Bizou — Restaurant in Charlottesville

I have been to Bizou in the past and it was always a great experience. Tonight was horrible. The hostess seated us and brought water after a while. After we waited for 15 minutes, I had to find someone to ask where our server was. The waitress arrived shortly after that. She did not introduce herself. She asked if we could start with drinks. We told her we were ready to order because we had had plenty of time to review the menu (this comment went RIGHT OVER HER HEAD). No apologies for the wait, no typical banter, no describing the specials, no personality what so ever. The appetizers (pear salad and salmon croquettes) were good. We both ordered the steak for the entrée. I ordered medium rare. My friend ordered medium well. Neither steak was cooked properly ( both were overdone; mine was medium well and my friend's was well done) and mine was quite tough. The "crispy potatoes" were greasy; and overall the presentation was not appetizing. The waitress never returned at any time during the meal to check on us, bring us water, ask if we needed any additional beverages, or ask how our meal was, etc. I walked to the bar to ask for a refill on my water. No one ever came around with a pitcher of water to refill glasses. There was quite a wait between taking our appetizer plates and the arrival of our main course. We were eating inside (patio was open), and it was not full when we arrived (2, 2 tops (including us) and 1 four top with 3 different wait staff working those tables. I don't think they were short staffed as no one was showing the least bit of "hustle" to get things done. More tables arrived while we were eating, but it was never full. We noted that one couple close to us was waving and saying "excuse me" to get someone's attention and the server just kept on walking. When our server came to take our plates and to ask if anything else was needed, we asked her for a to-go box. She brought one back and explained they only had big ones and then walked away. We waited for another 5 minutes and had to flag her down to ask for the check (we told her we were done, we got boxes for our leftovers and we have to tell her that we need the check? ) We observed her waiting on other tables throughout our meal and the only description that comes to mind is "space cadet" . She was not paying attention to anything going on around her; not at all attentive to the customers in the restaurant.

It will be a long time before I return to Bizou. Highly disappointed. Do...

I was driving through the area and after a little google search, I decided to eat at Bizou. I was really excited to eat here after seeing the countless reviews stating how amazing the food was.

Upon walking in, I was greeted by one of the cooks who seemed very friendly. I walked up to the wait for a host sign and proceeded to wait…for approx 4 minutes. The restaurant had only 2 people sitting at the bar and it was notably not very busy for a popular restaurant at this time of day. Finally a very young blonde man walked up to me and instead of saying hi or giving any type of greeting, asks if I have a reservation with a hint of irritation in his voice. I tell him I don’t which was obviously a gamble on a Sunday. He walks away without saying a word towards the dining room. He promptly returns and says we have no tables but I can go to the bar, and then turns around and walks away. Welcome to Bizou!

I should have walked out but had driven down from DC and was hungry so I took the seat. It would be 5 minutes before someone would give me a menu which happened to be the guy who “greeted me”. He says here’s a menu and silverware and walks off.

Irritated and having never visited Charlottesville before, I start to google other restaurants around me. FINALLY, a waitress comes over. Things proceed as normal from this point on. I got soup, a bacon egg and cheese sandwich and a soda…for $30. The sandwich was phenomenal. The soup was meh.

I noticed everyone was greeted in the same manner…do you have a reservation. Never a hello. Welcome. Nothing. I highly suggest the restaurant either provide better training or get someone who actually cares about the job. The weirdest thing that happened was when a man walked in asking to place a carry out order and the same host had no clue what to do or if they even allowed that. So I started thinking, well maybe he’s brand new and nervous. So the customer walks over to the waitress to ask her…and she also has no clue if they have take out. The man starts laughing because it’s so absurd these 2 people have no idea.

Anyway, I’d return only if I could get take out since the host was so rude…maybe they will have an answer by...

Can’t rate the food. Wish I could, but when you don't get any in a span of at least 40 minutes, you simply have to give the food 1 star because 0 is not an option. 30 minute wait for a coke and bad tasting iced team. After waiting 40 minutes and still no food I told the waitstaff we had to be somewhere in 40 min. He reconfirmed our order as if it wasn't even put in to the kitchen (and he forgot the Caesar salad I had also ordered, but I didn't want to wait further). Under staffed? Perhaps. Staff didn’t care? Simply unclear but the guy dressed as ‘Superman’ (it was Halloween evening) was indifferent at best. We had a 7:15pm reservation and there were at least 4 staff sitting in the front area just talking. I literally wondered upon walking in if they were even open. Taking a table in the back we realized there were 2 other tables with people and they had already ordered (no food, but had drinks). Figured we were in good shape as we had about 90 minutes for dinner before our movie (VA Film Festival). After we arrived, more tables started to fill up and I noticed folks getting drinks and even food (these folks all arrived after us). Our order wasn't complicated. Butternut squash risotto and quattro formaggi ravioli (and a Cesar salad). Felt like all we did was wait and wait and wait. If you can't properly staff a restaurant, limit the tables (there were at least 8 tables inside and another 4 outside with customers - most had drinks, few had food) so you can provide good service minimum. Finally we decided it had been long enough. Found the 2 waiters at the register talking and told ours that we couldn't wait any longer and I just wanted to close out our drink tab. First and last time for this restaurant. Don’t care if the food is great. Indifference and poor service throughout is enough reason to never return. Too many good restaurants in...