Lidl - just managed to use them for a full shop
Discussion
I think a week or so on I will admit I'd be pushing myself to use them for everything - in fact I couldn't as they just don't sell everything I want (and I include some very ordinary things in that).
Had one of their Chili Con Carne ready meals last night, £1.49 and again not an E number in sight, tasted as nice as M&S or Waitrose but at 1/3rd the price and it even seemed to contain beef
Stuff like cereal and British bacon is a bit of a revelation - makes you realise just how much you pay for Tony the Tiger or whatever you're into as the Lidl equivalents seem basically 1/2 the price..
It's more that you realise how expensive other places are, having gotten used to using Lidl on an almost daily basis I found myself in Waitrose feeling thoroughly pissed off at paying £1.40 for a Danish Pastry and 50p for a freshly baked roll vs. 35p and 29p respectively - that's where you really start to feel the difference.
Had one of their Chili Con Carne ready meals last night, £1.49 and again not an E number in sight, tasted as nice as M&S or Waitrose but at 1/3rd the price and it even seemed to contain beef
Stuff like cereal and British bacon is a bit of a revelation - makes you realise just how much you pay for Tony the Tiger or whatever you're into as the Lidl equivalents seem basically 1/2 the price..
It's more that you realise how expensive other places are, having gotten used to using Lidl on an almost daily basis I found myself in Waitrose feeling thoroughly pissed off at paying £1.40 for a Danish Pastry and 50p for a freshly baked roll vs. 35p and 29p respectively - that's where you really start to feel the difference.
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hstewie said:
hstewie said: It doesn't surprise me in the slightest.
The Waitrose near me generally has appalling use by dates on food, a day or two tops.
I don't know if that's a sign of quality or disorganisation and I don't know if it's just how it is near me but it puts me off buying too much there because you just can't buy a few days worth of meat or certain other products.
M&S is just a bit weird IMO, the food is lovely but it just goes back to my point about waste - I simply can't believe how much of it the (reasonably) fresh stuff there is on the shelves.
That said maybe it sells, the food hall at the large one at Tamworth is a bit like Mos Eisley most days.
Having worked in foods for M&S on and off over the last couple of years all I can say is they should be very, very ashamed of the amount they throw away every day. It can be up to 4 wheelie bins full, of which usually half is perfectly edible but either;The Waitrose near me generally has appalling use by dates on food, a day or two tops.
I don't know if that's a sign of quality or disorganisation and I don't know if it's just how it is near me but it puts me off buying too much there because you just can't buy a few days worth of meat or certain other products.
M&S is just a bit weird IMO, the food is lovely but it just goes back to my point about waste - I simply can't believe how much of it the (reasonably) fresh stuff there is on the shelves.
That said maybe it sells, the food hall at the large one at Tamworth is a bit like Mos Eisley most days.
1. On its sell by date (though the majority of products are fine at this point, but I guess that is down to H&S...)
2. Damaged (in many cases it can be the smallest, most pathetic thing that classes a product as this.)
While they do recycle it and it does to be used as some sort of fuel etc I still think the amount wasted in the first place is unacceptable. Occasionally they do a waste sale to the staff that finish late but even this seems to be the exception rather than the rule. I do agree the quality is generally excellent though.
KFC said:
I'm off to Lidl or Aldi in a minute to buy food for the dogs and some cheap booze for the homeless. Just out of interest I'll try and get all the ingredients for this to make myself - http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2838670/thai-po...
I made this tonight, it was very nice.I got everything bar the curry paste and baby sweetcorns in Lidl.
Ok, I didn't buy a few things (sugar, soy, peanut butter but they had them in stock) and the coconut milk was full fat but otherwise pretty good.
dazco said:
You bought quite a few items considering the quality is poor
I still think you are on the wind up and I don't understand why they had no spring onions
Apart from the ingredients for my curry, nothing else was for me. Its for a homeless bloke who looks after some of my rescue dogs. Lidl is great for that... I'm sure he'd rather have 50 euros worth of crap food than 50 euros of stuff from Waitrose as the former will be significantly more quantity wise I still think you are on the wind up and I don't understand why they had no spring onions
I've no idea why you think I'm on the wind up with this.... I just don't see why anyone would choose to shop there when you can't even get the ingredients to make a basic meal. I don't enjoy spending time in supermarkets and I'm not going to visit two of them if I don't have to.
KFC said:
dazco said:
You bought quite a few items considering the quality is poor
I still think you are on the wind up and I don't understand why they had no spring onions
Apart from the ingredients for my curry, nothing else was for me. Its for a homeless bloke who looks after some of my rescue dogs. Lidl is great for that... I'm sure he'd rather have 50 euros worth of crap food than 50 euros of stuff from Waitrose as the former will be significantly more quantity wise I still think you are on the wind up and I don't understand why they had no spring onions
I've no idea why you think I'm on the wind up with this.... I just don't see why anyone would choose to shop there when you can't even get the ingredients to make a basic meal. I don't enjoy spending time in supermarkets and I'm not going to visit two of them if I don't have to.
I am sure I speak for most Lidl customers when I say that we don't mind going to two shops when one of the shops saves us so much money and offers us better quality food.
KFC said:
dazco said:
You bought quite a few items considering the quality is poor
I still think you are on the wind up and I don't understand why they had no spring onions
Apart from the ingredients for my curry, nothing else was for me. Its for a homeless bloke who looks after some of my rescue dogs. Lidl is great for that... I'm sure he'd rather have 50 euros worth of crap food than 50 euros of stuff from Waitrose as the former will be significantly more quantity wise I still think you are on the wind up and I don't understand why they had no spring onions
I've no idea why you think I'm on the wind up with this.... I just don't see why anyone would choose to shop there when you can't even get the ingredients to make a basic meal. I don't enjoy spending time in supermarkets and I'm not going to visit two of them if I don't have to.
My wife normally uses Waitrose, M&S and Sainsburys.
We recently tried Lidl and were very impressed. We have since been back a few times, and each time we increased the amount that we got.
The wines are excellent value and quality. I recently got a Chablis that is the best that I have ever had. It was easily worth twice whatt I aid for it.
The meats seem to be of excellent quality. Dry cure bacon is genuinely "dry". This improves the taste, and the fat goes crispy.
We'v also tried the fruit and veg, and it was very good too.
I also have a leg of Jamon at home, and it too is excellent.
I went to my local Lidl on Saturday and had a mixed view on the experience. I didn't find it to be any cheaper on the whole compared to say Tescos. I suppose if you're comparing Heinz vs Lidl equivalent then you've got an argument. If you just buy the Tesco cheapest then I don't think theres anything in it. That being said Aside from a few basics like milk and eggs I rarely buy the same food as I like variety.
So first impressions...
Didn't seem massively cheaper
Things that were cheaper the ingredients were not comparable. Buying stuff for a toddler I'm concious how much salt and sugar is in certain items.
Meat was a good quality.
Fruit and Veg was a good quality.
Toothpaste was cheaper.
Butter was cheaper.
Avoid the centre aisle when shopping with a toddler. One Minnie Mouse lunch box later.
As much as I'd like it to be my only shop I'd have to top up at other places. That and the way Basingstoke is laid out means that would be a real ballache. For convenience Tesco wins for me.
So first impressions...
Didn't seem massively cheaper
Things that were cheaper the ingredients were not comparable. Buying stuff for a toddler I'm concious how much salt and sugar is in certain items.
Meat was a good quality.
Fruit and Veg was a good quality.
Toothpaste was cheaper.
Butter was cheaper.
Avoid the centre aisle when shopping with a toddler. One Minnie Mouse lunch box later.
As much as I'd like it to be my only shop I'd have to top up at other places. That and the way Basingstoke is laid out means that would be a real ballache. For convenience Tesco wins for me.
don4l said:
You cannot do your weekly shop in any single shop these days.
My wife normally uses Waitrose, M&S and Sainsburys.
I would say that if you wanted to, you could easily do a weeks full shopping in a full size, decent supermarket. You're not going to get the best value on everything obviously, but you could do it if you wanted.My wife normally uses Waitrose, M&S and Sainsburys.
What can't you get in Sainsburys or Waitrose?
KFC said:
don4l said:
You cannot do your weekly shop in any single shop these days.
My wife normally uses Waitrose, M&S and Sainsburys.
I would say that if you wanted to, you could easily do a weeks full shopping in a full size, decent supermarket. You're not going to get the best value on everything obviously, but you could do it if you wanted.My wife normally uses Waitrose, M&S and Sainsburys.
What can't you get in Sainsburys or Waitrose?
Somewhat ironically our town's branch is just next to the council tip. So I popped in yesterday after dropping a car load of rubbish off at the recycling.
I'm not sure what happened over the bank holiday weekend but the place looked like the zombie apocalypse had hit town and people had bought up everything. Whole swathes of shelves with nothing on them. I picked up some biscuits that the kids like when we get them in the French supermarkets and fled. I was going to pick up some of the much vaunted wine, but there was none left, just some ropey looking fortified stuff.
I get the feeling that this is the sort of place that because it's cheap, people get all excited and stuck in. Like the leg of Spanish ham, how many people are going to be eating that after day 2 when they get bored of it, sawing uselessly at it with some cheap blunt knife (one of a set in a wooden block no doubt) when they were on special offer in Lidl 6 months ago.
My general experience is that there is some reasonable stuff, but there is a lot of crap, and it's clear there is a reason why stuff there is cheaper. As the limited choice means a trip elsewhere, this is something I don't really want to do. I'm sure people enjoy the sport of hunting for bargains in their leisure time, but not me, thanks.
I'm not sure what happened over the bank holiday weekend but the place looked like the zombie apocalypse had hit town and people had bought up everything. Whole swathes of shelves with nothing on them. I picked up some biscuits that the kids like when we get them in the French supermarkets and fled. I was going to pick up some of the much vaunted wine, but there was none left, just some ropey looking fortified stuff.
I get the feeling that this is the sort of place that because it's cheap, people get all excited and stuck in. Like the leg of Spanish ham, how many people are going to be eating that after day 2 when they get bored of it, sawing uselessly at it with some cheap blunt knife (one of a set in a wooden block no doubt) when they were on special offer in Lidl 6 months ago.
My general experience is that there is some reasonable stuff, but there is a lot of crap, and it's clear there is a reason why stuff there is cheaper. As the limited choice means a trip elsewhere, this is something I don't really want to do. I'm sure people enjoy the sport of hunting for bargains in their leisure time, but not me, thanks.
technodup said:
our average Lidl punter doesn't make 'basic meals' with fresh coriander, curry paste and light coconut milk.
Your average Lidl punter buys the jalfrezi ready meal and fires it in the microwave.
I wasn't really expecting to get light coconut milk... I was expecting to get spring onions.Your average Lidl punter buys the jalfrezi ready meal and fires it in the microwave.
I was in a non scummy supermarket yesterday and took this
jas xjr said:
motco said:
The Lidl muesli (Special Muesli Luxury Fruit and Nut) is massively cheaper than the Jordans rough equivalent, and much nicer. It makes the Jordans one look like 90% wheatflakes.
It is goodProbably the best available at all the supermarkets.
vette
don4l said:
The wines are excellent value and quality. I recently got a Chablis that is the best that I have ever had. It was easily worth twice whatt I aid for it.
I'm a fan of the Chablis, we use it as the 'daily' white and was disappointed to see the Chablis shelves bare last weekend suggesting the masses have discovered a true gem.Fortunately the stock was replenished today, for a short period though as it's now in my fridge.
To those mocking Lidl, I used to do the same myself when I was child but it now sits proudly alongside M&S and Waitrose as supplier of stuff and tings for chez Crombers.
technodup said:
our average Lidl punter doesn't make 'basic meals' with fresh coriander, curry paste and light coconut milk.
Your average Lidl punter buys the jalfrezi ready meal and fires it in the microwave.
Chicken Tikka Masala last night actually Your average Lidl punter buys the jalfrezi ready meal and fires it in the microwave.
Tonight it's British chicken breasts with roast potatoes and mediterranean vegetables.
If you want certain things they don't have them, but using spring onions as an example, would I drive across town to spend £17 at Waitrose vs. spending a tenner at Lidl and getting the spring onions elsewhere? I'd spend the tenner.
Honestly, holding my hands up they don't have everything I've wanted, but of everything I've had there's nothing at all I've bought where I've thought "ugh I've really got something cheap and nasty here".
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