Lidl; what should I buy?

[maldivemoment]

Hi folks

V exited about the new Lidl that is about to open fairly near to us. It seems really big from the outside so before I go in and lose myself for 4 hours perusing EVERY item on EVERY shelf, what would be your 'must haves?'

Thanks in advance

Just a normal week's shop

I used to be a massive fan of Lidl and Aldi but the fruit is crap. Stay away from it. I still like the meat and the fresh bread though.

Bakery section in particular the cheese twists and double chocolate muffins

The low GI cob fresh bread from the bakery. It is AMAZING

The muffins in the bakery, the blueberry is insanely tasty!! Also their cheeses are always really good, if you like gin you can’t go wrong with a Lidl gin also delicious! The tomato ketchup tastes just like Heinz.

Bread.

Thanks Lois 🙄 😆

We buy potatoes, carrot, tomatoes, onions, pepper, kiwis, apples, pears, lemons, herbs, bagged salads , chicken and salmon sometimes if needed, milk, butter, eggs... so basically ordinary stuff which is cheaper in Lidl. Bakery is good. I’m not a fan of their cheeses and yogurts. I don’t think it’s super exciting place,it’s just good value for money.

Bakery. That’s it.

Their ice cream is excellent - the gellatelli stuff, not even the finest range stuff.

Bagged salad and fruit tends to be awful, but veg is ok as long as you check it over before buying.

Other than that, it's all pretty standard supermarket stuff!

Feta stuffed peppers in oil from the chilled section!

Don't buy the 'Cien' roll on deodorant because it only lasts for about five hours.

@maldivemoment- Have you ever been to or tried lidl before? I found some things were trial and error in terms of taste compared to my 'regular' brand. It took me a few shops to work out what 'lidl' branded items tasted fine.

I often order a home delivery from asda. More than once I've done a price comparison, and overall, found little difference. Sometimes (for example) asda own brand peas might be cheaper, the next week the lidl ones are.

I avoid the fresh bakery items which aren't wrapped. I hate the plastic waste, but more than once have seen people fondling and squeezing buns with their hands. Also saw a man pick a roll off the floor and put it back in the centre of the pile

I love the red fox Leicester cheese and aromatic duck. Some of the craft beers a cheaper, when on special. They often have a themed week- Italian, Spanish, German etc. Sometimes their regular salami is cheaper than the 'italian week salami', so you need to compare prices. I've also found some of the items are really poor- Spanish week octopus in oil was gritty with shell in it! The crochettas were tiny and bland.

I also check the weekly specials for veg which do have some bargains.

Thanks all.

I've only every popped into Lidl on the odd occasion but now there's one opening up I'm interested to see if it could replace my usual supermarket. Interesting to hear some folk saying they don't see much savings compared to, say Asda.

We don't buy their fruit and veg and don't rate any of their cleaning products or meat but love everything else. The rubbish in the aisles of doom is hit and miss although I have had some clothes and cookware that's been ok for the money.

We like all their dairy products, ice cream, wine, chocolate, frozen veg and coffee (all types.)

They have good seasonal food so would definitely recommend a trip when their Easter range comes out. Their three-bird-roasts are excellent.

The chocolate they sell is nice.

The best thing about Lidl in my opinion is the Aisle of Random . Who knew you needed a dehumidifier, picnic set, gel pens and a foot-spa?

We buy our weekly shop there and then pop round the corner to Waitrose for the 2-3 items missing.

Never had an issue with fruit, veg or meat. Floralys kitchen roll and loo roll. Cien bath products. All the cleaning products. Much better for ham than Waitrose. Big tubs of Greek yoghurt.

Easter and Christmas ranges are lovely - we are still eating stuff we bought at Christmas.

Plus random 'theme of the week' stuff - Greek week, Spanish week etc. And the dreaded isle of random in the middle. 'DH, are you sure we don't need an arc welder/rocking horse/home gym?'

However a lot of that stuff is good. I have some rip off Le Creuset pots from Lidl that are nicer than my actual Le Creuset.

Also wine. We gave up our Naked Wines subscription and just buy stuff from the Lidl Wine Tour. It's nicer and cheaper.

I did this exact thread last summer and got some great replies. Since then I would say our favourite things are the lasagne and the pies

But I would also say avoid the fruit and veg too.

Thai red paste! It's the best

Chocolate, much better than Cadbury’s.

Sorry, posted too soon. DH loves their granola and marmalade. And staples like passata, tinnned beans, tinned tomatoes, nuts, cheese, yoghurt, pasta, rice, butter and margarine are all good.

My parents buy their 'Snaktastic' crisps and I've found them indistinguishable from Walkers.

We're happy with everything, but i have a real passionate hatred for their grapes (taste like perfume) and their general fruit and veg doesn't last very long. But if you're using it quickly, it's fine.

Cheese is great, husband spends far too long loitering in the cheese section. He builds his own little deli in the trolley.

We do a big shop there once a month for 'cupboardy' things (cleaning products, bathroom, tins, drinks, cereals, rice, pasta etc) and stock up on meat for the freezer, and then buy fresh fruit and veg as we go.

Always end up with something from the Middle Aisle of Joy. Usually for children or dogs. Or shed 🙄

Chocolate hazelnut spread, toffee yums from the bakery, salami frozen pizza, honey mustard sliced ham, floralys moist toilet tissue, a chocolate bar like a kinder bueno called Bella something. Sour cream and chive lentil crisps. The sensitive toothpaste is great, the seasonal gellato, lime and raspberry is the best. The chicken is very good, fresh veg is great. The Ernesto kitchen gadgets, particularly knives are amazing