Aldi - recommendation please

I don't know about Salmon (would rather have Haddock any day). I do have it direct from a supervisor in the nearby slaughter house that meat is graded A+ A B C. M&S, Sainsburys buy the grade A, Tesco, Morrisons and Asda have the B grade and C grade goes to make pies, etc. Who buys their A+ meat? Family butchers shops and ALDI.

I don't know about elsewhere in the UK, but Aldi's 'sourced locally' policy ensures that much of their produce (milk, fish, meat, butter, veg and fruit), comes direct from very local sources. without going down south to a huge warehouse to be packed and then transported back to Scotland. I note that the beer battered haddock is battered with beer brewed in our town.

I love everything about Aldi. I'm like a child let loose in a toy shop! Wine is good, I particularly like the Crema de Jura (bubbles). Pate, bread, washing up liquid, mini veggie tartlets, smoked salmon.....I could go on. The only product I avoid is milk. 2x it has gone off very quickly but that may just have been my bad luck. I always check the use by dates on everything edible, just in case.
Enjoy your Aldi outing: take plenty of ££ and bags

I don't get to Aldi or Lidl often, working full time only leaves weekends and the parking is a nightmare. When I do go I stock up on tinned stuff, dried stuff,(pasta and rice) baking stuff, huge tubs of Greek yoghurt, in the freezer area I go for packs of twos that be thrown in the oven on a busy night, I don't eat meat so can't comment there. Then it's over to the face bits and pieces, their creams and serums are as good as you'll get anywhere else, and the prices are unbelievable, so I bulk buy. I spend too much time in the aisle of 'whatidontneed' but it's compulsive viewing.
By that stage hubby and I are not speaking.

Buy their gammons at £3.99 - wonderful hot for dinner, marvellous cold for salads, sandwiches etc. Their tinned chopped tomatoes are second to none.

Allow yourself lots of time to browse!! So much wonderful stuff, food is excellent, bread provides wide variety, fruit can be a little over ripe so make sure you eat fairly quickly. I love Aldi and do all my shopping there, hence save lots of money. Their ‘middle aisle’ is also an Aladdin’s cave of bargains so enjoy yourself.

Delicious Prosecco at £4.99. Frozen yogurt is yum, especially the Greek with honey. Lots and lots of different cooked chicken products using U.K. chicken. Wonky raspberries and strawberries @£1. Fresh flowers last ages. TBH we’ve never been disappointed in any of the products we’ve tried. We usually shop our list at Aldi, then cross to Morrisons for anything we couldn’t get. When our branch first opened many moons ago, all the stock was displayed in cardboard boxes & was not price labelled. The cashiers had to memorise the prices. It was cash only. Now, it’s beautifully lit with smart signs and looks very upmarket. Always tidy and spotless. Plus they seem to employ such bubbly smart staff!

I have only recently started shopping at Aldi and can recommend the following in no particular order: Gala Apples
Greek yogurt (not low fat),
Mature Gouda cheese
Feta Cheese
Piccolo To atones
Aged Sirloin Steak (their steak was recently on a super shoppers prog and came out best for Sirloin, and it’s the same producer as M&S, according to the programme). I think their veggies can be a bit hit and miss.
Strawberries (ours come from Surrey and their fantastic)
I think their tinned toms are too gloopy.
Although I have bought their frozen fish , there is a lot of water in them and portions quite small.
Brazil and hazelnuts.
Hope this helps?

That’s piccalo tomatoes not To atones?

The tinned Italian cherry tomatoes and the sun dried tomatoes in a jar are great in a pasta sauce.

Their Bailey's equivalent excellent

Aldi meat is superb especially the aged steaks. Ready meals are very good quality as are their cooked meat selection.
We buy chocolate there too as it is superior to brands such as Cadbury.
Sparkling water is good and preferred to other brands, at only £1 for 4x2 litres it is very good value.
Fruit juices, not from concentrate, are good value too.

I would recommend you use British owned stores only, especially after Brexit to support the UK.

If you like ham to taste like it should, try the Torchon ham. You get 4 large slices in a pack and it's delicious.
The Cambalala Sauvignon Blanc is fantastic and if you want a bit of fizz, the Contevado Cava (in the gold bottle) is much nicer than any prosecco I have ever had.

I’m getting really excited now! Thank you all so much for your contributions - keep them coming as I don’t go until tomorrow morning. I’m making a list as I go along from your posts. In view of your comments I’m also allowing us plenty of time ( and making room in the freezer). This is such a nice way to use GN

It depends on what you are looking for.
I use Aldi and Lidl this being that both have certain brands our major chains do not sell but find their selection and quality of fruit and veg cannot be beaten..So when I shop its Aldi first stop followed by Lidl.

Their (Roth) chocolate comes in individual packs within a box that resembles a bar of chocolate.

I have rarely been disappointed with anything I’ve bought from Aldi. A word of warning though, a friend went for a few bits and came away with a drum set! Good luck with the parking. You have to put your number plate in a machine in our branch or you can end up with a parking fine.

Oh yes, just recently bought a food processor and it’s fabulous. 2 year warranty.

Their onion bhajis are the nicest I've tasted, and the Brie is lovely too.

Have been told the 'Jo Malone' candles are great.

I think British -owned stores would do better if they didn't have such a big mark up on their goods. Aldi fresh food is as locally sourced as possible, plus they employ people at higher than the minimum wage , unlike many British outfits. I don't see how bringing Brexit into the discussion is helpful.
To get back to the discussion, the Observer today had a top 10 wines for summer and they recommended a couple of Aldi wines. The Jo Malone-alike room diffusers are nice and the frozen berries.

We buy our basics from Aldi and our treats from Waitrose but it sometimes ends up the other way around! Aldi do really nice pizzas, torchon ham, rose wines are lovely and my son swears by the steaks and chicken since he's been a student and yes, they're good too. There are also packs of chilli and cherry chocolate bars that are very nice indeed.

I go in especially for their washing powder, stain remover, nuts and lentil crisp. I do prefer Lidl though

We buy longlife milk from here in a carton with a screw top, much cheaper than anywhere else and we buy a couple of boxes at a time. Crackers, their mature cheese is lovely, sweetener with the yellow top, fruit and veg, boxes of cakes are cheap, skin care and toiletries, W5 washing up liquid and cleaning products are as good as anywhere else and their fresh flowers are a bargain and last for ages. I always make sure I buy a couple of bunches of chrysanths every time I go. Enjoy yourself and take your time,you can get some really nice products from here.

Having read the thread so far, I realise that I missed some must-haves yesterday so perhaps I need to go back today. Choceur 'Waves', top shelf of chocolate aisle: wickedly tempting.

The Jo Malone copy candles and room diffusers don't keep their scent for long, in my experience, but the liquid soap, handcream and perfumes do.

I do wonder, though, how Aldi gets away with their blatant copies of products from so many other companies - they don't even bother changing the packaging to any significant degree. It must be very galling for the people who've put the initial investment and work into the genuine article.