals, pesto or tins of beans/soup. Crisps, nuts and crackers are ok. Cleaning products, milk and beer and prosecco are fab!

I tired Lidl the other week and spent the same amount I do at Tesco however I had nothing for pack lunches. Aldi isnt much better, I got beef wellington it was vile, we also had southern fried chicken that was black inside.

I prefer Tesco especially the scan and shop so you can control your spending. The coffee, washing powder and treats seem to be on offer. I can spend £70 at Tesco get a weeks worth of meals, pack lunch and fruit and veg. I could spend 60 at Aldi not get coffee and washing powder and still have to go out and get more food.

I also hate the check out system there's no customer service they literally throw the food at you before you can even pack it. It's as if we are on a convey belt rather than customers. Atleast at Tesco they give you time to pack and offer to help.

I have been an aldi convert for a few years now. The only thing I don't like is the mayonnaise as it has a weird consistencyand the beans are a bit bland these days. I think everything is at least comparable if not better than their competitors The things that are better in my mind include

Mustard - better than colmans
St Etienne lager
Lacura Caviar cream. After a month your skin will look amazing
Mango and lemon variety Greek yoghurts
Their own Special K cereal
Whole chickens
Apple and mango not from concentrate juice
Tinned macaroni cheese (I know I know )
Abbott and Broome handwash. A dead ringer for Molton Browne
Goats cheese
Basa frozen fillets
Pea and ham and butternut squash fresh soups
There will be loads more too 😊

God love Aldi our local is spotless, food is fantastic quality, love their own brand pizzas. The steak, chicken, mince, fish top quality and great selection of fruit and veg. Much fresher than local Morrisons and better than Asda.

You in and out in 30 mins too jo messing. Bloody perfect.

I hate Aldi and lidl, I feel like in East Germany circa 1973 when I go into one.

See reading this I wonder if stores vary?

Ours is much better than local Waitrose and the staff much more helpful and professional.

I think stores do vary but surely the things like jars and tins and frozen stuff is all the same?

I find this thread reassuring it was getting to the point where I was starting to think that there was something wrong with me in that not only does the smell of the shop instantly put me off, virtually every recommendation I have ever tried and found bland and disappointing at best and inedible at worst.

I lived off toast for years... my standards are pretty low...

Another fan. We do full weekly shops without any issues just get some extras from booths or local butcher.

Haven't found any issues with products or veg.

I am a recent aldi convert. Was spending about £130 a week at tescos. The same at ocados when we switched at the back end of last year.

Popped in aldi a few times over Christmas for top up shops to save going to tescos. Was really impressed and decided to give it a go.

I save about £40 a week. The fruit and veg is as good as tescos but half the price. Some of it is better. Lasts longer anyway.

All the meat we have had has been fine. Including the nicest leg of lamb we have had in years.

Just working our way through cereals and all fine. And half the price or more of branded stuff.

Yoghurts/cheese all lovely. Skyr yoghurt in particular is lovely.

Tinned beans and tomatoes are fine.

The only thing DP doesn't like is the instant coffee. I prefer it to our normal brand.

There are a few things I can't get. Washing powder and fabric conditioner, coffee for dp, I use those gravy pouches for stuff like sausage and mash to save faffing, I don't like their kitchen spray but prefer the platinum washing up liquid to fairy.

But I do think stores vary massively. One near me is lovely. The one across town is like a war zone on a good day.

Aldi for nappies and free range chicken (which I can't even find in the giant Tesco near us)

Lidl for bread

Tesco for any branded goods we need.

Frouby We can't drink the instant coffee either but the millicano rip-off is quite good.

I am also a fan of scan and pack at Tesco if I am visiting the store.

Really helps me think and stay on budget. Also, you are fully packed by the time you get to the checkout, so just pay and go. I am actually faster with that and far happier than I am with the Aldi system of chuck it all through at breakneck speed.

From this and other threads I assume the stores do vary, ours is the only one I've ever been to (only one within 20 miles of here) so I've nothing to compare to. It's fairly new though so you would hope it would be good. But I also agree that the dried goods must be the same everywhere and that is a matter of taste and value, both somewhat subjective. We're not comparing like with like either, some are comparing with Asda, some with Sainsburys, some with value lines, some with big brand names.

The other factor for me is it's not just me and DH that prefer certain things, my DCs are old enough to be brand aware (whether it's Sainsbury's or big brands) and have fairly fixed tastes, they would know if I bought Aldi cornflakes even if I did somehow manage to disguise the box, substitutes might work better with younger DCs. To even things out we have a new Waitrose too and sometimes their brands haven't met with approval either, they certainly don't have the range Sainsbury's do, although better than Aldi. Sainsbury's was our only supermarket until a couple of years ago so we possibly do have fairly fixed shopping habits compared to those who have had long term access to several supermarkets.

I do 99% of my shopping in Aldi unless I can't be bothered and do an internet shop. I can usually do my whole shop there but there are certain things I don't like. I do shop for certain brands from Sainsbury's every couple of months. I buy a few of each products each time.

I don't like their cereal, hand wash or washing liquid, or washing up liquid. I get these from Sainsbury's. Saves us an absolute fortune

Will try that one next then cowgirls. I like the columbian one but DP pulls faces like he is being poisoned. I think it's just what you get used to. I drink loads of coffee during the day so it soon became normal to me.

He only has a cup in the morning and one to take to work so noticed it more for longer.

But he hasn't moaned about anything else and he is a fussy fucker so don't mind the coffee too much.

We play guess how much a lot now. He likes that game. I have to tell him how much it would have been elsewhere though as he doesn't even look at prices when we shop.

I know it's a proper bargain when he does this

It's okay but the fruit in ours is awful, I have seen mouldy fruit out for sale before and won't buy it there now.