Pamplemousse

We love Pamplemousse. The staff is always super courteous and never afraid to make a gift suggestion or recommend a nice food/​wine pairing.
If you stop by at lunch time, you’d be out of your mind not to try one of their delicious handmade sandwiches. Better yet, they make incredible coffee to go with it; a huge win for anyone in Reading, since good coffee is hard to come by.

While there is nothing better in the area, the attitude and demeanor of the people that work here is often mixed. Sometimes they’re really nice, but other times they act aloof like they can’t be bothered to help you, and I have been in here a few times when the woman, the manager, I believe, has been incredibly condescending in an obsequious way. The quality, diversity, and availability of their food has declined over the years as well — the last two times I ordered an expensive sandwich that had barely any fillings in it. I’m increasingly more and more disappointed in this place and in how it’s run.

What a great place! I’m a regular! I love the selection of wines, cheeses and prepared food. Staff is knowledgeable and friendly. I just ordered a cheese platter… AMAZING! It was a classy. Beautiful… and wonderful combination of cheese and meats. It was a hit and I will definitely be getting it again! Shop here and support local businesses. You won’t be disappointed!

Staff gets a huge fail for customer service.
My wife purchased an expensive ceramic knife here recently. Upon first use it actually broke while carving a turkey. When she went in for an exchange she was met with accusatory comments like «You must have dropped it.» The person she dealt with was borderline argumentative.
Instead of maybe suggesting another type of knife, or any kind of genuine salesmanship, she walked out with a refund only and a sour opinion of this establishment.
We live locally but will take our business somewhere else rather than come to this store again for poor service.

The staff fails at customer service. No one acknowledges you or asks if you need assistance. They chat amongst themselves. The products are overpriced for mainstream products such as Stonewall Kitchen. The quality of some items is lacking. The products in freezer case are out dated.

The employees were extremely friendly and helpful! Reading and the Reading area really needed a craft beer store and this place is great! I really love the accessories as well as the variety of beers. I’ll be sure to come back!

Great selection of craft beer and wine. The environment is very warm and welcoming. Thank you.

Fun store… Wish it were bigger (and a bit more organized)!

I would give it five stars, but I was very unhappy with the tasting staff. They have an excellent selection of wines, beers, cheeses, oils, and finer goods for the home. They allow you to taste a few wines and beers. My only issue was that the man behind the counter gave the couple in front of my sister and I a whole spiel and story about the wines and encouraged them to try them all. When we stepped up, we got no explanation, no offers, basically we were ignored. I suppose we didn’t fit their target audience, however I love wine and do have money, so I was annoyed that we were ignored basically because we looked young. I did buy wine, just not what they offered at the tasting, especially since I wasn’t offered any, I had to ask to try them. Perhaps I would have bought more if the staff wasn’t so «agist,» though I did manage to spend upwards of $ 75!

I’ve long been a fan of Pamplemousse in Salem. Congratulations Reading, you now have the bigger, badder, better version in your quaint downtown. Color me jealous.
If you’ve been to the Salem store, this one is just a little more everything. More spacious, more wine, more beer, more home and kitchen stuff. It’s also a few new things. Salem has a small amount of cheese in a cooler. The new Reading store has an entire cheese case with cheese cut to order. Fantastic. Additionally, this store has a chef, which Salem doesn’t, cranking out prepared meals. I had some meatballs with penne for lunch the other day and it was delcious. They also had some roast chicken dishes and other things. I’ll be going back to try more.
One of the joys that has been transplanted here is the create your own six pack concept. A great selection of craft beers to pick from. There’s a nicely curated selection of wines available, and unlike Salem, I saw Scotch and some other hard liquors at the new Reading store. I’d say the new store is almost twice the size of Salem as well.
One thing that is no different is the wonderfully charming atmosphere, and welcoming staff. Having a party? Go talk to these folks and they’ll hook you up.