Gennaro’s 5 North Square

This place is amazing. A little off the beaten path of Hanover St, which is excellent. The atmosphere is cozy, nothing too fancy, but you don’t go to Gennaro’s for the setting, you go for the food. It’s phenomenal. I can’t even put to words what a good (tasty) experience it was, just go and eat and enjoy.

Best pasta I’ve had in the states outside of Italy and the freshest octopus I’ve ever had.

Great location– so cozy and beautifully decorated for Christmas. The lobster ravioli was delicious. My husband ordered the short ribs with gnocchi which was great as well. Lovely little place with great service– we will be back

This place is a favorite. The food is amazing, the service is fine. The atmosphere is tight and noisy and intimate in a wonderful way. We sat up on the second (or third?) floor. I would look forward to going back. Service could be better, but it was not a problem at all. Still fine for special occasions, etc. Get any of the seafood dishes. They have so much lobster and are so well priced for what you get. My husband and I both really enjoyed our meal.

Really great food. I’m eating a plant based diet so I was thrilled to find this place in the North End. I had the vegan ravioli. It was sooooo good. I really appreciate the care they took with their dishes. Tasty!

I’ve been to Italy multiple times and this is on the same level! The best handmade ravioli and highly recommend the ravioli de zucca!!! It is a butternut squash ravioli with a pesto butter sage sauce! Service was exceptional and they even brought us out samples! Do yourself a favor and next time your craving Italian, COME HERE!!!

Excellent food here in this rather small restaurant. Breezed in here without a wait for a late Saturday lunch. The calamari was light and crisp with a nice sweet and spicy dipping sauce. The chicken parmesan was perfectly cooked, very large, and smothered with mozzerela and red sauce. The buccatini noodles it was served with were perfect. Great and reasonably priced meal off their lunch menu. I’ll try it again.

Most underrated place in the north end. Unbelievable service and food. Tourists need to walk away from Hanover and discover the true Italian of the north end here at Gennaros.

How is it I have never been here before? This place is a gem. Timpano on the menu and San Felice wines? Heaven. It’s quiet, professional, roomy, and worth the wait.

We went to Gennaro’s last night for dinner and had a wonderful experience! I had contacted the restaurant via email to make a reservation for a party of 9 and they responded very quickly and were very accommodating.
The food was fantastic! As a vegan it can be hard to find good options when dining out, but Gennaro’s had a couple vegan dishes that were clearly labeled vegan on the menu… I love that! I had the vegan ravioli and it was so delicious!
Our waiter Tommy was great! Very friendly and excellent service!
I look forward to coming back soon!

I think for the price I paid for the lobster ravioli it’s worth it. I kinda wish there are more sauce in this dish. It’s quite messy to eat the lobster as it’s hard to break the shell and also I still see the lungs attached in the halved lobster.

Here again after two years. Food and service continues to be outstanding. Good to be back!

Went here with the family for lunch and split the chicken parm and it was fantastic. I was worried about splitting the dish because I LOVE TO EAT, but I was completely satisfied with half.
My mom got the spag & meatballs over rigatoni.
Great.

Had an amazing dinner here a few weeks ago. I started with the lobster ravioli which was unbelievable and a seriously generous portion. It came as a bed of raviolis piled with lobster tails, shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams, etc. So delicious. The desserts were out of this world. We ordered 4 and shared them all. All 4 were incredible, although the bread pudding and the gelato dessert were standouts for my taste. If the food wasn’t enough the waiter could not have been more professional. His recommendations were useful, and in my opinion, the service is what makes the meal. Would recommend to anyone heading to eat in the area!

Delicious appetizer with whole octopus tentacles set atop anything-​but-​bland beans and pancetta. Love that the waiter left the olive oil bottle on the table, allowing for a hassle-​free bread dipping sesh before the meal. Was a little disappointed in the portion size of my spaghetti with clams entrée. The flavoring and spices were spot on, but I was still left hungry even after nibbling into the appetizer. Recommend selecting one of their side dishes in addition to the entrée just to be safe.

Egg plant Parmesan and gnocci’s excellent! Tommy our waiter explained wine list perfectly! Service was great!

After a warm greeting by the manager, we enjoyed a great lunch to include a salad with their great lemon/​olive oil dressing. The bucatini with pork meatballs was excellent, one could taste these were truly homemade and the sauce had the long and slow simmer that makes a true Italian pasta sauce irresistible. Fresh bread, great service and no rush at all. It was wonderfully relaxing, delizioso and enjoyable. We will be back! Two thumbs up!

I have to start with the good, here. Service was great. Our server was very nice and attentive and luckily for us, she spoke Spanish which helped since we had a Spanish speaking guest who couldn’t read the menu. One of the three dishes I tried was soild. Portion sizes are generous (I guess they should be since every entrée is $ 20+). Drinks were good. Place has a very comfortable vibe so if you’re dressed casually this place is a great spot. We had a late dinner and were seated immediately.
Our calamari app was standard and came with a lot of banana peppers — the 2 dipping sauces were good. One sweet, one tomato-​y.
Why 2 stars? My entrée. I was feeling ravenous and Italian sure has a way of hitting the spot when you can eat a cow. BUT I was disappointed with my dish and the app didn’t do much for me. I ordered the Ravioli Di Aragosta, which was described as ravioli in a spicy tomato sauce topped with a half lobster and mussels. I was in the mood for spice and seafood, but unfortunately did not get any heat in the dish. Not even sure if the meal was spiced period. Perhaps it got lost in the sauce… Oh no, not a sauce actually just tomato-​y water, that bathed the ravioli sitting at the bottom of the wash basin-​like bowl that was very awkward to eat out of — more appropriate for bathing a newborn or washing your face in 19^th century England. We sat at a bay window booth, which was charming enough but the bowl came up to a couple inches under my chin. DO NOT ORDER ON A DATE. You’ll look weird trying to eat this meal and also, the seafood juice from this dish would probably get all over you if you’re not careful. The lobster was overcooked and even with a lobster cracker, breaking the claw took a few attempts and Hulk like strength and trust me I’m no stranger since my family likes to have lobster feasts on occasion. The ravioli itself was bland. It was just ravioli filled with some diced up lobster with very little flavor and the thin, watery sauce that it sat in did nothing for it. I should have opted for a different ravioli filling for better texture. For the price I paid ($ 45−50ish — entrée, app, non alcoholic drink, tip), I wish I could have enjoyed my meal a lot more.
The carbonara that my friend ordered was solid, delicious and extremely satisfying. Another friend ordered chicken parm and didn’t like it. I tried it and didn’t like it either — the flavor wasn’t impressive and the texture of the pasta didn’t pair well with the underwhelming sauce. Something was just off. A fourth friend wasn’t a fan of her salad.
This place seems to be better for families and groups and there seems to be ample seating on Saturday evenings. It takes credit cards unlike a lot of other restaurants in North End, the vibe is nice, and the service is great. I bet there are some solid dishes here, but I’ve just had better Italian seafood dishes (Giacomo’s!!). If you come here, opt for carbonara or some of the other dishes!

Mama Maria was closed for lunch and said
will try Gennaro’s across the street for it was open. Good luck and started with the White Clam Chowder and Calamari then got their Eggplant Parm for lunch. It was all delicious and pasta is hand made! Accompanied it with a glass of Sasyr a soft Syrah with a fruity red cherry. Was with family and shared their home made Tiramisu, Cannoli and Gelato which were all winners!

Mediocre Italian food in the north end. Came here with a friend — we’re both vegetarian. He wanted to watch the Giants game and they were kind enough to put the game on at the TV by the bar (in the next room). We decided to sit at a table though and from there on, everything was mediocre.
Pesto mushroom arancini: this was solid. 3 balls of mushroom arancini — not too dry. The only pesto was one of those artistic plating things where they smear it on the side — it did go well with the arancini and I would’ve liked more. The «salad» with it was sad, with wilty lettuce and clearly refrigerated tomatoes. Not worth $ 14! 3 stars.
Handmade potato gnocchi with mushroom ragú: got a decent amount of gnocchi, but not as large of a portion as we were expecting (we were sharing). The gnocchi itself was pretty good — nice and soft and a little melty. The sauce, though, was a cream based sauce that looked slightly congealed and otherwise unappetizing when presented to us. I was starving though so I ate it anyways — it was decent. 3 stars.
We both got the house wine — the white and the red. I didn’t try the white but I did not like the red — it was weak and kind of watery tasting (veryyy light-​bodied) and didn’t have much of a flavor to it (not that I know a lot about wine). 1 – 2 stars.
The check came out to $ 60 total — far more than id want to spend on mediocre food. The server messed up our check but was very kind and helpful! Ambience was good, nice and cozy. They were kind enough to show the giants game for us as well — but I probably will not return.