Lawrence.com

OnePersonsOpinion (anonymous) says...

Ok, so based on everyone elses rave reviews, I decided to try it out.
I must say, that the entire experience was sub-standard. The Genovese presents itself quite well, but it is all show. We ordered pasta with alfredo sauce and sometime later it arrived on a cold plate. (this meant our meal went cold within the first 5 minutes, very disappointing) For myself I ordered a portabello panini w/squash soup. The sandwich was very tasty, the soup on the other hand was quite bland, and I had to ask for salt and pepper to get any flavor out of it at all. To end we each ordered a cappucino unfortunately, this was also cold when it got to our table. As far as the food is concerned, eh...I doubt we will go back.
The service was quite good, the price was way above what it was worth.
A disappointing experience to say the least.

February 18, 2008 at 12:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Kynsicat (anonymous) says...

I had the pumpkin butternut squash soup, which was very good! I also got a salad that had salt (a lot) on it, which I thought was weird. The bread was so-so, but the wine was great! Had the chocolate budini for dessert and it was fabulous! Overall, good soup, good wine, great dessert, but the price tag was hefty. Waiter was attentive and knowledgeable.

January 25, 2008 at 7:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

gyrodukc (anonymous) says...

I've given this place 2 chances and like the last poster I like Zen Zero and La Parilla. I was really unimpressed with the food is the main thing, it was very bland. I asked for some salt and pepper because there was none on the table, the waitress told me the cooks didn't like salt and pepper on the table. I didn't tell her that if that was the case maybe they should actually season the food with something besides cheap olive oil and cheap butter. I really didn't like the bread that came out.

December 4, 2007 at 5:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

sutra (anonymous) says...

Recently I went to Genovese and had their fresh homemade pasta (with lamb) and my wife had the Salmon. It was a memorable experience. I don't think there are any restaurants that make as many different kinds of fresh pastas like this restaurant in Lawrence. It was delicious, light & a treat. Once you start tasting fresh pastas, eating dry pastas is like eating fresh tomato vs canned tomato.

My wife's Salmom was roasted in the oven with artichokes, potatoes & white wine. It was a great meal--very hearty--for the cold weather. We felt that we got good value for our money. Their seasonal menu reflects the seasons which is may a weird concept in this part of the world.

Its simple, rustic & seasonal cuisine that makes the food great in this place. To top that off, there have great deals on Family Meals & All you can eat pasta which is listed on their menu. I am looking foward to having a pasta tasting menu in the future.

I agree with some comments above that one could go to KC like Lidia's or Il Trullo in OP & you could paying twice of much for the same kind of food.

December 3, 2007 at 2:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

nikkih86 (anonymous) says...

I went with a friend on a Thursday evening and it was kind of empty. Anyway, the service is very pleasant and attentive. We got the appetizer of fried artichokes, which was delicious (but I advise not to mess with the cream they serve it with). It was reasonably priced. The entrees were a let down. My Squash Ravioli was kind of bland and when it reached the table I could tell it had been setting out a little while (it was $11). My friend got the mussel special ($9) and said that they had little flavor, but the presentation was lovely.
My friend said she had been there before and the salad she got was delicious. So I suppose its hit or miss with the menu.

November 30, 2007 at 11:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

feeble (anonymous) says...

I know Lawrence is the home of the cheap dinner (Zen Zero certainly makes it easy) so I understand where some of the criticism over the menu prices are coming from, but when compared to places like Lidia's Kansas City, Genovese is an absolute steal.

I took my wife to Genovese recently. We got in a bit late, and the place was quite busy, which unfortunately made some items unavailable, but overall the food (1/2 Chicken and Spinach Ravioli) was right on and atmosphere was great. We had wine (by the glass) antipasta and entrees for under $50.

So, while $50 for dinner for two is steep compared to Free State or La Parilla, it's an excellent alternative to Italian offerings found in Midtown KC and Johnson County.

November 19, 2007 at 3:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

deadanimals (anonymous) says...

the most expensive item was terrible. we love food, but have no money, but we splurged for a birthday. it was so bad. i hope they go out of business so something new can occupy the space.

October 23, 2007 at 4:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

BreakmanX (anonymous) says...

This is one of the best restaurants in town, and I highly suggest you go here. I disagree with most of the complaints above and think when compared to food of similar restaurants the price is very good.

The food is absolutely delicious. Both my wife and I enjoyed our food immensely. The dark chocolate dessert was one of the most amazing things either of us had either tasted.

The service was really good as well. To be honest, neither of us had any complaints outside of the irritation of having to give our credit number to get a reservation. That's a really small thing considering how great everything else was. This place actually inspired me to create an account on Lawrence.com just to post this!

September 8, 2007 at 6:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

virtuatennis (anonymous) says...

This restaurant was a massive disappointment.

Being weary of lawrence traditional italian food, I chose, as well as my girlfriend, a pizza. I ordered the mushroom and focaccia pizza, for I believe $12, and she ordered the mergherita pizza for $10. After waiting around 10 minutes to even meet our server, she finally drops by to tell us shes busy. The restaurant isn't even busy at all. First, instead of giving us bread as any typical Italian place does, they give us a minuscule saucer of greasy olives. Great, really got my palate going. Finally, the pizzas came out. Both of them had entirely too much sauce which tasted bland and if it had been stored in some non-perishable food container. There was a small amount of cheese that was tasteless, but they somehow were able to create lagoons of grease across the surface of the pizza....probably by dousing it in cheap olive oil. Also, the mergherita pizza didn't even have tomatoes on it.

My mushroom "pizza" was an extremely dry pocket of weak mushrooms that tasted like it came out of a snack machine at the YMCA.

I went back (my girlfriend dragged me) and tried a different pizza, due to the feeling that if they cannot execute pizza, I should probably stay away from anything that involves more expertise. I got the shrimp and arugula pizza. The shrimp tasted like it came out of the Kansas river, the fishy stench reached my nose before any other elements of the fine bouquet. The shrimp were tiny and I would have been displeased with their quality at long john silvers.

However, it is very nice to eat on the balcony...so they get a plus for that.

I only had a $100 bill to pay with, it came out to around $40, and my server gave me $60 in 5's and 1's back. Weak.

September 4, 2007 at 6:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jaketh (anonymous) says...

I have eaten couple of times at Genovese. The food has been excellent & of superb quality. Some people may not realize that the food being served is from Northern Italy. This is not Italian-American food which tends to be from Southern Italy.

The value is great for the price you pay. One cannot ask for a better deal than fresh homemade pastas for $11. Recently, I had the Caprese Salad made from locally raised organic heirloom tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella & fresh basil.

Not to mention, the $20 wine list which is great deal.

August 31, 2007 at 10:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

zjuarez (anonymous) says...

My wife and I ate dinner at Genovese last night, and we both agreed afterwards that it was the best dining experience we've had in Lawrence. We found the prices to be very reasonable. I'm surprised that a few of the reviews here have complained about the pricing. We ordered the seasonal pasta, whereby you get two pastas and for a dollar more, one of the meats. I have to admit I wondered if they were losing money on this, as it was such a good deal.
The food tasted fresh and light, not overly clobbered with garlic and cheese, which seems to the norm for the many restaurants these days.
All experiences at restaurants are unique, and few things could be more subjective than a dining experience, but I'm happy to say my wife and I had a wonderful time eating at Genovese.

August 19, 2007 at 4:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

proclubitras (anonymous) says...

I couldn't agree more with basda. I also went there with my family and was incredibly underwhelmed. Much closer to the Olive Garden than Lydia's homecooked goodness. Maybe I'm little too critical of Italian food after regularly frequenting Boston's North End, but this was poorly prepared, small portions of pedestrian "Italian cuisine." Luckily, our attentive server noticed we hadn't eaten much of the food and gave a generous 50% discount. My mother remarked that the only thing authentically Italian about the place was that they left dozens of bone fragments in her chicken.
F-

August 12, 2007 at 7:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

vinlandproper (anonymous) says...

Checked it out today for lunch. Started to go to Ingredient, but the A/C in the joint is busted. Lucky for Genovese for there was quite a bit of overflow foot traffic searching for cooler places to dine.

Atmosphere was clean and sophisticated without any hint of stuffiness. No more gawd-awful Mass. St. Deli "decor".

The menu was simple, concise and offered enough variation to please most everyone. Children plates were conspicuously absent, but I would venture to guess that to be intentional as Genovese is decidedly an adult restaurant.

Service from the waitstaff was slower than lunch crowds expect, but the kitchen's response time was excellent.

And the food...

Presentation was simple, elegant and truly showcased the beautiful colors naturally present in the dishes. Flavors were precisely combined to create dishes that were not too pretentious, but exhibited a knowledge of the region that has yet to be shared with this dining community. I had the Ahi Tuna Cozy with Tomatoes and my friend had the Home made Paparadelle with sausage, tomatoes, sliced garlic & chili flakes. Damn tasty on both accounts.

Looking forward to trying out their dinner offerings and will be recommending Genovese to others.

July 25, 2007 at 3:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Loriklorik (anonymous) says...

Do not go to this place... VERY overpriced with small servings. They also seem to think that by adding more butter / oil / fat to a dish it magically increases the quality.... it doesnt, it just makes it worse to eat (for example, the pizza i ordered had VERY few toppiings and was covered in oil.... along with being small sized...for 12 dollars before tax? sad ...)

Then there was the service... my water glass was empty half the time, and even when the waiter was there taking orders, he left it empty (though, this is less about the restraunt / food and more about the staff... to be fair, he could have been new or the rest of the staff could have been great for all i know).

Basically... go there if you want to be ripped off... (stay home and guzzle a cup of olive oil, cheaper and you get about the same from that as you would from this place).

July 18, 2007 at 8:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

kugrad2007 (anonymous) says...

Finally a place with decent Italian food in town but I spent $28 on my half of the bill (without a drink!) and ended up still hungry. The $6 salad was quite sad. I would have liked more than an quarter of an ounce of goat cheese and 10 leaves of spinach for that much money. The pasta was delicious, but for someone who gets full easily, I found myself almost licking the plate. Most of the pasta dishes were without any kind of meat or chicken in it, which will contribute to your unfull belly. I heard that lunch prices are reasonable, so I'll have to try that next time.

July 15, 2007 at 10:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Gullah (anonymous) says...

I went here about a week or so ago. I ordered a panini with fruit. The sandwich was ok, the fruit was not ripe and rather gross to eat. The service was just awful. It was after lunch so there was hardly anyone there but our server was lazy. It took way too long to get the check and I don't want to even mention how long it took to pay. I would maybe try this place again but that's only because I'm so sick of all the same places in Lawrence. It was a dissipointment but maybe they will get better. I would suggest training the wait staff to actually wait on people!!!!

July 7, 2007 at 12:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

JHawkChick (anonymous) says...

The food was excellent, but the value left much to be desired. My boyfriend and I are always willing to spend for good food, but after the meal, I was simply still hungry. I ordered the deboned half chicken with broccoli and was very pleased. My boyfriend had the spinach ravioli and we were both very impressed with it. So, my suggestion is to order an antipasti or soup/salad to start off with, so that you won't need much to be full when it's time for an entree. We will certainly be returning, especially since our waitress informed us that the menu will be changing every few months. Hopefully there will be even more delicious choices!

July 3, 2007 at 7:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

omegapoint (anonymous) says...

The food was ok although expensive $12 piza. The service was below average for a restaurant of this caliber. Our two different red wines were delivered to our table without knowing which was which and our waiter never checked on us even once during the meal.

June 29, 2007 at 9:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

wbabbit (Will Babbit) says...

We went opening week, and followed up last week, and I must say, the food was excellent. The atmosphere was excellent, it was so nice to be back in that space without the god-awful mass-street deli food. The wait staff was very nice, if slightly uninformed, though they haven't been open long so I'll give them a pass. The value however...ouch. I am always willing to pay quite a bit for great food, but I don't appreciate spending that amount on entrees and appetizers and leave hungry. It seemed like the portions shrunk noticably from our first time there. Overall however, the atmosphere and food make it worth return trips.

June 29, 2007 at 4:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

LilMissy (anonymous) says...

I absolutely love love La Parilla but am very sad to say I did not enjoy my experience here. I ordered the salmon and it was the smallest, most bland piece if fish I have ever ordered...not worth the high price. The waitress was wonderful, very informative and nice. If the food improved for its price I would most definitley go back

June 28, 2007 at 3 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

sanity4sale (Caitlin Davies) says...

I absolutely adored this restaurant when I ate there a week or so ago. I had had a bad day, and my roommate had just gotten paid, so we decided to have a night on the town and eat at this brand new place. We got the fried zucchini chips as an appetizer, the rock shrimp pizza as our entree, and we shared the creme brulee and strawberry sorbet as desserts. Everything was fabulous (though that might have been because we ALSO shared a bottle of white wine). I am a huge foodie, so is my roommate, and this restaurant definitely lived up to our standards. That being said, I have heard several extremely poor reports of this restaurant. I think it probably depends on either who the chef is that night or what kind of food you order. Regardless, I can say with confidence that my experience was fantastic and that I will definitely be going back.

June 23, 2007 at 11:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

sanity4sale (Caitlin Davies) says...

I absolutely adored this restaurant when I ate there a week or so ago. I had had a bad day, and my roommate had just gotten paid, so we decided to have a night on the town and eat at this brand new place. We got the fried zucchini chips as an appetizer, the rock shrimp pizza as our entree, and we shared the creme brulee and strawberry sorbet as desserts. Everything was fabulous (though that might have been because we ALSO shared a bottle of white wine). I am a huge foodie, so is my roommate, and I have eaten at nearly every nice restaurant in Kansas City (still have to go to the American, but I will - hopefully), and this restaurant definitely lived up to my standards.

June 22, 2007 at 3:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

pinne (anonymous) says...

On a whim, we tried Genovese. We enjoyed it immensely. For a new restaurant they seem to be ahead of the learning curve. The food was delicious. The pancetta/asparagus pizza had the aroma and taste of the sea. The pasta tasting was also terrific. The heat in the red sauce was right on. We'll be back and will recommend it highly.

June 21, 2007 at 8:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

heroinhotwater (anonymous) says...

Nice service, but the food was way more esoteric than it needed to be. Considering that the place is owned by the proprietors of the fantastic, nicer-than-your-average-restaurant-but-still-very-affordable local establishments Zen Zero and La Parilla, I figured it would be slightly more upscale italian food than your average restaurant, but still affordable and, you know, good. Instead everything was entirely too fancy and EXTREMELY expensive. They're only in their first weeks, so a change could come, but if I want Italian food I'm just going to go to Mad Greek where I can order a damn plate of spaghetti or ravioli without some weird twist. I'm all for having exciting things on menus, but if you don't have something that common people can order if they feel uncomfortable, then that just isn't good for business.

June 21, 2007 at 4:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

ihatejohntravolta (anonymous) says...

our waitress was not informed at all about the food or wine. she had to keep going back and asking every time we asked her a question. one of the people i was with also had to send his entree back because he asked for it to be cooked medium rare and it was VERY well done.

June 20, 2007 at 1:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

tranquil (anonymous) says...

We loved the whole experience. This will be a nice addition the the Lawrence restaurant scene.

June 15, 2007 at 7:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

derkallah (anonymous) says...

Yea the food is great but the service is not good, but i have a feeling they will weed out the bad ones and prosper.

June 14, 2007 at 11:11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

bugmenot (anonymous) says...

My spouse and I went to Genovese for our first anniversary last night.
It was great!
We started out with the ahi tuna antipasti. It came with some foccaccia and was stellar!
For an entree, my spouse had the lamb chops and was ecstatic about them and the potatoes that came with them.
I had the spinach salad and the fresh corn polenta. The fresh corn polenta was delicious and unlike anything I've ever had.
Being a big occasion and all, we even splurged on the fruit tarte with gelato for dessert. That was amazingly delicious as well. The crust itself on the tarte was not great, but combined with the fruit and gelato it was an amazing taste experience.
Our waitress was perfect.
Really a great time. Especially considering that they've just opened.

June 7, 2007 at 10:48 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Dazie (Aileen Dingus) says...

We went last night to check it out. I said to the hubby that if they could pull off half the dishes in the right way, they'd have a booming success on their hands. The combinations look fresh and interesting, without being weird. (ie: no mango and chipotle Bobby Flay!)

I ordered the Gnocchi with pesto and green beans- FINALLY a decent pesto in town! Most other places wave some basil near some mayo or something and call it pesto. Genovese had me chomping on garlic and pine nuts and swooning at the strong flavors. Loved it.

My daughter ordered ravioli and almost fell over herself telling the waiter how much she loved it. Hubby had the chef's choice ribeye with ravioli and some other pasta. Honestly- I didn't get a chance to see because it was gone so quickly!

We were most impressed with the giardinara (sp?) sampling we received as we sat down. Olives, carrots and cauliflower. Now- expecting the usual pickled veggies, I was most pleasantly surprised by the taste of fennel and tarragon! I could have eaten a whole salad of just that.

We'll definitely go back.

My only problem was the prices- I'm a cheapo, and I balk at spending $10+ for an entree for a kid. Perhaps they could offer half sizes of their entrees? We brought the leftovers home, so we will eat it, but I was just thinkin...

June 7, 2007 at 8:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

basda (Beth Herrman) says...

Maybe I'm too critical in the first couple of weeks of being open...but I took my mom there for dinner and we were not impressed. We both enjoy zen zero and adore la parilla, but gen. was not as cool. The food was very (VERY) regular for extraordinary prices. The salad was very plain, (mom ordered the baby spinach salad w/ grapes) and it looked as though they had bought the salad mix at dillions and cut less then standard grapes in half. I ordered the Bruschetta w/ asparagus, talegio and proscuitto($8) and received 2 peices of poorly made italian bread with (what tasted like country crock) butter and a very chewy half of asparagus. Needless to say, we were very disappointed. How sad.
On the plus side, the wait staff was GREAT and very informative....too bad they cant cook too.

June 5, 2007 at 2:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jcm800 (anonymous) says...

My fiance and I ate dinner there at the beginning of June. I was nervous at first based on the portion-to-price factor. We inquired with our waitress on whether or not we should split one of the $15 entrees. Upon eying my rumblin' belly, she said probably not. However, we were pleasantly surprised, or blown away, rather, by the food. It was prepared perfect, served promptly and muy delicioso.

If you go, try the spinach ravioli or the roasted half chicken. Bring enough money for wine, though. We missed out on that.

June 5, 2007 at 12:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )