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Prompted by the weekly shop thread at http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/what-is-your-monthly-food-bill ,
I do most of my weekly shopping at ASDA or Tesco, largely dictated by which way I happen to drive home that evening. I've been toying with the idea of trying Lidl or Aldi one week to try and save a few pennies, but due to [s]snobbery[/s] apathy I've not really set foot in either of them other than out of curiosity.
So the question is, which budget Euro supermarket for a Lidl/Aldi virgin? Will I die?
If you like fresh baked deliciousness, then Lidl, esp in the AM. If you like regular random 'ooh, I didn't know I needed that tool/gadget/doohickey it now really want it' moments, then Aldi. (The doohickeys are usually surprisingly good quality and cheap, too)
I enjoy both. Hardly go to a 'big' supermarket these days.
Lidl 29p fresh croissants FTW
Aldi.
We do our weekly shop there... their specially selected range is generally very good.
Meat good, fruit and veg good. ground coffee excellent. actually, the only thing I've been disappointed with is their bagels!
Have to restrain the other half from raiding the specials bins.
MrsMomo prefers Lidl, I have no particular preference but generally go to Lidl as I pass one on my way home.
Lidl, cos theres one down the road from my house. Sometimes Aldi though, cos theres one down the road from work.
Both are good, both have their strengths.
Try both and see what you think.
lidl, but that's mainly as we have one nearby.
Much better than other supermarkets imho
lidl, cause it's at the end of my street.
Geographic reasons are a non-issue for me, they're both on the same road.
Both worth checking out for sure. Only real difference (apart from considerable cost savings) from the big 4 supermarkets is lack of choice, in that you buy the Aldi/Lidl version of whatever it is, or you don't buy it at all. Bit like M&S really now I think about it. Quality is good enough, they're both German at the end of the day which counts for something.
As mentioned above Aldi has a permanently evolving, vast array of things (clothes, sports gear, tools, kitchen stuff, cycling stuff etc etc) which is always cheap and usually of good quality. You can easily spend a happy 15-20 minutes rooting around. The quality of the wine in ALdi is also usually very good value. Less experienced with Lidl (also German) but can confirm that the freshly baked stuff is very good and (unlike Co-op for example) is baked on site. Hardly ever shop anywhere else now (other than my butcher who's doing meat for a week for £14 abd the greengrocer for quality veg sooo much cheaper than any supermarket...)
Have to say that Aldi is the most depressing supermarket ever. Don't have a problem with 'no frills' but gloomy lighting and long checkouts means that I only buy coffee in bulk and run out as fast as I can, never to return for hopefully six months.
Sorry Cougar, not helpful I know. 😳
Lidl as it's closest.
We use ALDI a lot but have found (at least my other halfs nose has) that their meat never reaches the sell by date on the packaging.
It did however prompt us to find a local farmshop butcher with better meat at lower prices 🙂
Yeah, Lidl cos it's 4 miles closer and I can ride my bike there, or stop on the way home from work.
Best bits are the fresh meats (steak!) and deli meats, frozen fish, beer and wine.
Worse are the choice of yogurts (though the Greek stuff is lovely) and things like toothpaste/deodorant. And the fresh veg seems to go off quicker than other supermarkets (eg. I keep their carrots in the fridge).
Oh, and the till operators don't half go quick 🙂
We tried this a while ago to see if we could reduce our food bills. Found the fruit and Veg at Aldi didn't last long and wasn't any cheaper than the greengrocers. Also there were a few random things they didn't stock like wholemeal pasta, shreddies or generic equivalent and some other odds and sods I can't remember.
We worked out that we saved a few quid but when factoring the time to drive to the "normal" supermarket to get the other bits it simply wasn't worth it. Plus the normal supermarket deliver which makes life easier when you have three kids and both work. I'd rather be out on my bike in the evening than trudging around the supermarket.
Both are good, both have their strengths.Try both and see what you think.
This - I have both near me and use both depending on what I'm after. Neither have long life on fruit and veg so tends to be smaller, more often shops.
c_g - rarely if ever are there long checkouts - tesco and asda are far worse.
Aldi, it's nearest.
Food quality way above Asda & Tesco.
Should mention, I'm not really interested in clothing / gadgets, just the weekly grocery run (I have far too much tat). Meat's a non-issue also being veggie, and the only meat I ever buy from a supermarket is the odd slice of ham for my OH's sandwiches / pizza topping.
ps. Muesli and fake shredded wheat bitesize are great. And how come their Twix copies taste better than real Twix??
I only buy meat from farm shops, never supermarkets.
Whichever one it is that sells Racer bars
The last few months we have been using the local Aldi more and more for our shopping. I have been presently surprised, the quality and price of the fresh fruit and veg is excellent. Some of it hasn't lasted quite as long as the same from other supermarkets but if you stick to what you plan on making it is never an issue.
Sliced cooked meat for sandwiches etc is better in Aldi than Tesco or Asda, good beer is cheaper too.
We have not been able to do a complete shop in Aldi, there are some things our local shop doesn't have but we just stop at the Teco on the way home for them.
Aldi but for fresh baked goodies Lidl but both are good.
c_g - rarely if ever are there long checkouts - tesco and asda are far worse.
Not brave enough for Asda and my nearest Tesco is fine. Sometimes have to queue in car park mid-week at Aldi.
We use Lidl as it's just down the road, in fact the majority of our shop is done there these days. Also see a hell of a lot of Waitrose bag's there.
Major downside to Lidl is the length of the queue's, but when compared to Morrison's with 4 time's as many checkout's isn't too bad.
Both Aldi and lidl jaffa cakes are better with lidl the winner between them. Aldi deluxe fresh pizzas are very good. Toro loco wine is great value too. Lidls food specials are worth looking out for especially the Spanish stuff.
Lidl did produce a booklet last year about their butcher meat and it was impressive reading. Seemed conscientious and had a lot of local suppliers. I find the meat is much better than the mainstream supermarkets and on par with my butcher.
the till operators don't half go quick / rarely if ever are there long checkouts
Hmmm, not sure where you are but this is the polar opposite to the ones nearest me. the operators may as well be the living dead and the queue is rarely less than 5mins waiting time.
but that said I'll happily stand there looking gormless waiting to be served and the food is descent enough and cheap so I'll survive the hardship 🙂
Aldi, mainly as it's closer to home. It takes some adapting too, there's not as much choice but what there is is very good. I've now changed my eating habits to work with what they have.
Fruit and veg, IMO is as good if not better than Tesco. A lot of the stuff is just better. Booze is good too, wine often very good if you know what to look for. Their Maynard's Port is brilliant for the money.
I find going early in the day is worth doing, they don't refill their stock quite as quickly as Tesco so going early makes a difference.
And the till operators take some getting used to, they tend to sling the stuff at you and try to get you through the till system quickly. I like it and now get frustrated with the pedestrian service in a normal supermarket.
Aldi for me. Can get almost everything we need from the ones near us.
It all seems like decent stuff; the fruit & veg in particular in the one that I have to drive past on the way home is much better than the Tesco stuff, which seems to go off within hours of being purchased.
The savings are pretty significant on most stuff.
When I first started going I did find I was suckered in by buying stuff that i didn't need but looked new & interesting. Now though, i just get on buying the usual stuff as the novelty has worn off a bit.
The nearest Lidl to us is OK, but last time we were there the choice was a lot less & the food didn't seem as good.
Just be prepared to have stuff slung at you at the checkout. I can't keep up with bagging it all, so sling it back in the trolley & pack it once I've paid & moved away from the checkout.....
I can't keep up with bagging it all, so sling it back in the trolley & pack it once I've paid & moved away from the checkout.....
That's what they want you to do. 😀
Just be prepared to have stuff slung at you at the checkout. I can't keep up with bagging it all
That's no bad thing, it's a rare checkout-operator that can outpace my bagging.
It's great for cycling too, I as I can whip through the checkouts and then pack everything in panniers, rackpack pockets or rucksack without needing to rush. It's easier doing it the Aldi/Lidl way than the normal way I find
My nearest supermarkets in order of closeness to my house are Waitrose, M&S, Sainsburys and Aldi. Aldi is still only about 1.5 miles away
I also cycle past Lidl, there are quite a few in North London.
I definitely Aldi over Lidl, but both still fairly similar. I like the lack of choice and the smaller store as it's quicker for me to pop in and out.
The queues can be longer than one would like but they usually move quick unless someone has to return something or has a problem
Lidl for us, although we have an Aldi and a Lidl next door to each other. They've just refitted ours and its now light and airy and nice to be in. In contrast the Aldi is dark and miserable and stacked to the rafters; I prefer the no choice that Lidl gives me to the random possibilities of branded goods and no other choice that our local Aldi specialises in.
If you're after branded cleaning stuff and toiletries try adding Home Bargains onto your shopping run.
Aldi for me.
Tried a couple of bottles of the [url= https://www.aldi.co.uk/stellenbosch-cape-red/p/000000101112000 ]Stellenbosch Cape Red[/url] at the weekend. Really quite good for £7!
Decent beer too, eg Cocker Hoop at £1.25 a bottle.
Ground coffee pretty good too. The one with the zebra on the pack (Ethiopian?)
Lidl for us and has fantastic wine selection
Cougar
Maybe try them both - we got our last Asda click and collect receipt and took it the next week to aldi and just went through the store noting the price of each equivalent, and highlighting any we could get then did the same at Lidl.
Local aldi is new and shiny, local Lidl is somewhat older and gloomy so we chose aldi - prices we're within a quid or so, and almost £25 cheaper than Asda on a £95 big shop.
I can testify that the wine in aldi is excellent, the veg fresh but agree the meat and fish can be hit/miss so now use fishmonger and (please don't judge) musclefood online for the meat.
That's no bad thing, it's a rare checkout-operator that can outpace my bagging.
If you want to use more than one bag at a time you might struggle, the packing area at Lidl is small and hasn't got a lip so is a bit precarious for bottles and jars. I always try to load the belt in the order I want to bag the goods but sometimes the operator doesn't cooperate!
either are as good as each other
We only go to the big supermarkets (asda/tesco/sainsburys) when we need toddler stuff or I fancy getting artisan (expensive) beer
We went to asda and spent 92 quid last month, my wife came back from Aldi the other day with tons more stuff and it only cost about 60. If you can get past the name brands (although they don't do too bad on some stuff) then you can save a bomb and accidentally buy a compressor
LIDL in my opinion, but try both and decide.
When we use either, Lidl is far easier for me, one close to work and one quite close to home. Aldi is just down the road from my better half's work, but the opposite way to her bus, so I can't see it becoming a regular (despite both saving a fortune over Sainsburys).
However, I found it far easier to pop in straight after work when I used the bus until late summer, than trying to pop in on the bike (remembering to take rucksack in and then judge what I can carry etc. plus have a lock on me).
Interesting point about the prices differences above. We mostly buy supermarket own branded goods so didn't see a saving of anywhere hear 25%. But yeah Aldi is good for booze as well.
I walk past Aldi Süd (Aldi South), which is the other Aldi to the UK one, to get to a different supermarket. Lidl requires a drive.
But I've been meaning to drop in some time to see how the beer range is.
Both are good. The Wife interchanges week to week. Some things are preferred from one store etc.
If you like brand names then neither will get you everything you may want. You can shop in either and there's no need to go elsewhere, unless you buy artisan balsamic vinegar or single estate olives from that quaint place in Tuscany, but then you'd be in the wrong shop if you went to Tesco or Asda.
The Lidl own brand beer is exceptional, Green Gecko IPA. 😆
Local town has an Aldo which I use sparingly. If the town had a Lidl I would definitely shop there in preference. However, I am currently taking lambs to the abbatoir in Merthyr once a week and they have a Lidl there which has just been rebuilt and it is by far the nicest supermarket around. Well laid out, bright and airy, modern feel, spacious.... it even has customer toilets. I just prefer Lidls for the baked goods, the greater range of UK brand names (Baked Beans in particular!), less tat in the weekly bins, and especially for the greater range of proper German specialities that Aldi no longer seem to stock like they once did. I just wish they would open a store in Abergavenny
We have not been able to do a complete shop in Aldi, there are some things our local shop doesn't have but we just stop at the Teco on the way home for them.
this has killed it for us - it adds on so much time to do two shops - even in one run. We pay the extra and just do sainsburys.