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Lidl - Good and bad


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Old 20-02-2013, 17:04
Jol44
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I like the fact that it provides a bit of an alternative to the big supermarkets which seem all but one of the same. Little at times tends to be a little quirky, I like that.
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Old 21-02-2013, 07:03
neo_wales
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The frozen Pollock is very good as is the potato salad. The fruit and veg is good too compared to Tesco or Asda, often fresher and always cheaper.
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Old 21-02-2013, 12:40
Miss C. DeVille
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No Bakery or baskets in mine - Hayle, Cornwall
Our Lidls has just had a re-fit but no sign of a bakery. We have had the hand baskets for a few months but since they re-opened they no longer have the small trolleys. The big ones are so deep I nearly fall into it trying to get the stuff out at the checkout
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Old 28-02-2013, 12:04
Isambard Brunel
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Has anyone else noticed a reduction in the products Lidl sell in recent months?

Some sections have been streamlined, such as black pudding being dropped from the meat section, a smaller selection of vitamin pills, less herbs and pulses (no more jars of chopped parsley or lentils), kale only appearing sporadically, etc. I'm also sure there are fewer cheese products, though I never really bought them so I can't say for sure. I also don't see the 'luxury' coleslaw anymore, only the normal one, and the one with cheese in it.

People on this thread already mentioned dropping all but the orange flavoured jaffa cakes some time ago too.

Are similar things happening in Aldi?
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Old 28-02-2013, 12:51
mackara
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Has anyone else noticed a reduction in the products Lidl sell in recent months?

Some sections have been streamlined, such as black pudding being dropped from the meat section, a smaller selection of vitamin pills, less herbs and pulses (no more jars of chopped parsley or lentils), kale only appearing sporadically, etc. I'm also sure there are fewer cheese products, though I never really bought them so I can't say for sure. I also don't see the 'luxury' coleslaw anymore, only the normal one, and the one with cheese in it.

People on this thread already mentioned dropping all but the orange flavoured jaffa cakes some time ago too.

Are similar things happening in Aldi?
Possibly a regional thing, my local Lidls has never sold black pudding or kale but still sells the luxury coleslaw.
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Old 28-02-2013, 16:08
grassmarket
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Im going to stand up for Lidl fresh meat.


Steak mince is lovely
Yeah, it's not as good as it was about a month ago, though. Dunno why.
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Old 28-02-2013, 16:58
husted
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Has anyone else noticed a reduction in the products Lidl sell in recent months?

Some sections have been streamlined, such as black pudding being dropped from the meat section, a smaller selection of vitamin pills, less herbs and pulses (no more jars of chopped parsley or lentils), kale only appearing sporadically, etc. I'm also sure there are fewer cheese products, though I never really bought them so I can't say for sure. I also don't see the 'luxury' coleslaw anymore, only the normal one, and the one with cheese in it.

People on this thread already mentioned dropping all but the orange flavoured jaffa cakes some time ago too.

Are similar things happening in Aldi?
Products are often erratic at Lidl. They didn't have any table salt a while back when I tried to buy some- it's back now. So it's not easy to conclude that a product is permanently gone.

However, they've cut down the number of freezers in my local Lidl so it's obvious to spot they are cutting back on frozen food.

And obviously, the new fresh bread bits take up space- maybe 25 feet of one side of an aisle, which leaves less room for other things.
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Old 28-02-2013, 17:15
funky_elephant
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Has anyone else noticed a reduction in the products Lidl sell in recent months?

Some sections have been streamlined, such as black pudding being dropped from the meat section, a smaller selection of vitamin pills, less herbs and pulses (no more jars of chopped parsley or lentils), kale only appearing sporadically, etc. I'm also sure there are fewer cheese products, though I never really bought them so I can't say for sure. I also don't see the 'luxury' coleslaw anymore, only the normal one, and the one with cheese in it.

People on this thread already mentioned dropping all but the orange flavoured jaffa cakes some time ago too.

Are similar things happening in Aldi?
The bratwurst sausages have gone from my local Lidl (I've looked in three stores) but Aldi still have them. Now they only sell little chipolata sized ones. I have found them in Waitrose but they are incredibly expensive. Shame as they make a nice change.
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Old 28-02-2013, 18:03
doom&gloom
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Possibly a regional thing, my local Lidls has never sold black pudding or kale but still sells the luxury coleslaw.
Ours sells pease pudding and we're nowhere near the North East, can't imagine they shift much.

Mind you there's a lot of stuff at Lidl that you wouldn't expect them to sell much of (canned herring anyone?), they just seem to sell a lot of the same things across Europe rather than tailor them to individual countries like Aldi do.
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Old 28-02-2013, 18:21
alanwarwic
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Has anyone else noticed a reduction in the products Lidl sell in recent months?
Every now and again I lose a favourite item.

My local is a smaller size so they are even more ruthless about what is in and what is out.
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Old 28-02-2013, 18:31
mackara
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Ours sells pease pudding and we're nowhere near the North East, can't imagine they shift much.

Mind you there's a lot of stuff at Lidl that you wouldn't expect them to sell much of (canned herring anyone?), they just seem to sell a lot of the same things across Europe rather than tailor them to individual countries like Aldi do.
I love the canned herring and the canned mackerel is the best I have ever bought and really cheap, my local does potato and soda bread which you could probably not get elsewhere and all the fresh meat /fresh vegetables are locally sourced. The bakery section does the most amazing apple turnovers that have a nice buttery taste and texture to them.
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Old 28-02-2013, 18:40
DrFlowDemand
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Ours has no bakery but their pecan plaits have been amazing when I tried them, and half the price of Tesco et al. I am currently enjoying the Mister Choc Choc Duo spread on their crumpets, and I would definitely recommend this as long as you don't mind getting addicted to something cheap, yummy, but terribly bad for you!
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Old 15-03-2013, 11:12
Isambard Brunel
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I tried the chocolate covered coffee beans. They taste very nice, if you like coffee flavoured chocolates. They're not sickly, like the ones you get in boxes of chocolates, and the coffee taste is sharper and more real, and leaves a bit of a 'cigarette' after taste. That shouldn't be surprising, given it's a real coffee bean in the middle.

However, they're just too hard and crunchy, to the point that you worry you may chip a tooth!

If you eat them carefully, they're nice in small quantities. But I won't buy them again.
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Old 15-03-2013, 16:17
barbeler
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I always regard Aldi products as being generally superior to Lidl. Lidl is certainly the best for chocolate and sells that wonderful luxury muesli, but many of their pre-packed food lines seem to be much higher in salt and additives. I always find that Lidl veg seems to go off as soon as you get it home.
If you like strong cheddar, both stores sell some very tasty cheeses at prices much lower than the other supermarkets. The strange thing is that the extra mature cheddar seems to have a stronger taste than the vintage, so I no longer pay the higher price.
Lidl must be one of the few supermarkets that still sell wine in bottles stopped by those silly plastic stoppers, so I never buy it. Last time I did, I embedded a cork screw as far as it would go, then using a loop of rope slung over the stair banister, I put all my weight on it until it gradually eased out. One other time I had to resort to wrapping tape around the neck and breaking it. Apart from anything else though, the Aldi wine selection is superior in every respect.
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Old 15-03-2013, 16:27
alanwarwic
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The strange thing is that the extra mature cheddar seems to have a stronger taste than the vintage
This is always the case with extra mature cheddar being more distinctive in taste and crumbly texture.

I can't say one is better then the other, they both vary,and by season too. Anyone else a 'basket peeper' at tills?

There certainly seems a higher diet for most Lida and Aldi shoppers.
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Old 17-03-2013, 03:33
The Alpha Gamer
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Chocolate is the best thing i've found. I can get a 120g bar of dairy milk for £1, or 3 100g bars of chocolate from Lidl's for £1.17! It tastes better too!
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Old 29-03-2013, 16:55
Isambard Brunel
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I'm not sure how long it's been like this, but I've noticed the lovely "Premium Quality Cookes Smoked Ham" that used to be slices of real ham has now become 'formed' meat, just like all their cheaper ham. Shame.

I've started going into Aldi recently, and have been comparing products. It seems that despite a lot of overlap, there can be quite a difference in their products. Aldi's muffins are nice (4 for 45p) whereas Lidl's have become not very nice (6 for 65p). In fact, there seems to be a lot of streamlining of Lidl's ranges recently, and lots of products changing recipies to become less good.

Aldi's chocolate covered wafer bars are really lovely whils Lidl's taste cheap. They're both 89p. Aldi's jaffa cakes are also much nicer than Lidl's, mainly on account of them being copies of McVities. Lidl's ones have too much jelly and not enough sponge.

Aldi's gin tastes a *lot* better than Lidl's but gave me a suspicious hangover in the morning despite not getting drunk on it, so I can't help but wonder what's in it. Asda's gin is about 60p more and doesn't do this.
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Old 29-03-2013, 17:01
Saturn
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Lidl's ones have too much jelly and not enough sponge.
That's just personal preference surely? I love Lidl's jaffa cakes.
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Old 29-03-2013, 17:04
alanwarwic
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I love Lidl's jaffa cakes.
Not sure if I have tried them but ALdi's are superb.

I do recall Lidl's own brand cheese and onion crisps have plenty of real cheese and onion in the flavourings.
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Old 29-03-2013, 17:22
degsyhufc
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I've started going into Aldi recently, and have been comparing products. Aldi's gin tastes a *lot* better than Lidl's but gave me a suspicious hangover in the morning despite not getting drunk on it, so I can't help but wonder what's in it. Asda's gin is about 60p more and doesn't do this.
ALDIs Bourbon is very nice. It's probably the best out of the supermarket home brands (Tesco, ASDA, Morrisons).
LIDL brand had a strange taste last time I tried it.

ADLIs standard lager is also nice. Just as good as Fosters/Carling. It's 4x500ml for £2.24 (or was last time I tried it).
Haven't tried ASDAs or Morrisons (not sure if they have one) but Tesco and LIDL taste similar and again just have a strange taste to them. Can't quite describe it but there is something different.


On the plus side for LIDL they are again stocking the fresh Bockwurst.
They are the best traditional style hotdogs from a supermarket i've tried. They are not in brine. They have a nice snap to them.
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Old 29-03-2013, 18:03
PJ2
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Lidl Bockwurst is very nice, and yes, they have an awesome snap to them.

I've tried the mini reduced fat Bratwurst from Lidl but they don't compare to the normal big Brats from ALDI.

Muscles in white wine sauce from Lidl are very nice and better than Aldi's.

Lidl's frozen battered cod, the one in the blue box is better than Sainsbury's.

It's a shame they changed the Crest Coast frozen battered cod because that was divine.

It had lovely, light crisp batter and they left the skin on the chunky, flakey fish.

Sometimes it had a few bones in but they made the fish more gelatinous and moist.

When it comes to bad things I've tried from Lidl, stay away from the fresh pasta with fillings. I'm not talking about the Deluxe range. I'm talking about the one in the green packet. I've forgot the brand name.They are absolutely shite and not a patch on ASDA, Sainsburys etc.

I bought the spinach and ricotta tortellini and the filling was like floury instant mash with no flavour. Definitely nothing like spinach & ricotta. The prosciutto and cheese one was just as bad.

And stay away from the peppers stuffed with cheese and soaked in oil.

The oil tastes like shit, the skin on the peppers is rock hard, almost like biting into plastic, and the cheese in the middle smells and looks like baby vomit, and tastes vile.

I can stomach almost anything but those stuffed peppers made me gag.

And the normal fresh tomatoes from Lidl are rubbish as well and have really tough skin. Baby plumbs are nice though.

And the celery, it's too fibrous and woody.
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Old 03-04-2013, 11:54
Isambard Brunel
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After having tried the slices of roast beef in Aldi, it's certainly better than Lidl's. And now that Lidl's 'premium' ham is formed meat, Aldi's breaded ham is also better for the same price.

Aldi's cream crackers also taste creamier than Lidl's, which seem drier to me.

I've been spending most of my shopping money in Lidl in recent years, but I think I'll definitely be splitting at leats half of it with Aldi from now on. Lidl either streamlining their ranges or changing recipes to ruin products are problems.
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Old 03-04-2013, 12:20
moonlily
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The drinking yoghurt is lovely (Springfresh) and their Gouda slices are great value.
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Old 03-04-2013, 12:20
Uk Ltd
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The fresh meat section in our local store is fantastic. All the meat is Scottish, and the pack sizes are very generous, with prices MUCH better than the other Supermarkets.

Also, their 1/2 price weekend offers are superb!! They do a different meat each weekend, and the prices are amazing. Well worth reserving a freezer drawer for stocking up!!

Bakery in our local seems to be going well too, the shop appears to have become MUCH busier post-christmas. Fair play to the staff there who seem to do a decent job, considering there never seems to be more than 4 of them working at any one time!!!
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Old 03-04-2013, 16:30
neo_wales
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To be honest living out of town I use Lidl mainly for fresh fruit and veg as its nearer than Tesco and the quality and prices are very good. The chopped toms, Sauerkraut, spud salad is very good. Some of the cakes are also very nice quality.
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