I decided to write a review because I can't believe all of the negative comments. I like to eat and I REALLY like to eat at Champs. We have eaten there maybe 10 times.....with a small group and with a large group[10]. We have never had bad food or bad service. The menu is so unique and varied that we keep trying new things. I have to wonder if some of these critics have other motives.

went when restaurant first opened and the service was very slow, but considering it is a new restaurant I decided to go back. I am so glad I did, even tho it was a pretty busy night service was prompt and the waiter was very attentive and friendly. and the food.... I honestly cant believe how unbelievably tasty the steambar food is, the shrimp are so buttery and delicious with just enough heat and the gumbo is by far the best I have had. the manager also stopped at our table and was absolutely wonderful, gave us excellent service and really made us feel like we were family. I will definitely be returning for the gumbo and great atmosphere! highly recommend trying this place out

Nice place but horrible service. I ordered food with a friend and 45 minutes later I got my order and they messed it up. Might go there again to drink, but never go there hungry.

Went w/another couple & were not as impressed as we hoped. LOVE the State College location & service but this one is trying to be too big & are a little overwhelmed! We waited forever(it WAS busy)for our table & were never called,watched 2-3 other people ahead of us being seated! They SAID they had called us but don't believe it,our names were crossed OUT on their list! Had to be seated upstairs which is difficult for our friend(asked for downstairs)because they were too full now that we had waited soooo long! Food was good but took a looong time,waitress didn't seem to interested in serving couples over 30 & wasn't very attentive! Obviously a hangout for younger crowds which is going to come back & bite them since this town is mostly 35-75!!! Will give them another try now that outside is open,so we'll see!!!

Absolutely shocked by the terrible service. The hostess literally hung up on me while I was trying to make a reservation. I should have known better since I've heard nothing but terrible reviews about this place.

The owner of the place walks around like a fat Hugh Heffner. He treats his customers almost as bad as he treats his employees. The food and menu are decent but the host staff sucks. Not hard to see why after meeting their mentor. The guy's a jerk. He's lucky he has one of the better venues in town otherwise I can't imagine him being successful.

Was told to wait 5 min for table for 4 ,name not takenWhile standing 7ft from hosting stand, 3 tables of same size sat ahead of meTerrible service!

Monday 5/9 I called for a reservation for Tues. 5/10 and was told Champs does not do reservations. I had a party of 11. we r age 54 to 72. when we arrived the greeter (dark haired lady) at 5:50 p.m . told us she did not have room for us & we should have called 4 a reservation. I told her I did & was told Champs did not take them. she said the women who told me that must not have understood, understood what? I told her we would just go to Zack's and she said ok and turned and walked away from us. I owned a bar in Altoona for 37 years and this is not how you treat people. this greeter needs 2 B talked to! Just thought U would like 2 know what your employees R doing. and how they are treating potential customers.

I'm really surprised that there have been 2 bad reviews for the food... We went this past Sunday 5/15/2011 and really enjoyed our food. There was 4 in our party. We had a pizza, and we also ordered steamed clams. The pizza was great. It was like a brick oven style pizza and it was big enough for all 4 of us. The clams were awesome!!! they steam them right there at the bar with these cool little steamers. each order is done individually. Our waiter was clueless! He said that they didn't have pitchers for soda.... which they did. and that the steamers were made with this tomato sauce stuff and we couldn't order them just steamed with butter. WHICH we could!!! but they were awesome... the HUGE clams..... no one ever has them anymore.... They also have these sample size holder of beer. you can get a 3 glass or 5 glass holder and they each hold like 6 oz, you can choose from 100's of different beer on tap, THEY DEFINITELY SHOULD PUT IN POOL TABLES AND OTHER GAMES!

My sisters and I took our Mother out to eat for Mother's Day on 5/8/11. The food was terrible. 3 out of 4 of us ordered the Colorado Rockie w/Au Jus on the side. The waitress brought the meals with the sandwich already laid in the Au Jus. We did go ahead and accept it which turned out to be a big mistake because the bun was nothing but soggy and mushy. Our Mother's meal was mostly fat and grissly; she ate about 1/4 of it. We did complain to the waitress that the meals were not very good; she offered nothing but a weak - oh sorry. My one sisters meals was 17.20; paid with a 20 dollar bill and only received 2.10 back for change (cheated out of .70) normally .60 is not a big deal but pretty bad you can't even get the right change. The .70 ended up being her total tip from my sister. We won't make the same mistake to go to Champs for a special occasion again. Out of a five star rating, I would give the experience a -1.

I called a week ahead to ask if they would be open on Easter Sunday and was told yes. Our party of 10 arrived to find the establishment closed at 1:00 pm. There were no hours on the doors and there is no answering machine or message pick up when you call. A week before after they opened, I was with another group and was told that they didn't have a number of items that we wanted to order. Very dissapointed.