Came here on a business trip. Waitress was very friendly but first things you notice are a bad smell coming from the bathrooms. Then very sticky tables. Ordered tritip and chicken. Chicken and tri trip were cold. Trip tip was also very dry, lacked flavor and had to chew it "forever" to swallow it. Not coming back. read more

Great BBQ! Everything that I have tried here has been great. The flavor of the BBQ sauce is the best that I've tasted in town.

This place has gone downhill, ordered pit beef last night and it was rotten. I set it aside and the waitress takes it away and brings me the bill, never even asks why I didn't eat it. read more

First time in Champs BBQ and YOU have to go! It's the cool little spot with amazing food. The Smoked Chicken Wrap is to die for. IT WAS FIRE!! The service we received was so amazing and we will definitely be back again. They made us feel welcomed and gave us an amazing experience. read more

Champs BBQ - Smoked Grilled Chicken Wrap and French Fries - Barbeque Near Me - Bakersfield, California

The Best BBQ in town! I would drive 20 minutes to pick up lunch for my staff and inhale it the last 10 minutes during lunch hour. That's how good it is! And the service is to the line! read more

As always the food was great. We ordered ribs. The beer on tap was really cold and refreshing. The staff was courteous. I don't understand all the 1 reviews. I could see if they are really busy some things could go wrong. After all, they are a busy place. read more

Stopped in for lunch; very busy place. Orders the BBQ Chicken Wrap, Rib Meat Sandwich, and Chicken Sando. Really good food and service. I'll be back to try more items. read more

My mom and I came around lunch rush and it was nice seeing how well the waitresses worked together and how nice they were even during the chaos. The fries were incredible and the sandwich was very tasty too. The mac was kind of bland but it was a perfect mix with the other food. We'll definitely be back ! read more

Champs BBQ - Mac n Cheese & Hot Mess Pulled Pork Sandwich - Barbeque Near Me - Bakersfield, California

My third time here and I'm still sold on this place. I sat down and with in 5 minutes I was enjoying a very tasty lunch. Tri-Tip was my choice and I was very pleased with the sides, pinto beans and mashed potatoes with gravy, an added goodie was some corn bread. The service was very accommodating and pleasant, well informed with the menu and professional. If you're in the area stop by and give it a try, right off highway 99, turn east when you see the Harley Davidson Dealership and follow your nose to a wonderful experience. read more

Champs BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Bakersfield, California

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Great ribs good customer service , take their time explaining menus . Will be back here

My grandson and I have a tradition of hunting out the best burgers in Bakersfield. I saw a post on Facebook with a photo of a burger that looked awesome so we decided to try it out. Disappointed to say that the burgers didn't match the photo. Bun was not fresh, and lettuce had a black edge on it. Meat on burger was good, but cooked past my desired "medium." Fries were respectable but tasted like they'd been in a warmer for a while. Service was so-so, possibly because we were obviously not regulars (oil and AG guys). I won't write Champs off until I have tried the BBQ meats but I don't recommend the burgers, or showing up at 1:30 for lunch. As for the environment, I suggest resurfacing the tables as the varnish is sticky and setting the thermostat lower. read more

Champs is very consistent quality and flavoring. Most of their menu items are great and they offer a 1/2 size lunch portion which is great for a single meal for a single person. read more

Great place for lunch. Stopped here while in town and was very pleased with our nice & attentive waitress. I ordered the smoked Turkey salad & wings. Both were delicious and well priced. A great place to have a quick bite if your traveling through . read more

Bottom Line: Not bad at all but I was hoping for a bit more for the cost I had been on the dirt bike for about 7 hours when I rolled into the parking lot. I was sweaty, tired and very hungry. I saw the BBQ sign and pulled in immediately. I was the first person into the room, ordered and sat down. Within 30 minutes the place was PACKED. It was pretty impressive really. I ordered a burger and plowed it down. It was good, but I don't really think that it was $12 good. $12 is a pretty penny for a hamburger so I was really hoping that it was going to be something really special. There's no doubt - it was a killer burger, but it didn't quite make it to 5 stars. The place over all is great - the people are friendly, its clean, and love the decor. Next time I'm up there, I need to check this place out again read more

Champs BBQ - a much needed break after 7 hours of riding - Barbeque Near Me - Bakersfield, California

Great food great people We ate here on our way to Cambria California excellent barbecue. read more

I would be here more if they weren't so far. They food is always good. As for the service it has improved over the years.

4-8-23/3:00PM...For it being our first time trying Champs we decided to order the nachos, turkey, tri tip and spare ribs. The sides we chosen were coleslaw, Mac and cheese, and bbq bean. Before we ordered and ate we were greeted and welcomed. The host/server was nice and attentive and asked if we needed anything often making sure our drinks were full and everything was fine. The location is right by my job, so that was a plus, and the inside was clean and also with clean restrooms. The nachos were very good, and I would order these again. Turkey was on point and tasted great. Now for the ribs; I would pass on these next time because they were tough to eat, we had received some rib tips it felt like, small and sad. The tri-tip was tender and good, but more on the colder side. The bbq beans were good, coleslaw was delicious, and the Mac and cheese disappointed. All in all Champs is a good spot. Some people might like what we didn't care for, but we can only tell you what we thought for our dining experience... read more

Champs BBQ - Great tasting Smokehouse Nachos - Barbeque Near Me - Bakersfield, California

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My coworkers and I often go here to get BBQ. Their tri tip and pulled pork are excellent. I love their Mac and cheese as well. The reason to go here other than BBQ is for their cornbread!!! My goodness it's good. We typically sit at the bar and the staff there is friendly. We don't usually get drinks, but I did notice they have a decent selection of craft beers on tap. The only food item I've tried that I wasn't a fan of was the Chile. There was no flavor at all. Great BBQ though! The sauce is really good too. My coworkers love the green beans. If you're ever out that way, check them out. read more

Champs BBQ - Tri tip, pulled pork, Mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and cornbread - Barbeque Near Me - Bakersfield, California

One would think any BBQ place located on Merle Haggard Dr might be pretty good. Gotta admit I was less than impressed. Sticky tables slippery floors (from grease I am sure). And playing Blondie and Billy Joel didn't add to the ambiance either. But that is not even the worst part. The meat in the Pit Beef Melt was not PIT. In fact I don't think it was BBQ or smoked on any level. Mine was stewed. I was not bad, but it wasn't BBQ OR PIT. I was disappointed at the lack of effort the staff put in to include the cooking. And the fries I received? Would have never served them at any restaurant. These were the scraps. Unsure how other items are on the menu, but Chili's gets better scores from me- and THATS NOT GOOD. read more

Champs BBQ - Pic does not do Justice. But the Fries were no bigger than an inch each. Sorry the sauce makes this look like a crime scene. - Barbeque Near Me - Bakersfield, California

This place is great! It is a pit stop to going to the Brett Young concert in LA. The service was good. Nice waitress. Ordered the tri-tip sandwich w/macaroni salad. Also added jalapeños on the side. It's a pretty low key nice place. The food came quickly. The tri-tip sandwich was delicious! Especially with the jalapeños added and their Spicy BBQ sauce. The BBQ sauce made the sandwich even better! The macaroni salad was pretty good too! Great service! Great food! Recommended! read more

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I do not suggest this place at all!!!!! The bathroom is disgusting. Food is way overpriced. Meat wasn't even hot! Meaning the lazy girl doesn't care to clean. Shes to busy lolly gagging around when she should be working. The order took forever. I would never go to this dirty place again. The cook is running out the door to go get a bag of cheese from...I don't even know where! These ppl are dirty. read more

Food was amazing and server was outstanding! Order tri-tip, Mac n cheese and fries. Food was out in less than 10mins read more

My wife asked for Pulled pork today after going to the hectic store. We decided to check out Champ's Hailey and Jason were very nice and pleasant and served me on the spot. I ordered three meats and brought it home to be very impressed. My wife the flavors were amazing. Would recommend in a heartbeat. read more

Service was horrible I ordered online a hour ahead of time and food was ready 20 minutes late and made me late to work and the food wasn't even good horrible never coming back read more

I had the chicken plate with 2 baby back ribs, my husband had the 1/2 rack of baby back ribs plate, each came with 2 sides and choice of bread. They had a large variety of sides to choose from which was nice. Thought the barbecue was very good and tasty ! Our waitress was friendly and very helpful. The ambiance is very nice and clean. Will be revisiting real soon ! read more

Place is empty and ordered a head of time still had to wait another 30mins making me late for my lunch break

Just inside the door the server will ask if you want to eat in or take out. If you're eating in she'll seat you. There's a small bar area and about 30 tables with windows all around. It very open and comfortable. It's very clean too! (You know how some BBQ joints can be) The spare ribs were completely rendered and tender. No fat on these. There was a light coating of BBQ even though asked for sauce only on the side. Great ribs! The tri-tip was very tender and thinly cut in long strips with a nice smoke ring! Nothing wrong here! (I asked for it to be more well done than most folks like) The pit beef was a bit mushy and not very attractive to the eye, but it had good flavor. The texture made it a bit difficult to eat. The Mac n Cheese was very creamy and tasty, but a little gritty? This is a good dish. I might be nitpicking? The Cole slaw was a bit bland, but had a nice mix of veggies in it. It needed a bit of a personality. The cornbread muffin was sweet, moist and tasty, but it was cold so I could not use the accompanied butter on it or it wouldn't melt. When serving sliced meats (that you can't cut with your fork) I wish there was an alternative to using a paper liner in your basket or metal tray. You end up cutting the paper and possibly ingesting said paper. But it seems to be the standard in most BBQ joints. All in all, this is a great amount of food for a fair price. Some diners complain about the cost of BBQ food, but I know the work that goes into it, as opposed to slapping a burger on the grill. So I don't mind the cost when the portions are sufficient. Champs will not disappoint the BBQ aficionado. Give it a try! UPDATE: I stopped in here again a couple of days later and got the hot links dinner with corn on the cob and chili. I got three hot links slit in half with grill marks on them. These were hot, spicy and tasty! The chili was a nice mixture of beans and fixins topped with cheese and onions. The half length corn on the cob was also hot and ready for their provided butter, salt and pepper! I also forgot to mention they have both a sweet/mild and hot bbq sauce. I think they're best both mixed together! Each time I visited, I was served by Trinity, who was pleasant and efficient. Thanks Trinity! It was also nice to get thanks from the owner regarding both my likes and dislikes. I like getting a real response instead of those disingenuous canned ones like some restaurants post regarding reviews... Keep it up!! read more

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In town for work, Champs BBQ was recommended by our contractor. Only a couple blocks from my hotel, I went for "Dinner to Go". From the initial greeting by the pleasant young woman behind the counter, to the decor inside and ordering process, everything was excellent!! My order was ready in less than 5 minutes (ribs, beans, mashed potatoes). Upon returning to my room, the food was hot & delicious - all at a very reasonable price!! A definite "Don't Miss"!! read more

I want to thank Champs for making me right. Tonight my wife wanted hot links and cornbread muffins. I recommended any of the 3 BBQ places within 2 miles of our house, but she insisted her childhood staple Champs was the only place she would ever consider. So I told her I wasn't going to drive all the way across town over it for a place that never impressed me so she could go do the takeout. Boy she wanted those hot links and cornbread muffins bad. So we place the order. Seven hot links and a half rack of babyback ribs combo. It'll be ready in 15 minutes. We live 20 minutes away with traffic, so no big deal! She drives out and they make her wait 40 minutes, so an hour total for our order. When they get to bagging our order... they ran out of hot links and only had 2 left. Didn't bother to tell my wife this at any point before she left the house, drove to Champs, or during the 40 minutes they made her wait. So she places an order for another half rack of ribs. Do they offer to take our current order and keep it warm? Of course not! That's customer service and that's not what Champs stands for. Another 30 minute wait and she's on her way home with two combos, one of which stone cold, all full priced. Thanks Champs! Oh ladies and gentlemen I wish the story ended there. When she opened it up to get the vaunted hot links she was desperate for... burned to a crisp. And the cornbread muffins I was assured would be the best in town and worth the trip? I would put money down it was a bottom shelf box mix. Dry and tasteless. Looked nothing like what she brought me a year ago from the same establishment. My wife was distraught. My BBQ corn was boiled straight out of a can in the can water, even when their menu online said it was served on the cob. Let's see... gotta be positive somewhere. The gravy on the tasteless mashed potatoes almost saved them. I don't know what else to say to Champs. You could've made it right with me, but my wife will never forget how she advocated for your quality, fought to get you my business, and then you embarrassed her like this. I doubt we'll ever see you again. read more

The food was not hot and lacking flavor. I have to admit that the service was good. When we came in the bathroom door was open and this is a small place, so the small lit up the whole place. this is a shame because the service was great. read more

Dont get the Tri Tip it was seriously beyond dry and you had to chew it forever. Ended up just spitting it out in a napkin. It tasted as though they may have cooked it really fast, because there is nooo way that was slow cooked! Waste of money. If you choose to waste your money here The deep pit beef, ribs & fried Okra weren't bad but just not amazing. The nachos that one of my family members had came with a such little amount of cajun if sauce for the amount of chips served with so it was really dry as well. Just really disappointing because we wanted to like this place. read more

I came here after a recommendation from a local and it was very close to my hotel. Its located in a nice strip mall near a major freeway and interwection by the airport so the location is prime. It's pretty nice inside too and the 2 gals working were very friendly and started a good conversation with me. Pulled pork- juicy 4 stars Tri tip- delicious 4 stars Hot link- basic 2 stars Mac and cheese- solid and creamy 4 stars Fries- not memorable 3 stars Sauce- spicy bbq was legit 5 stars Service - 5 stars Overall I'd go back but wouldn't get the hot link or fries. read more

Ordered a BBQ deep pit melt and it was delicious. Those fries that came with it were pretty good too.

Still like the BBQ here but what has really grown on me is that grown-ass man (or woman. Ok grown-ass person...doesn't ring quite as well...anyway) Mac & Cheese. It is bomb and a large serving to go will provision a small family for several days. Later. read more

Ordered through Uber eats, they didn't give us half our order, no no warning. No utensils. Called to see what could be done, lady said nothing. Chicken wing sandwich had ZERO sauce on it. Sitting at a hotel with no car and crap food. Good also tasted old and had poor presentation. Will NEVER order again. read more

Decided to try the Tri tip special to go. Nice, decent size tri tip sandwich with a good amount of fries and two sauces. The bread was fresh and chewy, good amount of meat, fries were perfect and the price was excellent. My meal came out to $12.67. Really good sandwich. The ladies working the counter were also very nice and friendly. read more

Champs BBQ - Tri tip special - Barbeque Near Me - Bakersfield, California

They have the best beer in town and the best tri-tip. They have a really good selection of food and their lemonade is really awesome as well I love their barbecue sauce the only thing that changed was their spicy sauce is more vinegar based it used to have a better flavor read more

We were referred to champions by the front desk of our hotel at the Marriott. The place looks unassuming however, the food was very tasty and we received great service. I highly recommend the chopped rib meat sandwich this is something I've never seen before and was very good. My daughter love the barbecue beans. read more

Champs BBQ - 2 Meat plate beef and pulled pork - Barbeque Near Me - Bakersfield, California

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The nachos were excellent. I am a believer in homemade flour tortilla chips. However, they have to be covered in their smoked chicken, chili, and jalapeños!!! I am glad they did not use corn tortillas. We also ordered the cheesecake and it was pretty good. I could have used a sweet dipping sauce like raspberry purée. We also would have tried the chicken wings but they were out. read more

I came by to get a to go order and was pleasantly surprised how nice it was inside. Very clean and well decorated. Everyone was friendly and it was full of customers. I ordered a tri tip sandwich and the rib dinner with fried okra and onion ring sides. I was planning to take a pic of the food but I had to get my phone out of my purse and wash my hands. When I got to the food my adult son had already eaten the sandwich and he just looked at me and said "that was bomb what else do you have?" Now he is a very picky eater so that it's high praise from him! The rib dinner was delicious. My only problem was I forgot to get them without sauce. I am a bare rib person that likes to dip in a little sauce. Just my preference but they were tender and juicy. Everything you want in ribs. The okra was so good as well as the onion rings. We will definitely be back! read more

Champs BBQ - Entry - Barbeque Near Me - Bakersfield, California

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