ALDI in San Diego

Our first time in this location - Navajo St., El cajon CA, and it was a great discovery. By the hodge podge of items on the shelves - trying to make sense of where it's categorized, grouped together or simply a flow of choices, possibly sorted by breakfast dry items, baking, dressings, etc. I found myself going in circles in the isles. I'll get my bearings as I come here next time & get to know their system. Some items indeed are cheaper than the big W. Found some good dark chocolate selections at very good prices (under $3 & delicious, authentic, rich dark chocolate.) Check out the meat section and you'll be amazed at the very competitive prices. We went in to look for chocolates, and rang out at $120 worth of groceries & finds. A great concept of affordability! A new location closer to our home is about to open - Fletcher Pky Mall/ Magnolia, El Cajon area. Can't wait to be the first to shop there! 👌😊

Final review: Grand Opening August 30, 2018.Love this bright, clean, FRIENDLY Aldi market. Prices are good and the selection of fresh produce looks so pretty that it could tempt even the pickiest eaters. There's not a lot of depth in the selections, but the setup of this market is efficiency and value. Example: You won't find 20 types of peanut butter, but they have Peanut butter in creamy or chunky.If you've never shopped at an Aldi, here are some differences you might notice:1) You deposit a quarter to release the shopping carts. You want your quarter back? Return it and the other cart has a pin that will release your quarter.2) All the items are in their shipping boxes. No fancy reshelving here!3) Cashiers are super fast. They ring you up very quickly.4) You bag your own stuff. After you are rung up, move your cart to the long bagging counter. It keeps the lines moving.Parking is ample. Kid friendly, wheelchair accessable.Special notes: cash, EBT, credit, debit and most e-pay accepted but not personal checks are accepted as payment. Aldi stores don't accept manufacturer coupons (most of the items they carry are store brand, anyway). Service animals performing work only.---------UPDATE: Store has a grand opening stated for Thursday, August 30, 2018. Store hours are 9:00 am to 9:00 pm Monday through Sunday. Welcome to the neighborhood, Aldi!Store is still under construction as I post this. I will update this review properly when I've had a chance to shop here. They were supposed to be open this summer. This location is expanded from the former location of Fresh & Easy and is next door to Orchard Supply. The photos show construction progress and are dated accordingly.

The condition of the store and entry way is surprising for how hard everyone at this location works. I imagine keeping the shelves stock and ringing customers up are the major priorities, but keeping the store clean should also be a top priority. Hopefully this is a temporary issue because otherwise I love the variety and great prices.

Be very careful when shopping at Aldi's with shelf pricing. Here's an example: $4.99 placed under beer. Got home after and found out I was charged $14.99. I brought it back and was told CA doesn't allow return of alcohol. I spoke to manager and showed the price under the shelf and I said he could at least refund the difference. Would not. Then he changed the price in front of me. I'm sure I wasn't the only one to make that mistake because the shelf was full of product above price and below. Like me, I'm sure others thought it was a good deal or clearance price and grabbed it because of the misleading price. So be careful and look at the small print not just the price.

What an adventure!Aldi has great store brand products at excellent prices, like a pint of chocolate peanut butter ice cream is $1.99. It's just as good as the name brand product. And who can turn down ribbons of peanut butter and velvety chocolate ice cream?! Or, a smallish bag of jalapeños is only 59 cents!That said, there were other things I felt were too expensive, but they were primarily recognized name brand products. I can find these somewhere else.The only "issue" I had was that there wasn't a specific section for clearance items. These were scattered among the regular-price items. I'm one of those crazy ladies who enjoys the hunt through those sections to see if I can find a gem of a steal. Nonetheless, the clearance items I did see were crazy good!The parking lot is huge, as they are the biggest store in the strip. Four disabled parking spots are available in front of the store.Have your own adventure!

This is my go to grocery store. The only reason it is not five star is the contradiction in checkout. Their signs clearly state each register has it's own line. However, I was directed to leave line 1, only one line and that is line 2 then they assign you to line 1 or check out at line 2. Not only is this confusing and frustrating but more people are lined up closer together in one line and we're supposed to physical distance in these turbulent times.

The Cashier named Bobby have ruined our feelings to Aldi, such a disrespectful and unkind behaviour is the lowest level, no bags for vegetables and after that we said him to get someBags, he didn’t wanted to get them and said that it wasn’t his work

Great prices on produce. For example, good sized good quality avocados two for a dollar. Hard to beat that! Try Mama's stuffed cheese pizza! Low cost and excellent. Many good Aldi produced products.Latest: prices higher on some items with inflation but try finding avocados (44 cents) and seedless cucumbers (59 cents) at these prices anywhere else! Still great prices and some German style items I haven't seen elsewhere, e.g. German potato soup and German style pickles.Limited selection but good quality and prices keeps me coming back to shop here.Great shopping. Limited items so you won't find everything. Produce is excellent as is the yogurt.

What's going on in this Aldi located at Navajo road? Customer's beware! If you ever go and shop at this Aldi. you will be in shocked to see how prices has gone Up!😳 Everything is extremely expensive and the merchandise is not worth buying! It's not freshly made nor up-to-date! 😲Some merchandise are a few day's expired! No good. 😠👎 I rather shopped at some other supermarket that has great items, which guarantees great quality and excellent taste. Aldi is not worth going and getting your groceries done there. The food gets rotten in 4 day's. Also very few merchandise on the shelves. Is NOT fully packed with merchandise in the shelves.

Prices are pretty good, but going up just like everywhere else. I still go here a lot because the produce quality is decent, and I usually can get in and out pretty quickly. Quality is hit or miss depending on the product. There is one regular checkout line and the rest are self checkout, which is pretty easy to use although it does keep hollering at you to scan items or pay, which gets a little annoying.

I want to give a shout out to the friendly and understanding employees of this store for helping me out when I mistakingly tried to purchase alcohol through the self checkout and ended up being charged twice. An employee came running out of the store after he realized I paid twice for my purchase. They took good care of me and made sure I was refunded properly. This store is great!!

The checkout update is terrible. Only one employee to staff the regular checkout and self checkout. I went with self-checkout because the line for the single, open checkout was long. But on the self-checkout you're not allowed to do yourself totally either; you need an employee to finish. So I ended up having to wait for everyone in the regular line to complete their purchases before I could finish ringing up my groceries, because there was only one available employee for the entire checkout process. Also, if I am supposed to be trusted to ring up and pay for my own groceries, then I need to be trusted to take off a double charge or ring up the 50% stickers as well.

This was one of the worst shopping experiences I've ever had. For one thing, their selections are very limited, for another bread, nuts and wine offerings were trashy. The way oversized carts are hard to pass by others in their isles. Their pricing is unclear and not uniform, it was hard to tell what I was going to pay for an item. I like to shop smaller markets and I am always looking for alternatives to the bigger chains, but I will stick to Trader Joes where about 99% of my experiences are super positive. Also, I didn't find this store to be any cheaper than Trader Joes. To top it off I was charged double for an item by a sulky cashier. I saw the error when I was in the parking lot and went straight back in to the same cashier. He didn't ask any questions, just gave me the refund. I had a feeling he might be running a scam, but not sure if this is possible, I may have just been feeling negative because of the overall experience. One last thing, it is not a cute or joyful store.

Wonderful friendly staff who are super efficient at checking you out. Prices are amazing and great value. Only slight downside is that Aldi carries mostly it own products example cereal so you may not find your own brand at the store. But most 9ften their own brand tasted just as good and their meat fruit and vegetables are great value.

I love this store, great place for produce. Often the cheapest eggs in the city. Make sure to bring a quarter so you can grab a shopping cart. You'll be packing your own groceries after you check out which means the line goes pretty fast!Update 5/5 lots of great seasonal household items in stock right now! Even a decent sized composter w starter.

Summary: good prices for basics. We have shopped here several times, will return because we rather like the place. Put your quarter into the slot and grab a basket out front. Get a quarter back when you return the basket. Or smile at your neighbor taking their returned basket and give them the quarter. It is an obvious way to manage baskets and should be used by other grocery stores. Minimal national brand selection with alternative well stocked store brands at a discount. Fresh fruits and vegetables are priced right, good selection of the basics. Aisles are wide, prices are well marked, shelves are well organized. We find surprising inexpensive items on each visit. But think of it as a new type of mini-grocery store with exceptional values. Checkout is a little difference. Put your items on the conveyer belt and the checker puts them back into your basket as they are scanned. Then you move the cart over to a long self service shelf and bag the items yourself. Or you push the cart to your car and bag the items while standing with your trunk open. It may sound inconvenient but I liked it and now wonder why this is not the normal conventional way everywhere. Don't forget to take you cart back for that quarter or I guess leave it for someone else to push into the store and get a quarter profit.

I love Aldi. I was very disappointed in the conditions at the Navajo Road, San Diego location today. My first impression was of the cart/trolley area. Carts and area was littered with an overwhelming amount of trash. There was a huge sign at the entrance stating that they were only excepting cash transactions. I understand that might be an issue that can't be controlled. Apparently, many customers missed that sign. Once inside the store, I noticed that many shelves were lacking basic products. I understand many businesses are experiencing staff shortages. This was ridiculous. Initially, there was only one cashier and a long line. Once I was ready to check out, there was one additional cashier. It was total chaos as apparently many customers missed that huge cash only sign. Cashiers were saving customer's orders as the customers went in search of an ATM. I hope to have a much better experience on my next visit.

people complain so much about the quarter thing...I'm guessing because of laziness?? it's a great system, imo, and no one has to go search for carts.I've never been to this location, but judging from the reviews, i think I'll stick to my usual location, for now...yikes.Update: I've finally went here after being frustrated with the 4th ave one (it really went downhill). It's so much better! wow...so clean and organized. the only negatives i see is that the meat section needs some serious improvements. and there was only one lane open, aside from the self checkouts. aldi never had them b4? i can see why they need them at walmart and others, but aldi has always been fast with checkouts, so why the machines? I've always loved that they let the cashiers sit, though. but there's no need for those machines.other than these things, great store.

It is AWESOME! My first time at Aldi's and I loved it! When I walked in the store was immaculate, staff greeted me the atmosphere was welcoming and very friendly. I went to get canned goods, baking items etc...I'm stocking up on emergency items for myself and my 5 adult children. They are all vegan and there was plenty to choose from, remember tho alot of the items are a one time deal so you have to look carefully and grab what you can while it's stocked. Now I had no idea there was a limit to the canned items, I was so excited walking in there like a kid in a candy store and not paying attention I went straight for the aisle that had the specials or the one of a kind things. I started loading up my cart, found an abundance of everything I was looking for! So I going to the last aisle I hadn't been in yet and it's literally ALL canned goods! So I was like, yes!! Started loading more can goods in my cart and after the 3rd case I notice a sign that says theres a limit of 4 canned goods of each variety and looked at my cart which was over flowing by now, and said uh oh, yikes!! So I ran and grab a young man and tell him what I was doing and if he could clarify the rules for me as it was my first time which he did and I start panicking. I didn't arrive to shop until 1 hour before closing and it was now 5 minutes away! So being the last customer and my first time there instead of making me put everything back we went thru it and the staff allowed me to purchase the couple of cases I had and my basket was so full when it came down to it I had 4 cases with 12 cans each! I thought I had so much more and I did not want to get more than what was required so others can have a chance to get what they need too. I will always go back to that store and shop for all of my groceries. The prices were so much cheaper than the other grocery stores, I can guarantee you that it would have cost me double anywhere else! Go check it out..stocked perfect, great selections, the most friendly staff and the cleanest store I've been in in quite awhile. I'm high risk for the virus so I will go shopping only the first hour the stores are open or the last hour before they close because there are less people at those times. I never once felt like I needed to wash my hands a thousand times because of how clean it was. I finally got to relax while shopping and wasn't on guard or worrying. Thank you Team Aldi's! You guys ROCK!

Good prices and mostly private-label brands, but the quality is fine. Don't expect to find a great lineup of items in each category, though (I had to dig to find a chunk of Parmesan; most of the cheese is shredded). I tend to not shop for my entire week's groceries here, but rather run in for items I forgot to pick up. Expect to bag your own groceries. The cashiers are seated and are fast, dropping your items back into your cart after scanning them (or into your bag if you hold it open on a small, one-bag trip). Then the customer puts the groceries into bags. You can buy bags or bring your own. Carts require a quarter ($0.25) deposit, returned to you when you bring them back to the cart station at the front of the store, which cuts back on the labor required to retrieve carts from the lot and the risk of stolen carts. Overall, a fairly quick shopping experience (the 2 lines were 4 or 5 people deep on Sunday, but most people didn't have a lot) and decent prices. Note that no ice is sold here, if you need that. Aldi does offer delivery and has a small selection of nonfood items as well.

I've been shopping at Aldi for well over 10 yrs..from east coast to now west coast. The Aldi off of Navajo Rd in La Mesa is a big mess!! The checkers were friendly but the associates working the floor were rude. Totally shocked to find any Aldi in this condition. Came back one year later and it's actually worse!!! Shelves in disarray and empty!!! The customer service on the front end was friendly but one of the floor stockers was horrible. My child said" excuse me do you know how much this is ?" He said " I don't " and proceeded to tell me " I don't know how much everything is" but didn't attempt to help us. It was the last item of it's kind in the perishable section and my child and I figured it out. Are they short-staffed or just poorly managed??

Need to pay a quarter for the cart that you get back when you return the cart, and bag your own groceries. Very worth the price. Not many name brands for food items, but similar items for much lower cost. Not a huge selection, so not good for allergy people, or those with a special diet. Such low prices comparitively, that I'm willing to shop here and then my regular store for specific items I need.

First time at ALDI to explore potential food savings. Gluten Free Cauliflower Pizza was fantastic at about $7. Everything else is disappointing. Very limited selection and prices aren't significantly different than many other stores with much more variety. Plus, I wanted to try the deli selection but the hummus is terrible. The fresh salsa has pink tomatoes they're so underripe. Both are inedible. I won't be back. A good Mexican or Asian market has much more to offer for better prices.

A welcome addition to the neighborhood. I've only been a few times, but have always found what I needed and the prices are very good. Full-service without the bakery, deli and other departments.A quarter for a cart is returned when the cart is returned. This store is a model of efficiency! Clean, well-stacked and well-run.

It's a great with some great, cheap finds. But they all have really close expiration. I was going to buy beer, but it expired in one month. Also, there's no hand carts and you have to pay $0.25 to use their carts (you can get your money back if you return the cart, but that's difficult when you have kids, handicap, or anyone that finds it difficult to get around). Otherwise, great, clean, organized store.

I am drawn here for their great prices on fresh produce. Unfortunately, for most of my visits, there has only been one cashier with a long line of customers in the queue.Not a big fan of the quarter for a cart routine. I totally get why they do it, but I find it an inconvenience.

Great Aldi, very good prices, especially meat and decent selection of items (lots of different cheeses, beer, wine and seasonal German items). Good organic items as well. Staff is mostly friendly and always offers a quarter for the cart if you didn’t bring one. However, little variety in comparison to American grocery stores - this sometimes forces you to visit a different store.

I LOVE Aldi!!! They have such great prices and I love their deli selections. And they always have such unique finds on the cheap. Just remember to have a spare quarter for a cart & bring your bags in so you can bag your groceries. (That's how they keep their prices so low.) I highly recommend!!! BTW the best day to shop there is Wednesday...shhh, don't tell anyone 😉

Great foods at a low price. The fresh fruit is very tasty especially the strawberries. The cheese selection is fantastic with real English German and French cheese at a fraction of the price you would pay at a specialist store. The German chocolate is absolutely beautiful and so cheap. Even things like there pots and pans are good . Don't think of it being a cheap store but think of it as a European competitor to " trader Joe's" and then be pleased with the final price at the checkout.