To say you're all wrong about Aldi?

[Rabbitheadlights]

Just that really, I've nipped into Aldi in the past for the odd loaf and picked up a few bits. DP and I discussed and decided to do the 'big' shop there last week.

It's been a disaster, to start with I couldn't find fruit or veg with more than a couple of days shelf life on them and everything I've substituted so far has been either underwhelming or disgusting (1/4 pounders filled with gristle) 🤮 with a couple of exceptions (salmon Wellington, sliced ham) the bread was mouldy the next day and still had 2 days on the use by. The nappies are just awful.

I spent £219 on Friday last week and I've since been out and spent another 150 and will likely need more before the next "big shop" on Friday.

I think they're both good for certain things, but veg is generally not one of them (loose nuts are, though).

Personally I hate their nappies, and can't understand why everyone raves about them. My Dsister LOVES them but my DS (same size nappies as her DS) just pees through them in a few hours (he's small for his age, DNephew is a bit of a chunk. I suspect that has something to do with it).

Find Aldi and Lidl to be completely hit and miss.

I can't stand Aldi and Lidl personally, I've tried them but..no

We find both Aldi & Lidl really good locally, DH is the cook in our house and is a happy with the produce from both of these supermarkets.

I do nearly all my shopping there and have no problems. Fruit and veg all lovely and last better than the co-op stuff I sometimes buy if I'm passing. Very few things I prefer to buy elsewhere, or I can't get there and have to go elsewhere for.
Lidl, on the other hand seems to have quite a limited selection so I never buy a full shop there, just bits and pieces.

Their quality went well down in last 6 years. I used to like stuff from there, don't really bother anymore. Maybe visit once a quarter.

As pp said. Veg and fruit lasts 5 min and that's main part of my shop so...

@UnreasonablyPissedOff

I P ractically never R ecognise these descriptions. Perhaps I'm just an INTERN in the supermarket shopping stakes.

What on earth did you spend £219 on in Aldi?!

I agree some of their stuff is not good, e.g. fruit and veg, but a lot of it is the same if not better than Waitrose (possibly the same products but different branding and I love shopping there.

@randomsabreuse I was coming on to say the same thing. There’s 4 Aldis within 20 minutes of me and the quality definitely declines in line with the house prices. I wonder if we live near each other as the demographic sounds the same and everyone here shops at Aldi weekly with monthly top up shops at Waitrose / Tescos or they have Ocado delivered.

I don’t live near an Aldi anymore but I used to shop there when I lived in Germany (only when I lived in Aldi Süd areas though- Aldi Nord is crap) and it was fine.
Lidl is my closest supermarket and I used to get most of our stuff there and top up at Tesco/sainsburys with the things Lidl doesn’t sell but I got really sick of that and the quality of some stuff is hit and miss so now I just do the main shop at Sainsburys and occasionally go to Lidl for something specific. When I did the weekly shop in Lidl it cost about £25-30 for DP and I so no idea how you can spend so much in Aldi!

I go to Aldi first, to get the things that I know from experience are nice, then go on to the nearby Asda for the rest of the things on my list.
It's worth the effort for the savings made.

Never had a problem with either.... Never do a massive shop though!

I hated their nappies, they just smelt chemically and honestly smelt like pee before they even hit a childs bottom.

We do like Lidl, but not for everything. Bakery is excellent and staples are fine but I need to do a big tesco shop for cleaning supplies or food stuffs lidl doesnt have an equivalent for.

I dont rate aldi fruit & veg, it goes manky before you even get it home.

spent £50 and did a weeks shop for 2 adults and a baby including nappies last week. Not sure I could spent £219 if I'd tried

You might if you were feeding 9 like the OP instead of 2 adults and a baby.

The fruit and veg in Aldi is awful, I agree.
It's generally ok for a few bits but I'm invariably disappointed when I do a proper shop there

I spend £1m at Aldi and another £1m at Lidl and still had to go to Tesco/Sainsbury's/Morrisons/Waitrose for a top up. All the fruit and veg and meat went off before I left the store. I caught something contagious from all the other shoppers who to a person looked like they needed a bath. I tripped over a shoppers pyjamas. Someone dented my car in the car park. I had toI duck down to dodge the bullets from the gang fight amongst all the dealers and sex workers hanging around the entrance.

I wish I'd not changed my habits of a lifetime and just gone to Tesco/Sainsbury's/Morrisons/Waitrose, bought their lovely groceries where I usually manage a month's shop with guests and a birthday party to cater for as well for £0.01p, exchanged witty jokes with the shop floor workers who each deserve their huge wage and whom I've known for decades and taken advantage of the valet parking in the car park. I never learn.

@LagunaBubbles yes thanks I posted that before I saw that update and also took back my comment about having money to burn. I stupidly assumed it was for a family of 4 or something which is an error on my part.

I've never had a problem with their fruit and veg. It lasts well for me.

I must have imagined the celery and seasonings that I saw in Aldi yesterday, including the curry powder that I bought.

I go to Aldi only for certain items. Main shop will be ASDA, Tesco, Sainsbury's or Waitrose depending on what we need.

Good things we've got at Aldi:
Pop up beach shelter
Vegan sausage rolls
Flavoured gin
Beach tennis set
Tye dye kit
Dark chocolate mint creams
Lime and chilli (?) snack crisp things

I bought some of the posh sausage rolls in Lidl and flies flew out when we opened the packet. I haven't been back in Aldi since I went in and the fresh chicken was grey.

@Yorkshireswithallroasts

I prefer Lidl although I don’t really ever do a full shop there. I mostly just go in to stock up on their fizzy peach loops and chocolate.

I too prefer Lidl to Aldi, they have more of the authentic German stuff, eg Dulano, having said that I was using Aldi 40 years ago in Germany and then it seemed far better when they weren't consciously competing with the more main stream supermarkets. I find much of their stuff far too sweet, eg caramelised onion relish is revolting although they did have a mango and chilli salad dressing that was amazing.

I mainly use Aldi, and find the substantial savings means that we can buy meat (mostly) from our local Butcher and veg (mostly) from the farm shop.

I think the fresh salmon fillets have gone downhill lately and recently have been buying meat for our ill and elderly dog (roast chicken / diced beef/ pork belly slices etc) and have noticed that they do contain a fair bit of water.

But the booze is great. I like a no nonsence shop where you do not have to choose between a thousand varieties of whatever. The cheeses are great- the camembert is excellent.

But I think it is true that Aldis do vary. Personally I dislike Lidl except for when they do Italian week and sell spinach and black olive tinned soup.

i agree , i did try aldi once ,but it was a real struggle to find anything i really liked either for myself or dd who is a very fussy eater , the vedge seemed like it was all about to go in the turn , not good for humans or the house rabbits i intented it for , i prefer lidl much more , our main food shop is either sainsburys or tescos ,lidl are ok for fresh and tinned , but then dont have nearly as much choice frozen as tescos or sainsburys , i cant drive so i like to get it all in one go and just pay for a taxi home rather than arsing about here there and everywhere

I like the flowers in Aldi/Lidl, they last a while, especially the roses. Don’t know about the meat, I never buy meat from supermarkets, we have a great local butcher so I buy from there….our Aldi has recently been refurbished and is spotlessly clean. Thumbs up from me 👍

@rooarsome

The fruit and veg in Aldi is awful, I agree. It's generally ok for a few bits but I'm invariably disappointed when I do a proper shop there

If they have the tiny chestnut mushrooms they're very good, I buy a big box and even though I'm on my own they just about survive.