Genna’s Lounge

This place was great! Loved the build your own Bloody Mary bar, aside from the bottles/​shakers etc being sticky… no Bueno. The patio was really nice to sit on for a sunny day and the service was friendly!

This is my third time here, fantastic service — especially for Madison. Jay’s sassy attitude and perfect cocktails brought me back and then Kevin poured an absolutely perfect Franziskaner. Thoroughly impressed.

Great location, fun atmosphere, good drinks. But then there’s the aging hipster barkeep with ill-​advised goatee who kept hitting on women in our group 30 years his junior. Not cool.

This was my favorite bar in Madison.
So low key and no drama.
Loved it.

I’ve been coming to this place at least once or twice a year for about 15 years. The bartenders are freindly and mix a very good drink. If you don’t know what you want, they’re generally good about making suggestions. The ambience is nice too — it has a cool décor but you don’t get the feeling that you’re not cool enough to hang out there.
It’s the kind of place I’d feel comfortable bringing a date, a work friend for happy hour, or my parents for a drink before dinner.
It’s on a great strip too, if you want to move on in a classy direction, head next door to the Tornado. If you feel like heading in divier direction, the Paradise is just a few steps further.
One of my favorite watering holes.

Great outdoor patio. But they don’t have a drink menu? This place only serves drinks. Multiple servers did not know what beers they had on tap. Doesn’t make any sense. They also were not aware they had a website, which listed beers that they do not have.

This place has good price drinks and good service at both the downstairs and upstairs bars. I have only gone here at night to dance (or stand around awkwardly and watch other people dance) Some nights it old school hip/​hop and others nights reggae/​reggaton.

Great location, good drinks, but really bad service. Unfriendly.

So, I really dig Genna’s. Went here after work with a co-​worker for a few drinks before a show. Sat upstairs at the bar. and the bartender quickly came over and gave us a warm greeting. He made a pretty stiff vodka and cranberry for me that was pretty fantastic. Ended up getting a shot of tequila as well, and the bartender kindly shared one with us.
Loved the atmosphere her, dark, cool lights, cool décor.
Sadly there is no food here. not sure if they never have food, or just at that hour. But they have snacks that we munched on till we decided on the next place to grab food.

Fantastic martinis, great prices, fun crowd and right on the square. The bathroom is sketch but I guess some see that as charming. Once I got in line to use the facilities and all the men let me go ahead of them. Cute!
They have seating outside but I’ve never see staff taking orders, you should go see the bartender inside if you need a beverage.
Genna’s is divey while being right on the square. I love that.

Great atmosphere, super cool interior, and really reasonably priced drinks. Always full of people having fun.
Why only 3-​stars? Really unpleasant bar staff — wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, and having tended bar myself I know it gets overwhelming– but I ordered 3 drinks from 3 different employees and none of them were friendly, at all. Even heard one bartender talk about my friends and I to another bartender — which I know happens, but at least get out of earshot. Will likely continue to go and would happily revise my review if service changes!

Locals only… I love this place! Super warm environment. Kind of that Cheers vibe — everyone knows your name. Best Bloody Mary offerings around.

The most reasonable and properly mixed martinis in Madison!
I have been a patron of Genna’s since my late college days, and I have always enjoyed the ambiance. Yes, there can be a bit of a hipster pretentiousness at times, but overall the customers are friendly, and the bartenders and waitstaff are laid back yet get their jobs done. It can be fun to chill outside during the warmer months in their outdoor seating area.
I also enjoy lounging upstairs depending on who is bartending up there. I was sold on the place for life, as I once fell, ass bouncing on every step, down the stairs. I barely spilled a drop of my martini, and the bouncer just looked at me and stated, «dude, that was awesome.»
If you want good drink specials, especially martinis that are not overpriced, this is a great spot to hang.

Perfect mix of capitol workers, lawyers, Teaching Assistants, random hipsters that were looking for Merchant but decided to stay, and me and my girlfriend. Seating is at a premium (especially if the upstairs is closed). People are friendly, there is a decent tap list, and one of the few places that serves a Pimm’s Cup with the required cucumber. Be sure to check out the Happy Hour… good specials on rail drinks and beer of the day but the clear highlight is the meatball, cheese, and chips/​salsa table where you can gorge to your hearts content. During Farmer’s Market Saturday, the outdoor patio is stellar for people watching.

Small. This bar is really small. If you want to sit and chat with friends, not the best option because there isn’t a whole heck of a lot of seating. It is two stories, so it allows for a little variety as Genna’s has the feel of two bars in one. The first floor played a lot of Top 40 music while the upstairs had experimental, open house, music. It was strange, I was not a fan, but the place was packed up there. It was quickly followed by open mic comedy night. I don’t think I need to revisit the upstairs section (there is a bar up there too), but now that I have moved within a few blocks, I’m sure I’ll be back once in a while.

A solid spot for lounge-​lizarding at Genna’s Lounge. We sat outside on a warm summer Madison evening enjoying mojitos. The waitress asked if we’d like to start a tab… seemed like a good idea. She then asked to take my credit card and hold on to it… not a good idea; we’ll pay cash.
The other odd thing about the evening was the homeless dude who shambled up to the table next to us and started a conversation with them. After the usual exchange of pleasantries, the gentleman shambled off to parts unknown. What was remarkable about this situation was the killer bike he had; I wish I could afford a $ 2k bike. Was this bike a gift? Was it obtained mischievously? I’m not sure, but I do know that he can cruise Madison with the minimal effort that only carbon fiber can bring.

I like that Genna’s in the early part of the day. You can have a seat and enjoy their vast selection of beers. I am always impressed by their staff and their service.
HOWEVER! After 9? Not my scene. It is SO loud and so packed. The bathroom upstairs is place right off of the path to the bar. It is so congested and never comfortable. The music is not very trendy so they have a niche crowd.
If you plan to drink a ton, do not go upstairs if you are wearing heels. The stairs are steep and as a lady who likes to wear wedges, it is not conducive to boozing.
This is definitely a place I like to hit up early evening on a summer day. They have a nice outdoor patio.

I went to Genna’s Lounge for the first time last Saturday night for the monthly Madison Urban Spoken Word event. It featured a slam, an open mic, and a feature poet, all accompanied by sweet live music (mostly percussion). I really loved this event so I naturally liked the venue.
The event was on the second floor of Genna’s which has a bar of its own, several tables, a bathroom, and a stage. There were a lot of people there so it was very packed! The room shape didn’t really facilitate the best viewing experience because in many seats it was hard to see around walls and stuff to the stage. It is a tiny place.
It was a very cool environment and place to be. As most of these reviews say, the place is pretty divey, and the bathroom pretty gross (reusable towel on a roll, I hate those!), but the event, ambiance, and people more than made up for it.
I’ll definitely be going again.

Now that I’ve had an opportunity to sit upstairs at Genna’s and downstairs at Genna’s I can safely say I’m a fan.
Ah who am I kidding, I was a fan the moment I walked in on a blustery day in December when everything else was closed because of the snowpocalypse but they opened up to serve me alcohol.
Well, not just me. There were a couple of other people there.
Genna’s would totally be my «Cheers» if it weren’t for the following things:
1. There’s no great seat at the bar, you’re always in someones way.
2. It’s a who’s who of Epic employees and it fills up fast on the weekend when they reunite on the capitol after not seeing one another for a day.
3. There’s no live studio audience.
There are a ton of things though I dig, including Ale Asylum’s Nutbrown on tap (please never do away with this), the cool nooks and crannies upstairs for sitting, the local music scene, the SUPER attentive staff and the random ass wreath situation that was going on in December. Whacked out greenery decked the walls by a local artist and I have to say there was more than one occasion where $ 45 seemed like a fair price for a one of a kind wreath on crack. I distinctly remember one night looking at 3 different ones wondering which was better, but I was never drunk enough to go through with it and always wondered what it would be like to walk my purchase down East Wash back home.
Ahhhhh, why am I so practical!

Genna’s has quickly become a favorite place to stop after a dinner or show downtown. It’s got a cool atmosphere, isn’t overrun by college students, and has a good beer and drink selection.
My only complaint was the lack of cleanliness in the bathrooms. I’m cool with the way the embrace graffiti-​ed walls, but that doesn’t mean that the facilities can’t be clean!