Geno’s Chowder & Sandwich Shop

Very bad and way over priced tourist trap. Worst clam chowder I have ever had it was runny and flavorless and The best part of the meal was the home made root beer and they charged $ 4 for it. Service was terrible as we had to bus our own table.

Best Lobster Roll on the planet!!! I went to Legal Seafood while I was in Boston and they were OK, tried a few other places, but Geno’s is the best. Clam Chowder was OK, I should have had the lobster stew, but the Jumbo Lobster roll was overflowing with claw meat I had to just take the pieces and dip them in butter until I ate enough to eat it as a roll. Was so good, will definitely stop here whenever I am in Portsmouth. The owners where very nice as well, didn’t mind us using the bathroom when we weren’t eating (but we came back later to eat).

Worst chowder ever !! Seeing as this is a signature dish for the area, I felt sure it was going to be good, and I guess if you enjoy a cup of unflavored watery milk, it would be ! Uggh !! Also ordered the crab roll, disappointingly small and incredibly overpriced ! Do not eat here !

Decided to check out Geno’s and get some good old clam chowder. ABSOLUTE WORST chowder we have ever had. Period. Watery milk with a few meek potatoes and a bit of clam pieces. Had ZERO flavor, disgusting.
I DO NOT recommend going here if you are looking for good food.

A cozy, family-​run lunch place on the Piscataqua River with a great outdoor deck. You can get anything from a lobster roll to a grilled cheese and bacon (both are very good) and some of the best chowder around. Throw in a cold Shoals Pale Ale and a Whoopie Pie and you’ve got yourself a good meal and a fun time. A favorite.

GROSSLY overpriced; chowder is thin and watery, and the lobster rolls have hardly any meat on them, and the bun is too small and not toasted very well. Menu selection limited. Service and location was fine though.

Amazing lobster rolls !!! This New England girl gives it 5 stars!!! Generous portions, tasty chowder and an outdoor deck for seating with amazing river side seating! Service was quick but not rushed! Can’t wait to return!

This place was okay. I’m not much of a shell fish person, but I went with people who are. They seemed to like it enough. Not bad but not fantastic. It’s a good place for a quick lunch. However, I think the price was too high for a simple place like this.

Don’t waste your time or money, Geno’s is way overrated. The sign should say ‘Sorry, We’re Open’. Nice dining deck but that’s all that is good about this place. The lady that seated us clearly wished she was elsewhere. I was a little concerned when I caught a glimpse of the camp-​style kitchen when we walked by on the way to the deck, I should have listened to my gut.
Milky, watery minced clam soup complete with a few grains of sand served in a paper cup with a plastic spoon, nice Geno, mama would be so proud! No fish on the very limited menu other than salmon burgers which we ordered. Again, nothing but the cheapest here. I doubt the salmon was anything but farm raised and the cheapest white bun available on the market didn’t improve it. The no name bag of chips with six chips in each bag was totally in keeping with Geno’s cheap theme, as was the lemonade that undoubtedly was a powder mix, yuk! Two small cups of clam gruel, two salmon burgers and one powdered lemon water was @ $ 36. We got burned by the three and four star reviews for this place, hopefully I can spare you the same mistake.

Geno’s is such a hidden gem in Portsmouth. The food is fantastic and the view is beautiful. I am a local and it is one of the institutions that makes the seacoast a great place to be.

Great little place in Portsmouth, NH. Food was very good. I had the lobster roll and it was very good and fresh. My wife had a chicken sandwich which she loved. Most of the meals come with potato chips.
The kitchen is small but looks like moms kitchen. The owner or manager was so nice to us. She came out and checked on our food as well as giving us a map and showing us where some of the attractions were. She took about 10 minutes to show us where everything was on the map.
Our server was a young girl but very polite and attentive. She even trapped a spider on the deck where we were eating and released him so we didn’t see a squashed bug while we are.
If you taller than 5’2″, don’t try to use the bathrooms… they were TINY. I had to laugh at it. Other than the rest rooms, a great meal and experience.
I would definitely eat here again. Great food, attitude and customer service.

I have traveled all over New England and these are by far the worst lobster rolls I ever had. Don’t waste your time, super expensive for a picnic dinner. Paper plates, picnic tables and high prices

So, get this — I’m in love. I just discovered why this is the favorite local place for CHOWDA.
I’ve never gone here before even though Geno’s is a local favorite. I pass it all the time on my way to the island and, finally, I stopped in with my daughter. I was going to try their famous clam chowder when I decided on the lobster stew instead. The menu stated that their chowders and stews were milk/​cream based and I LOVE that. Love that bisque-​style broth, it’s my favorite. So I was very excited.
That lobster stew was freaking FANTABULOUS. Creamy and delicious. I also tried their «homemade» potato salad. Ahem … not as good as mine (no eggs in theirs) but it was definitely fresh and yummy. I also tried their homemade blueberry pie and it was delicious. I polished my plate.
The deck was open and my daughter loved that.
The service was great. We had a young waitress who pleasantly took care of our every need without any attitude (you know that teenage attitude I speak of). No, she was a dear; she even saved us from a disastrous event when I ordered a brownie for my daughters dessert and she then told me what was in it to make sure we wanted the brownie. Thanks goodness she did because it wouldn’t have been a good selection (nuts).
Completely happy I tried Geno’s today.

Sitting on the deck with a lovely water view was about all it had going for it. I ordered a BLT. It was served on tiny supermarket bread, the bacon was half burnt and half undercooked. My son had a chicken salad sandwich and chowder, was unimpressed by both. We each had one beer and the check came to $ 37! No fries, no fish sandwiches. I didn’t look for it this time, but when I was there years ago, there was a sign prohibiting breast feeding on the premises.

Oar House has the best chowder. This place is watery and with tiny clams from the Philippines. Do yourself a favor. go elsewhere for a real Portsmouth food experience.

I liked the place. It is very popular — there was a decent crowd at around 3PM on Saturday. The porch is amazing, it is very nice to sit next to the water and enjot the bridge view.
The food was OK. I think the place is overpriced, and I was not impressed with the quality. Lobster stew was very basic; I was expecting much more. The portions are small — owr lobster rool (regular size) was smaller than at other places in NH. However, the location and the ambience easily make up for it.
The waitresses were extremely nice and efficient. We were served very quickly.

Fab lunch stop between Boston and Soithwest Harbour, Maine. Excellent lobster rolls and chowder. So good on fact, my husband wanted a second! Most food baked on the premises. Very friendly and accommodating staff. Prices reasonable.

Great spot on the water.
Decent chowder.
Plenty of GOP politicians.
A local landmark.

Overpriced, small portions, ownership not friendly, food is marginal at best. Great spot, but unfortunate that their prices are crazy for what you get. Been there twice now with the exact same experience. Lobster was not fresh and watery, chowder was nothing more than milk and clams.
The potential this place has is great but not until new ownership unfortunately.

I was their one fan on Unilocal (aside from a few filtered reviews) but today the server managed to screw that up. There are some things that Geno’s does right. They make a decent lobster roll, though the amount of mayo has been creeping up in the last few years. It’s still okay, but cut the mayo in half and I’ll like it better. They’re serious about no cell phones and I wish more restaurants were like this. Finally, they’ve got a killer view! I wish I could pick up a pair of steamed lobsters at Sanders and a bottle of chilled wine at South Street & Vine, and give Geno’s owners $ 20 an hour to just let us eat on the deck. That’s how nice the view is.
But there are reasons that Geno’s isn’t rated very highly. Nobody’s happy to see you when you arrive and you basically seat yourself after you’ve been ignored for long enough. To me, the chowder tastes like nothing more than milk with clams. If you want good chowder, this isn’t the place you want to go. Some of the servers are better than others and today’s was the worst. She told us she was bringing the check three times and didn’t. When she finally did, it was wrong. When she wasn’t coming back for it, we took it inside and I waited there for the check to be redone. Standing at the cash register and watching the chaos in the kitchen is amazing.
I wish Geno’s was better, but there’s this undercurrent of «don’t bother us» that seeps through the place and it makes me less likely to go back. One of the filtered reviews is a perfect example of the attitude that you’ll find at Geno’s. Maybe someday they’ll hire someone who knows how to run a restaurant to turn this into a friendly place. But if you don’t like to deal with the public, don’t do it! There are tons of good people out of work, why aggravate yourselves by doing something that you don’t like?
I’m still giving Geno’s 3 stars because that’s how it averages out. 5 stars for the view, 4 for the lobster roll, 3 for the chowder, 2 for the attitude, and one for the server.