Champps Americana

There are other, far better choices. We came here on a Saturday morning, about a half hour after the restaurant opened. It was a muggy, not altogether hot day, but inside it was sticky. I even heard another patron comment on how stuff the large dining room was, so I know it wasn’t my humidity-​induced asthma talking.
The reason for only 1 star:
When we arrived, we waited at the hostess stand for at least 5 minutes. We were actually ready to walk out because we could hear people carrying on and having a good time, but they were not bothering to see if customers were coming in. When we did get acknowledged, the host was very nice, but there was a table of waiters watching us as we walked in, and you could tell they were upset we were there so early (they wouldn’t be able to watch the games or something). Minus 1 star.
Our waiter was one of the worst I have ever had. While he did not get our orders wrong, he did everything else wrong. 10 minutes after sitting down (keep in mind, we were the first ones there, so I am not sure what else he could have been doing), he finally comes up to the table. The first thing I notice is a completely stained black shirt. If it’s that messed up, get a new one, because no one wants to see food particles stuck your shirt, it does not bode well for the cleanliness of the establishment. Then he never said his name and immediately started droning on about the specials. We could barely hear him and it was obvious from that very moment he did not want to be there. Because he had taken so long to get to our table, we had already decided what we wanted. However, after taking our drink orders, he just turned and walked away, even though I called after him that we were ready to order. He brought out my soup and it had sloshed over the bowl onto the plate while he was walking. He never refilled our drinks, even though they were almost empty when he plunked down our entrees. He had his hand wayyyy too close to my food on my entrée plate for comfort, it made me feel icky. We had to get up to find him to get our check. What should have been a quick, under an hour meal turned into over an hour and a half because of him. Because it was sticky in the restaurant, our water and drink glasses sweated all over the table, and he never asked if we want napkins to sop it up. He was literally at our table only 4 times (drink orders, drink drop off and food order, food drop off, check drop off – we had to walk to him to get the check). Minus 2 stars (3 if I could give 0 stars).
The food was average at best. I had the walnut chicken, and it was VERY walnutty, which in itself is not a bad thing. However, you need a break from that overwhelming flavor, and unfortunately, the vegetables it came with were drenched in the same sauce, making the entrée very one-​dimensional. I did not even eat half of it because I got tired of the flavor that fast. And the portions were huge. I would rather smaller portions and better execution, even for a sports bar. My friend had the fish and chips, and he did not like it, stating that the ones at Silver Diner were better. The batter lacked any flavoring and the tartar sauce was equivalent to a jarred variety. The French onion soup was also below average and served in this really cup, not a bowl, so I could barely get my spoon in there. Minus 1 star.
There are far better choices in Plaza America, including just picking something up from Whole Foods. IMHO, I think Glory Days is a far better choice, and one is coming to North Point shopping center, a few miles away and also in Reston. While the food may also be typical sports bar there, at least I have never had abysmal service!

Champps… It is what it is.
I come here for happy hour, I don’t know why I keep coming back maybe it’s because I work close by. The food is so-​so, the service is so-​so. The happy hour drink prices are decent but it does depend on which day you come in. If you are looking for a typical chain sports bar, you’ve come to the right place. Game days aren’t bad here, they have a bunch of TV’s and a massive screen in the back so it’s hard to miss a play.

After a long raining night and an increasing hungry belly I decided to run across the street and chow down on a burger and fries! I made my way up the circular stairs and walked to the bar… Well they got the burger right. Unfortunately when my order came my fries were ice cold, heavily salted and the experience was ruined. I don’t understand how this establishment can’t get it right. The service hasn’t changed which kills me. The Columbia location busier and can hold down their bar without the long wait and food mistakes.

Ahhhh, Reston! It’s a very busy area and your first challenge in eating here is to get a parking spot. I expected the restaurant to be packed based on the parking lot, but it was far from it.
The hostess seated us quickly and the waitress was at our table in no time to see what we’d like for our beverages. I was in a hurry, so I ordered the pasta lunch portion of the Cajun shrimp penne which comes with a salad… but I wanted the salad to eat there and the pasta to take back with me to the office. Another lady in our group did the same, while the remaining ordered the soup and salad to eat in the restaurant. I figured that eating the salad there might take 15 minutes and I’d be on my way back to work. We waiting roughly 25 minutes for the food to arrive… way too long during the lunch rush! There were only five of us at our table.
The salad was good, the penne (eaten back at the office) was EXCELLENT! The waitress wasn’t the issue… she was nice, attentive, and got the orders right.
My biggest issue with dining here is they are simply too slow. If it weren’t for that, I would be here more often for that lunch. It was definitely worth a repeat visit!

Went to this bar last night for the NBA Finals Game 7. 9pm. Hardly anyone at the bar at the beginning of the game. My lady and I sat at the bar and waited at least 15 minutes for service from one of three bartenders. Once we finished our drinks, we waited 25 minutes for the bartender to ask if we wanted another drink. This would have been fine had there been more people at the bar, but for a half empty restaruant… laziness definitely shows.
Our bartender originally took our empty glasses from us… WITHOUT asking if we’d like another.
I will never go back to this unprofessional location as long as I have a choice. Beware!

I have quite a bit of experience with Champs, having eaten there many times over the course of the last two years due to its proximity to the school I attend in the area.
Champs is not a bad place to stop by and get a few drinks. They have an okay selection of beers on tap. There could be a lot more, but there could be a lot less too, so I can’t really complain there. The food at Champs is alright. It’s definitely not amazing, but I have yet to have anything really bad there either. If you’re looking for a place to do a happy hour, and you’re close to Champs for work or whatever, it is not a bad option. If you are looking for a «nice meal,» there are probably better options at the Reston Town Center and elsewhere in the surrounding area.

The key to Champps is to go in with the right expectations.
It’s your typical restaurant and sports bar with decent food at decent prices. The best thing Champps has going for it is the friendly service — our servers have always been nice, without fail.
In terms of food, I usually opt for salads or sandwiches for lunch. My favorite is the Champps’ Americana Chopped Salad with an accompanying Blue Moon. Once, I had the brilliant idea of getting the Cookie Espress (a huge cookie topped with ice cream, chocolate and caramel sauce, and whipped cream) for lunch. No judgment please but it was pretty delightful.
The restaurant is good for groups and has plenty of TVs to accommodate your sports addiction. Champps is a fairly regular staple on my office’s lunch rotation, so I’ll be back I’m sure!

«OK» are the perfect words to describe Chammps. The food is OK. The beer selection is weak, but a beer snob will find something acceptable. Service is generally good. It’s your typical chain sports bar experience — nothing ever really stands out at Chammps, but nothing is particularly bad either.
Chammps has been thriving in Plaza America ever since I moved to the area in 2000. It was, in fact, one of the first places I tried in Reston, being treated to lunch by the headhunters who placed me at my first job in the area. I’ve always been underwhelmed by the food, and never found reason to go back. But a few weeks back I went there for lunch with a colleague and found it to be acceptable. I ordered the Sesame Seared Tuna Salad and was treated to a nice portion of well cooked but slightly bland tuna, a fresh salad, and a decent orange ginger dressing. Nothing amazing, but I’ve certainly had worse.
I saw a few interesting possibilities on tap at the bar and decided to come back a week later to investigate further. Unfortunately, it’s the standard sports bar fare of NASCAR brews, name-​brand imports, and nationally distributed microbrews. They did have Fat Tire and New Belgium’s Ranger IPA, with the lone local representative being Flying Dog’s Doggystyle Pale Ale. Acceptable in a pinch, but nothing special.
I’ll find myself here if there’s a sporting event I want to catch during work hours, but that’s about it. Chammp’s is an acceptable but uninspiring sports bar and after work hang out.

I went to Champps Americana in Reston for happy hour on a Thursday evening. The restaurant/​bar is located upstairs. Typical food you would find at an American restaurant. Half off appetizers during happy hour (til 7pm). Appetizer serving size are pretty big, especially the nachos. There is not a large variety of drinks here besides their specialty cocktails, just your common domestic and imported drafts and a selection of wines.
What I tried:
Flat tire ale in 16oz glass mug– $ 8
Chicken tenders appetizer (6 pieces. good)
Nachos appetizer (okay, but large portion)
Fried avocado appetizer (good stuff)
Most appetizers were about $ 5 during happy hour.
My overall experience there was pretty good. It is a sports bar, but I didn’t pay that much attention to the TVs. The atmosphere does encourage sports viewership behavior. So if there was a big game going on, it would be a decent place to watch from the bar or at your own table.
The service we received was not good nor was it horrible. We did have newbie server so can’t blame him for not being on top of things. I didn’t get my drink for about 15 minutes so had to order again. Another person in our group got the wrong drink.
Side notes: Restrooms are downstairs. During my time there, there was a catered happy hour event in the middle of the dining room. Most people were standing or walking around, so it’s not total sit-​down place.
11÷1÷12

Probably great for football, but don’t go here for a Nationals game. The hostess was nice but when we asked if the Nationals game would be on, she asked if that was baseball and then said she’d have to ask her manager. They weren’t planning to have it on even though the Nats had the chance to clinch the division, but they agreed to put it on one if the tvs for us. No volume though. We asked our waiter if we could have volume and he went to check with the manager and came back and said no because the Hokies game was on. It was the 4^th quarter though so I asked if we could have the volume on after the Hokies game was over. He went to check with the manager again and came back and said «no because it’s football season.»
What really bothered me from a hospitality point of view is that staff had gone to the manager three times for us to ask a question and twice the manager’s answer was no but the manager didn’t come out to say anything himself. Even though the restaurant was only 10 percent full.
So probably a good place to go for football, but don’t bother if you want to watch baseball.

Went around 9:30 pm on a Thursday night for a Girl’s Night Out. Service was very slow despite the place being empty. I had a burger — ingredients were very fresh, but the burger itself wasn’t my favorite. Probably wouldn’t have it again.

I avoided this place for three years because of the Unilocal reviews, but the Caps were playing game 7 and I no longer have cable tv, so I wanted to try something different. That was a mistake:
You have to walk upstairs to get to the restaurant/​bar and the elevator was out of service. I personally don’t care but that’s quite a middle finger to handicap people.
Here’s my big gripe: Washington Capitals. Game 7. Bartending staff: One, maybe one and a half bartenders. My buddies and I could not get any kind of service. Eventually, we tried to get a table, but were told by the hostess that the wait staff asked her to delay seating any tables for 15 minutes. We were okay with that scenario so long as we could get some drinks at the bar. We even waited for a while and planned on ordering a few drinks each. But in the end, I started losing my buzz and we got the hell out of there and went to Herndon where good times were had, despite the Caps loss.

Champps is always a good bet, but don’t go there looking for anything fancy or an out of this world experience.
On this visit there were two bartenders for a crowded happy hour time, they were attentive when they could be, and were very polite, but because of the obvious, service was slow.
The bathrooms downstairs, near the main entrance is a bit weird, as you go to the bathroom, totally alone.
They have a gluten free menu, but it’s more a piece of paper to compare to their regular menu and a bit hard to follow and not very expansive.

It’s official — this place sucks. The Chuck E Cheese of sports bars. Sure it’s big and «airy» but a total assault on the senses. And last Saturday evening, there was not a soul at the bar — my friend and I wanted to hang out at Melting Pot and the bar was packed there. So with the only other option that doesn’t involve getting back in the car being good olé Champps, we went there. No one was at the bar and we were told that «in a half hour, we will automatically add $ 5 to your order». What for? The FIGHT was coming on. You mean they’re bringing in a gladiator ring? That would have been worth $ 5 added to my tab. «No…just a fight on cable TV.» So I’m going to pay a premium for that only to «enjoy» your crappy beer selection and partially frozen cheese sticks and potato skins?
Never again.

Since the group of friends I was meeting yesterday (Sunday) to watch the Jets game all live in the Reston area, I ventured out their way instead of going to the Champps at Pentagon Row like I do every other Sunday. Within 15 minutes of being at the Reston Champps, I immediately regretted my decision of changing my normal viewing habits.
Despite being like the third person there (I went early to watch the 1 pm games as well), it still took longer than it should have to be acknowledged and to order a beer. The beer specials on Sunday are $ 3 bottles of Coors Light, Miller Lite, and Bud Light. After I got my beer, the bartender pretty much disappeared. Luckily he reappeared at some point during the first game so I could get a second beer and mozzarella sticks. Then I wanted to pay since I was moving to a table for the Jets game and it took twenty minutes to find my bartender and pay.
Service did not get better during the Jets game. There were long times when we didn’t have a waiter come by to allow us to order drinks, get refills, or order food. I definitely think that because it was slow, the waiters and bartenders took advantage of chatting with their friends that seemed to occupy seats in the bar area. The one bright aspect of my experience at Champps yesterday was that after the manager saw how many Jets fans were there to watch the game, the game was put on three TVs (including the one big one) and we got the sound to our game despite the Ravens playing at the same time.
I will definitely be sticking to the Pentagon City Champps location for my NFL gamewatching for these reasons:
1. The atmosphere is so much more social and lively
2. They have a diagram when you walk in showing you what TV (s) your game is on so no walking around blind or having to ask a hard to find staff member
3. Prompt (and friendly) service
4. Tons more TVs especially in the bar area

Out of the way restaurant bar in America Plaza… it’s good for game night. Not crowded, beers are typical and cheap. Food is just OK but it’s bar food style. Looking for a place to just unwind and watch some football without the hassle of crowds, then Champps is your place, They also have karaōke and that stirs up a crowd to my surprise.

Omigosh their Bourbon salmon dinner is amazing! I finally have struck gold here!!! Fresh salmon fillet marinated in sweet bourbon sauce, grilled and served with garlic mashed potatoes and grilled sauteed vegetables. YUM! Only minus one star because it was really pricy

I went to Champps for a happy hour, and I found it to be pretty good for a Chili’s-style bar and grill. The drinks were reasonably priced, and the appetizers were ridiculously cheap, about $ 5 for a giant plate of nachos that you’d need at least three people to eat.
Service wasn’t the best. They screwed up several of our orders, but it was pretty busy, and at those prices, I’m not going to complain. The quality is fine for what I was expecting, good for a happy hour, but I wouldn’t come for a meal. I’ll definitely be back for greasy appetizers and drinks.

Had happy hour not been sponsored here, I probably never would have stepped foot into this place. My expectation of this place was something between Chili’s and BJ’s, and I wasn’t too far off.
SPECIALS:
There are $ 4 wine tasting specials and ½ off burgers for MNF. They have several TV’s by the bar and allow smoking (ew). The space was huge and they had plenty of seating so don’t worry about reservations! The nice thing is that they accommodated a group of 15 of us, moved us outside even after we sat down at a table.
SERVICE:
Unlike other people, the service I experienced here was amazing. The guy was attentive and quick to bring out food despite us being outside. I know how easy it is to forget the lone table, and we were the only ones outside. My recommendation, perk up the outside tables and add some music! They say that they just moved some speakers away for an event, so it’s possible your outdoor experience might be a bit better.
APPETIZERS:
Finding healthy food here is absolutely impossible. I dare you to find something healthy there, the nutritional information is posted on their site. Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you, ignorance is bliss. We ordered every appetizer they had, and they were gigantic. Out of all I liked the loaded chicken quesadillas chock full of corn, beans, and cheese with a side of guac and sour cream. Next the loaded chips were delish and piled high and packed with chili on top. My next favorite would probably be a tie between the crab cheese bread with cheesy marinara or the artichoke spinach dip. The sampler was just meh. I hope you like cheese and all its forms, because it seems to be a running theme in all their food.
DESSERTS:
We went on to sample desserts. The mile high cake is a 7 inch tall ice cream cake, it had layers of chocolate mocha and vanilla ice cream and an oreo crust that lined the top and bottom of the cake. DE-​LISH. The strawberry napoleon is as tall as in the picture, but too sweet for my taste. My favorite was the smallest of all, the turtle cheesecake which paled in size comparison to the others. I am a cheesecake slut, I’ll admit that I enjoy Cheesecake factory, so don’t have any wild expectations here =)
So all in all, this is a good place for happy hour because of the space and location. The food is typical bar food, but it comes in gigantic portions, it’s just unfortunate that everything on the menu is so unhealthy. For those with a sweet tooth (and on a quest for weight gain), Champps is your best bet — get the mile high cake and the cheesecake!

Another «right by work» spot that is mediocre at best. I have only eaten here once when i was actually footing the bill. The service was horrendous, just like every time I have eaten at Champps.
The food: Pretty meh all around, but its not BAD, just bar glorified bar food. I wouldn’t get anything outside of things you can’t screw up like a burger.
The service: horrible. I came with a group of 10 people and it took nearly 45 minutes for the food to arrive and it was not crowded.
Prices: I suppose they are ok, but for the location, it really should be lower. Rent must be high in Plaza America.
Experience: If you want a beer, a burger and to watch one of 30 tvs, you can do that with little problem.
I wouldn’t come here if i had the choice ever again.