Aldi

Things I like about here:
It’s really close to home
The fruit/​veg part is really well stocked and is of very good quality
It has a random tat section
You can get Williams Bros, Drygate and Brewdog beers for around £1.50
Overall, you get a lot of bang for your buck.
Things I dont like:
There’s a tendency to wait until there are huge queues before opening another checkout — and then only having it open for 5mins.
I wish it was bigger.

It’s sad to say that in America, Aldi is not held in the brightest of lights, so it was a very rare occasion that I would ever go to an Aldi for anything. I’m not saying I’d never been, but it was rare. It wasn’t until I visited Germany and realised that Aldi is one of their main grocery stores that I opened up my eyes to the goodness that is Aldi.
When I moved to Glasgow, I kept with Sainsburys and Morrisons due to the convenience of the two, but now that I’m a student, loving a man who loves a good deal, I find myself in Aldi more and more when it comes time to do the weekly shop. This one is so convenient to everything I do in town, so it only makes sense.
We were just in there the other afternoon after being out of town since Christmas Eve and we were able to stock up on all our usual buys for less than forty quid. Not only that, but we snuck in a few after holiday treats as well.
What’s more is their weekly 6 fruit and veg deals that are usually 49p each. It’s especially great when they have things that are usually pretty pricey in the other shops. Aldi also has a huge range of ‘Scottish’ made items, which really makes shopping here that much better!
This location is always packed with students as Strathclyde is right around the corner, but we’ve never had any issues with getting in and around the maze of goods. No matter what, it’s always worth the bargains we find and we’ll keep coming back!

Despite their cringe-​inducing, «Give it Aldi!» adverts, I really quite like Aldi. The German discount supermarket has improved considerably and has just been named supermarket of the year by consumer group, Which?.
Aldi, like arch-​rval, Lidl, stock a fairly limited range of mostly own-​brand food, and weekly non-​food special offers, such as DIY, motoring, outdoors, etc. By limited range, I mean that they tend to focus on a narrower spread of varieties of each product, I quite like this — because I tend to procrastinate… now which variety of houmous to choose? Regular, Peri-​peri, red pepper, chilli-​infused, etc. Keeping it simple speeds up my shopping no end! They now have a «deluxe» range too, like Tesco Extra Special or Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference.
For a city-​centre supermarket, this is probably the best in Glasgow. Prices way cheaper than Asda, and a far wider range than the Tesco/Sainsbury’s convenience stores. And with a proper fresh fruit and veg selection. This store is popular with students at the nearby halls, as well as Merchant City residents.
Currently, twin pack red pointed sweet peppers are 79p — compared with around £1.80 in Tesco. 500ml Williams Bros beers are £1.60 or so, tinned tomatoes 30p, 6 large free-​range eggs, 99p, cherry plum tomatoes 59p. The weekly super-​six fruit and veg deals is epic, last week a bag of six oranges for 59p… amazing!
A special mention has to be made for Aldi’s Ribera del Duero red wine — this is absolutely one of the best budget (sub-£15) reds you can buy. Trust me on this, you’ll impress the snobbiest of dinner guests with this one, it’s awesome, and under £6.
In summary, really good quality stuff, large range of fresh fruit and veg, good meat and chilled section, great booze, and who knows, you might pick up a bargain riding crop or air compressor!

I always relish my experiences in Aldi. I find the whole encounter enthralling. From guessing what the knock off brands are imitating to dodging the empty cardboard boxes left in the aisles, Aldi is always entertaining. I go in perhaps weekly or bi-​weekly to get some cheap grub and the shop always delivers. My best deal to date was my weekly shop for around £8. Admittedly, I was not buying all that much but still –it did me! The staff are quite adequate, until one gets to the check-​out. After waiting in an inordinately large queue which the staff seem to adore keeping you waiting in before they open up another checkout, the cashier scans each item through. No, not scans — THROWS. I always feel like a catcher in a baseball game; standing by my basket and readying myself for when the cashier launches each item at me as fast as he/​she possibly can. Then I pack up my food and leave, feeling like I’ve been hurried and slightly uncomfortable with the whole experience.
But, hey! you can’t beat cheap food!

Now you may dis the Aldi but I am a fan. I always used to be a Tesco or Asda shopper until I discovered the delights of Aldi. I must admit I wasn’t hugely enamoured when I first went in years ago but I think they have most definitely got better over the years.
All I can say is I know that my weekly shop in here is almost HALF what it costs in Tesco/​Asda and if that is not a good enough reason to come back then I don’t know what is.
You’d think for paying so much less they’d be scrimping on quality ~ I can say that I have never had a problem with such items as their meat (actually MUCH better than Asda/​Tesco) or other fresh products. Everything is of a great standard, the only minus here in Aldi is variety ~ you don’t have as much choice or a great range of products as your bigger supermarkets but then again for what is quite a small site they do sell quite a lot.
Certain Aldi products I LOVE and I will go specifically to Aldi to get them. One product is their Torchon Ham ~ I absolutely love this ham and it is a great price. For what I can afford it is the best ham in my opinion.
They sell some familiar brand products here (Warbutons bread, William’s Bros. beer) but mostly everything is Aldi’s own brand. Some food/​brand snobs out there may not like this but once you realise that their own brand stuff is actually pretty damn good, for the price you are paying, you will soon come back for more.
I have to mention the random things Aldi sell too ~ Like Lidl you can find Wellies, gardening gear, a dvd player & slippers in amongst your eggs & bread. I love that they sell these things & it’s always fun seeing what crazy shiz they have that week when you go in!
Oh but I must warn you about the SUPER SPEEDY check out dudes ~ man, they are FAST! Like lightening speed crazy fast! So you have to catch your food at the end & put it all back into your trolley as there is no way you could possibly pack all your stuff away then & there! No way man. Also bring your own bags as they charge for these. It’s good for the environment innit?

I have had one experience at this branch of Aldi that I think says it all about its «quality».
After going through the checkout with my weekly shop, an argument broke out at the next aisle. Expecting the usual hassle about people skipping in line or bumping into each other, I was shocked to discover it was a customer and a checkout employee yelling at each other. Basically, the employee had been throwing each item with some force into the woman’s basket, breaking some of them in the process.
I think this little dialogue between the two will let you see why this branch is often so unprofessional:
*Insults traded back and forth*
Woman: This is completely unacceptable, I want to speak to the manager.
Employee: Haha! You want to speak to the manager?! I AM THE MANAGER!
So basically, at this Aldi, management feels it has every right to insult the customer (in quite colourful language) and to damage their goods at the checkout. I have no idea if this woman is still manager at this branch but if she is, I don’t know how she got her job.
Only come here for the dirt cheap alcohol. It’s not worth it otherwise.

Unfortunately you cannot guarantee getting everything on your shopping list — you buy what is there on the day, or try elsewhere. However, this time of year Aldi comes into its own for chocolate, dried fruits and nutty treats.

Say «I shop in Aldi» and some will look at you like you have just crawled out from under a dirty mattress left lying on the street. As someone who used to be as snobby about cut price grocery shops, what a nice surprise i got when I popped in one day and discovered pretty much that they sell all my favourite things at a fraction of the price I’d normally pay.
Where else can you buy a block of Patras Feta cheese for a paltry £1.29
Or a huge wedge of Parmesan for £2.49? Cured meats from £1-£2, greek, spanish and Italian olives from 69p the list goes on. If it is booze you’re after Aldi stock a wide range of beers, ales, lagers and ciders. Witchwood beers and cider £1.29:-) They also have a line of what i call «Jake» boozed like £4 vodka (NEVER Try this) and cheap versions or peach schnapps. Aldi also have their own range of «Luxury» products named «Best Of» I tried their version of Baileys Irish Cream at £4 per 70cl and I have to say I was rather impressed, just a shame it only ever seems to be available running up to Christmas. They also have liqueurs like Limoncello at around £5 per 50cl, Amaretto £6 for 70cl, Blue Bols, cherry Brandy, Apricot Brandy etc all under £10(you will notice i know a LOT about the booze sold in this shop, I was checking them out for someone else, honest guv) Pretty much if you want to stock up on good quality booze and food for Xmas that maybe don’t look as swanky as the better known brands but taste just as good then Aldi is the place to go.

No frills = no thrills? Not necessarily.
They have some cheap electrical goods in here and plastic lunchboxes and such as well as food.
Don’t think I have ever ate anything from here, but actively sought out cheap wine from here to engage in a blind taste test and, disappointingly, you could taste the difference.
That’s not to say the quality of the products is low across the board, I have heard good things from even the most hardened of Tesco fanatics.
Maybe not ideal for a big shop, but picking up bottled water, salads and other bits and bobs at a low price that is hard to beat.

I’m not sure why, but if I’m slumming it at a budget supermarket I tend to prefer Lidl to here. On a couple of occasions I’ve been in here to find they didn’t stock such basic items as burger buns, and they lack the huge and charming confectionary section of their rival.
If you’re in a rush and need groceries though, chances are they’ll have all you need. I also saw what must be the cheapest widescreen LCD TV on the planet in here not long ago, though I’m not sure how confident I’d be in it working for more than two weeks.

Aldi and Lidl’s tend to be very similar to one another but I found this one particularly nice to visit when I stayed in the area. Their range of food seemed to be a bit better in terms of quality compared to the Lidl’s I know visit. The bakery and dessert sections are very good. The downside is the amount of chocolate they sell — you can’t help but leave with something sweet!

An fantastic shop perfectly located for students attending any of the cities many financial institutions.
All the products sold are knock-​off products of ‘proper’ brands, and as such they’re much cheaper while having a similar level of quality. The store is very well organised, much more so than the nearby Lidl, and you rarely have to que for more than a couple of minutes. The staff are of the usual high-​quality Aldi standard, always efficient and willing to help with anything you need.
In addition to food it also has a household goods section, selling everyday things from toilet roll to 32 widescreen TVs. An excellent resource for anyone living on a budget in the local area.

What you would expect from a cut price supermarket.
Things are cheap (not terrible quality though) but the selection is kinda scarce. They have lots of random stuff that you probably wouldn’t use, but the things that you use when cooking is missing (no fresh herbs, no pita bread) not a fantastic selection of vegetables, but if you want frozen food look no further!