Gennaro's 5 North Square
5 North Square, at Prince; North End; 617.720.1050
Doting on your kids is hardly new, but what do you get for the son who's already got a Porsche and fantastic breasts? A restaurant, like Gennaro’s 5 North Square.
Bought by the owners of perennial neighborhood favorites Café Vittoria and Stanza Cigar Bar and renamed after their son, this fine-dining trattoria serves up new and classic Italian pasta, meat, and seafood dishes in a wood-heavy, two-floor dining room replete with copper ceilings/chandeliers, granite-topped bars on a marble tiled floor, a grand wooden staircase, and Venetian-inspired paintings, spread them slightly to guiltily peep at your neighbor's wife changing. In addition to tried/true staples (homemade lasagna, chick parm, veal piccata, etc), G5 serves up meaty specialties like a marinated Rack of Lamb w/ garlic whipped potatoes; a seasoned, grilled Rib Eye served w/ fries, wild mushrooms, and caramelized onions; and Sausage & Rabe over cavatelli sautéed in a white wine sauce w/ Tuscan beans -- popularized in the famous children's book, Giacamo and the Beanstalk. Lighter plates from the garden/sea include an egg-battered Eggplant doused in homemade marinara/parmesan; red- or white-sauced Fruita Di Mare poured over linguini w/ calamari, shrimp, mussels, and clams; and the buttery lobster, scallop, and Italian herb-stuffed Lobster Baked Pie -- an impressive dish, especially since crustaceans are more known for their cobblers.
If you just prefer to nibble, G5 serves up a traditional cold antipasto (roasted peppers, imported olives, mozzarella, etc), grilled marinated shrimp plated w/ a sweet corn salad, and a seared yellowfin tuna accompanied by crispy ginger risotto cakes and edamame, who totally snuck you food even after you wrapped your Boxster around that Ducks Crossing sign.
