To convert to Lidl and ask for tips

[TwinsAndTrifle]

Is it me, or have the supermarkets lost their way?

Waitrose has the odd nice bit, good fish counter, but nothing much to write home about anymore. M&S, nice prepared stuff, the odd good ready meal. Neither a cut above the way they used to be.

Tesco's, utter tripe at average pricing. Sainsbury's the same, about 15% pricier.

We've been going to Lidl for a while now, and honestly, the quality is certainly higher than Tesco and Sainsbury's, and more in line with Marks and Waitrose. And a third of the price.

Do other people share this opinion?

We particularly like the continental meal platters, frozen goats cheese pizza (and we never buy frozen), the sticky toffee pudding, breakfast muffins, pate, mini fritattas, spicy chorizo, the fresh steaks, side of salmon, and have yet to be disappointed with any of the fruit and veg. Have a real taste for the fake Malibu too!

There's probably loads of hidden gems that we haven't tried yet. What's your best Lidl regular buy?

The cookies from the bakery are just absolutely divine.

Don't rate Lidl Camembert though.

Lidl veg didn't last as tesco one did. And some was lower quality for not such a big price difference tbh.

However, some other products are good. Like their pretzel

They `do really good continental cheeses
Fresh fruit juices in bottles- love the Tropical
Their coconut milk is superb (although the stock is a bit hit and miss)
Spicy rice crackers
Chocolate - cheapest and best around
Bags of nuts are great value
Bread flour
Big tubs of Greek style yogurt

@Sometimesonly

I like the special weeks - it's Italy week at the moment That's funny. I'm in Italy and I like British week!

Ha! Amazing. What kind of things do they offer in British week?

Same with aldi veg and fruit. Just didn't really last as I would like it to.

@PembrokeshireDreaming

My local Lidl is extremely busy and they turnover a huge amount of fruit and veg! I have never had ab issue with quality. Their salad dressing are excellent, dd will only eat Lidl humus as she rates it as the best. The gravalax and smoked salmon are fab, the bread flour is the best and really cheap.

Damn, can't get bread flour at ours! It is one of the things I need to go elsewhere for.

I find lidl fruit and salad stuff rubbish

I shop both Lidl and Aldi, was in Lidl just a couple of hours ago to get a few extras I needed.

I rarely have a problem with either of the stores vegetables, but have had issues in the past with Tesco and Asda veg.

The fruit is usually pretty good but pears can be hit and miss, sometimes they take over a week to ripen and then they are soft on the outside but still bit solid on the inside.

I eat what I can then chuck the rest of the pear out into the garden as dad blackbird loves them and spends ages chucking the remains around the lawn pecking away. At least they don't get wasted and he enjoys them. n

Ha! Amazing. What kind of things do they offer in British week?

A lot! I once brought a basket of British things like brown sauce and English mustard etc to my parents and they just opened pantry and showed me their haul from a British week🤦
Baked beans, brown sauce, cheddar, beef, chunky chips, fish and chips, fudge, digestives, jams, spaghetti loops (...😳 Really), Worcester sauce, gin...

That's in another EU country, not Italy

Aldi is better than Lidl IMO. Whenever I shop in Lidl I always feel like I’ve gone back in time to East Germany in the 1980’s.

I love Lidl. Was there this morning. The food is honest and reasonably priced and I find it by far preferable to Aldi.

I do still shop at Waitrose and Sainsbury’s, but there are things i much prefer at Lidl.

The bakery is excellent, I have enjoyed the pasta del nata today. and I was delighted that it’s Italian week!

If u like it then use it.

I dont like aldi or lidl. I found them unreliable in terms of what I could get and the quality very poor.

If u have the time to visit multiple shops to get what you couldn't get in one, and keep enough In back ups to not worry if something has gone off when you go to use it or shop several times a week as it doesn't last then it will be fine.

Not so fine if you want to go to one shop get everything you need and be done with it.

Completely depends on your tastes and time

Lidl plus app is the best thing about Lidl. I normally save 5% a month using their vouchers and discounts. It adds up to a few hundred a year. Recently they gave me 3 quid off for my birthday. It's the small things

Fruit and veg are a bit hit and miss at my local Lidl, but it's never been a problem at other branches. Greek, Italian, Spanish etc weeks are great. I'm also abroad and can't wait for British week. The bakery is very good. Frozen berries and their own brand of Haagen Dazs-style ice cream pots are some of my favourites too.

21 day matured steak
paella
dark chocolate ginger biscuits
sweet chilli lentil curls
the better german ham slices - not wet
own brand fish food ice cream (fake ben & jerrys)

I love lidl
I just do a normal week's shop there and like everything really.
So all the breakfast stuff. Cereals jam marmalade. Bread. Yoghuts. All lovely
Salad stuff. Falafel. Fruit and veg.
The vodka is great. I never know which wine to try but I regularly but the 0 percent larger for mid day drinking on hot weather
The cleaning stuff is really high quality. I have joint of roast beef for tomorrow.

Buy

I have tried with Lidl and Aldi but as they never seem to have a reliable stock of things I want to buy I've given up. Sainsbury's have great range of food now that you can choose your price point from so I'm happy with the them - also lots of price comparisons with Aldi so I think they've really raised their game. My friend swears by Aldi and Lidl but spends way more than I do on her shopping each week.

I shop at Aldi, Lidl isn't close to me. When I do go I get their 95% cocoa chocolate though.

Actually, the camembert we disliked too. Gruyère was tasty. Gouda was tasty. Love the extra mature cheddar.

Regular Lidl shopper now since a new store opened nearby. The app is good if a regular, 15% of certain ranges and £10 a month voucher if you spend over £200. Rarely had duff veg or fruit but we do don’t keep ours for long. The croissants and cinnamon buns and sourdough boule from the bakery are delicious. Cheeses are good as is the smoked salmon. Greek yoghurt is better than fage in my opinion. Their ice cream is lovely especially the pistachio and mint. Their tinned soup and beans are good. Cook from scratch a lot and save a good amount on our weekly food bill compared to what I used to spend. Most of the wine is good too. I avoid the aisle of wonder and can’t comment on the meat as we use our local butcher. The wash powder is good too.

I love Lidl! Have been shopping there for years, it used to be the nearest supermarket to me so was convenient too. Their bakery is great, favourites are cheese twists and cinnamon rolls. I also love the belgian waffles in their cakes/confectionery aisle. Never been disappointed by the steaks, excellent quality and price. The only downsides for me really is they don't deliver and they don't have their own brand baby formula like Aldi do. However, even though I find Lidl and Aldi have very similar prices, Lidl is slightly better quality. I've bought meat from Aldi that has gone off when still in date and veg not lasting long, but I haven't had these issues with Lidl. I recently really enjoyed Polish week at Lidl, they had these amazing wafer rolls and delicious yet cheap chocolate.

@EcoCustard ah yes, love their smoked salmon too! Usually put it on Lidl's bagel thins with their version of garlic and herb philadelphia and plenty of rocket

Just made dinner from my shop yesterday. Burgers in buns for easy Saturday meal and something everyone will eat.
Deluxe Aberdeen Angus steak burgers.
Deluxe Brioche burger buns.
Salad tomatoes. Watercress spinach and rocket salad. Red leicester cheese.
Absolutely gorgeous all of it. The meat in the burgers is top quality. Happy, (very quiet), family.
I shop there regularly. Second the app for great vouchers and money off opportunities. The staff in mine are really friendly and don't rush you through. I would definitely recommend.

The bakery sourdough boule for £1.20, the not from concentrate juice especially cloudy apple is as good as Copella, the doughnut peaches are delicious and always on offer when they have them. The £1.20 jam is really nice, picked up the new blueberry one yesterday to try. Fake chocolate hobnobs and twixes are ace, crisps as good as Kettle Chips too. Hortus gin is lovely, especially the green spring citrus one. The 2 pack rump steaks for about £4 is great value and really nice too. All the cheese is great. Ground Italian coffee is nice. Almond and soya milk are great. To be honest it's all really good, you just usually have to be prepared to pick over the fruit and veg to make sure you've got a good pack.

I've been a Lidl convert for a few years now and love it. DH & DS don't like some of their own brand condiments (mustard) as they say they're too vinegary but other than that they love most other things. I love their wine selection - the ones where they give a score from 80 - 90 is and have had some really good wines by choosing those in the high 80's/90. Love the sourdough pizzas and Portuguese custard tarts - although I've only bought the frozen ones rather than the fresh bakery ones since Covid started. I really like their deluxe butter with salt crystals in.