UKC

Having returned to the UK after a few years abroad, it seems that Aldi and Lidl have really taken over as 'supermarkets'.
I am just wondering how many people on here actually shop there and what kind of things you buy?

My sense is that it is good for non-food items but a lot of the food i have seen there does seem to be pretty low-standard (maybe not surprising given the price). For example, the digestives i bought yesterday at a rather surprising 39p a packet taste like they cost about 39p a packet

They haven't taken over at all. Sure people shop at them but a minority of people compared to Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys. How do you define "taken over" ?

I buy loads of things in it. Dairy products, fruit and veg, rice, pasta, chick peas, oats, biscuits. Jars of olives, jalepenos etc I don't find a low standard on their stuff.

In reply to Milesy:
Me too, especially Aldi. Sometimes the fruit and veg can be a bit ropey but everything else seems to be higher quality and way cheaper than Tesco et al.

In reply to Kimono:

I shop in Lidl, and I think it just takes a bit of time to figure out what is good quality and what isn't. Once you have, it's much cheaper than tesco etc.

In reply to Kimono:

Ok, i didnt mean taken over as in bigger than the main supermarkets, more that they have just seem to be much more established.

Im not sure how good their fruit and veg is, i have certainly in the past, found that things seemed to go off very quickly.
That said, im very happy with the pots of basil and coriander i bought for 89p each yesterday

In reply to Barry Chuckle:

Hmm, then i must have been very unlucky with my 'MDF' digestives!

In reply to Barry Chuckle:
Agree, continental salami type meats are good too

In reply to Kimono:

Top of my head list of stuff I buy there (fecked if I can remember which one it is):

Tinned tomatoes, Marmite, Heinz beans, pasta, olive oil, mayonnaise, balsamic vinegar, tomato puree, sugar, lightbulbs, washing up liquid, dishwasher tablets, black olives, noodles, rice, gin, wraps, anchovies etc.

All good stuff.

In reply to Kimono:

It's awful, stay away, they beat you with sticks and spit on you as you leave.

Seriously, I love Lidl, lots of their stuff is far better than other places and much cheaper. If I want some Ham they have Ham and it's good. They don't have 18 types ranging from basic to taste the difference in various packets. I love the lack of mathematically challenging offers and in your face advertising. I love the fact the all the stores are laid out the same and remain in that layout. I love the lack of fuss German efficiency.
Some things are best avoided and there is always the danger of going in for some milk and coming out with a vice but hey ho.

Cheers

Toby

In reply to Kimono:

We use Aldi a lot.

Granted, some things are not great but that's the same with any supermarket. They all have some howlers and it's a case of finding out what's good and what's not.

We use Aldi for 65% of our groceries and Sainsburys for the remaining 35%.

Popular items in our house from Aldi are wine, cereals, bread, fish, tinned pulses, tinned tuna, fresh fruit juice, dark chocolate and veg. Aldi veg can sometimes be a bit naff but we tend to make a judgement and go to Sainsburys if it doesn't look great.

Oh and Aldi Frikadallen is just wonderful (and seriously bad for you).

In reply to Axel Smeets:

Aldi extra virgin olive oil is also excellent and well priced compared to other brands.

In reply to Kimono: I've taken to using Lidl quite a lot and don't find it substandard in anyway. The customer service can be a bit Fawlty Towers but I can live with that. Where else can you find melons and styrofoam glue inthe same aisle?

In reply to Kimono:

In a bid to save cash, we have moved from Morrisons (£70 plus per week) to Lidl and our food bill per week is approx £35 quid. We still nedd to go to Morrisons for some things but on the whole its Lidl.

As said above, why have lots of makes and versions of one thing when one make will do? Tinned toms for example.

The quality and taste is fine and better in some instances to the big boys!

The odd bit of veg isnt perfect but hey ho!

On the whole, very pleased with it!

In reply to Kimono: i notice the local Lidl has now put most of its 'deluxe' range in one place. there's lots of quality stuff if you look..

A/L virgin olive oils are rated higher than m&s and waitrose..
http://www.oliveoiltimes.com/reviews-opinions/review/magazine-olive-oil-sur...

In reply to MattJP:
Agree on the halved food budget, but the problem is you end up spending what you've saved on a wetsuit or something bizarre like an air compressor.

In reply to malk: We use our local Lidl, partly as its very convenient (my partner has to drive past it on her way home). Main problem is that the stocking seems a bit erratic - often we'll try a bottle of wine or a brand of ham, decide we like it only to never see it again. Veg & fruit vary a lot in quality but we usually use the local market for those.

Just wish they'd have more of the checkouts manned

In reply to Barry Chuckle:


Thats exactly what i found myself wondering if i needed

In reply to Kimono: Beaty here is Edeka and Aldi are almost always in walking distance.. so you shop at Aldi for what you can get cheap.. then go to Edeka for more special stuff.. better meat etc..

In reply to Doug:

That is part of the Lidl game, predicting when another member of their (oh so happy) staff will come out of the back room and open the second till and everyone has to decide whether to rush round to the new till or wait it out.

Apparently, the cashiers time to checkout the shopping is logged, that is why they pile it up faster than you can bag it. More than once I've been tempted to just wander off and leave them with it to put back when they've been racing to pile it up

In reply to Barry Chuckle:

You better stay away this week...
http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/SID-E0054CCB-40CC38EC/www_lidl_uk/hs.xsl/our-...

In reply to Kimono:

Lidl freshly baked bread! Mmm!
Kentish Brew ale the other day for 79p/bottle.
Items you never see again is the price you pay for not paying much. Bit annoying. Though they often re-appear. Except the big tins of pears. They seem to have gone for good!

In reply to Cobbler:

Just what I need! That plus the pneumatic chipping hammer; plug it in to a portable generator and I'm away.

In reply to Kimono:

I've noticed that some of the breakfast cereals have less sugar in than big brand (Kellogg's). Suits me - nowhere near as sweet.

In reply to Kimono:
.... For example, the digestives i bought yesterday at a rather surprising 39p a packet taste like they cost about 39p a packet

But good crushed for baking, a base for cheesecakes or whatever.

In reply to Cobbler:
That's exactly what I saw when I was in there yesterday. I live in a tenement flat in Glasgow and I found myself trying to justify buying it. Damn they're good.

I was strong though!

In reply to Doug: it's the random stuff that draws me in, but yes it's annoying when some things disappear (although i notice they move things around a lot- maybe a ploy?)
i do admire the efficiency of the checkout staff, although you have to pack fast to avoid holding up the queue...

In reply to Barry Chuckle:
Never been tempted by an air compressor but their (Lidl) altimeter watches have evolved into something quite good.

In reply to Kimono:

Don't all digestive biccies taste like MDF?

Maybe somone will start a Best Digestive Biccie Thread to advise on this.

In reply to Toby_W:


This is also where it falls down, as when they don't have any they just don't have any, no alternative.

In reply to mgco3: the xmas range of spiced biscuits are in..

In reply to Kimono:

Middle isle!

I rest my case.

(most blokes who shop in there will know what I'm talking about).

In reply to mwr72:

Ibuprofen gel is opposite?

In reply to woolsack: aubergines for 50p and sweetcorn for 29p opposite

In reply to Axel Smeets:

won an award ('Which?' ?)

In reply to Kimono: I'd imagine a few folk on here will drop by on Thursday ... https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/specialbuys/thursday-26th-september/

In reply to Kimono:
They have cashew nuts in their everyday value range!!
The only things I have been disapoinetd by have been white gaffa tape (leaves a bit of a residue after a while) and instant coffee (which is pretty awful everywhere to be honest).
Veg looks a bit scabby sometimes, but seems to last just as long.

Some notable things: Pizzas are as good as most non-premium brands, as is frozen stuff. ambient filled pasta boils in 7 minutes versus 2 mins for chilled..but is ambient storage. Ambient storage, long life bagels. Cereals seem to have less sugar. Egg waffles 55p for 12 vs 1:35 for 6 in tesco etc. Olives aren't that much cheaper olive *oil* is great.

take an mp3 player and big bags for the queues at checkouts: you probably don't wait that much longer, but they really whizz the stuff through! They're not the best laid-out or attractive places (like other supermarkets in the 70's/80's), but honestly about half the price. I'm not entirely sure if they have 'ready meals' (probably a good thing!)

Trouble is...you get the itch to try new brands of pickled gherkins and the tempting 'middle aisle' angle-grinder/altimeter/sock drawer organiser. The condos have amusing pictures on them. So y friend tells me..

In reply to Kimono:
noting this week's stuff: cycle trousers OK, nice & light if a bit plasticy. merino jerseys, nowhere near as plush or dense as icebreaker etc and shrunk a bit in the wash. about 1/4 the cost, mind!
cycle tool kit: mate bought one, didn't rate it (c-spanner bent?)

In reply to Kimono:
I sometimes go out of my way for Aldi peanuts (dry roasted especially) - top-notch and dirt cheap. Fruit and veg are generally OK too.

But, do not buy their tonic water unless you like drinking drano.

youtube.com/watch?v=RKsGKERivTQ&

In reply to Kimono:
I use Aldi a lot. I get wine, beer, spirits at Christmas (and gluhwein) tins tuna, olive oil, gammon joints, bacon, peanuts, cheese, chocolate - all cheaper and nicer than other supermarkets. I need to buy gluten free too and use lots of supermarkets but Aldi is labelled up well and have a new range in stock. Their toiletries are good and cheap. Fruit & veg can be cheaper too. I like that theyre all laid out the same, and that im not at the check out for long.

In reply to 999thAndy:
i plan to be there at 8:01am

Is it socially acceptable to try on cycling shorts in the middle of Aldi??
Im not sure i trust their sizing without trying things on first

In reply to Kimono:

Never, ever buy cheap biscuits, and this will not be an issue

In reply to MischaHY:
you are of course 100% correct M....a momentary lapse of reason

In reply to Kimono: £5 free range chickens at Aldi, what's not to like?

In reply to Axel Smeets:

How do you manange to do a 35 quid shop a week or even 70 in Morrisons? I assume 'we' means it is more than more person? I am looking to reduce our bill, but basically today I spent 58 pounds in Tesco for what's gonna be three days worth of food for three of us ( me, husband and 4 year old).
Cheers
Heike

In reply to Kimono:



The food is usually better quality at lidls then other supermarkets. You get less choice though.

In reply to Kimono:

I've never tried their digestives but Aldi choc chip cookies and Jaffa cakes are great

We do a lot of shopping there and I can't think of any products that have disappointed.

In reply to Kimono:
Aldi were supermarket of the year last year. I saw their MD on IIRC The Money Programme and he was asked if his prices were so cheap because the stuff was rubbish. He said it was because they gave less choice. One make of corn flakes, one size instead of dozen means they rent less floorspace, need fewer staff to keep it stocked and those lower overheads are reflected in the prices.
Must say I've found them great for processed deli meats, pretty good and dirt cheap for veg. And then, as has been said, I blow the savings on some DIY gizmo I didn't know I needed and will probably never use.
I'm more keen to see outr new Aldi being built in Skipton than M&S

In reply to Cobbler:


That compressor is 199€ in France.

In reply to Kimono:
I do all of our shopping at Aldi. I've never had any problem with the veg, in fact it's better than Tesco. The only fruit that I've not enjoyed is some satsuma a, but they're hit and miss in Tesco too. The bread is not the best and some of the biscuits had a nasty ingredient which has gone.
The frozen fish is lovely as is the cheese. If you like a beer, try the Galahad lager at £2.69. Better than Carlsberg and cheaper. Wine is good too.
So it looks a bit ramshackle? This used to bother me but the big shops bother me more as they are too full, and carry too man choices.
I find its quicker through Aldi checkouts and they don't ask if you want your 3 items packing!
Staff are more pleasant too in ours.

In reply to Heike:

I think you've replied to the wrong person. There was no mention of £35 in my post.

In reply to Axel Smeets:

ah quite, it was MattJP, sorry,
the questions remains, how could one manage on that budget. I reckon we spent about 120 pounds a week alcohol exluded.

In reply to Heike:

Wow, I probably spend less than £30 a week on myself and that's without particularly trying to scrimp and save.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

It is a long time since I last bothered to add it up though. Maybe I am in for a shock!

In reply to Kimono:

I love the Aisle of Wonder

Items I have seen there have included:

Hi-vis vests for your dog
Mig welding gear
Telescopic boat hooks
and many other exciting things I have forgotten

In reply to Blue Straggler: ok, thats for one, multiply by three would be 90 pounds, but I dont think we would manage on that. if you want fruit and veg, its extortianate in our local tiny Tesco, e.g 3 peppers 2 pounds, a few grapes or raspberries 2 pounds etc!

In reply to Heike: Let me know if you have any great tips, I loath to give the supermarkets any more cash than necessary, I tried bulk buying, but I end up wasting food as I am not such a great chef and prefer to go climbing

In reply to Heike:
I just dont buy f&v in supermarkets anyomore...its pricey and usually tasteless.
We have 2 very good greengrocers here in Llangollen that sell quality produce at about a third to a half the price of sainsburys

In reply to Heike:

Doesn't one of your three have rather lower fuelling needs than an average adult though? So just multiplying up by three doesn't really count. I think the crucial phrase is "tiny Tesco" TBH

In reply to Heike:

Doesn't sound too far out to me - we usually work out at around £100/wk for 2 adults, 7 & 4 years olds - certainly under £120/week. Plenty of fruit and veg - but also lots of buying what's on offer, or reduced in the evening. Mainly at a small Sainsburys, with some stuff from Aldi.

In reply to Blue Straggler: hah i wish apparently the calorie needs of an active 4 year old, and ours is very active, are 1600 calories, which is only just below mine! And whilst I am happy to eat some less wondeful stuff I d rather the wee man would pig out on nice fruit veg and fish which is more expensive than getting cheap carbo!

In reply to Carolyn: hmm, I have to try and add it all up in detail. we do so many little shops here and there, I sometimes loose overview and then there are the lunches, coffees and snacks at work....

In reply to Kimono: yeah, thats the way forward if you can get it!

In reply to Kimono:

Low standard? Not at all.
I challenge you to buy a jar of Lidl's Baresa Cipolle Borettane pickled onions and tell me where you have had better on the face of this earth.

In reply to Andy Say:

They have air compressors in? To 2 kbars?

In reply to Barry Chuckle:

Cheap food and kinky sex, what more could you ask for?

In reply to grommet:

Have Aldi now got a permanent gluten free range? I know they trialled one a while back but it was only permanently available in Ireland.

If they have, they will win my main custom.

Neil

In reply to doz generale:

The reduced choice does have an advantage - a shop can be done quickly when several football pitches won't fit in the supermarket building.

I like Aldi, it just works. Only thing stopping me is a lack of gluten free bread and cake, but from another post it seems that might be solved.

Neil

In reply to Skol:

Aldi follows the German model that every worker is a professional, whether a business consultant or on a supermarket checkout. I think this breeds more respect from customers and better service all round.

Neil

In reply to Neil Williams:

No, definitely not a range. They have the "has no" soups and some stores have bread. But I buy their gf chocolate, salt & shake crisps and peanuts. One of the few stores that have gf crisps and nuts and at a normal price. Used to have ice lollies and frittatas but they've gone now. Occasionally they have items from the look what we found range.

I agree, I have to shop at other supermarkets for basic gf items such as bread, pasta and cereals. If they had this, I would end up doing all my shops there.

In reply to grommet:

The yoghurt covered rice cakes are quite nice. They often have chocolate covered peanut brittle too which is good trail food.

In reply to grommet:

I have a bit of a tolerance so e.g. barley malt in cereals isn't an issue. So all I need is bread, cake, biccies and pasta. I suppose I could buy a freezer full once a month at Tesco and use Aldi the rest of the time, though.

I understand why it's not in their business model to cater for minorities, though, I suppose. Just a shame as I like shopping there but going to two supermarkets is a faff.

As for chocolate, crisps etc I guess you are intolerant to even cross contamination, as crisps (being potato) and peanuts (being nuts) tend not to contain gluten unless the flavour powder does, and chocolate (certainly all Cadbury's except the stuff that obviously has e.g. biscuit in) is pretty much universally "may contain" and has never caused me a problem?

Neil

In reply to Neil Williams:

Also most soup does not contain gluten, they tend to use cornflour, except for some silly reason mushroom (and obviously anything with croutons).

Neil

In reply to Neil Williams:

Bwah-hah-hah! I worked for Aldi for six months after leaving university, I didn't look back when I finally got an interview at Asda. Everyone at the branch where I worked was treated like shit, paid a pittance and expected to lick the divisional manager's (or whatever his title was that week) boots for it. In contrast at Asda I had to work just as hard but was treated fairly and got more money.

In reply to Clarence:

Interesting. Asda do have a good reputation for looking after their staff, which is interesting as Wal-Mart who own them very much don't. That said, I've had the impression that Wal-Mart let them manage their own affairs to a fairly large extent.

Neil

In reply to Neil Williams:

My mum's good friend is very high up on the people side at Asda - I think she was 'head of supermarket people' for a while, or somesuch. She's a lovely woman who makes very good chutney (not a euphemism, before people start).

In reply to Tom Valentine:

Ok, you're on

In reply to Neil Williams:


'Professional' in what sense? Surely they don't all have to have a degree/qualification? Or if you mean they're paid enough to earn a living from what they do, surely that's the same as other supermarkets (even if you need to accept a loose interpretation of 'enough to earn a living)?

In reply to nufkin:

Just in terms of how people respect them and in terms of possibilities for career progression. They're also big in apprenticeships so often good formal training is on offer, though I don't know if that applies to supermarkets, probably not.

Neil

In reply to Neil Williams:
I agree with you. I was a good friend with a (British) Aldi Director about 16 years ago when they were setting up in UK.

He explained that they paid far more than standard uk wages to staff - about £8 an hour at the time against £4 in other supermarkets as they expected staff to do more and use their initiative, not just sit like zombies at the checkout. At the time the staff had to remember all the prices and stuff whizzed through the checkout, before they brought in the scanning.

The whole philosophy on cost saving is completely different, but the quality is excellent in my view and I love the place.

In reply to Babika:

The staff in Aldi always appear willing to cheerfully muck in, work hard and never seem to stand idle. They certainly look and act a lot more "professionally" than the staff at any of the other supermarkets.

In reply to Heike:

Hi Heike

Yes there is me, my wife, a 3 year old and a one year old.

Main meals through the week can be:-

Pasta with pesto - Jar of pesto, less than a quid. Huge bag od pastam lasts for week 3 quid.
Spag bol - Make my own sauce.
Curry - make my own pastes, etc etc And lasts two days.
Dahl curry is as cheap as anything.
Cottage pie - Mince is cheap from Lidl but still Red Tractor labelled.

The boys dip into our meals but are big fans of fish fingers, garlic bread, starwberries, yogurts etc etc.

But all those meals can be made very cheaply and taste great. Avoid jars of things and ready meals (not inferring you do btw!) I try and make most food from scratch. I would make the pesto if we had enough room to grow enough basil!


The fruit and veg is much cheaper than the larger supermarkets. Tinned tomatoes are cheap. You wont pay 2 quid for a few peppers etc etc.

Try it and you may surprise yourself.

We still have to go to Morrisons for certain things but in a bid to save out monthly budget, food shopping was a big cost to tackle.

If anyone wants ant recipes, just ask!

In reply to Heike: There are only two of us, but I have found that buying our fruit and vegetables from the local greengrocer saves at least £20 per week. They are really good quality and last well. Also as mentioned above I make pretty much everything from scratch and that saves a lot of money on pre-made sauces etc.
I find Lidl to generally have fairly good quality food. Especially the chocolate

In reply to Barry Chuckle:

Not my experience. Ham, oils, - epicurean I suppose stuff - is ok but unsurprisingly of lower quality than I can find elsewhere.

In reply to Heike:

PLAN YOUR MEALS!! And STICK to the plan, so make sure you have planned around next weeks activities. And use your local market if you can, Aldi/lidl probably good substitutes.

Two of us went from a weekly shopping bill of 70-80 quid in mosrissons to £35 on the market with perhaps a tenner topping up on eggs/milk/bread etc between. It works well except when we are disrupted by work etc then it is back to meal deals and takeaways for a week....

In reply to MattJP: I'll have your dahl curry recipe if you dont mind...

In reply to MattJP:


Do you have different ones for red and black?












(sorry)

In reply to ebygomm:

Ah yes I get those too - in fact the list grows every time I go in

In reply to Neil Williams:

I'm not a diagnosed coeliac but gluten makes me very poorly. Intolerant sounds a tame word for what it does to me but that's what I officially am - gluten intolerant. So Yes I'm very sensitive to even a small amount of cross contamination & can't tolerate barley malt. Some things that say "May contain" affect me and some don't. (I sometimes risk small amounts when chocolate or crisps are needed) I suppose it depends what's been on the production line before them. Gf crisps are very elusive - easy to get hold of in Europe, and I can't live without crips. Used to make my own soups but lots of choice now I agree. Still make my own ice cream. Regularly shop at tesco and Aldi, occasionally Asda, Sainsbury's and M&S.

In reply to grommet:
Regularly shop at tesco and Aldi, occasionally Asda, Sainsbury's and M&S.

Mr TC is finding that Waitrose and Booths are coming up trumps for GF stuff - the downside being that they're not cheap (and not particularly local).

In reply to Neil Williams:
In reply to Skol:

Aldi follows the German model that every worker is a professional, whether a business consultant or on a supermarket checkout. I think this breeds more respect from customers and better service all round.

Neil

They're certainly a class above our tesco. They are the most rude, unhelpful staff that I've had the misfortune to meet.
I discussed this with one of the also staff, who said they were on £10 an hour but worked for it, and they do.
My father in law spends £200plus a week in tesco on finest range. I lob doin a meal from Aldi stuff and asking him where it's from afterwards. I even went as far as putting Wolfblass labels on Aldi wine and he said it was superb!))

In reply to cfer:

I shall dig it out when I am home!

In reply to nufkin:

Haha! I have only done a red one so far!

In reply to Bulls Crack:

Got to disagree with this; I think Aldi quality is the same or higher than other supermarkets, its just the choice that's less.

And the last time I had Lidl sausages they were 98% pork! I can't find anything with that high a proportion anywhere else. I had to add fat to the pan to stop them burning!

Its Good..............