My first Aldi shop - thoughts

Lugh_Chronain

I have to say, I agree with puddy with respect to calmness at Aldi's & Lidl's stores, I also find supermarkets very impersonal. I've also notice their customers tend to get very impatient as well, especially when queuing, and that's including me. I don't particularly like shopping in supermarkets at the best of times. It's now got to a stage were if people push in front of me I let them as I've no intention of getting stressed or further stressed.

Also have to agree with the quality of Aldi's & Lidl's products too. I like to shop for their biscuits, noodles, jams, puree, pasata, some of their veg and find the quality of most of these very good compared to supermarkets own.

torbrex has also pointed out about being wary of the fruit & veg in Aldi & Lidl as it doesn't seem to have a long shelf life after purchase. I have noticed that I've had to throw away (in the recycle bin by the way) at least the last two of their onions recently, noticed this a few times as well. Other than that I am fairly satisfied with their products. I haven't actually got round to trying their fruit yet though.

And on the subject of shopping baskets as pointed out by JLL in post #8: yeah I've also noticed that about Aldi in the past though it appears that the Hounslow branch now stock these, seems fairly recent as well. Makes a great difference especially when you need quite a few things.

One of the things I also tend to do is arm myself with a shopping list which includes the prices from shops such as ASDA & Tesco. Whenever I can I trawl through mySupermarket, check what the prices are for the stuff I intend buying, write them down on my shopping list then compare the prices when shopping in either Aldi or Lidl's [or anywhere else for that matter]. I even write down how much stuff costs per gram. OK, admittedly not everyone has time to do this but does help if you think you can get the stuff you want cheaper elsewhere. Also saves you from scratching your head and thinking "Is this really cheaper than ASDA or Tesco", "I'm sure I can get this cheaper in the supermarkets, or can I?". There's many a time when I've regretted not buying stuff because I wasn't sure about the price - "leave it, I can get it somewhere else".

Martin has also pointed out that there’s a great little website, SupermarketOwnBrand, that reviews supermarket own brands, pitting them against their brand name rivals and giving them a mark out of ten.

Reviews on SupermarketOwnBrand are written by food critic Martin Isark; he’s gradually tasting his way through the big supermarkets and has reviewed over 10,000 products from Aldi, Asda, Co-operative Food, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Netto, Morrisons and Waitrose.

Some other website that are worth checking out are as follows:

HotUKDeals (best if you try searching for what you're after rather than trawling though if you've got time it's up to you what you intend doing)

Mad About Bargains - I do prefer HotUKDeals though as Mad About Bargains doesn't always list all the bargains. HotUKDeals don't necessarily have all the bargians that you might want posted on their website either though it does appear better, mainly because it has an extensive list of companies/websites that it's users shop at and places you wouldn't think of looking otherwise.

And of course mySupermarket (click on any image to check prices in other supermarkets) (only the top 4 are included, ASDA, Tesco, Sainsbury's, and Waitrose)

Incidentally, Aldi's & Lidl's wines are fairly good too and are also mentioned on SupermarketOwnBrand, though you could also try searching Quaffers Offers for latest deals, and of course not forgetting mySupermarket.

Amazon also sells groceries as well though check the above websites before deciding to make a purchase as they aren't always cheaper, don't assume they are. Amazon have a tendency to put their prices up fairly shortly after they've reduced them, always double check beforehand.

If you are thinking of utilizing Amazon for groceries then you could always consider tracking their prices using camelcamelcamel. Not sure about perishables (if they sell them) though tinned stuff should of course be OK. They also sell stuff you'd normally buy in pharmacies, and also sell things like detergents/washing powders.

I've just noticed too that mySupermarket also has a mySupermarketWine section as well, plenty of buttons to play around also. Might be worth checking if you're interested in purchasing wine online. Companies currently included amongst the supermarkets are Majestic and Virgin Wines. Have noticed too that Tesco Wines can be cheaper than Tesco Groceries for wines sometimes.

Oh, and incidentally, Aldi has what they call a Super 6 every two weeks, this includes fruit and veg.

Worth also signing up to their newsletter.

Sufun1

Arrived with no change just had my cards with me, so could not get a trolly but the staff were very helpful (when you could find one) told me to go to the check out and they would give me a pound.

Quite a messy store but after a while we really got into it, bread cheaper, a lot of the fruit and veg was cheaper ie bananas 79p for huge ones. Chickens very good value.
Shower gels etc lots for £1.00 which certainly would do the job.

But remember to take your plastic bags we forgot those too...so buy the time we put every thing back in the trolley and out of it back into the car
it was quite an experience, but we would definitely go back there is certainly money to be saved.

Lugh_Chronain

I don't mind Aldi's & Lidl's bread though I tend to get my bread from Tesco whenever I need any as it's closer. The bread I get is either Wheatfield Bakery Soft Wholemeal Farmhouse Batch (800g) which is currently 79p a loaf or Wheatfield Bakery Soft White Farmhouse Loaf (800g) which is currently 85p. I prefer these than Tesco's own loaves. I also find Aldi's & Lidl's bread more or less the same price, I can tell a difference between these and Wheatfield's though not much.

As for bananas, I prefer to get these from Sainsbury's as they're fair trade; won't buy them anywhere else after reading how the major banana-producing corporations treat the plantation workers in Guatemala [especially]. Incidentally, Sainsbury's bananas currently cost 68p/Kg which are also currently the same price at Tesco & ASDA.

Must say though, down with the plastic bag fascists! I was in Tesco, or was it ASDA, and think it was last year too, and had to use a few of their plastic bags, a woman behind me then started to sigh and tut to make her point, I ignored her though proceeded in saying to the women on the till "I forgot my bags, I can recycle these can't I?". Some people can be extremely ignorant!

vasseur

The Aldi bread flour is lovely. I always notice a difference if i use a different brand.

Lugh_Chronain

Makes good toast too. To be honest with you, I can never make my mind up as to which are best. I usually go for texture when deciding and what I'm familiar with as well [I guess].

Lugh_Chronain

Just spotted this lot on HotUKDeals if anyone is interested:

Lidl Offers 15th-21st September

Lots of XXL extra free packs this week

Fresh British Leeks - 750g Pack 89p
Fresh British Speciality Potatoes - 2.5kg Pack £1
Pork Medallions - 1kg Pack £5.99/ 2 for £10
Fresh British XXL Chicken 2.3kg £4.99
Gammon Joint smoked or unsmoked 1kg + 200g £3.99
Cured Pork Loin Joint - 500g Pack (Mixed Pepper or Honey Sauce & Mustard Seed Topping) £3.29
Unsmoked Middle Bacon 400g + 132g £1.79
Brahma Premium Brazilian Lager - 12x330ml £7.99
Calsberg Export - 15x275ml £7.99

Pfalz Pinot Grigio 75cl £4.99/ 2 for £8
Barbera d’Asti DOCG - 1.5L Bottle £7.99
Robinsons No Added Sugar Squash 1l £1/ 2 for £1.60
7UP Regular - 6 Pack £1.49
Lucozade Energy Original 1L 99p
Yogurt Drink 750g + 250g 99p
ACE Vitamin Drink - 1.5L Carton 79p
Pepsi 330ml 39p each or 24 for £6
Sunpride Juice Drink 1L 49p

XXL Variety Crisps - 30 pack x25g £2.39
Paprika Crisps - 250g Pack £1.29
Tortilla Chips 300g + 75g £1.09
Snacks - 150g Pack (Choose from Cheese Puffs, Bacon Rashers, Onion Rings or Salt & Vinegar Sticks) 49p each
Chocolate Hazelnut Spread 750g £1.79
Wafer Biscuits 500g £1.69
Soft Fruit Chews 500g + 75g £1.69
Gummibears 360g 99p

Kinder Chocolate Mini Treats - 16 Pack £1.29
Princess Marshmallows 150g + 75g 69p
Mini Brioche Swirls - 8 Pack 300g + 100g £1.29
Kinder Chocolate Snack Bars 6pk 75p
Jaffa Cakes - 36 Pack £1.99
McVitie's Cake (Choose from McVitie's Carrot Cake or Chocolate Cake) 79p each
McVitie's Digestives 400g 99p

Luccese Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 500ml Bottle £1.99
Ambrosia Devon Custard 1kg £1.50/ 2 for £2
Heinz Tomato Ketchup - 570g Squeezy Bottle £1.25
Batchelors Pasta’n’Sauce 95p
Fresh Very Large British Eggs - 6 Pack 69p
Special Muesli 750g £1.49
Spaghetti 500g + 250g 49p
Long Grain Rice 1kg + 150g 99p

Marvest Pork Escalopes - 500g Pack £2.99
Trout Fillets 125g + 15g £1.99
Wafer Thin Cooked Ham 400g + 100g £1.79
4 Mozzarella or Camembert in Breadcrumbs £1.69
Chicken Ready Meals £1.59
Lasagne - 400g Pack £1.29
Aunt Bessie’s 8 Light & Fluffy Dumplings 390g 99p
Prize Food Cheesy Chips 400g 99p
Aunt Bessie’s Delicious Sage & Onion Stuffing Balls 310g 99p

Go-Cat Complete - 2kg Pack £3.99
Meaty Strips 400g + 40g 79p
Complete Pet Food For Adult Cats 750g + 250g £1.99
Toilet Paper - 20 Rolls £4.99
Extra Absorbent Kitchen Towel - 8 Rolls £3.49
Parazone Strongest Bleach 750ml 59p
Vanish Oxi Action Multi or Crystal White 500g + 250g £3.49
Bold Lavender & Camomile Powder - 2kg Pack £3.99
Cien Shower Gel - 1L Bottle £1.29
Toothbrushes 2 brushes + 1 £1.25
Baby Wipes - 100 Pack 95p
Shaving System For Men 20 blades + 5 £3.29

Reeni_2

I started using Aldi this month. My OH didn't have work over the school summer holidays and we needed to stretch things as far as they would go until pay day so out of desperation I went in to the one near where I work.

I had a pleasant surprise. I had ignored the store for a couple of years (since it opened) but the price of their fresh produce was so much cheaper that we've had one of the healthiest months diet-wise in quite a while. We're all trying to be healthy - we need to - but it has been a struggle keeping us in fruits and veg without breaking the budget. I go in every couple of days at my break time, buy a couple of things and look around. I have concluded that I will try doing a shop there for things like canned tomatoes and other staples.

I bought balsamic vinegar for 99p which is amazing. I've been using a replacement type thingy from Asda since the real thing was more than I could spare. It has been a discovery. I know from reading other posts that their produce can vary from place to place but the one by us has excellent produce at really good prices. So far, everything I've tried has been equal or better in quality to what I would buy elsewhere and cheaper in price. Just my thoughts

p.s. I take my own bag (an Asda bag 4 life) and fill it up and then unload it at the till. No one seems to mind.

Lugh_Chronain

What's Aldi's fruit like [or Lidl's for that matter]? I find most fruit in the supermarkets, especially ASDA & Tesco, are tasteless.

Piggo_2

We've found Aldi's fruit and veg OK. Been in today and noticed Leeks reduced to 79p for a bunch, strawberries were about £1.20 a punnet and the Tetley's Decaff teabags I'd spotted last time are now reduced to 99p from £1.99 in our local one.

annasoper

Aldi's fruit and veg is far cheaper than Asda or Tesco's. Sometime up to half the price. Grapes, strawberries, spinach, berries (black/ blue) asparagus etc are always almost half the price. Most are class A too. My only problem is with the onions, they are class B and are quite heavily bruised sometimes. The shallots are half price too. As for Chocolate, have you tried the chocolate Almond bar? I can't remember the name as I've only binned the box yesterday, they are amazing. And the whole bed is made of almonds unlike the Cadbury bar you get in other supermarkets which is half the size and 3 times the price. As for comparing it with ASDA own make, there is absolutely no comparison. The stuff you get in Aldi is as good as the top range products in the big supermarkets.