Shopping in Lidl/Aldi....Advice?

cute6guru

Just wondering do many of you shop in Lidl or Aldi? Have never really bought much in either as I have questioned the quality etc However I went in there for bleach last week and had a look around I thought a lot of the product looked like good quality and the prices were pretty sweet too!! Have been thinking of swapping from Dunnes as last few months I find the shopping has risen by a crazy amount and yet by the gollowing week the presses are bare!! A bit tired of flushing money down the drain at this stage & Tesco is even worse!! Any feedback on yer experiences??

Far Q Boss

Aldi is a good place to shop. I'm picky enough with some things but I prefer Aldi to Lidl and I would still shop in Dunnes for certain things.

I find these items good in Aldi; bread, biscuits, tea, fruit, chicken fillets, salads, milk, cheese, chocolate, crisps, nuts, eggs, steak (especially the Angus steak in the cardboard boxes, best steak I've ever had anywhere), all household items, frozen pizza, water, yogurts, sugar, and many more that I can't think of right now.

Not great (only in my opinion); toothpaste, mouthwash, ham/chicken slices, coffee, washing detergent & comfort for clothes (although I do buy it from time to time)

I find that I can walk away from Aldi with 3 bags of shopping for 30euro, and I'd come out of Dunnes with only 1 bag for that amount!

My main flaw with Aldi, especially the store in Westside, is that it's too small. In all the Aldi stores it's very hectic & rushed I find, the staff are always running about, filling shelves, walking on top of customers when they're rushing with pallets of stock, then when you get to the counter you normally have to queue for quite a while as they never have enough staff on the tills, and when you finally get to the till it's 99 miles an hour from the till assistant, they fire your groceries at you really quick because they are told to get people out as quick as possible, so I find that really annoying!

I don't really shop in Lidl so can't give an opinion on them.

snubbleste

Just get a trolley and go op.

cute6guru

Yeah I dont think i could change items like shampoo, shower gels etc but Im finding the same in Dunnes. 30 bloody quid for a bag of stuff and you arrive home wondering where it went! I might make my shopping list and venture in & see what I can get and get the remainder in Dunnes then. We have baba arriving in a month so need to tighten our belts even if we saved 20-30 a week thats a massive saving in the month.

SeanPuddin

My weekly shop in Aldi is beyond comparison for price and tasty dinners:

Steaks (the ones for €13.99)
Duck fillets
Cod (in freezer)
Aberdeen angus mince
Ham
Mackerel
Salmon en croute
Leg of lamb
Salads
Cheap veg deals

I'm starving even thinking about it...

SeanPuddin

cute6guru wrote: »

Yeah I dont think i could change items like shampoo, shower gels etc but Im finding the same in Dunnes. 30 bloody quid for a bag of stuff and you arrive home wondering where it went! I might make my shopping list and venture in & see what I can get and get the remainder in Dunnes then. We have baba arriving in a month so need to tighten our belts even if we saved 20-30 a week thats a massive saving in the month.

You will find no finer nappies than the ones in Aldi.

seosamh1980

I can't believe people are still asking these type of questions as if they are some sort of pound shops. We do about 60% of our shopping in Lidl, the only real reason we still go to Tesco is we live near a huge one, we have a clubcard so get free things, and they match a lot of their prices with Aldi/Lidl, but you often still can't beat the value of them. We bought avocados recently in Tesco, special offer €1 each, went to Aldi and they were 39c each.

snubbleste

Why are you loyal to Dunnes OP?
Do you think Aldi/Lidl sell inferior products?

cute6guru

Yes my friend mentioned that about the nappies I will def be stocking up! I dont see the products as inferior I am just asking advice on what kinds of products everyone finds the best, as money is tight we cant afford to try stuff that is hit and miss. Hate.seeing food go in the bin. The only reason we would still go to dunnes is as its beside our house so is handy for odd bits and will get the clubcard points on particular items.

snubbleste

You should check out
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056156063
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056773033
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056195473

cute6guru

seosamh1980 how do u find lidl? There is one quite close to us so would b very handy for gettin to. My parents love their fresh breads from the bakery section

seosamh1980

cute6guru wrote: »

seosamh1980 how do u find lidl? There is one quite close to us so would b very handy for gettin to. My parents love their fresh breads from the bakery section

I find it great, or else I wouldn't be shopping there every week for the last 6-7 years.

beardybrewer

One more +1 for the nappies. Raised 2 kids on em and they were the best of all the brands (we tried them all). We had a similar realization a few years back at how much we were spending at Dunnes and swapped over to Aldi for the weekly shop. We top up on our brand name needs with a monthly online Tesco order which, odd as it sounds, limits the impulse buys and lets you see the cart total as you shop.

seosamh1980

I've never shopped in Dunnes actually, always found it very expensive. I'd always go for Tesco, Lidl, Aldi or Supervalu at a push.

desbrook

Lidl offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee - if you simply don't like a product you can take it back and get your money. Personally I find the (male) toiletries great. Sensitive shaving foam, anti perspirant, shampoo, shower gel - the lot. The only non Lidl one I buy are razors themselves. Only for the fact my son is a gluten and lactose intolerant I'd do 90% plus of my shop there!
Ps Fallons gold label tea bags are superb. 149 for 80 - beat that!

munchkin_utd

as a lot of threads point out, a lot of brandnames also produce own label for Aldi/ Lidl.

In addition, some brand names dont actually produce anything themselves anyhow! HB blocks of ice cream for instance and I remember batchelors also doing sub contracting out products back in the days.
The last tin of Lidl beans I bought was as good as anything from the big names and actually was manufactured in Italy of all places, and to be honest I'd nearly put money that Bachelors/ Heinz have the same lads making their beans.

a lot of the savings on Lidl is down to Ryanair style no frills low running cost stores, but a lot is also just cutting out the middle man and distributors who take a big cut and spend heaps on brand advertising.

cute6guru

Will head in this week to get our weekly shop. Actually dying to see just how much we save. Last year an average weekly shop for us would hav been about 70ish now recently its tipping 100+ for the exact same shop. No exaggeration. I even notice the products that have crept up in price like salad potatoes were 80c now all of a sudden 1.19 so small rises all add up. What would your average shop cost in lidl aldi?

Drkitkat

I shop in Aldi occasionaly, I like their veg deals, organic milk and their free range chickens are great value. The fact that most of the staff are eastern european, and speak to each other in their own language annoys me.

efb

I find shopping as a single man lidl is way cheaper than Dunnes. The quality is great. I've been buying certified Irish milk and meat and all the stuff if top notch it's so cheaper than Dunnes it's unfunny

OldNotWIse

cute6guru wrote: »

Yes my friend mentioned that about the nappies I will def be stocking up! I dont see the products as inferior I am just asking advice on what kinds of products everyone finds the best, as money is tight we cant afford to try stuff that is hit and miss. Hate.seeing food go in the bin. The only reason we would still go to dunnes is as its beside our house so is handy for odd bits and will get the clubcard points on particular items.

Their "stock essentials" are really cheap and good quality (Lidl) - cans of kidney beans for less than 30c for example. Same with peas, olives, tomatoes, puree etc

What else springs to mind...mozarella balls (cant believe the price of them everywhere else, they are 59c in Lidl). I think their cheeses in general are quite good.

Cocolola

We do the vast majority of our weekly shop in Lidl. The only things we go to Dunnes for are Bird's eye frozen peas and sweetcorn, Bold washing liquid, and the odd bag of Kettle chips!

Usually comes between €50-€60 for the two of us for the week.

EDIT: Things like milk for 75c-85c per litre, mozzarella balls as said above, cans of tomatoes for 37c, bag of onions 79c etc. Basics like pasta, rice are really cheap too. Add in half a pack of mince and there's a dinner for two for under a fiver. With leftovers for lunch the next day.

Ruben Remus

Of late, Tesco has been the worst of the big-name chains for rip-off prices.

There's some good stuff in Aldi. I like:

-Their Really Nutty Muesli (€1.99 for 500g)
-The 70% Fairtrade Belgian chocolate (€1.39, I think),
-The 'Reserve' tea (can't think of the brand name but it's €1.69 for 80 bags)
-The Specially Selected creamy Irish yogurts (can't remember the price... 69 cent each?)
-The O'Shea's Irish pale ale, red ale and stout (brewed by Carlow Brewing Company, €1.85 for 500ml bottles)

Eeden

I do most of my shopping in Aldi. I live equidistant from Aldi and Dunnes. Dunnes is way too expensive in comparison. The only quibble I have with Aldi is that they often run out of stock with some things (their not-from-concentrate orange juice seems to fly out of there).

DanWall

We use Lidl a lot because the only other store near us is Supervalu, Lidl has limited range on items.

foggy_lad

Some prices from Aldi

3L fresh milk €2.19.(yesterday's price)
Apple&Raspberry juice 1L 79cent.
Penne/Fussili pasta 1KG 94cent
Pasta Bake jar 495g €1.19.
Mayonaise 500ML jar €1.49.
NAS double concentrated squash apple & blackcurrant €1.49.
tin sweetcorn 365g 59cent.
sour cream & chive/salsa dip 85cent.
Sirlion steak 440g €5.99.
Smoked coley fillets 250g €1.99.
Quiche Lorraine 400g €1.89.
pork chops 520g €3.99.
large flat mushrooms 250g 35cent(special offer).
corneto type cones 110ml x4 €1.29.
Magnum type ice cream sticks 110ml x3 €1.49
Luxury ice cream tub 900ml €2.19.
Irish beef meatballs x12 €1.99.
Irish beef quarter pounders x4 €1.99.
Black/White pudding 300g 99cent.
cheddar slices 350g €2.79.
crumbed ham 320g €2.79.
pizza baguettes 2pack 99cent.
battered/breaded cod 500g €2.79.
french Brie cheese 200g €1.09.
tuna steaks in oil (pole & line caught) 200g €1.29.
6 tomatoes €1.29.
green/red grapes seedless 500g €1.99.
fat free yoghurts 8x125g pack €1.99.
cafe mocha sachets 11pack €1.69.
Corale premium baked beans 420g 39cent.
packet soups makes 1.5litre 59cent.
ready to serve custard carton 500g 65cent.
mild grated cheddar 475g €2.99.
coleslaw/potato salad 400g €1.19.
garlic/plain tortilla wraps 8pack 89cent.
iceberg lettuce 35cent(offer).
500g buttermilk brown soda sliced €1.09.
scallions bunch 35cent(offer).
brasserie crisps 150g bag €1.25.
choc digestives 400g 69cent.
ginger nuts 300g 39cent.
white/wholemeal sub rolls x4 75cent.
jumbo sausages 8pack 454g €1.39.
frozen garlic baguettes x2 79cent.
chill cabinet garlic baguettes x2 €1.09.
soicy potato wedges 750g 74cent.
nacho cheese tortilla crisps 200g 75cent.
stackers crisps(like pringles) 165g €1.15.
sliced white bread (great for freezing) 800g 72cent.
whiskey cake/fruit cake 400g €2.50.
speciality cheeses, Wensleydale/double Gloucester 200g €1.69.
fruit & nut choc 200g €1.39.
Dark chocolate 200g 99cent.
squeezy honey €1.99.
jaffa cakes 24pack 80cent.
white luxurt toilet tissue 4pack €1.49.
luxury fruit porridge €1.59.
clementine 750g €1.49.
kiwi tray 6pack 35cent(special offer)

Droileen

It takes a while to find out what suits your personal taste/pocket in Aldi/Lidl but I am a hardened "Aldi" fan. I no longer buy every tool and special offer - my budget will not allow it., thankfully - but for everyday staples I have now given Tesco a miss and continually save money without any loss of quality. Some of Aldi`s own brands like Bramwell Sauces, are an acquired tasted - I only buy their low fat Mayonaise for instance.

Shakti

In Aldi... 'McGrath's Reserve blend' tea bags best I've tasted regardless of price,

Mrs OBumble

I cannot believe that in 2013 someone is even asking this question. Back in 2007 when it felt like only immigrants shopping there, maybe. But not now.

We go to Lidl (a 15 minute walk from the house) once a week. Only grace Tesco every few weeks, for those things I can't get in Lidl. Only go to Dunnes 'cos they're really close to my house and have a cheap shelf.

Overall amount of stuff from Lidl = most things we buy.

MiseryMary

cute6guru wrote: »

Just wondering do many of you shop in Lidl or Aldi? Have never really bought much in either as I have questioned the quality etc However I went in there for bleach last week and had a look around I thought a lot of the product looked like good quality and the prices were pretty sweet too!! Have been thinking of swapping from Dunnes as last few months I find the shopping has risen by a crazy amount and yet by the gollowing week the presses are bare!! A bit tired of flushing money down the drain at this stage & Tesco is even worse!! Any feedback on yer experiences??

Well aldi is good for the fruits ,lidl has the really nice pastry bakery i do like those apple squares and pretzels , I shop in both and I did do the challenge on the receipt thing and i saved good 54euro on my shopping which to me was brill,I only shop in the clothes part of Dunnes I tried to shop in the grocery side there fruit and veg is not great at all,Tesco I notice prices has gone up omg so I get an odd 1 or 2 things only from there,well I shop in Deals in town which I think is very good too.

snubbleste

MiseryMary wrote: »

Well aldi is good for the fruits ,lidl has the really nice pastry bakery i do like those apple squares and pretzels , I shop in both and I did do the challenge on the receipt thing and i saved good 54euro on my shopping which to me was brill,I only shop in the clothes part of Dunnes I tried to shop in the grocery side there fruit and veg is not great at all,Tesco I notice prices has gone up omg so I get an odd 1 or 2 things only from there,well I shop in Deals in town which I think is very good too.

Where is Deals?

swiftman

MiseryMary wrote: »

well I shop in Deals in town which I think is very good too.

is there a Dealz shop in galway and where? never seen it. one in cork is GREAT!