ALDI — Local services in Menifee

I guess I'm the only one not very impressed by Aldi. I heard the store had great prices and I've wanted to check out an Aldi for a while! I was disappointed.

In general, it struck me as a cross between a 'dollar store' and Grocery Outlet. (Or maybe Food 4 Less around here?) Smaller than a grocery store, but a little bigger than a typical Trader Joe's. Not a big selection of products to choose from. The prices weren't any better than WinCo, and the quality of food products is FAR below Trader Joe's. Actually, the the prices weren't any better than Trader Joe's either.

A lot of Aldi's produce is prepackaged AND also still inside the boxes it was shipped in. So it's double packaged. Which made it difficult get a good first look at the produce itself. Hard to tell if it's fresh or not. Sorting through it was more of a task than I had time or energy for. So I passed. The "fresh" produce that wasn't packaged didn't look very appealing either. Passed on that too.

Aldi has its own lines of generic products, which is just fine. I buy TONS of generic & off-brand groceries. Never seen any of the Aldi-owned generic brands before. Millville is one of those brands. I bought two different types of Millville cereals- BOTH were so hard & stale they could break teeth. Ended up tossing those in the trash.

The aisles weren't organized well, they're not labeled, and they're not arranged intuitively. So you have to get a direct look inside each aisle to know what's in it. Could be condiment plus cat litter. Or baking ingredients plus clearance light bulbs. It was exhausting having to look closely at EVERY aisle. And the aisle arrangements could be totally changed by your next visit. The store also was missing several items that I consider 'staples.' Including the frozen foods area. Or maybe I just couldn't find them. But I did check out every single aisle.

They had one brand of cat food & dog food. Generic... with poor ingredients. I didn't find cat litter. (Again, maybe it was in another aisle.) But they had a couple ugly pet beds on sale. The non-food items are a random hodgepodge of items. Not stuff they regularly carry. So if you see a great deal on a bathmat or cat bed or coffee maker... grab it now! It may not be there again.

I will say that the store was clean and the only cashier on duty was SUPER FRIENDLY AND HELPFUL! And FAST. You bag your own groceries at Aldi (like WinCo does). The good thing about Aldi's checkout is they have a separate counter- AWAY from the cash register- where you can take your cart (after cashier has rung up items & put back in your cart) and finish bagging your items. So the checkout area doesn't get bogged down. That's a plus.

I see by the reviews that lots of other people really like this store. You might like it too. But for me... Aldi just didn't rise to the top of any category; not in price, not in quality, and definitely not in ease of shopping. I'm going to stick to WinCo and Trader Joe's for higher quality food at a low prices and ease...

Oh, oh, oh, where do I start. The Bienenstich for 6.99 delicious and impossible to make yourself that inexpensively and soooo good. Or the apple- walnut tart to die for, or the chicken special- chicken legs for 89 cents a pound and then on special take another 3 dollars off. The Spaetzle....again... great taste and quality for an insanely cheap price. All of the Deutsche Küche items that I tried are of great quality and excellent value. I could go on and on - the apple strudel- take it home follow the baking instructions and eat it warm with vanilla ice cream- you cannot get it better or more delicious from a bakery and there you will pay triple or quadruple the price - plus your kitchen will smell heavenly after the fresh baked strudel and freshly brewed coffee aromas will fill you home with smells of the past and memories of grandma's baked goods. Aldi finds are also often a great deal. Get the flyer as you walk in for the current specials and the flyer as you walk out for the upcoming specials. Make room in your refrigerator, freezer and pantry before you go, because you will come back with more than you intended and you will not regret it. Pick up an extra cake for a neighbor or a friend, they will love and thank you for it. From fresh fruits, to meats, to produce, there are new bargains and new tastes to explore every week. Don't forget to take a quarter for the shopping cart, you will get it back when you return it properly and into its place after you shop. Great idea, this way the savings of hiring someone to collect the shopping carts or the chance that they are stolen, left to wreak havoc in the parking lot, etc.can be passed on to the consumer. Enjoy shopping at Aldi! Brings back Childhood memories...

Don’t shop here! I placed a large order for delivery from this store, which means that I paid a higher price for the items, as well as a delivery fee, service fee, and gratuity to a delivery driver. I ordered turkey ham among other items to make sandwiches to enjoy by our pool. Upon opening a sealed packed of turkey ham there was a strong odor of rubbing alcohol coming from this ham! I was completely shocked and concerned. I drove to the store took the ham to show a supervisor at the store what I had discovered. They did nothing to make it right and stated “they don’t make the ham” I advised I was there because it was important that no one else consumed this product. I left my name and number and asked for a follow up from the store manager. I did not get a follow up call meaning they don’t care about their products or consumers. Additionally I had mentioned that I had ordered tomato’s but the shopper sent me a photo stating they were all rotten so she did not bring me any. They have zero sense of pride, and don’t even care to remove clearly spoiled products from their shelves. I will never shop at Aldi again! Even though Trader Joe’s doesn’t offer delivery I rather make the commute than to deal with this kind of service! Not worth the savings ! Spoke with store leader Essence, and was advised I would get a call back from store manager April and they didn’t care enough to follow up. Moldy tomatoes in photo below, Do...