Lambert's Café — Restaurant in Ozark

Lambert’s is such a fun place! I’ve been wanting to go for YEARS whenever I visit family nearby, and I finally got the opportunity to go! Thankfully, I think it was worth the wait. In the past we never went since the lines were always crazy. This time, we went on a weekday between the lunch and dinner rushes, but there was still a bit of a wait. It wasn’t going out the door, at least!

🍽️ ENTREES We ordered the roast beef and the BBQ pork steak. First of all, the portions are MASSIVE, but the amount you get for the price is insane! The roast beef came with mashed potatoes, and for my two sides I chose the sliced peaches and the mac & cheese (an extra $5). The roast beef was pleasantly tender! Overall, it tasted fine and so did the mashed potatoes. The food was by no means bad, but it tasted like very standard American food to me. Maybe that’s what people like about it, but it doesn’t really stand out. I did like the BBQ pork steak, though. I actually wished I had ordered that instead because it had a wonderful, sweet barbecue flavor that I loved. The pork steak was also so, so tender. I thought it was so fun how it was served in a pan.

🍞 PASS AROUNDS The pass arounds were great. There were so many things on offer, and I tried to get as much as I could because I wanted to experience it all. I was honestly full after eating one piece of bread and a few pieces of fried okra!

The bread is soft, warm, and delicious. It looks like each table comes with a whole basket of butter! I was also surprised to see someone walking around offering to drizzle molasses on the bread. I personally preferred my bread with only butter, but I can’t deny that the combination of the sugary molasses with the savory butter is wonderful.

The fried okra was delightfully crispy, but it could’ve used a bit more salt. We still liked it, though.

🥧 DESSERT We ordered the peach cobbler as recommended by our waiter (side note: I really wish I took note of her name!). The cobbler was nice and warm. Our waiter even gave us extra ice cream! The peaches tasted like they were freshly sliced which surprised me because I was expecting them to use the sweetened canned peaches. The crust was very warm and doughy, which I loved. It was sitting under all the peaches which contributed to its soft texture. I was already so full after the pass arounds and the entree, but it was too good to not eat fresh!

🤵‍♀️ SERVICE Service is where Lambert’s really stood out. Every single one of the employees we interacted with was very kind and inviting. Like I mentioned above, I really regret not writing our waiter’s name down, because she was so friendly and attentive. It was still pretty busy there when we were dining in, but she never rushed us and she always made sure to check on us to see if everything is good.

The other employee I’d like to mention is the young man who was passing out the bread! I also didn’t write his name down, but I remember he looked to be about college-age with brown hair and a mustache. I didn’t want to catch the bread because I didn’t trust myself, but he encouraged me to try and eventually went further and further each way every time he tossed me another piece of bread. He has a great arm and tossed the bread essentially directly into my hands. He even showed us how to juggle! My mom gave him a cash tip and he asked her to put it in his pocket as he shouldn’t touch the cash with his hands, which I really appreciated since I’ve seen too many employees at other dining establishments do some nasty things.

🪑 ATMOSPHERE Lambert’s feels very inviting. It’s a wildly successful and popular restaurant, but it still feels like an intimate local eatery. I love all of the vintage signs that are all over the walls, the lights, and all the wood. The music selection is also great. It also didn’t feel too cramped since it seemed like all the seats were booths, so there weren’t any of those awkward tables where it feels like they crammed you in there just to make more money.

TL;DR: Lambert’s is a great restaurant, and is absolutely...

Walking into Lambert’s Cafe, I thought I was ready. I’d heard the rumors. Ribs. Meatloaf. Rolls flying through the air like they escaped the oven and joined a traveling circus. I thought, “How chaotic could bread delivery really be?” Oh, sweet baskets. I had no idea I was stepping into what felt like a WWE smackdown sponsored by butter.

It all started calmly enough. The server brought out sweet tea big enough to water a garden and a plate of fried okra. I relaxed into my seat, naïve and unsuspecting, ... But then it happened.

“ROLLS!”

It wasn’t a word; it was a war cry. I turned my head just in time to see it—a steaming, golden roll hurtling through the air, spinning like a Tom Brady spiral. My life flashed before my eyes. I ducked, only for the roll to whizz past and smack the poor guy behind me. Direct hit. He didn’t seem mad. He just bit into it like it was all part of the plan.

I laughed nervously, thinking the danger had passed. Oh, no. The roll guy—clearly recruited from an elite throwing academy—locked eyes with me from across the room. His arm cocked back. I panicked. Was I supposed to catch this? Before I could decide, WHAM! The roll landed in my lap, sending a plume of steam into my face. I don’t know whether to applaud him or call a chiropractor.

Once the bread started flying, it was every diner for themselves. Kids were leaping like Olympic gymnasts. Grandmas were catching rolls with the reflexes of Jedi knights. A man across the room tried to catch one with his mouth and almost lost a tooth. And then there was me—flinching like I’d wandered into a medieval battlefield armed with nothing but a fork.

By the time my actual food arrived, I was already emotionally exhausted. But one bite of those ribs—so tender they probably cried when they left the smoker—and I was at peace. Meatloaf? Like it came straight out of a grandma’s oven. The mashed potatoes? A fluffy pillow for my battered soul.

Just as I began to recover, it happened again. “ROLLS!” My fight-or-flight instincts kicked in. I grabbed my plate of meatloaf and used it as a shield, nearly weeping from the buttery PTSD.

Lambert’s isn’t a restaurant. It’s an adventure. You don’t go to Lambert’s to “eat.” You go to survive. You leave full, bruised, and strangely proud, like you’ve just completed some bizarre culinary obstacle course.

Would I go back? Absolutely. But next time, I’m bringing a helmet, a catcher’s mitt, and maybe a goalie mask. Lambert’s Cafe: where the food’s incredible, the rolls are deliciously dangerous, and dinner feels like an episode of Survivor. 10/10 – bring your A-game and...

Lambert's is definitely a tourist draw. We drove nearly 40 miles from Branson. When you arrive you give your name to the person in the booth on the patio. When it's your chosen time the person hollars your name along with the many other folks who have the same chosen time as you. This gets you into the waiting line indoors for someone to take you to a table. It is very reminiscent of a cattle barn and being led by the nose from one area to another. Once at your table you choose from the vast menu of country style foods and the server takes your drink order. The drink comes out in a bucket size plastic cup and I'm told everything is big sized at Lambert's. Good to know. A young man then walks down the middle of the dining room and people begin shouting and waving their arms. To this the young man takes aim and begins tossing massive yeast rolls to each of the excited guests. Taking my cue, I catch the young fellas eye and wave my arms so I too can receive the yeasty bounty that he throws at me. And that my friends is why people come from high and low to Lambert's. Sigh. I ordered fried chicken and while I waited various staff members wafted by telling me about what they carried in their kettles and cauldrons. Fried okra seemed popular and you apparently are supposed to understand to grab a paper towel to use as your plate until a proper plate appears with your ordered food. I'm not sure what I was expected to do with the apple sauce and sourgham without a plate. My favorite of the enticing 'cauldron freebies' were the fried potatoes. My food arrived in vast quantities, too much to possibly eat at lunch. Again another draw is the vast quantities of unneeded food to fatten us cattle . I began to worry. The staff are many and friendly if they look you in the eye. Many were just trying to unload their cauldrons. Lambert's is an experience. Yes, the food is good. Yes, it feels demeaning to be treated like cattle. Yes, it is fun to catch a flying yeast roll the size of Texas. So you decide. But you probably should try them at least once for...