Aldi or Lidl? Which do you prefer?

[theladylovescupcakes]

I'd like to try one of these for my weekly shop. Usually shop at Tesco but aghast at how much things are going up. Which of these places should I choose? Any insider tips? (I'd heard something about packing being tricky?). All opinions considered. Thanks!

Lidl! It has amazing german meats. Smoked Salami is a particular fave. Oh and whole smoked mackerel.

The chocolate is also amazing. And I get my bread flour there. Aslo very good coffee grounds.

Avoid the flowers though - they really don't last.

Thanks Jodie. Any particular wines I should look out for? How's the meat?

Anyone else?

I prefer aldi tbh.

It's all good except cornflakes and frozen Chinese meals.

Try the toro loco wine, red and rose.

Lidl seems much better to me. The stores aren't as nice, but their food far superior.

I am lucky enough to have both locally and I do most of my shopping in Lidl. In Aldi, fruit and veg seems to be all pre-packed so you can't buy just one jacket spud, you need to buy a pack of 4. Lidl do lovely individual natural probiotic yogurts - 4 for about £1. I think Aldi is a little cheaper on packs of chicken thighs/drumsticks but it is not free-range. I think both have FR whole chickens. Aldi have better egg selection, both medium and large eggs, free range plus a bumper pack of 15 FR eggs for about £2. Aldi has recently increased its home baking range which is much better than Lidl's. Aldi is nearly all own brand but Lidl does have some branded items like Nescafe Coffee, Robinsons Squash. Cheese and deli meats in both are good. Butter in both is also good, both salted and unsalted available are around £1.19 per pack. Both have good frozen fish, pizza and icecreams. Both have good 70% chocolate and good funsize choc bars for lunchboxes. Aldi has good skincare range - one of its moisturisers came top in a consumer survey. If you look on the shelves, they have recommendations from magazines like Take a Break next to the products. We subscribe to the Which Magazine and many of Aldi and Lidl products, both food and non-food, score better than branded goods. Look for 'GHI-approved' stamp on packs - ie Good Housekeeping Institute. I only shop in the big supermarkets for the odd item not available in Aldi or Lidl - you will notice the price difference. My gripe is that you have to pack everything yourself and the checkout queues can be long. The store environment is a little dingy and the staff always look stretched.