Aldi good (and bad) buys please!

[AnonymousBird]

I went to Aldi for the first time today, it just opened. It seems insanely cheap, so I wondered what items really are great, and any not so great. A friend I bumped into said their baked beans, for example are awful (in her opinion!) and my daughter tried a toffee pudding yesterday at a friend's which she said they both agreed was super grim.

The last time I bought "cheap" meat from our local Nisa, it was actually inedible - we aren't fussy eaters so it's rare for us to turn our noses up - so their cheap meat makes me a bit nervous.... but it was British, and looked ok in the packet.

All tips gratefully received. Thanks.

I like their deli stuff, continental smoked and dried meats, smoked duck, venison are all good.

Good stuff -
Nappies
Baby Wipes
Lacurna face cream & Kids suncream
Bubbles chocolate, Racer bars
Meat - especially steaks

Not so good -
Tea bags
Coffee
Margarine
Fruit and veg don't last long

Oh and their mini icrcreams (like magnums) are delish and they have mini gelato icrecreams in little square plastic pots which are yummy and pots double up as useful for freezing stuff in weaning size!

Things I buy there all the time which I like:

Fruit and veg - esp blueberries, mangoes and peppers
Chicken - a whole free range one for £5!
Specially selected Muslie - the nutty one is fab!
Looky Likey quavers.
Nappies and wipes are as good as pampers
Gin!
Fromaige frais
The cheddar is amazing!
Butter
Passatta

I'm happy with most things I've tried.
Exceptions:
wholemeal flour, it seems like it's only 50% wholemeal now.
Smoked mackerel can be full of annoying bones
I don't like the smell of their bathroom spray
Lemon flavour? dishwasher tabs seem to 'taint' my collection of 'Tupperware' stuff (normal ones are great)

I get most of my basics there, especially cereals, veg, meat and dairy.

I just discovered this week that they do sun-dried tomatoes - I thought they didn't, as they're not with the tinned toms, but they're with the condiments above the freezers - very cheap & really good (DS blends them & puts them in his bolognese sauce).
They had the Wagyu burgers again this week.
Outdoor bred/reared pork joints are excellent.
Also fresh salmon steaks (plain, no sauce).
Luxury yogurts in black pots are lush.
Decaff teabags are good (if you let them brew for 5 mins or so)
New season Maris Pipers & Maris Peers are great.
Cherry tomatoes on the vine smell wonderful at the moment (being tomato season!)

We love the Greek yogurt, the mini magnum style ice creams and the mini milks.
I noticed organic milk in our local last week, will be looking out for the eggs now!
Honestly most stuff we have tried has been excellent

Aldi is my complete go to! I'll eat everything from there. Their meat is delicious, especially the whole chicken, steak medallions, and chicken fillets. As well as the mince.

All the cereals are fine too, fizzy drinks etc lovely, all mi wadi type juices very tasty.

Fresh fruit and veg how can you go wrong with the super six. A bag of onions for 39c Or a bag of chillies.

Absolutely love their packet risotto rice, mushroom and garlic me and dp stock up as it makes for a delicious, filling lunch!!

Just tasted their garlic mayo and tastes as good as when we buy pizza and garlic dip.

I find no difference to anywhere "better" such as Dunne's stores , and definitely not tesco. I find tesco quality poorer than aldi tbh

I also got my smoothie maker from aldi for 22.99 and its amazing!! So handy the way they do the frozen bag of brocolli, carrots seperate!

The things we've tried and won't be buying again are;

Cereals - taste nothing like branded ones
Peanut butter - sweet and gloopy
Crisps - lacking in flavour
Frozen pizza - tasted as though ketchup had been used instead of tomato sauce
"Ben and Jerry" style ice cream - weird plastic flavour
Butter - tasteless and a bit odd smelling
"Dairylea" type spread - awful, plastic and no flavour

Fruit and veg are ok if you pick carefully, meat and cheese ditto. If I had to sum up I woukd say unprocessed foods are generally ok, processed - avoid. Skincare stuff is good.

Their sugar-free boiled sweets are amazing - just as good as Sula or Ricola and a fraction of the price.

Bad: gravy granules
Tomato ketchup
Prepackaged lunch salads ( with meat etc)

Ready meals
Good:
Lamb kabobs
Chicken thighs
Steaks
Cereal
Pasta and sauce packet things
Croissant
Frozen veg and lentils etc
Fish fingers
Cheese ( manchego v good)
Frozen prawns v good

Zombie thread - nearly 2 years old!

I can highly recommend

Cumberland sausages
Tex Mex meatballs
All ham amd deli meat stuff
Cheese
All fruit and veg
Cupboard staples like tinned tomatoes
Crisps esp. the lattice cut style
Chocolate esp. the Merci ones
Salmon
Burgers
Microwave rice
Superfood salad (just like M&S)
Baby fruit pouches
Pizzas
Baby wipes
Toilet roll (the purple pack)
Iced coffee drinks

Things I am not keen on:

Their bread and meat are always hit and miss in our store
Didn't like their nappies from size 3 onwards