Champa — Restaurant in Hendersonville

This was our first, and last, visit to Champa. We went for lunch about 1:30 on a weekday. This is a "Japanese" restaurant that serves sushi, hibachi, Thai, Chinese, and Vietnamese items. The place is clean with decor matching peer restaurants. You enter from the street into a small "lobby" then another door into the seating area.

It was raining lightly the day we visited and we had closed umbrellas with us. Upon opening the door to the seating area, the hostess loudly said, "No umbrellas in here!!". I would have left then but it was my wife's birthday and she wanted to try Champa. I asked what to do with them and the hostess said "Leave them in the entrance". We did, hoping we'd get our own back when leaving.

With few words she seated us. There was only one other occupied table. The hostess brought menus and took our beverage orders. She said little, made no suggestions, and didn't return until taking our order. The napkins are thin paper that tears just unfolding them.

We each had chicken Tom Yum soup. It was very good and a large size. My wife ordered Coconut Chicken and I had Sesame Chicken. Mine was attractive, but cooked in old-tasting oil. The chicken was VERY, VERY tough and hard to cut or chew. My wife's meal sauce clearly tasted like mayonnaise with MUSTARD and some coconut milk. She was very disappointed. Even with only two occupied tables, our waitress never checked on us.

The meals were disappointing and the service was not welcoming, but the biggest surprise was the background music. We visited in late May and they were playing CHRISTMAS CAROLS! Songs. "Let It Snow", "White Christmas", etc. In late May! Nothing about Champa makes us want to go back.

My rating is based on peer-class...

Wife and I stopped in for the first time for a late lunch.

As we entered, I noticed there were maybe 4 other patrons in the restaurant. The person who greeted us to seat us wanted to put us right in the front in the middle of all the other people. I asked if we could sit in a corner booth for some privacy as the place was all but empty. The man said sure, handed my wife our menus and she followed me. He walked away.

As we get to the booth, I notice a cell phone, bottle of water and a couple other personal items at a table next to the booth I sat in. After about 10 minutes, the waitress finally greeted us, we ordered water and 3 appetizers.

The waitress brought our water, DROPS the straws on our table, turns around, walks up to the small table I noticed earlier, grabs her phone and water and walks away. She was visibly upset.

After this interaction, we were never comfortable while there. The waitress delivers the appetizers, we ordered Chicken Satay, Fried Calamari and Crab Rangoons. All of them were very good and great portions! We should have never ordered an entrée.

Our entrées were Triple Thai Delight (supposed to be served with spicy Jalapeños sauce). I ordered it 3* out of 5*. It should be spicy. It was bad! Tasteless to be honest.

My wife had the Pad Thai. Both of the main dishes were bland. It taste like food you'd make out of a box. The only good thing about the entrée(s) was the quanity, big portions. Sadly, it taste TERRIBLE. In addition, the waitress NEVER returned to refill our water.

Our bill was $62. I left a $10 tip despite the awful experience. Save your money and go to Boon Choo. Their Thai food is much better.

We will not go...

I wish this had worked out. Thai, Japanese and Chinese on one menu would be great. Unfortunately, this place does not fit the bill. The food was not terrible, but Thai food should be complex, with balanced flavors. Here, the sweetness dominates everything else. My wife ordered a Larb appetizer...too sweet. I had a Pad Thai entree. It tasted as if it were swimming in maple syrup. Such a shame. We had to drown everything in lime juice in an attempt to knock down the sugar content. Beyond that, we were treated to the worst server we have run across yet in Hendersonville. The young lady who helped us out last night couldn't answer even the simplest questions about the food/menu, had no idea what was available at the bar, and seemed generally unmotivated. Example: my wife asked "How large is a serving of the Larb". Response (after some hemming and hawing): "It is an appetizer-sized portion". Well duh...it is an appetizer. Trivial? Perhaps. But since this was our first time there, there were multiple questions along similar lines. All were met with blank stares or overly simplistic (almost insulting) answers). Looking at all of the good reviews here, this place is obviously pleasing to the local palate and is meeting the expectations of most. Perhaps we hit them on a bad night. I doubt that we will be returning though. It was just that underwhelming. I believe they need to revisit their recipes and balance things out a little, and ownership/management most definitely need to ensure that servers are knowledgeable about their menus and present a good attitude...