This place is clean, friendly with fast service. Their meats are always tender and tasty. The food comes out at a decent speed and they have a great selection of meals. The prices are a good deal for what they offer. I eat here at least once a week. I look forward to lunch here when I go. read more

This place is fantastic! I got the Tri-Tip sandwich with onions, peppers, and pepperjack cheese and a side of fries. The food was ready quickly and there was plenty of it. I finished the sandwich, but not the fries. The meat had a great smokey flavor and was very juicy. I have only two complaints. One for the restaurant and one for Yelp/my iPhone. The BBQ sauce was a bit sweet for me (a preference thing) and Yelp wouldn't let me check in. It said I was too far away even though I was sitting in the restaurant. I've driven past this place a million times and never stopped. I will stop again. read more

I went to this business one time before today and enjoyed the food so much i decided to order it online to be delivered at a specific time. It was never delivered plus the double charged me . Then the girl that answered the phone was rude and lied repeatedly about what was happening with my order. Her story changed 3 times. I decided to go to the store to talk to the manager who had apparently just left. Convenient of course. Then rude girl refused and to serve me at all because i called her on her lies. She needs to find another job that doesn't involve customer service.So I'll never go back there again and expect a full refund and hopefully a free meal for my trouble. Otherwise i do not recommend anyone spend a dime at this business they have extremely bad customer service behavior! And they never refunded the money they took for the food I never got. And the management wont take my calls? read more

Great little bbq place. I had the pulled pork plate today with a side of coleslaw. Both were great and I like to add blue cheese to the coleslaw just to add a little depth to the pallet. Friendly staff and a good place to meet with clients or coworkers. If you're on the north end of town this is a great choice for good bbq. I've had lunch here many times and never been disappointed. read more

Oh, good lord. I barely know where to start. If there was a benefit to living in the town that can be referred to as Texas West it is the love of cooked meats. This place makes good bbq. Now they are in a new location in the same building as there former location making it bigger and featuring classier seating than the picnic style benches and tables in the old space. They tried to make the decor classier as well but I find it an odd match with their fare. I for one liked the old decor better. Now on to more delectable subjects. The gumbo is not to be missed. I love it. With a hint of spiciness and very textured layer of flavors. I recall a year at the Brews in the Village charity when Champs offered tasters cups of gumbo. It was an excellent boost in the fight against inebriation or at least a helpful pick me up to allow further imbibing. Go get yourself some pure satisfaction. read more

Went last week for the first time in a good while. I got the smoked catfish and jambalaya, for $13. It was deliciously cooked to steamed perfection after having spent a bit in the smokehouse. Unfortunately I was unable to taste the smoke, but this was a mild detraction from an excellent piece of fish. The jambalaya was good, though I wouldnt know if it was good versus others...to me it was palatable. My girl got the pulled pork sandwich with fries. The sandwich was loaded with heaps of heavenly pulled pork slathered with the house bbq sauce. It was par excellence. Portions were generous; we each had some to take home. Try it!!! read more

Went to Champs for the first time yesterday with the wife. We were both not impressed with the food. Over the years I have heard good things about their BBQ and I don't know if we hit a bad day or ordered the wrong items. I ordered the Tri Tip Sandwich and she had the Deep Pit plate. My sandwich bread was really dry and it fell apart as I tried to eat it. The sandwich didn't come with any sides, no pickle, no peppers, no salsa, no onions, no lettuce, etc. It was like, here is bread and your 3 slices of Tri Tip. The meat was well done and the overall flavor was not to my liking. I ordered fries as a side and they cost additional. My wife didn't like her order, she said the potatoes tasted like instant potatoes and were served in a ice cream shaped dome. She didn't care for the flavor of the deep pit beef as well. The BBQ sauce on the table was very thin and its flavor didn't wow me The people were very nice, and they did have a full house. The cost was spendy for what we received. We won't take the time to drive back again. read more

I'd been going to Champ's for years and always enjoyed every meal. Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed after my visit today. The chicken topped on the salad was processed chicken and tasted nothing like the real chicken they used to use. You'd think if they were cutting back on the products they'd also reduce the price for their customers, but the salad is still overpriced for what you get. The quality of food I once associated with Champs is gone. Extremely disappointed. Update: I mistakenly stated they used processed chicken now. According to the person that contacted me from Champs, it is still the same quality from before. I've added another star for that, but unfortunately I stand by my taste comment. I was still disappointed. read more

If you have never tried their pulled chicken and romaine salad you are missing out. I want to drive right now from the coast to Bako just to have some! Please open one out here in Pismo area!!!!! read more

Complete turn around! Great Tri-tip. Smoke ring, bark was MMMMM. MMMMM UHH UGH UMMMN! thats all you could hear for the next 20 minutes between the two of us. Then I remembered that I also had side's. ..... potato salad; I wish the potatoes were cooked 1 -2 minutes longer. Macaroni Salad-good, chili beans-spicy with a balanced & great smoke flavor. Spare Ribs werr a lil bit tougher than my liking. But they were much better than most found in Kern county. Is expensive if you would like sides too. New menu has things broken down to benefit the meat ONLY purchase. Great new lil draft bar serving mixed drinks. Bottles offering a minimal but GREAT selection of mixture (some local) beers. I suggest having Orange wedge/slice twist to enhance and fully bring out the best possible taste experience for the Shocktop brand. If you sell it...... SELL IT! this is where I reason why today they loose a star to 4/5. read more

Meat is flavored well tender mac n cheese was good cornbread dry chili just pass on that and the potato salad as well pass on those . Don't just order the pulled pork or deep pit by itself make sure to get it in a sandwich only . read more

I just really wanted to add that they serve beer and I think cocktails here now. I switch back and forth between the patrona wrap and patrona salad. They are both very solid choices. Just be careful at lunch because it gets really busy. read more

I like this restaurant very much. They served medium size plate with many meats, but fortunately we could select many types of meats from the menu. In addition we could add salad and potato as our additional side menu as a result of that we enjoyed pretty and comfortable lunch. But it should be difficult to be seated there on time because they are busy always but I recommend to try to eat their lunch plate. read more

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If I could give this place no stars at all I would ! It was the nastiest BBQ I have ever had in my life ! My husband and I both got the Pulled Pork entree with Mac & Cheese, BBQ Baked Beans and Potato Salad... the entire meal was garbage... absolutely no redeeming qualities to it at all. The Pulled Pork was soggy, mushy and had a smell to it. The Mac & Cheese was dry; pretty much pasta with bread crumbs on top! The BBQ baked beans were made like salsa and tasted horribly. & the Potato Salad was like small squared potatoes in some type of sauce.. just gross! I am horribly disappointed, as this was our first time trying this place out and we drove quite a distance just to waste over $30. Should have gone to Saltys BBQ instead. read more

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I was really looking forward to my first trip to Champs for a long time. I ordered the barbecue salad that comes with blue cheese, walnuts, meat and your choice of dressing. I picked it up to go and when I got home I found that there were no walnuts - not on the side - not in the salad. Besides the beef, the walnuts are the second most expensive item in this pretty expensive salad and are what makes the salad special. I love nuts on a salad so I was beyond disappointed. I called Champs and after I told the girl that answered the situation, she finally asked me "what I wanted her to do about it". I said what do you usually do in this situation? And she said "well really nothing". And then she said, "I mean you could come back and get them but a lot of people don't want to because it it might be pretty far". I said you're right I live downtown and I don't want to come back to Merle Haggard to get walnuts. And she finally said well maybe she could discount something off my debit card that I paid with. But up to this point she still had never even said that she was sorry. Pretty bad customer service. I feel like they need some definite training up there. Disappointing all around. I definitely wouldn't go out of my way to pick up food there again! And since they never seem to respond to any reviews here I kind of doubt they care much. read more

We drive 99 often to visit family down south. We stopped in this BBQ spot for lunch. The staff were friendly and the buger was delish. My fiance had the trip tip dip. He liked it although he does like his meat thick and not thinly sliced, I'm definitely going to make this place a permanent stop on my travels. read more

Amanda was great , that's the server, but the cook in the kitchen, needs how to cook the meat, .If you eat here make sure you tell them you want you're meat cooked! read more

Champs BBQ - Amanda was great, unlike the raw meat.Thank you Amanda! - Barbeque Near Me - Bakersfield, California

Very convenient location off the freeway. Great wings and service at a great price. Highly recommend the spicy honey wings.

From the second you walk into Champs you feel like family. The staff is always so friendly and on point. My favorite entree is the tri-tip plate that comes with two sides and a bread. My favorite sides are the Mac and cheese and potato salad. You will not be disappointed with this bbq. Come check it out for yourself. read more

A really good find champs is a hidden gem next to the air port off Pegasus drive I always get turkey or the special of your in the area it's a must stop probably the best food in the area. read more

I placed an order online and asked for potato salad, it says potato salad on my receipt, and I got macaroni salad. I ordered a bacon burger and fries, with added avocado to the burger. The bacon was horrible, it was just overcooked with no flavor. There were two really small pieces of avocado, I couldn't even taste it. The fries were terrible, way overcooked and also tasted burnt. I also got a tri tip sandwich, it was just okay. I got BBQ sauce on the side and it's way too sweet. There was plenty of meat on the sandwich, but it wasn't very flavorful. This is the second time I've gotten Champs and it hasn't been good either time. I won't be ordering from here again. read more

This was honestly the worst service I've had in a long time. The minute I sat down there was only three people in the restaurant besides us. Thinking we were gonna get our food quickly. Instead more people rolled in and they ended up getting their food first. ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS. And the server was horrible, no refills, no updates on the food. And the minute I saw the person next to me get there food first I canceled my whole order. Maybe she didn't pay attention to me because I'm NOT old and white but she seemed very friendly to the rest of the crowd except us. Never coming here again. Horrible service and horrible server. read more

Super friendly service and delicious food!! We found this place while fueling up across the street. Read the reviews and decided to give it a try. I have no idea why this place only has 3 stars. It's great!!! I had the smoked turkey wrap, my husband had the jalapeno burger and out 2 yr old had a kids quesadilla. Everything was excellent. Our server was so friendly and helpful, even got our daughter up into her high chair when I was busy holding our 3 month old. We will stop here whenever traveling through Bakersfield. read more

It was "Just Okay." I expected more out of a BBQ place. Ribs were dry as was the cornbread. Cool atmosphere and friendly staff.

Okay. This place was over priced for the amount of food and quality. We paid $49 and this was with a $25 off coupon for four people. My son got the special tri tip sandwich which he said was good. My daughter in law got the burger which was cold and just average. Onion rings were terrible. They just tasted like they had been soaking in an oil bath. My husband got meat sampler. The pulled pork was just mushy like baby food. The pit beef was over salted. One positive is the fried okra was really good. We will definitely not be back. Take your family to Salty's. You will never be disappointed. read more

I ordered the 2 meat dinner with hot links and tri tip. Its to bad I even thought this place would have good BBQ as I am from East Texas and from my standpoint this wasn't even close to what I think BBQ should be. The hot links and tri tip were cold. The tri tip was tough and had very little smoke flavor and tasted like oven cooked meat. The hot links had a slight hint of red pepper to call them hot links. To bad for the locals that hope to have good BBQ, this is not the place. read more

Champs has become my Fav BBQ spot in town! Staff is always welcoming and attentive! Food is delicious, I've had almost everything bbq and have loved all 8 dishes I've had so far. Small place but big on taste!! read more

When we arrived the restaurant was packed. The service was friendly. Not bad BBQ. Had the turkey plate with coleslaw and macaroni salad. The macaroni salad was ok however the coleslaw was very good. I will definitely return back. read more

Extremely disrespectful owner highly recommend staying away from this restaurant not all food is made daily leftovers will be serve the next day. There are definitely way better places to spend your money for fresher food and way better ownership read more

Had an amazing experience! Food is great and customer service is superb! It's a must to stop if you are around the area. I recommend the sampler platter. read more

Love this place! Great BBQ! My favorites are the Hot Mess Sandwich, green beans, and corn bread. I've also had the fish and chips and they were really good. read more

This was our first time eating at Champs since they changed ownership. The portions are much smaller (served on smaller plates to disguise this) and sides are now extra rather than being included. I was a fan of the old Champs but not so much with this one. I got what they said was the old "Patrona" salad topped with tri tip. It was much smaller. It's not that expensive to use a little more lettuce in a salad rather than trying to disguise the size. The balsamic dressing seems to be the same and the BBQ sauce as well so the flavors are similar but the tri tip is now cut in small squares not in strips as it was before, leaving you with the feeling you are getting much smaller portions. Donna had a deep pit beef sandwich which she liked but there was a far smaller amount of meat in it and nothing on the side. All in all I have mixed emotions about the change and the long drive to return anytime soon. read more

Champs BBQ - Look closely. Mostly veggies and not much meat. - Barbeque Near Me - Bakersfield, California

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Sadly, this will be our last visit to "Champs". After patronizing them for years, our visits have grown increasingly infrequent due to ever increasing cost coupled with ever decreasing quality and value for the money. We had problems with 50% of the items we ordered and despite the staff's best attempts, I'm afraid it's too many strikes to recover from. There are too many other local restaurants that beat them in every category to come here with our hard earned money. Unfortunately, we've gone from multiple visits a week, even using them for catering, to never again. Unfortunate. read more

I've had many of take out champs meals and have always been happy, but this is my second and last time dining in . I came in having lunch with a friend and once again I'm served luke warm food ! I just don't get it. I had baby backs ribs that were luke warm and tasted like they were left overs , my hot link was luke warm and my friends tri tip was cold. Good potential but come on people like hot food. read more

Not good. Ordered the pulled pork sandwich to go along with bread pudding. The sandwich was meat in a container next to a cold hoagie roll. The bread pudding was the oddest I've ever had. It was more like a dense cake with some raisins in it and the vanilla sauce was mote like custard. Ate 3 bites. Will never go back here again. read more

I did takeout, it was a mistake. I placed my my order and the chef had it prepared in a few minutes. The person who took my order was also the wait and bartender. So it sat there for 15 minutes plus. Once I got it and return to my hotel room that was suggested by my the hotel staff; it was very delicious. Smoked trip tip. Order it it in, early when there staffed and have a cold 805. read more

I am a trucker and i have come here before and I have to say today was not good at all. First of all 14.99 is not worth a mushroom burger that was dry, plus it didn't have any tomatoes or lettuce. Who sells a burger without lettuce and tomatoes?!?! Didn't even ask me if I wanted. Waitress never came for refills, I had to get my own drink which I don't mind but I saw her taking drinks to other people. Maybe she didn't like me, who cares. This is the last time I come here. I paid 15 dollars for a dry burger without tomatoes and lettuce. Bun was kinda greasy too. Very disappointed. I'd give it 0 stars If I could. Seriously over priced!! Owner should readjust prices. read more

We stopped over in Bakersfield and tried this place. Tri-tip was so tender you could cut it with a butter knife! Green beans were tender and sweet. Fried okra was fabulous. Spare ribs (they sold out of baby back ribs) were delicious. We love eating in local places. read more

Average quality, overpriced. Elbows and cheese sauce passed off as Mac & Cheese. Using boneless chicken for BBQ - really? Single serving at $15 or so makes it a poor value. read more

I signed up for Yelp because I wanted to be heard about Champs. I have been a patron for years and have sent many people their way. It's my opinion that they WERE the best in town for a decade. The change in ownership is now, unfortunately, blatantly obvious. Now we'll review today's meal. This is the third consecutive time I have been let down. My wife's meal was terrible. The pork was dry and room temp, the beans were warm, sometime, I assume, but not when they were served (the crust formed on the top made that obvious), and the mashed potatoes were instant and bland. Now mine.. Let it be known, in the past I would have run through a brick wall for a Champs cheeseburger, they WERE fresh and awesome. Today's was obviously a pre-formed frozen patty. It was bland, dry and boring. I asked for no tomatoes and no pickles. I got plain with thousand 'sauce', no cheese, soggy bun, with pickles and a leaf of lettuce on the side. The fries were warm, but dipped in salt. Oh well, the tea was good! All this for pennies under $30. Damn I miss Tim and Kari! PS, the young lady behind the counter was sweet and polite.... That said, when you work at a BBQ spot near Oildale and Bakersfield, on Merle Haggard Dr, with an autographed Merle Haggard guitar on display where the sheet cake used to be, you really should know who Merle Haggard is! Momma Tried?? Okie From Muskogee?? Never Swim Kern River Again?? Nothing?!?!? It's our history darlin! read more