Aldi's Lobster Mac And Cheese Apparently Leaves Much To Be Desired

When it comes to food pairings, combining lobster with mac and cheese sounds like a decadent culinary experience that could potentially go awry. According to Aldi shoppers on Reddit, that's precisely their take on the budget chain's Specially Selected lobster mac, which has left many people with a bad taste in their mouths (literally). After a poster praised the product and described it as "fantastic," many commenters felt the need to provide their less-than-favorable opinions.

"You're the first person on this subreddit that has enjoyed this," one person dryly stated, while another proclaimed, "I thought this stuff was nasty. My husband agreed. This was a major flop." It seems that Aldi shoppers find fault with every single aspect of the store's brand of lobster mac. According to a commenter, "Way too fishy, the lobster was rubbery and tasted awful. Just simply terrible." One person was even compelled to return the offending product, lest it remain in their freezer overnight and affect the quality of the other frozen goods.

Lobster mac and cheese is divisive on its own, as many believe that cheese and seafood have no business mingling in the same recipe. Despite where you fall on the cheese-seafood divide, it appears that Aldi customers' dislike of lobster mac has spread across social media.

Over on Facebook, Aldi shoppers appear to be divided on whether the chain's lobster mac is good, bad, or indifferent. Some shoppers claimed to love the stuff, while others could not find a nice word to describe the dish. One person admitted to discarding the meal into the trash after just "a couple bites," while another shared that it elicited the ire of their entire family.

Tastes naturally vary from person to person, and among those who could tolerate the lobster mac, they claimed that it required amending via Old Bay, a seasoning designed specifically for crab and other types of seafood. One person even had the puzzling experience of majorly enjoying the product the first time they had it and finding it "disgusting" on the second purchase. Aldi carries a wide selection of frozen meals, from burritos to cheddar pierogies. And not unsurprisingly, a check of the store's website finds that the page for lobster mac and cheese is conspicuously absent. Which naturally leads one to question how the store chooses its products in the first place.

As shoppers are well aware, Aldi offers its wares at far more reasonable prices than other grocery stores. This is thanks to the chain's reliance on private-label "copycat" products in lieu of brand name items. According to the Aldi website, over 90% of the products found in the store come from its own brands, with the remaining 10% consisting of brand-name items. These private brands sidestep "hidden costs" for a more affordable shopping experience. Despite their affordability, Aldi insists that its "exclusive" products offer "the same high-quality" as other national goods.

While opinions vary according to shoppers, particularly when it comes to the lobster mac and cheese, Aldi goes on to claim that one out of three products coming from its private label is "award winning" according to an assessment of Aldi-brand products appearing in stores throughout the country. However, the chain acknowledges customer dissatisfaction with its return policy, which provides shoppers with refunds while also replacing the product in question. When it comes to the store's questionable lobster mac and cheese, it's easy to imagine that the store policy got quite a workout with this particular product.