One of my colleagues was recently standing in line at a coffee shop and overheard a barista and several customers chatting about how the sandwiches at Lambo's Deli are “too wet.”
In her recounting, our newsroom chuckled about it since none of us had ever really used that expression to describe food before. If I ever had a complaint about any sandwich, I’d mention it’s “too dry,” if anything.
With two locations in the city — including one just around the corner from Trinity Bellwoods Park — Lambo’s has been serving Torontonians a variety of fresh, New York style subs since they first opened in 2020.
With a menu featuring turkey pesto, mortadella, roast beef and tuna sandwiches, Lambo’s quickly established a name for itself and remains a staple for lunch goers in the west end.
In my mealtime investigation, I didn’t read many poor reviews online, other than one commenter in a Reddit thread who mentioned the deli’s bread is “often stale” or the subs are “overly seasoned” — nothing about being “wet.”
Coming from Sault Ste. Marie, which has a big Italian demographic, I was blessed with deli options growing up. I know for a fact I’d never tasted a “wet” sandwich in my hometown before — except for one time where I was caught in the rain while eating outside.
Since I couldn’t stop thinking about the peculiar comment, I reached out to the owners to see if they’d be up for chatting. They declined, so I went to Lambo’s to give it a try myself.
Before I ordered, I spoke with the cashier and asked her if she’s heard this “too wet” criticism before.
“We get that sometimes,” she admitted. “We have multiple sauces on the sandwich, and sometimes it sits if you don’t eat it right away. It might be a preference thing too.”
To test that theory, I ordered the turkey Swiss — a popular choice that comes with honey Dijon mustard and mayo. I took an Uber back to my apartment, so the $16 sandwich sat in its packaging for about 15 minutes.
Without question, the sandwich tasted delicious — one of the best I’ve had in a really long time.
But when I opened the sub, I immediately noticed some drippage on the bottom of the wrapper. The underside of the sandwich was slightly wet to the touch, but it wasn’t because of the sauce.
The moisture from the turkey — and perhaps the tomatoes — appeared to have seeped through after the sub was cut in half. The sandwich was also dripping with this watery residue while I was eating it.
Now, it wasn’t like I was “drinking” the sandwich or anything — the flavours were still great. The overall texture was just slightly damp. Yes, I’d even describe it as “wet.”
However, I’m not sure if this description would only apply to Lambo’s, as I’d imagine fresh deli meat would traditionally have some residue to it. In this case, the sandwich I ordered just had some additional wetness that left the bread a bit moist (yes, I used that word).
If I had tasted a Lambo’s sandwich before my colleague mentioned the controversy, there’s a chance I wouldn’t have really noticed the wetness. But because the texture was on my mind, I picked up on those observations immediately — and I could understand where the coffee shop goers were coming from.
I would order the sandwich again if I were hanging out in that part of the city. It was a fast, filling and relatively affordable lunch-time option.
You just won’t catch me eating it in the rain.
