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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Lidl! Waste of money!

214 replies

dalel · 10/09/2022 19:38

So am I being unreasonable?

Tried Lidl for the first time Wednesday, it's now Saturday and I have already had to throw 2 lots of fruit and salad stuff out!
What a waste of money.

Is this what Lidl is like? Seriously thought it would last longer than 2 days!

OP posts:
Floomobal · 10/09/2022 20:05

Yes. False economy shopping for fresh produce at Lidl and Aldi in my experience

FuzzyPuffling · 10/09/2022 20:05

Cheese, ice cream, cat food ( our fussy cats love their own brand stuff) deodorant, face cream, all good.

TooMuchToDoTooLittleInclination · 10/09/2022 20:06

I used to stop in lidl occasionally because it used to be on the way home in the school run, easy to park etc, but the fruit & veg never lasted

i went in the other day for the first time, pist covid and enjoyed a mooch, but didn't buy much.

tesco is MUCH better for fruit & veg

PinkButtercups · 10/09/2022 20:08

Never buy Lidl chicken 🤮

trampoline123 · 10/09/2022 20:09

Yeah it's like that but I find loads of supermarkets are too.

I shop in Lidl but just buy fresh bits that I know I'll use up within 3 days.

Shreik · 10/09/2022 20:13

The reason fruit and veg lasts is because it's covered in chemicals and plastic to make it last.
Sounds to me like Lidl stuff might be better

7catsisnotenough · 10/09/2022 20:24

I have a couple of Lidl locally and I've noticed a distinct difference in the fruit and veg between the two...I can buy something in my nearest shop and have issues with it but the same item from the other one lasts longer!

Duchess379 · 10/09/2022 20:27

I've stopped buying fruit & veg from Aldi/Lidl for this very reason. I'm fed up of throwing bananas away that have literally melted in the fruit bowl, the oranges being bitter & potatoes still growing 'legs'. Everything else seems to be ok tho

Iwishmynamewassheilah · 10/09/2022 20:29

I’m surprised people are recommending ham. In our branch it’s all "formed" ham, made from offcuts stuck together. Horrible. I really have to search hard for the real stuff, that’s if they have any at all.

Rewis · 10/09/2022 20:30

I don't think Lidl is the greatest shop to go with a list. I do think it's a good place to go without one just to pick up random interesting looking things that you don't have in every shop.

DashboardConfessional · 10/09/2022 20:33

YABU. We have just had a brilliant chicken and leek pie, maris piper mash and carrots from there for dinner. Total cost for 3 of us - under a fiver.

Their version of Frosties is 99p, versus £3 in Sainsbury's.

I don't get everything there but a 10-day shop inc wine is £75 versus about £110 in Tesco. It adds up.

phishy · 10/09/2022 20:34

I much prefer Asda/Tesco/Morrisons to Lidl and Aldi.

Good to see a critical thread about them, I don’t get the appeal.

Bummocks123 · 10/09/2022 20:36

I used to find the same thing with Aldi but never Lidl. Although, we live round the corner from Lidl and I don't have much storage for food so I end up nipping in two to three days a week and everything is eaten quickly. So, it doesn't really have time to go off!

I do find it cheaper though. I was always an asda shopper but now wince when I get my bill there. Tesco is worse again. I think it depends on what you buy!

angel1977 · 10/09/2022 20:38

I buy fresh fruit and veg from lidl in small quantities BECAUSE its fresh and ready to eat. I can eat a nectarine, pear or melon and its sweet and perfect that day or the next. I cant do this with fruit bought in tesco or morrisons, they are hard for a week and then rotten but still not ripe.

Fisifoofoo · 10/09/2022 20:39

I do find Lidl a lot cheaper than shopping at Tesco, but yeas the fruit and veg is unpredictable in terms of how long it lasts.

LizzieSiddal · 10/09/2022 20:41

I don’t find that at all. I’ve shopped at Waitrose for over 25 years but have started going to Lidl a couple of times a month. In all that time I’ve only had one pepper which went off quickly, everything else has been just as good as Waitrose!

RedRobyn2021 · 10/09/2022 20:47

I have 3 Lidls near me

2 are really nice, really clean and the produce is lovely

1 is disgusting, on more than one occasion I've found mouldy food in the fresh produce isle.

Equally, I've been to 1 aldi that was nice and another one near me that was disgusting.

No inbetween

I went in to Lidl today just to see how much they're charging for some items that have increased on my Sainsburys shop and I've decided I'll be going back next week!

Ryanandryan · 10/09/2022 20:48

Shreik · 10/09/2022 20:13

The reason fruit and veg lasts is because it's covered in chemicals and plastic to make it last.
Sounds to me like Lidl stuff might be better

This 💯💯💯

ancientgran · 10/09/2022 20:48

I find Sainsbury's is the worst for fruit, I've taken stuff back before now and when I looked at what was on the shelves with a member of staff most of it was already going to mush. They do tend to have good potatoes though.

RedRobyn2021 · 10/09/2022 20:48

On the subject of fresh produce, I've always thought Asda's was rubbish

LadyHelenaJustina · 10/09/2022 20:49

I use our Aldi and Lidl all the time and the veg quality is excellent.

TheNefariousOrange · 10/09/2022 20:50

Yes! Thank you! I hate lidl and aldi. Their food is poor quality and anything worth buying is cheaper elsewhere. I have a relative who gets me a bottle of aldi wine for my birthday and every year it ends up poured down the sink because it is vile.

ancientgran · 10/09/2022 20:50

angel1977 · 10/09/2022 20:38

I buy fresh fruit and veg from lidl in small quantities BECAUSE its fresh and ready to eat. I can eat a nectarine, pear or melon and its sweet and perfect that day or the next. I cant do this with fruit bought in tesco or morrisons, they are hard for a week and then rotten but still not ripe.

That often happens to me with Sainsbury's fruit, I can't figure out how it is going rotten before it is ripe. I only really buy bananas in the fruit aisle now.

PinkArt · 10/09/2022 20:52

I wonder if this is area specific. Mine, in SW London, is brilliant for fruit and veg. Lasts as well as from anywhere else and usually seems more vegetabley - the tomatoes really smell of tomato.

Meklk · 10/09/2022 20:53

Lidl strawberries are terrible.
Plum tomatoes - won't last longer than a day

I also don't understand how someone can eat youghurts from there.