Great What/What Not to Buy at Lidl, Aldi and Netto Hunt

I think it has been discussed before that the fruit and veg varies by store. My local store ( preston ) is fairly poor imho. There are always those horrible little flies that only fly when you disturb them, lazy flies.
And the bananas are ALWAYS wet.......why?

Very pleased to see this thread; Lidelle, as we call it down here in Tonbridge, is more than a shop - it is a way of being.

A first timer came in to our local Lidl and asked where the baskets were. Get a box, I said. Where from he said. Ah, I said, 'it is your first time. You must empty a box of vegetables or tins, and carry that around with you. Or you could queue up for 20 minutes and buy a bag, but it will mean you have to queue up twice. Or there is always the crackerjack option - just try and hold it all until you get home. ‘You must be joking’ he said. He couldn't believe it. Welcome to Lidlworld, I said, as we watched a disabled lady come into the entrance in her wheelchair, doing a kind of wheely limbo dance under the metal bar where the trolleys usually go by the turnstile at the entrance (no money for a security guard here, so the entrance is fenced off). He then looked incredulously at the line of everything you could possibly need to to open a chinese restaurant, or a horse tack shop, or a euro-satellite receiver station, or a plumbers merchant, or whatever the Lidelle buyers have got into their heads that should be the latest craze amongst the over 70s that pick over it all. There they all were on a Thursday morning, squinting at the thirteen languages on the box of a spaghetti drainer in the vain hope that one of them might be English so they can work out what the hell it is for. He then looked in wonder at the queue, and the post-apocalyptic little piles of shopping that are left at the end of the aisles, from people who have lost the will to live in the long line to pay and gone home (our visitor will quickly learn that there is only one cashier, who also happens to be the cleaner, forklift driver and manager).

But all this is meant in a kindly way, because I actually enjoy the jumble sale feel, and because the prices are are as low as the number of staff they employ - the whole thing is kind of fun in a post-war East Germany kind of way. And if you have only got a couple of things, people often let you go in front of them - this is not behaviour that I have ever witnessed at Tescos, which provides the most uniformly predictable shopping experiences on the planet. At Tescos we can pick from an infinity of goods but somehow it is dull, dull, dull in comparison.
I think for a bargain hunter, normal supermarkets are hunting grounds - you have to look hard for the best deals as rip-offs are everywhere, you must be on your guard. But Lidl is different - here you can kick back, relax, enjoy the company of fellow bargain hunters and not worry unduly about the complex 3 for 2 offers or markdowns you find in other places, because here everything is reasonably priced.

Buy: coleslaw, potato salad, fruity yoghurts, olive oil, recycled toilet roll, port, ah, the apple schnapps (a one week wonder I fear), mulled wine is good, about 10 per cent strength and 3 quid for a litre, olives, bags of raisens , cheap lager is fine, juice (one litre boxes of orange is proportionally cheaper than 1.5 litre for some strange reason) cheese good, 'luxury' chocolates/truffles are usually surprisingly luxurious; I have bought some wonderful electronic stuff, like blood pressure monitor, radio controlled clocks etc that have worked well for years. Fireworks were very good too. Anyone who bought the rechargable batteries this year should feel very self satisfied - they sold out in an hour in Tonbridge godammit

Don't buy: cornichons (too sweet), tinned spaghetti hoops (watery yuck) farmhouse pickle (very sweet)

tubster

Lidl,
I was skeptical and wary at first, but now try more products - have to agree on the Baked Beans though.

Items Bought.
Peach Spring Water 2 litre
Lemonade
Soups
Corned Beef
Biscuits & Cake
Bleach
Dishwasher Powder
Bisto
Slippers (Hubby always buys)
Clothes Dryer
Travel Hair Dryer
Numerous household gadgets
Frozen Chicken Breasts
Have tried their Beef and Pork from the chilled section - mainly good
Showerproof Walking Jacket.
Salad, Fruit and Veg.

This store has excellent value for money products.