Call me boring if you want, but I love a good supermarket shop.

Take me to big Tesco or Sainsbury’s and I’ll be in my element looking at homeware and cute pyjamas that I don’t really need, before stocking up on my favourite snacks. Simple pleasures and all that.

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise then, that going to Costco for the first time ever would be a big deal for me.

Standing outside the warehouse in Hayes, I was giddy with excitement. It wasn’t quite on par with the way a child feels at Disneyland for the first time, but it was up there. 

The wholesale chain has pretty strict membership criteria and I’d never previously met the requirements to get in. But thanks to my husband switching jobs, that had all changed.

Finally armed with my very own Costco card I headed inside the store… and was met with utter chaos.

If you’ve never been to Costco before, it’s my duty to warn you never to go on a weekend – it’s akin to being in London when the Christmas lights are switched on, or at a UK beach in the height of summer. There were people absolutely everywhere and endless queues, both to get into the store and for the checkouts. It isn’t for the weak.

The layout of the shop itself was also rather chaotic, although this is definitely part of the experience. I never knew what I was going to find from one moment to the next – there were sports bras on a shelf next to blenders, and children’s toys near power tools. 

While I was busy adapting all of this, my husband, who usually hates any form of grocery shopping, was having a blast. According to him it’s because the warehouse set up feels remarkably like being in a B&Q, thanks to the really tall shelving, as well as the drills and furniture for sale.

We quickly realised we’d never be able to do a proper grocery shop here. Everything is sold in bulk, which is ideal if you’re running a business or feeding a large family, but rather unnecessary for just the two of us, as there’d be too much waste. 

That said, there were some store cupboard essentials, that would not only last for ages, but proved to be better value when bought this way.

For instance, a 600g tub of Marmite cost us £5.99 at Costco, while a 250g jar is £3 at Sainsbury’s (our nearest shop). Similarly, Twinings English Breakfast Tea Bags are £4.80 for 80 bags at Sainsbury’s, but £7.99 for 300 bags in Costco.

And it’s not just kitchen staples, there were more bargains to be found in the toiletries section, with a 96 pack of Tampax Pearl Compak costing £11.99. In comparison, a 16 pack is £3.25 at Sainsbury’s. You do the math.

For the Micellar Water girlies, this is also notably cheaper to buy at Costco, with a two-pack of 700ml Garnier bottles costing £8.49 – at Boots, one 700ml bottle is £9.99. 

Not everything was necessarily good value for money though, especially products in the bakery section. A 12 pack of croissants was priced at £5.49, whereas 12 croissants in Sainsbury’s work out at £3.20.

I also audibly gasped when I saw that a six-pack of chocolate muffins was going for £7.99, but thankfully a kind stranger pointed out the fine print on the label, which said you could get two packs for £7.99. There were a few sneaky offers like this, so definitely worth keeping your eyes peeled to get the most bang for your buck.

Outside of nabbing a bargain, you can get pretty much everything and anything from Costco, including an eye test for £19.99 at the in-store opticians. Over the course of our two hour exploration of the store we also found a £73,000 diamond ring (who is buying this from Costco?!), smutty fantasy books, and salvage palettes which contained everything from clothing, to nappies and washing machines.

There were two things that really surprised me during our visit though – one positive, the other not so much. We’ll start with the negative.

I was gobsmacked by how much money we spent, despite shopping pretty carefully. Our haul was mostly practical purchases like cereal, spaghetti, cheese, vegetables, condiments, and butter.

We’d tried to limit the number of ‘rogue’ items we added in for the hell of it, although we did also take home a tub of pretzels bigger than my head, a pack of 36 Babybels and a tray of 24 of the viral cookies (sadly not worth the hype, too artificial tasting).

Our total spend came to over £100, which is more than our weekly shop, and we had much less food to show for it. I was flabbergasted, and had immediate buyer’s remorse. I pushed the trolley from the till to the food court by the exit in a bit of a daze.

After all that shopping, we’d definitely worked up an appetite so we ordered a slice of pepperoni pizza, a hot dog and soda.

Little did we know that this pit stop at the back of the store would be the highlight of the whole visit.

I was sceptical about the kind of food we’d receive from what was essentially a hatch at the back of a warehouse, especially given that it was so cheap – £1.50 for a hot dog and drink and £1.99 for a slice of pizza – but the food really blew me away.

The pepperoni pizza was better than the likes of Domino’s, Pizza Hut or Papa John’s. That’s fighting talk, I know, but I’m not the only one who thinks it. Reddit users agree, even going as far as to proclaim it the ‘best takeaway pizza in the whole of the UK’.

I enjoyed it so much, I was already chomping away before I remembered to snap a quick pic for this article, hence the giant bite mark.

My husband felt similarly about the beef hot dog, which can be ordered with or without onions, and along with a soda of your choosing for less than £2. He could have added in an ice cream as well and the price would still have put supermarket meal deals to shame. 

There’s plenty more on the menu, including a chicken sandwich, jacket potato, chicken and bacon bake, gelato, plus those famous cookies, which can be bought individually – something I wish I’d known before buying 24 of them.

Everything was under £5, except for whole pizzas which cost £9.99, but in today’s climate, that’s still felt like a steal.

The only downside was that there were only a handful of seats in the food court, and like the rest of the store it was heaving with people. Being too hungry to wait for a table, we tucked in there and then slumped over the handlebar of our trolley.

The pizza was messy and theawkward standing position made for one of the most undignified eating experiences of my life, but I enjoyed the meal none the less. 

Will I be going back to Costco again any time soon?

I’d go back for another slice of the pizza in a heartbeat, but I’m no longer feeling the same levels of excitement about shopping there. But that’s ok, because it’s not really meant for me.

If I’m ever planning a big dinner party it could be worth another visit, but otherwise I think I’ll be sticking with Sainsbury’s and Tesco for now.

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