Wondering where to shop?

Choosing Supermarkets

In Ireland, there are a couple of supermarkets that everyone uses. These are great for grabbing the basics, but remember to search around for some smaller markets and shops that have a great selection of foods from many different countries and cultures. You don’t have to eat only potatoes!

Luckily, you will find a lot of what you’re looking for in most of the larger supermarkets. So, whats the difference then? Price!

Supervalu €€€

It is one of the smaller supermarkets, but usually stocks a pretty good selection of what you might need. Not such a diverse range as most of the bigger supermarkets, and because it is that bit smaller, you can expect the prices to be pretty high. Not somewhere you will often find students doing a full grocery shop, but it is handy for grabbing smalls bits when you’re in a bind.

Marks and Sp

encers €€€€

There are only two reasons you, as a student, should be going into this place. One is the Percy Pig jellies. A must. The second: the cookies. Arguably the best store bought cookies you will ever dunk into your tea. They make the ache of trawling through the aisles of gorgeous but VERY expensive food worth it. The cookies are located towards the back of the store, always. Keep your head down, don’t look at the nice things, just get in and get out.

Aldi €

Now this is where you will see many others just like you. Students sparing as much money as they can so that they can continue to be 70% alcohol and 30% anxiety. Out of all of the supermarkets, this one is our top pick. It’s a little classier than LIDL, has more of a selection, and the chocolate is unparalleled. Our only advice; avoid the middle aisles. Or you’ll come home with a carjack (you don’t own a car, why did you do that?) and a screwdriver set (we don’t even know what to say to this).

Dunnes Stores €€€

The thing about Dunnes is that it usually just feels so nice to be in. Don’t let that fool you. It is too expensive for you, as a student, unless you coaxed your parents to send you some money and you’re feeling a little sophisticated. You can get €10 off vouchers when you spend €50.. but.. really? Are you going to spend €50? We didn’t think so. Can be nice to browse though.

Lidl €

This is very similar to ALDI, same layout and same price range. It can be harder to find certain things, and the range of products isn’t quite the same. They do have an amazing selection of wines, some of which you can get dirt cheap and don’t taste like they were strained through a sock (we recommend the ones with the animals on the front of the bottle, haven’t had a bad one yet). They have also started a loyalty card system. You’ll randomly get a free packet of biscuits. Doesn’t sound like much now, but when you’re down to your last tenner… every little helps!

Tesco €€

Which brings us nicely to this giant. Tesco is a weird one, its cheap if you do it right, but can be expensive if that’s what you want. They have pretty much every brand duplicated through their own range, and most of it measures up pretty well. They also have some great sections with foods and goods from different countries, which can be a little more difficult to find in the others. We recommend going to the end of each section and taking a little look in the yellow label section. These are usually goods that cannot be sold after that day. If you need to throw together a cheap dinner, this is usually a safe bet.