Aldi Has A $13 Copycat Of A $160 Wood Bowl From Sur La Table

Plenty of devoted and even occasional shoppers turn to Aldi for more than their weekly groceries. Aldi also sells kitchen appliances and home goods, depending on the location. Finds similar to those you'd find at luxury stores are also on the shelves. Items like the $160 black walnut serving bowl at Sur La Table would qualify as luxurious in most tax brackets. But Aldi's acacia wood bowl for $13 is a pretty convincing approximation of the considerably more expensive vessel and a worthy contribution to the wooden tableware space.

Although both are plenty durable, it's easy enough to spot the difference between the Sur La Table bowl's typically more intricately grained black walnut versus the simpler patterns expected of Aldi's acacia wood. The Sur La Table version is also a little larger in diameter and a tad shallower at about 12 by 4 inches than the Aldi alternative, which clocks in at almost 10 by 5 inches. That's a modestly higher capacity for the Sur La Table version. Just how many tens of dollars that's worth is for you to decide.

Straight edges give both the expensive Sur La Table bowl and the relatively cheap Aldi option their head-turning style. Open your kitchen cabinets and, odds are, you'll see a lot of bowls of all sizes and use cases with curved sides versus straight lines. These shared good looks also make either bowl suitable for occasional use alongside one of Aldi's award-winning wines, though both are durable enough for displaying your fresh produce on the counter — perhaps even some of the produce Aldi has sourced. However, a discerning eye will likely notice that the Aldi edition kind of brings to mind the wooden bowls your grandma might have had in her '70s kitchen. Sur La Table's black walnut bowl comes across as a little more timeless in contrast. 

Their minor size differences might also change how you use them. The Sur La Table pick's marginally higher capacity seems like enough to position it squarely as the serving bowl it's billed as. The Aldi bowl could be a little more versatile for accommodating a big salad for one, or a portion of greens for a petite group. At $13, you could even serve said lettuce to 10 of your best friends with a collection of Aldi bowls, and still spend less than you would on one from Sur La Table.

In terms of care, Aldi's pick cautions against abrasive cleaners, while the Sur La Table bowl's product description advises against submerging in water. Gentle hand-washing seems like it would do the trick in either case. And at the end of the day, you can still put stuff in either bowl.