I personally haven’t had this issue. I will say the produce is hit or miss, but to me I can already tell if it is good or not in the store. I haven’t had any problems with meat or dairy, I think you are just at a bad location. I also go to the McLean location and it is fine.

Anonymous wrote:My in-laws adore the ashburn location but I shopped once at Bethesda and that was enough. Nothing looked fresh.

There are 2 in Ashburn and one (the one in Broadlands) is decisively nicer than the other. I wonder if there’s a lot of variance in the stores. I love the Broadlands one but if I’d only ever been to the other off route 7, I’d think Lidl was a dump.

There’s a big range in experiences at Lidl. In the college park location, students leave meat and dairy products in random places. Hours later, the workers put it back on the shelf.

Yes, Lidl and Aldi have substandard quality control. That's why it's cheap

Fish not bish

One out in the far far burbs was accused of rinsing bish in bleach water to freshen it up.

Anonymous wrote:Mark my words. Lidl in Bethesda is not long for this world. It’s a lousy location.

It's great for people who live close enough to walk. There is a Giant, a safeway and TWO -- count 'em, two -- Trader Joe's in that area so there must be something right about it. I'm waiting for a Whole Foods.

Mark my words. Lidl in Bethesda is not long for this world. It’s a lousy location.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t buy all in Lidl, some fruits and veggies that are much cheaper than giant (limes, mushrooms, pomegranates). Buy also lots of cheese, never had issues (including from the Bethesda location). I love their bakery items. Eggs, milk, etc. also get their pork regularly and also never had issues.

This is OP. The pomagranates were the fruit I bought that were rotten. I was thrilled to see them because the season is over -- and I should have known better becasue they were pale and disgusting on the inside and one was actually moldy. The cheese was greek feta. I bought other cheeses that were fine but I don't expect ANY to taste rotten. So nasty.

Anonymous wrote:The McLean one is better. NW DC location is a mess by comparison.

Here is what they are good for

Bulbs for your garden
Coffee and tea
Mineral water
Anything in a jar from Europe - from olives to honey
Cheese from Europe, Gorgonzola esp nice
Parma ham
Organic 70% dark chocolate
Some fruit/veg - things like avocados and pineapples.
They have an aisle of specials from Greece and Italy among other spots that is always worth a look
French milled bar soap

Hard pass on meat, milk and yogurt, lettuce, and the aisle of cheap junky material things.

I love theirs and aldi’s aisle of cheap junky materials. It’s like going to Vegas. You never know when you hit jackpot. I have my Dutch oven from aldi (been using it regularly for over a decade now), dough mixer that I got for 30$ when they had them on extra sale at the dc nw location, figured even if use it a few times and then it breaks would still be worth it, have been using it a couple of years now; and smaller stuff.

I don’t buy all in Lidl, some fruits and veggies that are much cheaper than giant (limes, mushrooms, pomegranates). Buy also lots of cheese, never had issues (including from the Bethesda location). I love their bakery items. Eggs, milk, etc. also get their pork regularly and also never had issues.

My in-laws adore the ashburn location but I shopped once at Bethesda and that was enough. Nothing looked fresh.

The McLean one is better. NW DC location is a mess by comparison.

Here is what they are good for

Bulbs for your garden
Coffee and tea
Mineral water
Anything in a jar from Europe - from olives to honey
Cheese from Europe, Gorgonzola esp nice
Parma ham
Organic 70% dark chocolate
Some fruit/veg - things like avocados and pineapples.
They have an aisle of specials from Greece and Italy among other spots that is always worth a look
French milled bar soap

Hard pass on meat, milk and yogurt, lettuce, and the aisle of cheap junky material things.

I think that’s just your store. I’ve never had that issue at Lidl.

I just started shopping at the relatively new Lidl in downtown Bethesda. They have some interesting stuff, but so far, in my very limited excursions there, I've gotten half a dozen rotten items including meat (sausages and frozen chicken patties), cheese and fruit. Gross. Is that just an issue with this one store, or are they all like that?