Lidl

Ladies and gentlemen: Achtung! Attención! BATTLE OF THE GIANTS: Germany vs Spain, North vs South, Beer vs Wine, Punctuality vs Mañana! Lidl vs Mercadona!
These two food retailers are head-​to-​head competitors. They operate thousands of stores and you can often find both of them within walking distance from any home in this area. Stores are of similar size and many items they carry are similar too. However there are many differences, some of them in today’s review of Lidl.
Here we go, the positives:
— In store bakery. Lidl’s bakery is awesome, just look at the pictures. Mercadona has bakery too, but it is much simpler. Store’s German origin shows :) Like!
— Organic products: coffee, yogurts, beer, wine, olive oil. Not much but Mercadona doesn’t sell organic products at all. +1!
— Beer. Lidl offers a wider assortment. Wheat, dark, organic, Irish, Japanese, alcohol-​free, strong, generic, brands you name it! German origin shows again. Cool!
— Countries’ themed weeks (Italy, Japan, France, US) — typical food from around the world offered temporarily. Great addition to their permanent range, fun to try something new. Bön appétit!
— Non-​food items. There’s an area where they sell non-​food (assortment changes depending on season): beach, sports, tools, kitchen, toys, clothing, home decoration items. They bring fair quality products that work. Kudos!
— Nuts without salt. A little detail that I like. Here is the only place where I found pistachios without salt added (I’m a fan of nuts /​hater of salt). Great!
On the downside:
— They have a limited choice of fresh meat, poultry and seafood comparing to Mercadona
— Smaller beauty/​hygiene section (Mercadona sells make-​up and hair dye for example)
Personal note — a food that I absolutely can’t eat: «morcilla Asturiana» — traditional smoked blood sausage from Asturia, a region in the North of Spain (Sorry, Asturians). Not Lidl’s fault, I’m sure there are fans of this product. I love other types of morcillas by the way!
All in all Lidl is a good grocer, I will be coming back.
P. S. Although the shops are not big, «Lidl» doesn’t mean «little». It’s a surname of one of the former partners of the founder. The founder’s surname was Schwarz, they didn’t want to name the shop «The Black Market» :) Good naming decision some 80 years ago :)