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Special Offers at Lidl

ie_nca_newI joined the thronging masses at Lidl last year. Initially, I regularly shopped for their really good fruit and vegetables, and in recent months, I’ve started picking up the absolutely spellbinding cartons of multivitamin fruit juice (labelled Fruchsaft, you will literally lose yourself in them), and the cheapest organic yogurt you can find in Ireland – it’s very good too. The rice, pasta and noodles are all ok too, and it’s the best place for toilet rolls, washing up liquid etc.

Lidl seems to be the cheapest place to shop, but I’m always convinced they’ve made a mistake at the till and forgot to charge me for half of my trolley. I can get the bulk of what I need for a household of two for the week there, and rarely spend over €40.

But I can never get everything I want there; some of their brands, such as chocolate and soups, aren’t especially nice. I do most of my cooking from scratch, but Lidl do have some very good sauces – such as pesto or bolognaise, for quick dinners.

I always end up going to another big supermarket for the “few extras” – fresh herbs, sweets, storecupboard ingredients – and invariably spending double what I paid in Lidl. Last week, I didn’t have the heart to go to two big shops, so I spent a small fortune – that I can ill-afford – in Dunnes Stores Cornelscourt.

The website www.lidltreats.com occasionally has great suggestions for creatively using Lidl’s food. Am I just being a snob by not embracing their full range?

You’ll find some of their current specials at www.lidl.ie. I only see maybe three or four food items I’d be bothered with. What do you think of Lidl?

7 Comments

  1. I regularly shop at Aldi – although I was bad bad bad in the last couple of months of 2008 – however I just find Lidl difficult. Maybe it’s the awful German brand names, the horrible packaging or the illuminous colours the place is painted in, but I always feel poor and sorry for myself when I go there. Never with Aldi – I quite enjoy shopping there. Maybe the doom and gloom stories that I wake up to each day on Morning Ireland will force me into going there in 2009, but lets hope not.

    Nice blog, by the way!

  2. Thanks for the comment Frank, glad you like the blog! I’ve yet to try Aldi as there isn’t one near me, but I’d be interested to go in and see how it compares to Lidl.

  3. I shop for some things at Lidl because it simply is so much cheaper (try getting peppermint tea anywhere else for anything even approaching twice the price you’ll pay in Lidl).

    However, shopping there involves a lot of trial and error – I’ll occasionally try some of those things with the awful german labels – sometimes they work out, sometimes not – and I can’t get everything I need there, but for cheap basics, it’s hard to beat (though I don’t have an Aldi near me either, so I can’t compare on that front).

  4. I’m shocked that you single out their chocolate as being not especially nice! LIDL have some of the nicest chocolate at the most reasonable prices. Steer yourself towards the JD Gross section or grab a few bars of their Fair Trade 70%. Just as good as the way-more-expensive Green&Blacks in my opinion (and this from someone who eats a lot of chocolate!)

  5. I agree Mick, their Fair Trade milk is really nice, and I’ve heard lots of people praising the JD Gross selection.

  6. I’ve shopped in Aldi in Rathmines and can’t say I find it significantly different to Lidl. To be fair, I’m usually hungover or blearily coming from work so might not be picking up on the illuminous subtleties :).

  7. I would have to agree with the positive comments on Lidl Chocolate – absolutely gorgeous and grazy good value. I will not let myself buy it anywhere else now