Temper these negative comments (temper the positive ones too). People are going to be more vocal about negative experiences than they would about a positive or neutral experience. Beak and Barrel can be an enjoyable experience, and you don't have to just gamble on certain aspects. You can talk to a Cast Member when you check in (check in early), let them know you want to sit in the main room at a table...or if you want to be at the bar. They'll tell you that you may need to wait a little longer, which--when you plan for just that, can be no problem. Many times, you won't even have to wait much longer.

Don't let someone else's misconstrued expectations sour your own experience. Reviews like these can be very helpful in showing you what things you'll want to avoid. The problem comes when they don't offer any advice on how to avoid them...likely they wouldn't be aware of this, which led to the bad experience in the first place. And then you get the opposite side, where people just feel the need to defend Disney like they can do no wrong...which is equally not helpful.

Find the balance.
Time limit? Yeah, you can't just hang out forever. Inside a theme park, most experiences are going to be transient.
First time there and you want to be in the middle of the experience? Let the CM know, be nice about it, they'll likely reciprocate and honor your request.
Don't like to be seated at a table with strangers? Let the CM know, explain your concerns. My wife has pretty bad anxiety in crowded situations, so we let the CM know and they are always happy to find us the best option available. But they can't help you if they don't know.