Lidl - Good and bad

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  • alanwarwicalanwarwic Posts: 28,396
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    Lidl wins in wine awards and wine tasting wars too.
    Taste to price tests has them the winner.

    Aldi bread is obviously worse so you have not thought through that comment about choice very well.
  • moonlilymoonlily Posts: 7,864
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    barbeler wrote: »
    I can only think of one product sold by Lidl which isn't greatly inferior to its equivalent in Aldi – their luxury muesli. That's usually all I go in their for. Their wine selection is particularly poor and they still use those horrible plastic 'corks'.

    The last bottle I got had a screw top- it was fine, compared well with wines from Waitrose and M&S- I did have a rather vinegary one from Sainsbury's but I don't think you can generalise with wine.

    I don't use Aldi now because the car parking in our local one is a nightmare, and I confess to having developed a soft spot for Lidl.
  • barbelerbarbeler Posts: 23,827
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    alanwarwic wrote: »
    Lidl wins in wine awards and wine tasting wars too.
    Taste to price tests has them the winner.

    Aldi bread is obviously worse so you have not thought through that comment about choice very well.
    The 'wine awards' are a well-known con. Just about any wine can have one of those silver award winner labels on in return for payment.

    I never buy bread from either Aldi or Lidl so I wouldn't know about that. I always buy Morrison's sunflower and pumpkin seed bread if possible.
  • alanwarwicalanwarwic Posts: 28,396
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    No they are not.


    The number rating (100 is maximum I assume) is done random blind.
  • Isambard BrunelIsambard Brunel Posts: 6,598
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    barbeler wrote: »
    Their wine selection is particularly poor and they still use those horrible plastic 'corks'.

    Not my experience at all. Lidl's wine is much better than Aldi's and I've only ever got either a screw cap or proper cork.

    Perhaps you are confusing the two's budget wines. Aldi's £4 wine is much better than Lidl's. But there's nothing anywhere on the shelves of Aldi that's as good as the average £10 (ish) bottle from Lidl. About a year ago, the most expensive wine in Aldi was about £7, now I'm starting to see them occasionally peaking over £10, so they clearly know they need to follow Lidl's lead.

    Aldi are weak when it comes to better wines.

    Lidl's potatoes are also better than Lidl's, along with their ice cream, apple pie, New York cheesecake, concentrated blackcurrant and orange juices (everything in Aldi contains horrible sweeteners), in-store bakery, ketchup & pickle, tinned peas, cauliflowers and red peppers. And then there are numerous items that are equally good to Aldi's equivalents but simply cost less.

    There is no one supermarket that has all the best products.

    Also, both Aldi and Lidl products change over time. There are some things in my original 'good' list on page 1 that I no longer buy because they've become rubbish and some on my 'bad' list that I now love (potatoes, ketchup and their newer, more up-market wines being prime examples). There are other things they've stopped doing all together.

    By the same token, some things in Aldi have changed for better or worse.
  • barbelerbarbeler Posts: 23,827
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    I've never paid £10 for a bottle of wine in my life, so I'll have to take your word for that. :D

    I always find that Aldi's vegetables last twice as long as those from Lidl, but being a veggie I couldn't comment on many of the other lines. At least Aldi does have a veggie section, whereas Lidl doesn't seem even to acknowledge the existence of foods without meat in them – apart from their chocolate and muesli :)
  • Isambard BrunelIsambard Brunel Posts: 6,598
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    The season's changed again, and so has Lidl's good wine lineup. I tried their £7 Minervois and it was very nice for the money. I intend to try a few more such as their Rully and their new Chablis (which is £3 more than their summer one), along with some of the ones I'm suspicious of like the white Châteauneuf du Pape, but maybe it'll surprise me for that price.

    It's nice to see they're starting to sell wines they're confident enough in to recommend you store them for 2-3 years. They've definitely left Aldi behind when it comes to better wines. I just hope the prices don't creep up. This year's red Châteauneuf du Pape is a pound more than the last one despite this year's deflation and many price cuts. Any more and it won't be any cheaper than Asda and Tesco.
  • barbelerbarbeler Posts: 23,827
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    I'm finding that the problem with Lidl is that since they revamped their stores they are just another supermarket and not particularly cheap. Give me Aldi every time.
  • degsyhufcdegsyhufc Posts: 59,251
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    barbeler wrote: »
    I'm finding that the problem with Lidl is that since they revamped their stores they are just another supermarket and not particularly cheap. Give me Aldi every time.
    I've found they stock a lot more brand names than ALDI.
    The draw for them both were having cheaper made up or imported brands which could compare & compete with the big name ones.
  • chopsimchopsim Posts: 3,522
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    There is an Aldi thread but couldn't see a Lidl thread.

    Half a crispy duck for £4.99. I think it was probably a small duck but nevertheless really tasty.
    I love their prawns and crayfish tails too.
  • barbelerbarbeler Posts: 23,827
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    Good - their battery powered milk frothers at only £2.99 :)

    Good - their excellent luxury muesli (the nutty variety in the blue packet).

    Bad - their extra mature cheddar cheese; a rubbery, bland concoction which is light years away from the superb equivalent sold by Aldi.

    Bad - packets of almonds which have the taste and texture of something recovered from the pyramids.
  • HotgossipHotgossip Posts: 22,385
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    I love their creamy Greek yoghourt in a big white tub with blue writing. best ever!

    I also love Lidls big jars of roasted red peppers, they are so useful and really cheap. love their jars of gherkins and their unsmoked back bacon too.

    Their big bottles of diet lemonade at 17p each are outstanding value. The Co op in our village charges £1!!
  • ChoccyCaroleChoccyCarole Posts: 8,867
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    [ Not been over to Runcorn's Lidl's - since about last November or December 2014 :( ]
    I love Lidl's Chocolate and Berries Granola in the rasberry red box -
    and their Bambi Goreng is also super fantastic
    & their crusti croc - slightly salted rice cakes in the blue and white wrapping

    Their Lime lemonade was refreshing and very popular here
    and got the biggest ever Cauliflower that I have ever bought too
    which was well cheap and I got several delicious meals using it all
  • Welsh-ladWelsh-lad Posts: 51,904
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    The crispy duck is gorgeous, I agree OP!

    Good = individual chocolate sundae - yum

    Bad = can't think atm!
  • peach45peach45 Posts: 9,426
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    Good: Black Forest ham, Serano ham, potato salad in creme fraiche, large tubs of vanilla yoghurt, pickles, chllie halloumi, chocolate, pack of Quail £4.99, pork shoulder,

    Bad: Crumpets.
  • stud u likestud u like Posts: 42,100
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    I can't stand their licorice allsorts.
  • Isambard BrunelIsambard Brunel Posts: 6,598
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    I can't stand their licorice allsorts.

    I'm the opposite. I like them because they taste less sugary than the others, including Aldi's.

    My problem with Basset's and most other brands these days is that they're just horrible sugary mush rather than the taste and texture of All-Sorts from the 70s and 80s.

    Lidl's aren't perfect, but I prefer them for tasting less like mere coloured sugar lumps. I suspect All-Sorts in Poundland are the same as Lidl's, but even better value compared to the price of Basset's All-Sugar-Sorts.

    As an aside, I wish either Lidl or Aldi would introduce hard wine gums. Remember the tube packets of Wine Gums until about 12 years ago, which were rock hard and took ages to suck? Then they 'improved' the recipe so that they were almost as soft as the version you buy in boxes. Rubbish!
  • barbelerbarbeler Posts: 23,827
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    I can't stand their licorice allsorts.
    I'm the opposite. I like them because they taste less sugary than the others, including Aldi's.
    Well that's strange. :D

    I recently bought some of Lidl's liquorice allsorts for my dad when he was in hospital and they were so unbearably sweet that we threw them away after trying just one each.
  • cakeholecakehole Posts: 1,626
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    The olive rolls and the pretzel rolls in the bakery section are particularly good.
  • cakeholecakehole Posts: 1,626
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    I love the hot smoked salmon, either plain or with black pepper. I've just had some for lunch, delish!:)
  • Acacia8Acacia8 Posts: 31
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    Their fizzy drinks section is nothing compared to what it used to be, all you can find now is cola, lemonade and orangeade. At one point I used to always buy their iron brew and the cloudy lemonade was lovely for the price too.
  • anthony davidanthony david Posts: 14,447
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    Good a pack of shelled walnuts that tasted superbly fresh.
    Bad, the 6 packets I bought after being so pleased with the first one, they were all dry and tasteless.
  • SibeberSibeber Posts: 555
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    Tried a can today to compare with Heinz ..Lidl's are 4 cans for a £1, Heinz are £2.60 for 4 cans ..you can tell why Lidl's are much cheaper as they are horrible, the sauce is thin tastes as if it made from a powdered tomato soup mix, Campo Largo is the brand name.
  • barbelerbarbeler Posts: 23,827
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    Aldi's baked beans are the best in the world – and I absolutely promise you I don't work for them. :D
  • moonlilymoonlily Posts: 7,864
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    barbeler wrote: »
    I'm finding that the problem with Lidl is that since they revamped their stores they are just another supermarket and not particularly cheap. Give me Aldi every time.

    Really? Last week we were in there, got a trolley full which came to £46 and a few pence- the lovely till lady says, if we spend £4 more she can give us £10 off, so I got 2 bags of nuts, took it up to a smidge over £50 and then back down just over £40- I've had this happen in there a couple of times.

    I have no complaints about Lidl price wise .
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