Lidl is well renowned for being one of the most budget-friendly supermarkets in the UK, but there is one feature that brings in the customers.
The supermarket's bakery has in some ways become an icon to the British Highstreet, once upon a time it was the Wilko pick ‘n’ mix, but now it seems children would much prefer a Lidl cookie over a cup of sweets.
The German supermarket’s bakery brings in thousands of customers every year, from workers grabbing a quick breakfast to peckish school kids buying a sweet treat that doesn’t break the bank.
As someone who will happily admit that they have spent many times at a Lidl bakery for a quick lunch to go, I’ve always had one question, is everything at Lidl’s bakery good?
Well, as a fan of baked goods, I was more than happy to find out the answer for myself and head down to my local Lidl to buy every sweet and savoury treat and taste them, here’s what I thought.
The vegetable pizza, pretzel, margherita pizza and goats cheese pizza. (Image: Newsquest)
I ate everything from Lidl’s bakery, this is every item ranked
Before we get into it, I feel I have to say that while I wish I did, I did not eat it all by myself, if I did I probably would still be eating everything now as I write.
Pretzel (65p)
I’m not a massive pretzel fan but I was very surprised that I really liked Lidl’s take, the snack was salty but not too much and perfectly soft inside, with just the right amount of chew. 4/5.
Goat’s Cheese & Tomato Focaccia (99p)
I will admit, when I go to Lidl, this is my go-to bakery item, the goat's cheese makes the sweet and savoury taste of tomatoes and pesto the perfect blend. The dough is always so soft and just amazing. 5/5.
Vegetable Pizza (99p)
This was my first time trying the vegetable pizza from Lidl and it was nice, with plenty of peppers but maybe too many onions for my liking. The dough was soft and there was a good amount of cheese taste but I wasn’t a massive fan of the sauce. 4/5
Pizza Margherita (99p)
I always find that the best margarita is simple, and Lidl does just that. Just like its fellow pizza, the dough was soft and tasty while the cheese was really yummy and the tomatoes were great too. Delicious. 5/5.
The three croissants, a pecan plait, pain au chocolate and pastel de nata. (Image: Newsquest)
Almond Croissant (69p)
Normally I’m not a croissant fan, but I think Lidl’s turned me. The almond buttery filling was lovely and really helped the taste, while the croissant itself was not at all flaky or falling about. 3.5/5.
Chocolate Hazel Croissant (69p)
The chocolate hazel croissant was so sweet but in the right way, the chocolate spread filling was gorgeous and added to the taste while the pastry was a little bit chewy. 4/5.
All Butter Croissant (59p)
The simple and sweet all-butter croissant was just that. It was nice and soft with a good crispy texture that made for the perfect classic croissant pattern and had a great buttery taste. 4.5/5.
Pain au Chocolate (69p)
I was let down by Lidl’s pain au chocolate. I thought it was very dry but it did have a very nice chocolate flavour, but it didn’t convince me enough to buy it again. 2/5
Maple Pecan Plait (69p)
The maple pecan plait grows on you, at first I was not a fan. But the filling brought it up, it wasn’t overly sweet and the pecan was a nice added taste. 3.5/5
Pastel de Nata (69p)
The pastel de nata was amazing. The custard filling was gorgeous, not too sweet or clodgy. Just perfect. Yum. 5/5
The cookies, doughnuts, yum yum, muffin, brownie and belgian bun. (Image: Newsquest)
Toffee Yum Yum (75p)
On to a winning streak, Lidl did it again with the toffee yum yum. Though it was very sugary it wasn’t over the top on sweetness. The filling was so good and just right. 5/5
Belgian Bun (75p)
I was not a huge fan of the Belgian bun, the icing was really nice but I didn’t enjoy the raisins and found it just a tad too dry for my liking, 3/5.
Chocolate Brownie (75p)
Despite being small in size, Lidl’s brownie was mighty. Very chocolatey with perfect-sized chunks. Just the right level of moisture, it was fantastic. I just wish there was more of it. 5/5
Filled Muffin (79p)
The filled muffin may have knocked all other items off the shelf. It was perfection. A great soft crumbly cake mixed with a huge amount of incredible chocolate filling. It’s everything I want from a muffin and more. I would also happily pay more than 79p for it too. 5/5
Pink Iced Ring Doughnut (39p)
The pink iced ring doughnut didn’t wow me. The icing flavour was too rich for me and just ruined what was a good doughnut. 2/5.
Jam Filled Doughnut (39p)
This was the near-perfect take on a classic jam-filled doughnut, the jam tasted homemade, the sugar was just enough and the dough was great. 4/5.
Every Lidl bakery item ranked
Chocolate Hazel Doughnut (49p)
Lidl’s chocolate hazel doughnut puts other popular doughnut brands to shame. It was just beautiful. The chocolate sauce was amazing and there was plenty of it. The dough was great, it was just fantastic. 5/5.
Chocolate cookie (49p)
The chocolate cookie was fine, it was chewy which was nice but it didn’t taste like anything special. 3/5.
Chocolate Chip cookie (49p)
I did not like this cookie, I don’t know why, but it didn’t taste like chocolate to me. In fact, I’m not sure what it tasted like. 1/5.
White chocolate cookie (49p)
Last but not least, the white chocolate cookie had a good flavour and it was nice and chewy with a bit of crunch, 3.5/5.
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While not everything could be worthy of ‘elite’ status, there was one thing about Lidl that impressed me more than I thought it would.
I was able to get everything from the bakery for less than £14!
In today’s day and age that feels unheard of, but it’s the truth, I got all the cookies, doughnuts, pizza and more for just £13.70.
So, while not everything is my favourite, it does still help Lidl hold up its ‘budget-friendly’ and ‘affordable’ status.
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