Gennaro
“Great, little known northern Italian place tucked away on the Upper West Side.”
“This is definitely the best Itallian restaurant I've found in the UWS after 8 months of living there.”
“The kale salad and watermelon with goat cheese at the next table looked yummy and I would love to return to try it.”
Gennaro
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I really enjoyed Gennaro! After really only being a celeste-goer for all things pasta in the past I'm glad to know that there is another option out there.
No, Gennaro doesn't have the hand made noodles that Celeste boasts but the portion sizes and menu breadth is refreshing.
Aside from the normal pasta selection, I would say take the time to order the Kale Salad. I'm not a big fan of it but it was one of the stars of the meal – I also really liked that they split the salad no charge for me and a friend.
Warning: they seem to have super long lists of specials that their poor servers have to memorize so just be prepared for a long wait at the beginning of your meal 😉
The eye-shearing baby blue awning would have been enough to perpetually chase me into the arms of neighbouring restaurants, but thankfully positive reviews motivated us to give Gennaro a try.
The pastas were definitely a highlight, with a focus on simplicity and sublime execution. The simple spaghetti alla chitarra (basil, garlic olive oil and cherry tomatoes) was satisfying and nicely done, without unnecessary bells and whistles to distract. The squid risotto special that day took our meal in a more luxurious and decadent direction, but equally well executed and satisfying.
Our first outing was definitely positive enough for us to want to return and try out the other pastas available (mmm, sardines, pine nuts, raisins, saffron and wild fennel?), and the attentive service this time out gives us hope that this could become one of our neighbourhood favourites.
Wonderful! I'm sorry that other people seem to have had a less than satisfactory experience. We were seated immediately (around 730pm), our waiter was great. So we're his colleagues. We had a delicious $40 bottle of wine (a great price, we thought). Pasta e fagioli… A little non- traditional, but delicious. The kale salad, also delicious. I had the pasta chitarra, very good… But the surprise was the game hen that hubby ordered. Frankly, it was the best I've ever tasted. Perfectly prepared, served with really tasty spinach. Gennaro is in our neighborhood… We'll be back… Many times! Because there are many items on the menu that we're looking forward to tasting.
This evening I ate at Gennaro at the recommendation of my friend who had heard good reviews. The evening started fine but declined to what was rather insulting. The service was fine at the beginning. The server was attentive, no rushing. We ordered a bottle of wine and a salad appetizer. The server refilled our drinks and checked on us to see how we were doing most of the night. The endive salad was good. I don't care much for curly endive/frisee but the flavor was good. My friend had the gnocchi which looked average, but was homemade. She wasn't in LOVE with it but did enjoy it. I had the risotto with shrimp and asparagus. I was very underwhelmed. The rice was slightly underdone to my taste. But what really upset me is that there was one piece of nicely grilled shrimp. The rest was small baby shrimp throughout the dish. Really?? $20 for frozen baby shrimp. What is that?! Also, the asparagus was diced and essentially lost its flavor. I would not order again. Ok, so that's 3-stars. Really average. But at the end of the night, they way that management tells you to GET OUT is to TURN OFF THE A/C. In the middle of this summer!! I still had almost an entire glass of wine left, so did my friend, and there were other customers in the restaurant! This was exactly at 10:30pm, their stated closing time. I have NEVER been to a restaurant where the lights are turned up and people are essentially forced out at the exact closing time. But to turn off the A/C is passive aggressive. No one ever politely told us that the kitchen was closing or that the restaurant was closing. I thought they closed at 11pm like most restaurants in the UWS on a Tuesday. And that's the KITCHEN closing. I've never experienced anything like this. For that very reason, I will never return. TERRIBLE way to treat patrons. I'm local to the area and I will never return nor will I ever recommend this restaurant.
I started coming here when I moved to NYC in 2002 and it quickly became my favorite restaurant. Growing up in a family where homemade gnocchi is the norm, it's hard to find any restaurant that matches the gnocchi my mom and grandma make. These do. They are pillowy perfection — exactly how gnocchi should be made. If you disagree, you are eating gnocchi all wrong. The pink sauce fits perfectly. We always start with the panzanella. It is pricey but we love the freshness of the salad — homemade croutons, tomato, mozzarella, cucumber, olives, yellow pepper, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper. For dessert, we always end with tiramisu. I'm not a huge tiramisu fan in general but this version is the only one I will eat. It's almost like you're eating air. The cream and cake are so light and fluffy, it is the perfect way to top off the night. Though we have lived in Florida nearly 8 years now, Genarro is always on the trip agenda when we make it back to town. Ignore the negative reviews! You won't be disappointed.
Wow.
We came here driven primarily by curiosity and convenience. This restaurant seems to always be busy, and so we were glad to be seated without a reservation on a Sunday evening. Gennaro's must have a loyal following because there simply cannot be enough new people trying it for the first time?
Anyway, it has been said that the service was 'uninterested'. That is generous, I'd say the service was 'inconvenienced', 'bothered' and 'completely apathetic'. This only served to pique our curiosity.. It must be divine! How else could the staff be so distant (unless it was 'candid camera' night and that would be fun).
The grilled octopus immediately caught my eye. It sounded incredible and we decided we'd order that right away while we considered the rest of the menu…they were out of octopus! Bummer, but it happens. Our server could offer no like alternatives. So without his guidance ordered grilled calamari which was good. Nothing to write home about but it was good. It was served on a bed of couscous. I don't know why but it was and it was decent couscous. It had raisins in it. Jury still out…
Next came the prosciutto portobello and Gorgonzola plate. The Gorgonzola had no flavor. No, really it could've been creme fraiche or unsweetened whipped cream. But it wasn't, it was a Gorgonzola cheese sauce. There was a grilled portobello that was very good. The bread was very good. The prices were decent.
Service was horrible. Have I mentioned that?
I've been here twice, and I love it!!! It's an Italian place with a lot of quirks (cash only, a like dozen-item specials menu, etc.)
Started out with a really solid kale salad, then moved on to salmon because I've been eating way too much and not exercising in the past 4 months — just moved here and using "need to acclimate" to excuse lack of regular gym work — so I avoided the pasta, etc. Salmon was awesome, though. I ate it so fast that the others at my table went: "You finished already!!!"
Ended it all with a flourless chocolate cake that was incredible, too.
Gennaro is a lovely Italian restaurant on Upper West Side. Get off the 96th Street station on the 1/2/3 trains.
I came here with a group of 6 and we got seated in about half an hour. There is usually a long line during dinner time because they do not take reservations. The food is delicious. They come out with bread and an olive oil + balsamic vinegar dipping sauce. Unfortunately, the menu is meat-heavy. (For decor, they even have a huge picture of a slab of meat) The only thing I could really eat is the kale salad. I wasn't that hungry, so I was fine with ordering that. The kale salad was delicious — the yummiest kale salad I've had in a very long time. With that being said, please add more vegan and vegetarian items on the menu!
This is a great place if you're into wine. They have a big variety of wines and serve generous glasses. The owner was walking around the entire time I was there, making sure everyone was happy, and we had a fantastic meal.