CHAMPS STEAKHOUSE & BAR — Restaurant in Merritt Island

open 3-4 weeks. Went understanding that it is still new and would likely have a few kinks.

2 adults, 1 kid.

Friday night. 50 minute wait quote. Ok, that’s fine. Waited in car because it was cold out. They called our cell (not text) after 30 min to say table ready. We were pleasantly surprised by personal call and shorter time. Inside dining loud.

Husband and I ordered waters while the Son ordered a lemonade. We noted that the beverages were moderately priced, including alcoholic drinks. Servers promptly brought drinks. Brought my 7 year old an adult sized cup (32 oz) of lemonade. No lid. Playing with fire. Chalked it up to Server being young and likely no experience with kids. Server kept drinks filled through the evening.

Entree order-Being a “steakhouse” we thought to try the steak. Asked about the difference between prime steak and regular steak. Explained as being 4 tiers of steak with Wagyu being #4 top tier. Prime was 3 tier and the porterhouse was 2 tier and all others 1 tier. We always eat at Texas Roadhouse and I enjoy their sirloin so I ordered the same to comparison. Husband ordered the porterhouse. Disappointed no “kid” steak on the kid menu. Son ordered chicken tenders. Steaks came with two sides. We both ordered side salad and upgraded to loaded baked potato. Son Doesn’t like fries, which comes with all kids meals. Upgrade would cost 2.50 to a vegi or other basic side. Did not have other “kid” sides like fruit or applesauce. Opted to not eat side.

Meal arrived 1 hour later (chalked it up to new-ness). Salad came with meal. Salad was small bowl of bagged lettuce, 2-3 pieces of chopped tomato, 1 cucumber and a light drizzle of dressing on salad. I prefer salad before meal and dressing on side. When mentioned to manager as they seem to want feedback was given excuse that bringing salad ahead of time confused kitchen and double salads were often given.

Small “Loaded” baked potato came with cheese, a couple bacon bits and scallions. Sour cream on side. NO Butter! Potato hard, undercooked and dry. Asked for butter. Server gave excuse that they don’t add butter because some people don’t like it.

Steaks- both ordered medium well. Sirloin was undercooked and I’m glad it was. It was very tough and fatty. If cooked as ordered, I wouldn’t have been able to chew it at all. Did not finish steak. My mouth became tired from chewing. Porterhouse was cooked as ordered. Terrible quality for $35. Nearly inedible. The toughest porterhouse ever experienced. The sirloin side was riddled with so much thick fat that it was difficult to cut and chew. The filet side was so tough that thought I was eating sirloin at first. Did not and could not finish due to poor quality. Neither steak had seasoning.

Manager addressed our concerns, apologized and said he would investigate poor meat quality (said he could tell by looking at it that the porterhouse was not good quality) and talk to kitchen about cooking my steak properly.

Kids meal- generous portion for $6. Fries were cold but chicken fingers were hot, fresh, juicy and cooked well. Son thoroughly enjoyed the chicken fingers and he is very picky.

Ordered dessert, which unbeknownst to us were comped due to poor main dishes. Ordered Sticky toffee cake and chocolate cake. Both were decent. Toffee cake better than chocolate cake but both better than our steak dinners.

Paid bill at table using QR code. We were pleasantly surprised to see desserts comped for our poor entrees. Honestly, the porterhouse was so bad that it should have been comped fully but it is what it is. After paying we noticed the kids drink was charged as an adult drink. Again, in the spirit of feedback for newly opening we mentioned it to the waitress. Admitted she knew and was because she brought an adult size drink cup. I explained Kids drinks are free refills and stated as the price on the menu. It clicked with her and she apologized and offered to fix. We told her to not worry about it.

Poor food quality and constant “excuses” will ensure that we will...

Champs Steakhouse & Bar 100 Sykes Creek Pkwy., Merritt Island, FL 32953

2.5 Stars

Champs Steakhouse & Bar is a new addition to the restaurant scene on the Space Coast, owned and founded by B.K. Patel, who hails from our neighbor to the North, where he had a similar operation. Champs Steakhouse & Bar bills itself as a place for “families, friends, and steak lovers alike.” My West Coast editor-in-chief was unable to ferret out any other locations, but I know this place is available for a franchise. More on that later.

Lindsey was my waitstaff today, and after taking my order, she disappeared. She wasn't terrible, just average, so The Streak continues! I asked Lindsey for a “Prime” NY Strip medium rare, a loaded baked potato, and an Onion Ring Tower (because we are all children at heart). I must admit that I rather liked the interior of this establishment. It was modern, without being cold.

I had another Lindsey sighting as she appeared with my order. Then she was off again to parts unknown. Taking the requisite pics, I promptly set to the task at hand. Looking at the pictures, everything certainly looked appetizing enough, and the aromas cascading around my knowing nose lent credence to the information being processed by my eyes.

The steak was cooked to a medium rare, no knocks on the grill master. However, it was far from USDA Prime. It was OK for a cheap steak, but nothing to write home about. The Caesar salad was well dressed, composed of fresh lettuce and junk croutons. This was a bummer as the dressing and lettuce were great. The loaded baked tater was edible, but I have to admit that I have had better. To that point, I've also had worse, making this average. The onion rings were cooked to a perfect doneness; however, the ranch dressing on the side was disgusting, and the rings themselves were of bottom-of-the-barrel quality. The rings themselves warrant a one-star review.

The editor-in-chief, as mentioned earlier, confirmed via their website that Champs Steakhouse & Bar is available for franchise. With better steakhouses nearby (in the case of this first location, a Longhorn is right next door), I can't fathom anyone coughing up the money to buy into this offering of family-friendly steak environs.

The Big Boy says, “No great shakes here. There are other established chains that are...

Very surprised at all the good reviews for this place. We will not be back. I'll start with the pros: The waitress was nice My 3yo loved her mac and cheese. It was clearly the box kind, but a-ok with her Two of our 3 filets were good cuts, although the seasoning was pretty salty

Cons: Two people at our table ordered salads. They came out with lettuce so wilted as to be inedible. Someone commented they would throw the lettuce in the trash if they found it like that in their own fridge, so how could you serve it to customers? The rest of our food was also pretty bad. One of the three filets was actually unrecognizable as a filet. I thought they served him a sirloin or different cut by mistake. It was extremely fatty. He returned it and asked for another. They brought him one that looked IDENTICAL to the one he had rejected. It was also undercooked, ordered medium well but was medium rare. He didn't eat it. The steamed vegetable side was wet broccoli that had visibly brown stems. None of us ate it. The baked potatos seemed old and/or undercooked. They were not good. How do you mess up a potato? One of the plates came out with a side missing. They all come with two sides, how do you not notice that? Apparently they hadn't even cooked the side yet, judging by how long it took to come out after being asked for. The atmosphere was pretty blah. Someone joked that the warped wooden wall panelling looked like a trailer from the 80s.

The cherry on top: someone came around to speak to us about the filet we rejected, I guess it was the owner? He didn't introduce himself. Anyways, instead of apologizing in any way that the quality wasn't good, he simply assured us that it was, in fact, a...