Di Bruno Bros.

The best nova lox i have ever seen or tasted. Hand sliced by an artisan. You can see your fingers through the slices. I have been buying nova for 50 years and this is the best
hand sliced nova i have ever seen or eaten. Ask for Joe to slice yours. He will take a whole side of fish and slice one long /​huge slice. Will also trim it perfectly and layer it on wax paper perfectly. I am sold. Who would have thought that an Italian Store had the best nova. A job well done.

It gets this rating because it just can’t live up to the shop they have in the Italian Market, and maybe it’s not supposed to. I blame them, they set my expectations too high. It’s still better than your local mega grocery store and somewhat satisfies my Di Bruno Bros cravings. This location still boasts a large selection of cheeses and cured meats (even though you have to order at separate counters) served by well informed, educated, friendly staff who know how to treat the customers. The selection does seem abbreviated from the other location though. And when it comes time to sample cheese I feel more rushed here than I do at the Italian Market. Maybe it’s because it’s housed inside the Ardmore Farmers Market, a one stop shop for anything trendy in the food world. Usually quite packed during my visits. Or maybe it because they have far less cheese mongers than the other, making me rush to allow the next person to order. I always order a little duck prosciutto, one of our favorites. Two thirds duck meat, one third buttery duck fat with a peppery crust. Sublime and a big hit at most gatherings since most people haven’t had the pleasure yet. Tip: Let it rest at room temperature for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Although I love Di Bruno Brothers I unfortunately have to report that the service at the Ardmore location just isn’t up to par. They’re great at the cheese counter, but they’ll let you stand waiting for meats, doing too much talking to each other, and basically not caring; and the same is true for the cashiers.

After receiving a message in my inbox from DiBruno customer service, reaching out to address the photo that I uploaded on Saturday, I realized that I never actually wrote the review for my experience. So, here I go.
My husband and I go to this farmer’s market OFTEN. We go at *least* twice a month, and drive from about 30 minutes away to get here. It’s not in any way convenient, and we spend a good chunk of our food money for the month here.
This past weekend we sat in traffic for 45 minutes to get here, and then went straight to DiBruno for lunch (it was about 1:20 pm). I had eaten at this location once before and gotten a pork sandwich with broccoli rabe on it, and been disappointed because the broccoli rabe was very poorly cooked (basically it wasn’t cooked at all).
I was a little hesitant to try again, but we were starving, and he wanted it, so…
I ordered the chicken cutlet Philly and he ordered a pastrami sandwich. We stood by the counter the entire time we were waiting (as opposed to walking around the market) and saw numerous people get their sandwiches before us, who I know for certain ordered after us. I think the staff could read the frustration on my face, because we kept being asked what we were waiting for. After being asked twice, one of the employees said that one of our sandwiches was «on the grill now.» So, we continued waiting.
Finally we get our food ($ 23.00 for two sandwiches and one bottle of water) and take a seat. I open my sandwich to find that not only is there essentially zero pesto on it (see photo), but that the chicken cutlet is freezing cold. Additionally, the pretzel roll that the sandwich was served on was so hard and disgusting that I literally ate the cold chicken and mozzarella with a fork (because I hadn’t had one bite to eat that day) and threw everything else out. At some point someone put a free chocolate chip cookie in our bag, I assume as a gesture of apology for the long wait? But I don’t know that for certain, because no one said anything to us.
After this experience, I will not be patronizing this location again, and will instead spend my money at the other vendors who offer better customer services and tastier food.

All of their food is really tasty and high quality. I come here occasionally for a sandwich but it isn’t very consistent — sometimes there will be a LOT of meat, other times there will be about the same amount as a wawa hoagie (not much). Another reason I gave them 3 stars is service — the younger guys who work here are rude but the older guys are incredibly nice. Also at checkout they are not very careful when trying to scan an item. For the price I’m paying I want consistency with food and service.

While DiBruno Brothers can be expensive, it is almost always worth it. They do such a great job of keeping their locations filled with incredible quality Italian products. I frequent their location in Ardmore because I work across the street, and whenever I need lunch, they almost always seem to have something that hits the spot. They offer all kinds of great meats and cheeses as well as all kinds of prepared foods, sandwiches and delicious breads and pastas.
This particular visit required a sandwich for lunch, so I ordered a panini sandwich filled with oven roasted turkey, mozzarella cheese, lettuce tomato and hot peppers. Their sandwiches are always packed full of meats and cheese and served with delicious kettle cooked chips. Its definitely worth the 8.99 or so that they usually charge because of how filling it is. This turkey sandwich was fantastic. Nothing beats over toasted turkey that is sliced fresh to order. They use really great bread too, which always is the difference between good or bad sandwiches.
This place is always worth a visit, and they have many different products to fit all of your needs. If you need something Italian, DiBrunos should be your first stop.

Probably best spot on the Main Line for high-​end cured meats and cheeses. The sandwiches are both complex and divine. The staff is nothing but happy and very helpful. Why another poster went there for Dietz and Watson meats is beyond me; do they also go to Godiva for a Hershey’s bar?!? Maybe, go to Acme next time, philistine.

Was so disappointed in my visit today. Wanted to order a bagel and cream cheese, was twice told to go «over there» not indicating where that was… Ended up with half a dozen miscommunications and overcharging my order. In the end the bagel was burnt, not toasted. My last visit!

You simply can’t get a happier or more helpful employee! The products are second to none and everyone should shop here.

I fully agree with the other two reviewers. They do have good cheese, but that’s about the only product I’ll go there for since the customer service is so awful. They are cocky, pushy, and very defensive. I gave them plenty of chances and experienced various employees too, so I’m not just basing this off of one person. One time, I asked for boars head turkey and they spent a couple minutes trying to talk me into buying their brand of lunchmeat because it was so much better. I didn’t give in because I when I tried their brand in the past, I didn’t care for it, when I tried to tell the employee that, he just ignored me. Also, when I finally did convince the guy to give me boars head, the next day, I opened the package, and it smelled toxic. I took it back to them and a couple employees smelled it, belittled it, and kept making excuses like that it might not be totally fresh since people come there to buy DiBrunos brand and so they don’t sell as much Boars Head. Well that certainly doesn’t mean they shouldn’t keep track of its freshness and throw it out when it goes bad or warn customers of when it was opened and how many days it will keep.
I also agree with another reviewer that it’s ridiculous that they have taken over half of the Ardmore Farmer’s Market. It’s rude and ostentatious and takes away what a farmer’s market is supposed to be. The place might as well just turn into another location for DiBrunos.

Come here if you want to be talked down to or schmoozed into buying $ 30/​lb cheese from the guys behind the cheese counter. I really do appreciate the fine quality of the cheeses, but the attitude is entirely unnecessary. Upon asking for a sharp cheese, we were told in the most condescending manner that we had the definition of «sharp» wrong. At the same time, another employee was telling a fellow customer that all inexpensive cheeses are «bad.» Then, we felt almost bullied into buying said $ 30/​lb cheeses. Are these guys working for a vast commission?! We left feeling put down… For buying cheese! I plan to avoid Di Bruno Bros from now on.

I really do not like that di brunos took up half the farmers market. I believe that better things could have gone in the space, or at least it would only take up one space. I have only bought food from them once and pretty much every other place in the farmers market could top them.