Geno’s Grille – Southington

Ok, I don’t hate this place. Wife, kid and I have dined here 7 or 8 times in the past, year.
There isn’t much for dining in Southington, so this is about as good as it gets.
However, they recently switched out their lighting for energy efficient LED flood lights. Ok, great. But get a clue on the use of a dimmer… The lighting is now very bright, like you would expect it to be when they clean at the end of a shift. It pretty much kills any atmosphere that the place used to have.
Just my 2 cents.
Service is a bit sporadic.

Located on the Southington town green, the place is gorgeous, the food is wonderful, and the staff are the among the finest in the area.

This restaurant was a huge disappointment! We were seated and then ignored for a good fifteen minutes before our server came to our table, however she looked right at us multiple times before finally coming over. We stopped for a late lunch and the restaurant was not busy at all. My fiancée ordered penne alla vodka with grilled chicken and the chicken was disgusting. It was literally just cut up boiled chicken. We will not be going back.

Best meatballs, EVER! Great presentation, & they include enough greens to count as a salad! A sauce salad, but i love the fresh greens!

Not impressed by this restaurant at all. Came on a Wednesday night and it was barely occupied and the service was wicked slow. The food was nothing special. The sauce was not good at all. I would not come back.

Went here on friday night for dinner at about 830. Place was busy and bustling but we had no wait. Ambience is warm and bright and booths were very comfortable.
Menu has a lot to choose from, from pasta to burgers to pizza and paninis and then a few entrees. They did also have a board of specials. They give u some sesame bread with a hummus in olive oil for dipping. Bread was ok– i expected better for an italian restaurant, but im also a bread snob.
We settled on the mussels appetizer (a go to for us in almost every place that offers them) and it was good. Not my favorite but id definitely get it again.
For main meals I got the arugula salad with sirloin added ($ 19) and my bf got the margariehta pizza with sausage added ($ 12). Both were really good and would get again.
Lastly, we got the Bundino (chocolate hazelnut mousse -$ 7) which was omg so delicious. Glad there wasn’t more because we would’ve been sick leaving there. Total bill came to $ 56 which I felt like was pretty reasonable.
My only gripe was unfortunately we were sitting next to this couple where the lady did nothing but scream at her man telling him he was a pushover/​bad father for the entire hour we were there. It made the whole experience very uncomfortable and just awful. Not sure what anyone could’ve done about it, it just ruined our meal because she was so loud, she might has well been sitting with us the entire time.
But overall food and service was great, we will be back to try other things for sure!

My girlfriends and I went here on a gorgeous Wednesday evening. We sat out on the patio. The wine, the food, and the service were all wonderful! We had their Bruschetta of the Day with fig and marscapone — it was delicious! We split a few entrees between us — all also delicious. The Carbonara with pancetta, Cavatelli with chicken, and the Ricotta gnocchi — mmmmmmm. The ladies and I will definitely be back!

Went to Geno’s for our anniversary and had a GREAT meal. I had the seasonal «pumpkin chicken» that perfectly prepared and tasty. My husband had eggplant parm which he said was the best he has ever had.
Service was quick and friendly and the restaurant itself was architecturally interesting. Good location and easy parking.

We went here a few weeks ago for a double date w/​friends from Southington who like us, heard mixed reviews about Geno’s. We were immediately sat in the back near the kitchen in a very large booth. The inside of the restaurant is very nice, the tile is beautiful on the floors, back splash behind the bar is also nice, and general layout is very casual. We ordered some salads (a la carte) for our meals, and they were presented very quickly, along w/​a nice soup that was the special of the day. I believe it was a pumpkin/​sweet potato soup– it was delish. We ended up waiting at LEAST 45 more minutes for our entrees. They took forever. We were chatting so did not really pay attention to the time, but it had been a while between soup/​salad and entrée. Our waitress was very very good, checking on us often and was polite and respectful. She did a wonderful job w/​service. The meals were great, and seasoned nicely. My husband ordered the steak medium rare, however it was more medium well :/​The rest of us got chicken parm it was good. I do not know if it was worth $ 150 bucks for 4 people w/​2 glasses of wine for our friends… I am unsure if we will be back or not. Decent but nothing to rave about at this point

We were looking for a restaurant in Southington when returning from an event in the area. Relied on other Unilocal reviews, and not disappointed. Enjoyed a little later dinner with friends.
There were a number of specials and two of us ordered the chef’s risotto, which was with blackened chicken and Gorgonzola. It was delicious.
Atmosphere is very nice. Only complaint was that they were out of the one by the glass Sauvignon Blanc, which is the type of wine I prefer. Settled for a Pinot Grigio.
I would recommend this restaurant.

Nice menus, the spare rib carpaccio and mussels were a great start. Staff was warm and pleasant. Good was great and well attended to. Nice wine menu, beer selection is a bit limited. Décor is well appointed and the have outdoor seating as well.

Good golly, Miss Molly. Or I should say, Mr. Geno Auriemma! What a fantastic little find in Southington!
We decided to hit up Geno’s on a Wednesday around 7. Parking can be a bit tricky as it is located on the corner of Main Street, so my recommendation would be to park in the public lot located right behind the restaurant.
For a place that is basically «underground,» it was so beautiful and airy on the inside. If you’ve read my previous reviews, I’m a big fan of ambiance and swanky places with good eats. This place reminds me so much of Amici in Avon when you walk inside. The bar is gorgeous with recessed lighting and tiles. Wooden floors lead directly back into a larger dining area and into the kitchen. They have a patio outside that is pretty large as well. Exposed pipes and dimly light areas make for wonderful dinner conversation with your significant other or family and friends.
The menu is just enough to choose from while not being overbearingly huge. The prices are dynamic for an upscale place as well — generally, most dishes range anywhere from $ 15-​$ 22, with a light smattering of sandwiches that are around $ 12 and larger entrees that are priced around $ 28.
I ordered the Tomato Bisque to start. For $ 6, I felt the portion was just on point. It was delicious, if not a little too salty for my taste however, I could tell it was homemade and fresh and that is what is most important.
Mike got the Veal Parm and I went for the Chicken Parm. Both dishes were so nicely done — the portion size was perfect, and the pasta was fresh. The sauce (again if you read all my Italian restaurant reviews) is key for me regardless of price point at a place. Geno’s sauce is pretty amazing. Sweet, chunky and sticks to the pasta. No remnant of oil or water anywhere on the plate. The Chicken was cooked perfectly as was the Veal.
We talked about where Geno’s was in relation to quality and consistency with food. On point with Max a Mia, prices are a bit less and for that reason alone, I would choose Geno’s over Max’s. I would bump Geno’s up to a 5 if we were to go back and received outstanding service and food as we did Wednesday.
Our server was exceptional and she chatted us up at the end of our meal. Nicely done, Geno’s. I am muy impressed!

We were driving back from Long Island when the hunger pangs hit. We checked to see what I had bookmarked locally, and Geno’s Grille popped up. So we set a course for Southington.
I was pretty impressed by the interior– big, roomy, and bright. Our server Allyson told us abot the specials in a novel way, instead of reciting them, she brought over a small chalkboard, and using a chair as an easel, set it up tableside for us to read. That was a nice touch.
We started with a complimentary bread basket with oil and a terrific spread of ricotta and ground prosciuotto.
We ordered a Margherita Pizza ($ 12 for 8 slices), a small plate of three meatballs ($ 8), and a pasta fagioli soup ($ 6).
The pizza was very very good –a nice thin crust that somehow was soft instead of crisp and bursting with pesto and tomato sauce. It was very good and the size was a decent value.
The meatballs were a beef & sweet sausage combination served with a small salad. Three good sized and delicous meatballs for $ 8 was a winner in the taste and value department.
But of the three things I sampled, I was most surprised by the amazing pasta fagioli soup. It’s such a restaurant cliché, and often tastes thin and watery and blah. Not here. This had been raised to epic proportions. Magnificent flavor, loaded with beand and pasta and all sorts of goodies. Comfort food to the fifth power.
Under $ 28 for a very nice lunch with left-​overs was a great value.
And as one Unilocaler reported yes– –the men’s room incongruously has an elevator inside it, right across from the sink. You sure don’t see that every day.

I took my grandma here for Mother’s Day this year with my dad, and Grandma had a fantastic time, which makes me happy.
The décor is nice, and even though Geno’s is below street level, it doesn’t feel dark or cramped. The dining room really wants to be modern, but reminds me more of what a baby boomer with a few design magazine subscriptions would be drawn to if they googled «fancyish restaurant».
Also, there is an elevator in the men’s room. I had heard about it, and decided to check it out for myself, much to the surprise of the gentleman inside. But like, really, why is it there?
The waitstaff was pretty slow for a Friday lunch shift, but it looked like they only had one server in the whole restaurant, so he probably had his hands full. That being said, he was pretty mediocre. He kept passing our table to let us know that he would soon be ready to hear our order. I have no idea why we weren’t allowed to tell him our order on one of his many trips to our table to tell us that he was preparing to hear our order, but maybe he has a pre-​order ritual or something that must not be disturbed.
When we were finally allowed to place our orders for lunch, our server promptly began to mispronounce EVERY Italian word in the specials, such as referring to fontina cheese as fontana cheese. But this one is excusable, because in Southington, I understand how one might have Fontana on the brain. Even so, this is an Italian restaurant, and you’re reading off a list, so please learn your product.
I ordered the spaghetti carbonara, and it was delicious. It was a very traditional take on the dish, except without peas. But that’s great, because I hate peas.
I’ll take Grandma back here because the food was delicious and it was a lovely atmosphere, but I will continue to side-​eye any member of the waitstaff who doesn’t seem to have any familiarity with the menu.

I have never seen a restaurant have bad service! This restaurant in southington has the worst service ever!!! I may go back but not for a while.
When our waiter brought over the appetizer list we could not read a word of the hand writing! This proves they were off to a bad start. Then I order the chicken parmesan with pasta and it was good but not great like hit the ball out of the park great. Then our waiter asked if I wanted more soda and he got me a diet coke when I asked for a coke!
Then it was cake time because we were celebrating a birthday and we didn’t bring candles so they put them on for us which was nice and then after they blew out the candles someone said she is 28 (they were lying) and our waiter laughed! RUDE!!!
When they came out with the cake they had pieces of half the cake given to you! It was to much to eat and we would have took the cake home but there was none left. (Four people at the table eating monsters cake!)
I will not return until they prove their selfs!
Thank you

Had takeout for the 2^nd time last night and it was delicious again!!!
We had Spaghetti & Clams, Penne Al a Vodka and a ceasar salad. Food was hot when I got it home and the salad dressing was delicious!!!
The bar looks like a great place to hang out also!
Can’t wait to dine in!

Food was to die for. Service was a bit relaxed, we were asked how are dinners were about ½ way through them, thank goodness they were fabulous! We split the muscles. For dinner, I had the arugula, goat cheese salad with steak… just right! He had the lobster risotto, which was loaded with lobster (picture doesn’t do it justice). And it was THE best risotto ever! For Dessert we split the tiramisu… very disappointing! More like a cake with frosting;(
Great selection of wines and beers! We will be back, but skip the dessert.

Eh.
We went to Geno’s last night for dinner, and it was… fine. My expectations might have been too high. I was really excited that something finally replaced the disappointing Bonterra, and we could have a go-​to slightly more-​than-​casual-​restaurant close to home. It kind of felt like Bonterra with a fresh coat of paint and more things that said «Geno.»
Walking in, we immediately noticed the cheesy display of Geno t-​shirts, glasses and pasta sauce. I know this isn’t supposed to be a five star restaurant, but trying to make an extra couple of bucks by selling Geno paraphernalia doesn’t exactly scream classy.
We ordered a bottle of wine and got an awkward speech by the waiter about its price. He was very nice, but seemed new, so he probably just needs to get more comfortable in his role. We also ordered the burrata with crispy pork belly, pesto and tomatoes to start. My husband and I were stoked — burrata plus pork belly? Sounds perfect! When the appetizer arrived, we looked at each other, and then back at the plate — it was a lovely ball of burrata, surrounded by pesto and tomatoes with a piece of bacon on top. Bacon is not pork belly. I mean, the bacon was good and all, but if you don’t have pork belly, don’t just throw another cut of pig on there. The burrata itself was creamy and delicious, and we savored every bite of it. While we were halfway through our app, another waitress came with our entrees and was in the process of setting them down when I had to stop her and say that we were still working on our appetizer. She seemed confused that we would actually want to finish our appetizer before our entrees came. She brought the entrees back to sit under the heat lamp while we scarfed down the rest of the cheese.
Not surprisingly, the second we finished the app, our entrees arrived. I ordered the cheese ravioli with chicken in a tomato cream sauce and my husband ordered the carbonara. Both were pretty tasty. The carbonara was pretty pancetta-​tastic, so that was nice. The raviolis were good — nothing amazing, but definitely nothing bad either. The sauce was starting to congeal since we had to send it back for a few minutes, but other than that, it was fine.
I really really want to like this place, but I have a feeling the location might be doomed to forever serve mediocre Italian food with mediocre service.

Being originally from Southington and a huge fan of the UConn Huskies, I definitely wanted to try this place out when I heard it was coming to town. I heard about the soft opening that happened a couple weeks ago from my yoga instructor. She said they basically served every appetizer there and that each guest chose their own entrée to try.
For a Friday afternoon, this place was packed. Granted, it was only about two weeks since the grand opening so everyone wanted to try it out and the majority of the people there were from Southington’s 60+ age range. The atmosphere was nice (very similar to Bonterra’s, the restaurant that was there before Geno’s opened). There was soft music and a buzz of a busy restaurant. At least two people from my graduating high school class worked there (also very common for restaurants in town).
My dad and I started off with the Mussels appetizer and it was amazing! We usually try this sort of dish wherever we go out to eat and my dad is pretty critical of it. The homemade sausage that accompanied the mussels is really what did it for me! They were very tasty and went great with the light tomato sauce and mussels. I would definitely get this again!
For my entrée, I got the pasta carbonara. It was very creamy compared to most other carbonaras and pretty delicious. It could have used a little more salt or seasoning but overall it was good. My dad got the gnocchi, which was really tasty and unique. The sauce complimented it well and the gnocchi themselves were really soft and tasty. It came with some pulled pork and broccolini to top it off.
We finished the meal off by sharing the tiramisu, one of my favorite desserts. It was very yummy and I would get it again! Really a classic when it comes to Italian cuisine.

update ¹¹⁄₂₇
What a shame. We have come here a few times sine the review below was written, and a 4 star review at that, and it has not lived up to that expectation we had hoped.
Today for $ 3 it was probably our last visit. Silly, the food is ok and the facility is nice. But when you get the check, and you point out the price on the special board is $ 3 less than what was charged the only answer you expect, especially after a long wait for the food, especially waiting for the check after their system crashed, especially after asking for bread, is I will correct that — to take the time to show us the servers recap sheet, and yes the board was wrong but it was what we bought. Its not the $ 3 — its the lack of being smart serving the public. Bartenders told to measure the pour, a basket of bread with three slices. in every effort to maximize the margin of that meal, you forego the annuity of return guests. Silly.
Go enjoy, its good — just not special.
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For a new restaurant, we had a pleasant time and enjoyed the food and found the prices reasonable — so a 4 start to get them going. Hope they keep it up and perhaps take some feedback as they tweak operations.
So you walk in and immediately greeted by a very friendly hostess. We like the to sit at the bar and were greeted by not one, but three folks including the general manager. Note; it would have been great had he come back and checked in, as this is a new place !
The service was fine, we watched the new folks being coached by the more experienced staff, but everyone was friendly, relaxed and engaging. Kudo’s to the young man who was running the food from the kitchen to the bar — he did not just drop and go, He checked in and made sure all was ok!
The food was tasty! I tried the spaghetti and meatballs as I wanted to try the signature sauce sold by the restaurants namesake. I enjoyed it — though the pasta was a tad overcooked.
My wife had the chicken florentine with prosciutto — excellent.
We decided to try dessert and coffee. Loved the good brew from the french press, but the cheesecake was smothered on the berry sauce. It as not the NY style thick and creamy cheese cake we seek; but not sure if we liked it or not given the over pour of the berry.
It a nit, placemats for the dinner seating would have been a nice touch?
We will be back and look forward to trying more of the menu options.