To think I might be missing something to have totally had my head turned to Aldi?!

[Ipll]

I used to shop mainly in Waitrose, sometimes Tesco or Morrisons.

A couple of weeks ago I nipped into Waitrose to get three pretty mundane items and it came to 17 pounds. I decided enough was enough and it was time to see what else was out there, having previously been adamant I wouldn’t be interested in somewhere like Aldi (yes a bit of a snob when it comes to shopping!).

Anyway, after a few trips to Aldi I am shocked. Incredible and tasty fruit and veg. Great meat options. Biscuits ok. Great middle aisle of books for my daughter. The cost reflects something more manageable and I don’t feel I’m spending huge chunks of money like in Waitrose and Tesco.

I am obsessed 😅

Am I missing something?! Why doesn’t everyone shop there?!

They are small

The fruit, veg and chicken in Aldi is rotten even before best before date. Biscuits, crisps, suncream all good though.

I shop at Waitrose & Ocado because their food imo is much fresher. Yes, it’s expensive but I don’t have to chuck food and buy again.

I live next door to Aldi!
..it’s a good one with an excellent ‘aisle of style’
Have to limit my visits, I have literally gone in for beers & come out with a heated clothes horse, gone in for cheese & come out with giant flowerpots, new pillows & some cactus shaped serving platters.

Top 3 amazing things I always buy:
Handsoap, Malbec & Dog toys!

I loved Ocado then the fruit went rubbish, I then went to Tesco which was excellent

the fruit I got from Tesco then went nasty. Went off quickly and all the hard bits

I went ti Aldi for the first time coming back from the dentist, the fruit is amazing, so fresh and so cheap

I’m converted. It’s not so much about the price but how much fresher the fruit is from Aldi

This is an excellent point. And is very important to me - along with "buying British". Sadly most supermarkets are woeful in terms of animal welfare issues. They also treat farmers horribly - which whatever one may think of Jeremy Clarkson has been a really positive impact of his Farm show - it's underscored the horrors experienced by British farmers when dealing with the grotty supermarket demands. But of course that can be traced to all of us not being mindful when we buy our food: I would rather pay more and make sure the money is going to local farmers/British farmers who pay attention to animal welfare and take the steps necessary to make sure their animals have as decent a life as possible given the circumstances. I don't eat much meat (we tend to stick to buying from the local farmers directly because we know exactly how they treat their animals and what we are getting), but do buy cheese/butter/milk and I prefer to be able to trace where that food is coming from, and to buy organically farmed produce etc where possible. Aldi and Lidl are not terribly good at that aspect of things.

All that said: I really really hope Aldi decides to open Trader Joe's in the UK: it's by far my favorite supermarket in the US - it's sublime (and Aldi didn't ruin it too horribly when they bought the company). The sooner we get Trader Joes in the UK the better - but sadly they don't have any plans to make that happen at the moment.

The dog toys are awesome from Aldi - lol!! My dog thoroughly agrees with you 😁

I just can't bring myself to buy meat from Aldi or Lidl
I buy this from Waitrose or m and s.

Lots of aldi and Lidls near me so do go there for other stuff. Got a melon in Lidl last week and it tasted awful.

In my town we have a large Waitrose, a Tesco, an Aldí ànd a Lidl. Aldi is pretty much opposite my pub.
Meat is good. Fish excellent. Love when they have their make up, their recent lip stain was excellent
Fruit and veg hit and miss
What I do find they lack though compared to Waitrose and even Tesco is their staffs customer service ability.
I've actually pretty much stopped shopping there even though I have to drive to Tesco because their staff are vile.
The final straw was it was busy one Sunday, they had one till open and four staff milling around trying to get people to use the self service
I had cash on me and of the 6 self serve machines only one was taking cash, despite the fact it was meant to be three of them.
I was had a go at by the girl manning the area. I explained or tried to three times I was paying cash and she got right angry at me for not having a card.
I then got some utter twat male body builder guy ram his over full trolley right into my back as he decided I was in his way. When I turned and said what the hell did you do that for he began being verbally abusive. Instead of being helped by staff, the rude one joined in. I dumped my basket and walked.
That's where they save, in Waitrose at Christmas there was a woman being pushy in the queue and she was told to behave or leave. They are friendly and helpful. Not so Aldi.

We have a new aldi opened about a year. The fruit and veg last the same as Morrisons. The meat has never been questioned. No issues with the meat. The staff are really lovely too. I like the toiletries and tampons are good value.

I shop pretty frugally and have a large family. We have gone from spending £300-£350pw on a Tesco/Sainsbury delivery, to £250-£275pw at Aldi, plus a once a month shop from Tesco for other bits for about £60. Major savings. Aldi all the way.

I have to say, as well, that the staff in our local Aldi are amazing. Without exception they are polite and helpful.

I wonder if it varies from store to store because I've heard people say Aldi and Lidl fruit and veg are good and yet I've always found them average to poor and really quick to go off. The last bag of kale I bought in Lidl was covered in whitefly eggs and had to be binned (Brighton store)

I think some stores are much better than others at sorting out the fruit and veg. I’ve found the one in my local market town where the only physical alternative is a Co op are shit hot at keeping on top of the fruit and veg. They are really competing against home deliveries from supermarkets, have a come in for the veg and stay for middle aisle / buy rest of shop kind of ethos. The busier one in the nearest city gives no shits so you have to rummage to back / underneath for decent veg as they just tip the old stuff on top.

I do think Aldi and Lidl are very good, and their fresh produce is the thing they do best.

I don’t go there because I have issues with very crowded spaces and long queues (sounds pathetic but I work around it at my own expense!) and I would only be able to on in on a weekend when the ones around here are rammed. If I could go on a weekday I would. If they delivered I’d never shop anywhere else again!

My local one is great, I took my dad who walked in and just looked stunned. His local one always has empty shelves, messy, lack of stock etc etc
I never have any issue getting special buys, shelves always full and we have a 9.30 Sunday morning group we get there ten mins early for a chat

The odd bit I can’t get I’ll go to Sainsbury’s. I do prefer Lidl cottage cheese to Aldi though

Try a Sunday morning at 9.30, tills open at 10 but you can browse before
usually by the time I get to the tills at 10 is when it’s getting busy

I agree. I used to shop at Waitrose and went into Aldi when my income suddenly dropped. I was absolutely amazed at how much cheaper my first shop came to. Still a massive Aldi fan, but get things like meat and fish in Sainsbury’s. Can’t believe how much of my hard earned cash I must have frittered away in Waitrose over the years!

If you normally shop at waitrose Aldi will seem very affordable in comparison. But Aldi prices have risen enormously in the last year or so. I prefer lidl.

Love Aldi. Their pork and apple sausages are a staple for us. Lidl do excellent Manuka honey, low fat mince is great and coffee dupe of Alzera for less than half the price. Sainsbury’s for deli stuff.

Lots of us do and have been for years. You're a bit late to the party! 😁

I do most of my shopping at Aldi, and top up with the odd thing I can't get there at Sainsburys or Morrisons. I think the quality of food is good, I've never found that fruit or veg lasts less time than from other supermarkets.

I work part-time in a coffee shop that also does a light lunch menu. The owner buys a lot of his stock from Aldi, and we consistently get compliments on the quality of the food, with customers often asking who our suppliers are. The bread (sliced bloomer) and the blackcurrant jam are a particular hit.

I also like the self-service tills - they are very fast, there's rarely a problem with them not recognising an item etc.

The only thing I'm not keen on at our local shop is that the staff all seem to talk to each other on headsets while serving you - and not just about shop talk, but about what they got up to at the weekend! I'm never sure if they are talking to me or a colleague. It doesn't seem to happen at the Aldi in the next town over, so possibly that's just the staff at ours.

I'm in the US and was converted to Aldi by an old neighbour who spent time in Germany in the 1960s. Irrelevant to UK shoppers, I know, but I buy almost everything I eat there and find the quality is great. I save 20- 25% per week over prices elsewhere. Plus staff are friendly and the checkout system is user friendly (US Aldi is owned and operated by Aldi Sud).

To all those saying they can't get a full shop, can you say what you can't get? Is it for pets or babies?

99% of my stuff comes from Aldi but it’s very specific stuff from elsewhere!
marmite rice cakes. Sainsburys crinkle cut gherkins (because they taste like McDonald’s ones and I have a… slight addiction). Umami and chipotle paste. Marigold bouillon. OXO cubes

Oh and lemon curd now they seem to be putting it all in the iced buns and not stocking jars of it!