Bizen Gourmet Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar 17 Railroad Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230

"It’s pretty, but the service isn’t great….partly because the waiters don’t seem to have sections—they have a table here, a table there. Really inefficient. They rush you by bringing the check and often checking to see if you’ve put your card down, even if there isn’t a Line of customers waiting. The sushi is decent and reliable. I personally intensely dislike the miso soup—it’s the dark type of miso. They use the cheapest veggies in the tempura, so you’re apt to get bell peppers and onions instead of yams or something more interesting. We do go here quite often, but that’s partly because there isn’t much competition and because we’ve figured out what to get and what not to get."

"There is no denying that the food is incredible, however the service is severely lacking. We made a reservation and I personally spoke with the manager who assured me that they would have enough staff to take care of us properly. Because as he said, he wanted “us to have a great meal.” Unfortunately after seating us we were left and not checked on for some time. It took an hour to receive simple drinks. It was over 90 minutes before we received our food….which came out in bits and pieces so some of us were eating while others were not. Meanwhile we watched tables sat after us eat their entire meal and leave before us. I’ve worked in food service. I understand that things happen. However I find it incredibly difficult to believe that an entire party of 14 (that made a reservation) could be completely forgotten. The managers assurance that 99% of the people that dined there that night were happy was of no assurance to us. Nor was the fact that he bragged about bringing in 200k that night. Or when he blamed our bad service on our “immigrant waiter”. He offered us a measly 10% off of an $800 bill calling it a “very generous offer”. We paid, we tipped well, we will never go back. I rarely do reviews but this was so bad I felt compelled to warn people."

"If I could give a zero star review, I would but Google says I’ll have to settle for one. As loyal customers, our recent visits to Bizen have been disheartening and frustrating. The last two experiences were a letdown, with inconsistent service and a departure from the restaurant's initial appeal. The failure to serve our meals together, though acceptable occasionally, contradicted the restaurant's original emphasis on unity in dining. Despite the premium pricing, the quality of service has declined significantly. To make matters worse, we endured a frustrating three-hour wait for our food, adding to the overall disappointment of the experience. Three hours for food, and a single hour for sodas and beer is seriously unacceptable. Working in the restaurant industry myself, this is absolutely unforgivable hospitality and disrespectful to your wallet and time. The manager's apparent lack of concern for quality suggests a departure from the Bizen we once cherished in years past. Serious reconsideration of their service standards is warranted. Coupled with the manager's apparent Napoleon complex, it's doubtful any improvements will be made to their declining hospitality. My advice: save your money and skip this overpriced restaurant, where you will be treated like nothing more than a pile of garbage."

"I wish I could rate Bizen zero stars but that’s not possible so I have to rate it a one.My experience at Bizen was beyond appalling. My family and friends were all placed in a basement and we seemed to be forgotten. The wait for a simple round of drinks was more than an hour and not even everyone got there drinks at the same time. To add on to that, our food took three hours to be served to us. Again, not everyone got their food at the same time. We couldn’t eat together as one family and that made me severely frustrated. To top that all off, the owner/manager did absolutely nothing to help and acted very useless. There was also a huge lack of empathy and appreciation for everyone’s patience. I am very regretful that I ever stepped foot into Bizen and certainly will never go again. I believe you are better off going to McDonald’s than this horrible restaurant."

"The atmosphere is extremely inviting and friendly. It is absolutely some of the best Japanese food I have ever had. The sea bass was exquisite. The crispy outside and the center melted in my mouth. This is a must stop. The waitress was very helpful and friendly. Stop by today!"