Lambert’s Rainbow Fruits

The sandwiches have gone way down hill… or the one kid that’s been there the past 4 times I’ve gone is the problem. Absolutely no clue how to make a sandwich. For $ 9+ you can find a much better sandwich where they don’t forget the toppings after asking you several times.

Fresh selections and wonderful people. I only wish that the store was larger. If you need flowers or other specialty items, you will find that Lamberts has higher quality plants, cut flowers and seasonal items like pumpkins than any other grocery store in the area.

My beloved Lambert’s, what happened to you?
This place has gone downhill. The sandwiches used to be 1lb, huge, enough for two day monsters! I ordered a Thanksgiving sandwich, my favorite goto sandy and it was repulsive. One slice of turkey, a wet blob of stuffing and chunky flavorless cranberry sauce. I ordered a wrap and the entire thing was no thicker than a pencil. I’ve had a couple of off experiences in the past but assumed they were having a bad day… this was the worst and its clear they’ve made some negative changes. One pound sandwiches for 5.95 have turned into quarter pound (I’m being generous here) sandwiches for 7.95. Tasteless and poor quality. I hate to write this review of one of my favorite places, but it had to be done.
The store is also half the size it used to be. What’s going on here? Sooooo bummed. Goodbye Lambert’s.
Update: I was watching Phantom Gourmet this morning and Lambert’s was featured. I noticed they only mentioned the Westwood and Dorchester locations several times which I thought was weird. I called the Westwood location and they said they are not owned by the same people anymore so that explains a lot. Only Westwood and Dorchester are affiliated with the original owners.

Went there about a month ago and ordered a BLT. I always order that because they made the best in my book. This last time I ordered a BLT and got so much L and T that I thought she forgot the bacon. When I bit into it all I tasted was lettuce and tomatoes. I opened the sandwich to find 3 of the thinnest slices of bacon ever. I used to at least weekly and then they had the renovation. And the prices went up and quality went down. I would love to give them another chance but I dont want to spend my money to be disappointed.

I bought an Xmas tree here. It died as it was not taking water a week later. I sucked it up and went to get another one. I made mention of the last tree and the manager picked me out a nicer more expensive tree and gave it to me only asking I bring back the one that died. Said he just wanted me to be happy. Great guy and business. I will check out their location in Pembroke for sure.

Never again… has gone downhill big time. Ordered a catering package and got ripped off.
Was suppose to be ready at 10 AM, called at 9:30 to confirm it was all set. They said they are going to START working on it, and that they were very busy. If you can’t handle it then don’t take the order 5 days prior. We went around 11 and it was done, but it was the skimpiest and ugliest deli platters I’ve ever seen. No garnishment or anything. We talked to the manager who defended the platter, saying the package is for 12 people. We sat there and counted the gave us exactly 12 slices of cheese, turkey, ham, salami and rolls. God forbid if someone at our party took two slices of anything. He also said for the small salad and fruit bowl that is also standard for 12 people.
After some persistence he agreed to give us another ½ pound of each of the deli items, but proceeded to get dirty looks from everyone in the store. That’s ok, I’ll take my money elsewhere. We paid $ 140.00, never again.
Our guests at the party were all laughing at how skimpy it was, and it was definitely one of the ugliest platters they’ve seen. Nothing like in their pictures…

I just moved from Quincy to Rockland and I was really excited to learn that there was a Lamberts close to us. We went to the one in Dorchester at least weekly, so I thought it would be the same case with this one. I was super disappointed when I walked in. Way smaller, not even close to the same amount of produce (maybe I just came right before they stocked up but I never had that problem at the other one) and the produce all looked a lot older. I really loved having the fish and meat in Dorchester but this place only offered deli meat which we don’t buy very often. I got some good deals on fruit, but I definitely won’t be coming here again.

Yum I thought I was going to have a great hot pastrami like the one i get from Dorchester and Westwood !!! What the hell !!! They cooked the pastrami in a microwave oven this was the worst sandwich I have ever had never again !!!

Ok, the sandwich bar looked amazing… Boar’s Head products, so hard to go wrong, right? We didn’t try it, so I can’t comment but it certainly looks good. I’m not talking about that, or the salad bar (again looks good). I’m talking about the STORE as a place to BUY PRODUCE. This isn’t a sub shop.
A friend who lives in nearby Abington said they had great cheeses (goat, blue, etc.), and a great selection of produce — asparagus, etc. So, when we saw the deal on Amazon local for $ 25, for $ 50 worth of «stuff», we snapped it up. The first time we went it we were utterly shocked. «Whoa! THIS is a Lamberts»???”. If you’ve ever shopped at either the Norwood or Dot stores, you know they kick some serious produce ASS. They are very clean, and always packed with people. Everything is super fresh, (not about to spoil or massively coated in wax) and high quality. THIS place is dingy, tiny and shelves are sparsely stocked. Instead of interesting/​unusual variations on things, they have cheap ethnic foods that are overpriced (Goya cooking wine is super cheap, even at Stop & Shop — not here.).
But we figured we had a darn good deal, so let’s do what we can and make the best of it. First trip, place is eerily empty — we are the only customers in there at 5:30 pm on a weeknight. Odd, right? We bought some Boar’s Head blue cheese (no goat cheese that our friend raved about) and managed to pick up a carriage full of veggies and fruits. Some stuff went bad within days of buying it and had to be tossed out, other items were fine. Many of the prices were severely inflated (think Whole Foods prices and Shaw’s quality) on things like berries (blue, black or straw). young man behind the deli was personable. We found some jazzy salad dressings (at $ 6 a bottle!) and pizzelles, so all-​in-​all a satisfactory experience, given the price was so low.
Second trip… we are using our 2^nd Amazon local deal (we bought 3 total, based on the friend’s recommendation and our first experience). Still empty — nothing like the other 2 Lambert’s. And now, there is no blue or goat cheese. No asparagus. We ask about when these items might be back… complete indifference. We leave far less happy. Items we purchase spoil quickly.
Third trip… shelves are empty for most non-​produce items. Salad dressings we enjoyed are gone… the shelves that stocked them are now holding 6 single bottles of some cheap dressing (crap they sell at Christmas Tree Shop), spaced 4 inches apart each. I wish I had take a picture… hysterical! Still no asparagus. No green beans either, this time. The staff far outnumber the patrons. Peppers are overripe, and cucumbers are shriveled. Zucchini looks good, but that’s it. Prices are obscene in some instance ($ 6 for strawberries that have visible rot on them — and not just one package — every single package on the shelf!). We again ask about products that are missing — the cheese, asparagus, dressings. «I don’t know» is the answer (same kid stocking the shelves). Ok, then. To be fair, he’s just a worker bee, so we really can’t fault him. We’re not here for superior customer service or intellectual dialog — we just want to buy our stuff and go. Hard to do that when the shelves aren’t stocked.
So, I ask to speak to a manager… they refer me to some kid, who says he’s «just the night manager» and that they are «short staffed» (Really? You have 2 cashiers standing around text-​messaging because they have nothing to do!). He is, admittedly, very nice and quite patient as we explain what our experiences have been the last 2 times we were there. We ask — are you going out of business, having supplier issues, what? He says he doesn’t know anything about ordering but then quickly starts to ask if we are looking to get a refund on our Amazon deal. Hmmm… methinks this has come up before! He says we can call back during the week and talk to the «owner’. We dig a bit more… he tells us that this is a FRANCHISE of Lambert’s, unlike the other 2 stores. Aha! Light dawns over Marblehead.
So, my best guess is, putting 2 and 2 together… Mr. Franchisee got a wee bit in over his head with the Groupon and Amazon deals (yes, there’s a Groupon as well, evidently) and now is losing his shirt and has begun to not replenish the store with items, and reducing the quality, hoping people will call Amazon and/​or Groupon and demand their money back. The Lambert’s franchise is doing a piss-​poor job of ensuring those stores that use their name are living up to their standards. Honestly, at the end of the day I can go to the MarketBasket (int he same city!) and get better produce, cheaper, even taking into account the Amazon local deal.
So don’t waste your $ on the deal, or this place — unless it’s for a sandwich or salad bar at lunch.

There are just no stores like this anymore. Fantastic produce stand, with a full service deli, salad bar, soup bar, and some homemade «heat up at home» dishes. The fruits and veggies are always really fresh and reasonably priced. They last longer than anything you’ll buy at a supermarket, and tastes a whole lot better too. If the freshness/​quality of the produce that the vendor is offering is sub-​par, or the price is too high, they simply don’t buy it and apologize to the customers if it means not having it on the shelf. They’d rather not sell a product at all than sell you a lousy product. Not many places like that.
It’s the deli that I frequent the most. Huge, overstuffed sandwiches made with the finest quality (Boar’s Head) meats and cheeses and for a very cheap price. Today I went with the Cape Codder, a huge hot turkey sandwich on a braided roll with cranberry sauce and stuffing, paired with a side of pasta salad and a fountain drink for 5.99. You won’t beat that anywhere.
I can’t say enough good about Lambert’s. If I could give more than 5 stars, I would.

Love love love their salad bar, and the sandwich are enormous and so worth it. Every time I buy produce from here it lasts far long than from a regular supermarket, and their prices are worth it. I also highly respect that I went to get strawberries once. and they were out of stock but had a note in it’s place that said– due to low quality and high prices from their supplier they were temporarily out.
I also buy my christmas tree here every year as it’s close to my house and they have a good selection, average prices, and the guys are all very helpful.

Go-​to place for good lunch — salad bar, big deli sandwiches and soup.

Excellent deli meat pricing. I cannot comment on anything else since this is all I use them for.

I probably get an overstuffed sandwich from here 4 – 5 times a month. They are cheap and SOOOO good. All Boars Head meat and fresh bread. I love the salad bar too. Fresh veggies and fruit on delicious crisp lettuce, spinach or spring mix. So many options to put on the salad. Even chicken salad, pasta salad and tuna salad. Looking for a quick lunch go down to Lamberts!

I’ve lived in California for the last 16 years, and haven’t been to Lambert’s since I was 8-​years-​old. But I still have so many memories here.
I remember «tasting» the grapes to find the best bunch; helping my mom choose the best box of strawberries; CAPE COD POTATO CHIPS (we don’t have those here!!); the samples of American cheese they gave us; and I remember when my dad put Tabasco Sauce in my mouth for calling my little brother stupid in the check out line, and yes he had just bought the Tabasco Sauce from Lambert’s two minutes before.
I’m glad to see that little places like Lambert’s are still around.
While I would never ever move back to Brockton, when I visit, I will come visit Lambert’s.

This place is fantastic. It’s not a looker from the street however, it offers really great produce at great prices. I stop here all the time for the salad bar. They chop the vegetables very thing which makes everything easier to eat! I wish their were more Lamberts closer to my town!

One day I felt like having a salad. I was in the area. What better place to go to than a store that specializes in fresh fruit and vegetables and has a salad bar. Before you think of checking out the salad bar, make sure you stop at the bank and apply for a loan.

Lambert’s reminds me of my childhood because 1) when I lived in the Dot the other Lambert’s was only a few blocks away from my home and 2) the staff is always friendly and welcoming. I love the fresh produce and you can’t beat the sales. I find it humorous going to a local supermarket and they charged $ 4.99 for a case of blueberries when I got it for 2/​3rds less at Lambert’s. And don’t even get me started on the clearance rocks!
I’m a little confused thought about the salad bar. It’s $ 3.99/lb, or I can get a prepacked salad for $ 3.99. I shouldn’t talk out loud cause that might be the next thing that is gone. But no matter, I love Lambert’s!

Okay as a quick update — I ordered the McNeil again last week but this time asked for Havarti cheese in place of the turkey. I toasted the sandwich when I got it back to work and it was super fresh and DEE-​LICIOUS!
Still haven’t tried the Maria again, but I think I’ll be ordering the McNeil on the regular.

Great produce great sandwiches! However Bad management. I have on numerous occations seen employees be degraded and yelled at in public. The manager Mike seems nice however Johny is down right rude. He needs to be taught how to deal with his emaotions. I was in the store one day and actually called him out on his behavior. i told him he should not talk to people the way he did as it was degrading. I also expressed it was even poorer infront of customers. All he said was I know I know. Not once did he say I am sorry or anything. If it was not for Johny I would give them a 5. I think the kids that work at Lamberts are great!