Genovese

I was not impressed by Genovese. The complimentary bread and red sauce brought to our table were horrendous! I have never been so disappointed by an Italian restaurant! The bread was terribly dry and the sauce was bland. I ordered shrimp alfredo with no peas. The food was cold and it was totally over-​peppered. The service was fine, but I do not plan on returning. The search for a good Italian restaurant in Lawrence/​KC continues…

I’ve been coming to Genovese for around 6 years, so it was exciting to bring my husband for his first experience. We live in Kansas City but it is worth the drive to Lawrence because it is fabulous every time! Their pasta dishes have exceptional flavor that isn’t heavy or overpowering. The service is always great too! We can’t wait to come back!

Great evening last night. Wonderful service, pleasant atmosphere, food was delicious & hot. We enjoyed lobster & crab ravioli & wild mushroom & asparagus ravioli, with chopped salads. This was our third time here and we we definitely be back.

Avoid this place! Please don’t waste your money here!!!
The food is honestly terrible and under seasoned. I honestly don’t think they know what spices or salt is here. To cook «Italian» food and have it be underwhelming is one thing. But for it to be as bad as what it is takes a special type of talent.
Most of our food came out cold. When you’re given fresh bread at a place you expect it to be nice a warm. Nope! Not here. The bread came directly out of the freezer.
The fried mushrooms were bland and cold as well. How do you serve cold fried mushroom? No idea but this place figured it out!
Shared some pasta and the sauce was watery and mostly oil. Oh and the sauce and the noodles were cold!

It never fails to please… the quality is consistently good and imaginative. The service is good as well: personable, competent, and efficient waitstaff.

Delightful atmosphere and excellent meal. There were so many choices it was difficult to choose one item.

I absolutely love Lawrence originals, and Genovese is around the top of my list! I stopped in on Sunday after helping out a friend with her film project and I’m glad I made my way back there again.
The interior of the building is very quaint. Like most other restaurants on Massachusetts Street, Genovese is in an old building that has been kept beautiful despite its probable near 150-​year existence. It’s two stories tall and has a rustic Italian look to it. There are lots of windows and a nice patio area.
Our server sat us immediately when we entered (not many people there on a Sunday at 2 PM), but this is not always the case. It’s a fairly popular restaurant, and I’ve had to wait 30 minutes before.
I ordered the spinach and fresh ricotta ravioli. The pasta is house made and the dish is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. The pasta itself is green from the spinach and it’s served in a four-​cheese sauce with cherry tomatoes. The sauce is heavy — probably heavier than it needs to be. But the dish is still divine, and I’d highly recommend it.
Our server was great — a big shoutout to Buck! He was attentive, friendly, and kept everything moving right along.
If you find yourself in Lawrence any time soon, I’d definitely advise you to check Genovese out.

I have been here a few times and cannot give a consistent review. The food is basically good, but overpriced. The wait staff gets mixed reviews. On my most recent visit, the waitress was rude and it was apparent that she was anxious for us to leave.
About a month ago, I was here with a friend and was seated outside. We had much better service from a young man. All in all, I would not recommend the place, because you never know what you’re going to get, except for a big bill.

We ate here yesterday when my mother in law came to visit. I had heard to avoid this place from friends, and I wish I would have listened. It would have saved us $ 55 for a disappointing lunch.
We walked in and were greeted promptly and seated near the window. Our server was great, no complaints with him, but from there it got worse.
I opened my napkin and there was lipstick on it. Granted, a small amount, but I was easily able to scratch it off. I was given another napkin and decided to forgive that mishap, accidents happen, right?
I ordered a mixed green salad with strawberry balsamic dressing. My salad was not cheap and came with nothing but lettuce! The dressing literally had no taste except oil. I asked for another dressing and chose the garlic Parmesan. It came out in a clumpy mess dumped in an undersized container, and it was also terrible.
My spaghetti came out with watery sauce, rubbery calamari, and the tiniest shrimp I have ever seen (which were also rubbery and overcooked). The lunch portion of the spaghetti was $ 14!!! I wish I would have saved my money and made spaghetti at home.
The only saving grace was my husbands panini. He was satisfied with it and the side of potatoes.
I will not be returning, and will be telling others about our experience. It is hard for me to write a bad review, but this one was warranted.
If you want good pasta, go to free state brewery or zen zero.

We stopped into Genovese on a Sunday Funday for some drinks and a bite to eat, the layout is cozy and comfortable for a nicer meal but, also works great for some lighter brunch fair. The $ 4 menu for the bar works great if you’re looking to just drink and eat at the bar, I’d highly recommend the drink specials too which lets you chose a few options and sample the drinks and appetizers. The cocktails were poured right and the food came out hot right from the kitchen that you can see from the bar while you eat.
I’ll absolutely be back for a proper meal during dinner hours and from the bar and appetizers along I am a fan.

Really like the appetizers. and the meatball!

Service was a little slow. The server that had the tables outside and tables inside. We sat outside for 10 minutes before we got water. Other than that she was friendly. Food was good. Drinks were good.

I have been to Genovese many times since they opened and just can’t quite give them 4 stars because execution is off far too often at this restaurant. Typically, it’s just slow service, but sometimes that translates to cold food.
I do like that they serve breakfast and I just tried out their breakfast for the first time. Our server was a bit slow on the uptake. We were only provided lunch menus when we arrived and asked if breakfast was still being served. Our waiter’s response was to point out the hours listed on the lunch menu. After a few confusing exchanges where we made it abundantly clear that we wanted the breakfast menu, he finally understood and obliged.
Our food was very slow to come out. I ordered the Poached Eggs over Mascarpone Polenta. Overall, the dish was flavorful, but the poached eggs were overcooked with hard yolks. Unfortunately, in one of my bites, I got a very large piece of eggshell. Not just a tiny bit that the chef could have easily been missed, but a piece of eggshell that was probably about ¹⁄₁₀^th of the shell of the egg. Definitely big enough that if anyone was paying attention when cracking the egg, it would have been noticed. Also, it was clear the polenta had been microwaved as part of it was just warm, while the rest was so hot that I nearly burned my mouth.
Also, the waiter asked at one point if we would like refills on water, but never brought them. My glass was completely dry for quite some time. Fortunately, we had water in the car.
My dining companions reported that they enjoyed their meals, so that’s definitely a positive. I love their building as well. They’ve done a nice job on the décor so that it enhances the building.
I’m sure I will be back to Genovese and I’m really hopeful that someday, I will have that four star experience that I know they’re capable of achieving.

I have been here several times. They do some items extremely well. Expresso martinis and zucchini chips are awesome. The spinach and ricotta cheese ravioli and pizza are also very good. They have a great happy hour. Some things to avoid are their specials. The specials are way overpriced and not that good. I am not impressed with the deserts. The kids chicken tenders are disappointing.

Great small plates and appetizers. My husband and I got there for a early dinner but ended up sharing many appetizers. Good drinks. Then ended with a charcuterie board. Can’t wait to go back and try a real entrée portion. The décor is the only reason I did not give 5 stars. It’s dark unless you sit by the window. Overall a great find!

I want to talk about BREAKFAST! Genovese has a great breakfast menu on the weekends and I think it’s not well known for that. It’s almost never super busy for breakfast and you can usually be seated quickly.
Everything I’ve ever had for brunch here has been delicious and everyone I’ve gone with has left happy and full. The breakfast pizzas are original and tasty, I really like the smoked salmon one. The «breakfast cozy» is pizza crust cooked like a pita (so it opens up in the middle), then cut in half and stuffed with eggs, arugula, tomatoes and pecorino. I’ve also had the dish with polenta and tomato sauce. Yum to all of these!
I’m a big bloody mary fan and most of the time they make a great spicy bloody. I’ve had a mediocre one once or twice, so I’m guessing each bartender uses their own recipe.
Pro tip: The waiter told me (about a year ago, so this may have changed) that their Hollandaise sauce is not made in-​house, so he didn’t recommend anything that came with it. Disappointing because it is one of my favorite brunch options, but good to know in advance.

I used to consider Genovese the perfect backup plan for those weekend breakfasts when The Roost/Milton’s were too packed. After this morning, I’ve got to find a new backup. They make this gorgeous Belgian waffle, but the last 3 times I’ve been here, they’ve brought it out on a cold plate with cold butter. This means that the waffle is cold in about 60 seconds.
For the 3^rd time in a row, the bacon has been greasy and limp, breakfast potatoes flavorless, and the eggs Benedict congealed and rubbery.
Add on to that lukewarm coffee served in a dirty mug, and I can’t help but feel something has gone terribly wrong with Genovese management. What used to be a reliable brunch location has become a disappointing slog.

I have been here a few times over the last few years. Honestly, Italian food in Lawrence sucks. I know Genovese is supposed to be the go to place for a high quality upscale Italian dinner, but it is overpriced and doesn’t offer good enough food for the price.

In my initial review of Genovese, I gave them a lackluster 5 Out Of 10 Bombs … BOMBS ARE GOOD … but looking back, I was definitely too generous.
We had bought a Genovese Groupon for $ 58 which included two appetizers and four entrees because we had planned to go with some friends, but our dinner plans fell through and after our first paltry experience, we were in no hurry to return. With the Groupon promotion lapsed, the «face value» of the Groupon «will still be honored» (according to Groupon’s website and disclaimer) and not wanting to waste $ 58, we decided to use it when my sons came to town for a visit from Colorado.
Because I was using the «cash value» of the Groupon, not the promotion, I decided to utilize the «buy one entrée and two drinks, get one entrée for half off» offer advertised recently in the Lawrence Journal World (LJW). However, when it came time to pay the bill, the server told us that the manager would not honor the LJW offer. I asked to speak with him, explaining that the «cash value» of the Groupon was no longer a promotion, but if he wanted to honor it (even though it had expired) and give us the two appetizers and four entrees in exchange, that would be great! Otherwise, we were using no other «promotion» and I asked him to please honor the LJW coupon. He refused, not quite able to grasp the complexity of the situation or the meaning of «customer service».
Our meal, being bland, overpriced, with too much sauce on the pasta, was unremarkable and because it was overshadowed by the manager’s poor attitude, I will not waste too much time here explaining it. Leave it to say that the bruschetta ($ 6.50 — pronounced «brew-​sket-​ah», not «brew-​shet-​a») was three small pieces of white bread from the supermarket with a little cheese melted on top (bruschetta in never served with cheese), a little olive oil, and topped by three small grape tomatoes cut in halves. The Caprese salad (insalata), a favorite of mine, at $ 9.50 was equally as disappointing, being sprinkled with balsamic vinegar, another culinary faux pas, a few small slices of yellow tomato, thin pieces of mozzarella cheese, and a couple grape tomato halves in the middle. My wife’s wild mushroom and asparagus ravioli was supposed to come in a broth, but there was little broth visible, the pasta were dry, and their filling almost non-​existent … BUMMER!
Being a former baseball player, it normally takes three strikes to be «out», but in the case of Genovese, two strikes shall suffice …
«Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.»
Genovese will not be getting another chance in my book, mostly because of the manager’s unprofessional attitude, but also because of the poorly executed, overpriced food and …
CombatCritic Now Gives Genovese a Paltry 2 Bombs Out of 10 … More Bombs Are Better!

We had one of the worst brunch experiences EVER at Genovese. We went with a party of 7 there on move-​in weekend. The place was not busy, and they sat us right away in the very, very upstairs. It took an unbelievable amount of time before we were even acknowledged by our waiter and to get water and coffee.
Another large party was sat in the same room shortly after we arrived, and they received their food a good 20 minutes before us. It took 40 minutes to bring us our food and when we went downstairs to check at the 30 minute mark, our food had been sitting on trays outside of the kitchen, ready to be delivered. Well, as you can imagine, 10 minutes later, our food was cold. We ate it anyway, because we were starving by this point. About half of the table had our coffee refilled once, and not at all for the other.
The manager and waiter both said that they were understaffed in the kitchen and front of house. The manager also insinuated that we should have made a reservation, and this was our fault. If that was the case, they should have turned us away, instead of seating us. They did comp the bill by 50%, because we were clearly livid. After a couple of mediocre lunch and dinner experiences prior to this one, we will not be back. I also would not recommend wasting money here when there are much better restaurants in Lawrence to pick from.