San Gennaro Feast

You WILL come away from this event having had a sausage, cannoli, or gelato. I guarantee it.

Visited the Feast of San Gennaro twice so far; once pre-pandemic, once post. This festival's been around for longer than most of us have been alive. I can definitely appreciate the time and effort it takes to put such a massive tribute to Italian heritage like this together year after year for 10 days at a time. Having said that, there is definitely room for improvement.

Coming in 2022, there seems to be less variety in the vendors than in years past. The food is OK (overpriced, obviously), but it did feel like every other vendor was a cannoli stand. And there were definitely fewer stands selling goods than before. And even the goods on sale, basically just generic trinkets you could find on Canal St. and so many other places in the city. There's rides and eating contests too, but my girlfriend and I are a little too old, and squeamish, for those.

I can't not mention the worst part of The Feast of San Gennaro, which is by far the crowds. If you get here at 11, you have about 60 minutes to roam until the place becomes bumper-to-bumper. People move too slow through these narrow streets, made even narrower by the overly-aggressive restaurateurs setting up outdoor seating smack on top of the foot traffic, barking for customers. After about 90 minutes, the crowds plus the heat became unbearable and I had to find an open space to catch my breath.

Bring the fam, bring the kids, bring at least $35 cash per person (very few vendors take cards or e-payments). It's a fun atmosphere and a decent time, just be prepared to clear your schedule for more than one day if you truly want to see everything.

Although i'm no Italian i make it a point to drop by Little Italy for the San Gennaro Festival.

Since it's held in the beginning of fall its perfect sweather weather to walk around Mulberry Street.

The atmosphere is festive, the smell of Italian food fills the air.

It could get very crowded especially in the weekends so i make a point to come weekdays, before the lunch crowd comes.

San Gennaro festival will
always be in my NYC fall to do list. Nice time to walk around Little Italy, grab a cup of coffee, have a taste of canolli & just enjoy Autumn in New york vibes.

a very fun and lively experience, but extremely crowded. this is my first year in nyc so therefore my first time going to this festival, which i think changes my perspective of it. there were many food vendors, live music, and all kinds of fun things. the only two things i wasn't a fan of were the karaoke (would've much preferred an actual italian band) and i was a bit confused about the stands and music that were hispanic. i love latin culture as well, but this is an italian festival, so i think keeping that focus would improve it a bit. overall a great time, but i don't think i'll go every year simply due to the crowds!

Great festival that we always look forward to attending. We went last night taking the train in from Jersey and when we arrived we walked around and checked out the vendors.

Tons of food.... Plenty of zeppole, sausage and peppers, cannoli, pizza, and pasta. The list goes on and on...

We decided to have dinner at Paesanos which was great. Some Osso Buco, and Rigatoni Vodka. Both were tasty.

They also had carnival games and a Ferris wheel. They also had vendors selling jewelry, handbags, and wallets and a stand that was selling freshly rolled cigars.

So that was our evening, another great night at San Genaro.

So I popped out for the San Gennaro feast this weekend in little Italy, and although I had a great time, it wasn't as fun as previous years. I know we're still recovering from a pandemic so I won't fault them too much but then vendors were repetitive and a bit uninteresting this year.

All the pasta dishes were not impressive and I ended up going to an actual restaurant to eat. I've actually been to several countries in Europe, Italy being one and I was disappointed in the quality of the food. The meatballs didn't taste homemade, they tasted like the frozen kind that you heat up. The stuffed clams used artificial crab & lobster meat and the stuffed shells tasted as if they used cheap ricotta cheese.

You can't go wrong with a good sausage and peppers but even that was a bit lackluster.

If you're worried about the the current situation dealing with covid, I would highly suggest not to go. It was so crowded that it took me almost 40 minutes to walk to the end of the block. Nobody was wearing masks not even the vendors cooking the food. The weekend is always crowded, but if you do decide to go, I would recommend going during the week day preferably early.

I did end up finding some good eats so I'm not completely disappointed, but this year seemed to lack any authencity and everything was super overpriced. It was $15 for a sausage and pepper sandwich, and $15 for a non alcoholic beverage. The prices are super disgusting and more than likely, I probably will never attend again unless It's to eat at a restaurant. The quality of the food wasn't worth the money I spent.

IG:@Soooomuchfun

What's not to love!!? Surrounded by all of NYs best Italian food.

Cannoli, sausage and peppers, pizza, pasta, fried dough, rice balls, the list goes on of alll my favorite things! (Besides tacos of course lol)

My Italian heart was very happy. The mozzarella sticks and Mac and cheese from Alleva are a must!!! Wow. They have a sign that says "oldest cheese store in America" it was to die for!

The cannolis from Ferrara's are a must as well. Been going there for years. They are just perfect!

If you haven't gone, get there because it ends on Sunday!!! There will be a meatball eating contest that day too lol.

If I lived in Manhattan, came here for all the 11 days of this magnificent festa, I would be broke, and weigh as much as the humpback whales that make their homes here.

Every September, this unique festa brings about all the delicious food options your stomach can handle. Too many food options to list, but if you like Italian cuisine, specifically cannoli, pizza, and Italian sausage and peppers, this is your calling. It is too easy to spend $50 during the festa, if not more. And all of it tastes good.

Think of this like a fair, but without the carnival cliches. I saw a Ferris wheel, and a few games, but this is no fair. This is to honor a patron saint, which as I am no Roman Catholic, I do not know much about.

I guess this is why I am a tourist when I stop by and just take it all in.

You should too when this festival returns next September.

I've been coming to this festival for years and it never disappoints. This year due to COVID, I came early when there were less people and was able to browse and pick up my food and dessert and head home. Most years, I am usually with a friend, walking around waiting on long lines for the Italian sausages and/or dessert and eating on the sidewalk. LOL Prices for food are reasonable and its definitely something you should experience at least once. The restaurants are open if you want to sit and enjoy some Italian grub. I wasn't able to get my gelato since I wasn't eating on site.

Definitely check this festival out and come on an empty stomach to taste a little bit of this and that from each vendor.

I finally made it to the San Gennaro feast for the first time in my whole life living in New York. It was a cool experience something to do but it was sooo crowded. Way too crowded for me, but if you're into that you should give it a try. there were tons of delicious, smelling food, but lines were long and no spots to eat it so I just grabbed a couple of desserts and walked around to see what I could.

A long time festival that happens every September in Little Italy, and while some things are annoying it should be checked out at least once especially if you're Italian or just happen to like the culture and food. It has tons of greasy stuff, and I'm talking about the food, not the festival goers. San Gennaro Feast is one of the city's biggest annual festivals and it results in closing many streets. Check out the areas around Mulberry for the majority of events. The food and games are overpriced but that's expected so oh well.

It got its start in the 1920s as a way for Italian immigrants in the neighborhood of Little Italy to celebrate their culture and history. Many events take place all over the neighborhood. The festival has seen better days for sure but it's a longtime tradition and it would be impossible to think of it stopping. It has had a longtime impact on Italian culture. The festival has been depicted in several films, two of which star Robert DeNiro. It appears in Mean Streets a few times throughout the movie, which takes place mostly around the area. The following year it was in The Godfather Part II, with DeNiro as Vito. Of course the festival tries to rely on this past to show how great it is but it certainly has some flaws. The stuff is getting expensive for poor quality food, and the games are mostly impossible to win. Even so it's a pretty cool experience. The main area to check out is the Church Of The Most Precious Blood, which is where they carry the statue through the streets. It's on the final day of the festival. The other area to focus on is around Mulberry Street. It's one of the main streets here and it closes for the festival. The vendors sell the typical food like cannoli and things.

Check it it at least once if you like Italian culture and food. It gets crowded and there's lots of rude people. The worst time is on weekends.