Bizen Gourmet Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar

Great recommendation from folks at Berkshire Mountain Bakery. We went to Bizen bc we were hungry from long drive starting from eastern Massachusetts. Sashimi and izakaya items were so good. High quality fish.

Interesting architecture (similar to Japanese architecture and I know because I have Japanese friends and family), decent food, waiters are good too. I recommend getti g sushi or some sort of meat/fish while avoiding the udon. The udon was horrendously bitter.

This is probably where you can get the best quality sushi in the area, but that’s about it. Overwhelming number of menu with average flavor for shocking price tag. All the appetizers come with tiny portion and will easily go over $10, and even those very basic noodle dishes are SOOOO expensive and taste like you just added some water to store bought sauce and noodle. Taste exactly like how I make it on a really lazy day at home. Never had that light, crispy tempura here(so tiny and soggy), and the tea is always over-brewed. All I could think is, how the hell can you proudly serve these with that price?!

I’ve been here many many times and tried many different dishes, but now I only go here to grab some pieces of sushi with asian beer. Too unfortunate there isn’t better place to get them together around here. But everything else I tried here was disappointing.

I don’t expect the real ‘authentic’ food here - different serving population & location far from the culture, I understand it well enough. But I would really suggest you to trim down your menu and focus more on serving better quality food with reasonable price. It’s so depressing and frustrating to get that experience when all you want is a nice comforting feeling from getting a flavor of home.

The food is organic and really nicely prepared. The menu is extensive. If you like Japanese food, this is the place to go in Great Barrington and surrounding areas.

There are lots of vegetarian and vegan options on the menu, and eating gluten free here is also easy. I don't like to eat out much, but almost always make an exception for this place when in the area. Great for a party of two or up to six.