Champion Kitchen — Restaurant in Washington

TL; DR—I’ve been here on Friday and Saturday nights (usually after 11pm), and it’s always bustling with people. Great music, good hookah and prices, with table service available in the VIP section. Service is impeccable.

I’m going to preface this post by saying that I do not frequent the Silver Spring area and I’m not HUGE on Hookah, BUT I will say that this place makes me want to keep coming back for both!! And that’s saying a lot for me—change is HARD. LOL. But I may have to make a change and add this place to my list of places to frequent on weekend nights.

BAR SCENE: There’s a full bar with the option of reserving tables along the dance floor OR reserving the VIP section on the condition that you buy table service.

MUSIC: There is a live DJ and the music videos are played on large flat screen TVs. I LOVE being able to watch the artists perform their songs on TV while listening to the live DJ—it’s SUCH A VIBE. The music is typically African themed. Think Afro beats and songs from different African countries. The DJ does mix it up with pop, throw back jams and other genres like reggae!

CROWD: Lots of people from all over the world. Typically people from African countries who jam along to the music and show off their traditional dances. It’s so much fun to watch the crowd go wild when a specific song comes on!

SERVICE: The service here is what keeps me coming back! It feels like everyone is there to serve you and ensure you have a great time—From the bouncer to the hosts, people just want to make sure you are happy and well taken care of! I just want to shout out ADA, who literally takes care of us every single time. She is AMAZING and makes sure our cup never runs dry. She is so accommodating and sweet! We make sure to come when she’s there because her service is unmatched!

MY EXPERIENCE: I much prefer getting a group together and heading to the VIP section so that we can have space to hang with friends, dance, socialize in our group and hookah without being bombarded by a crowd. The VIP section is nice because it gives you the option to sit somewhere and still get a nice view of the dance...

My friends and I recently visited this bar, and it turned out to be a deeply disappointing experience. While the interior design and lighting are commendable for such a small hookah bar, the service is where everything falls apart. The waitstaff's attitude and hubris is appalling and significantly detracts from the overall experience. Initially, as an African American, I thought their beyond ugly attitude was directed towards our group. However, it became clear that their rude behavior extends even to their own Ethiopian customers, making the situation even more baffling. Since they get 18-20% service charge added to your bills as a tip anyway, no one bothers to check if you need anything and requesting something as simple as charcoal for your hookah feels like begging. The servers congregate in one area, mocking customers condescendingly, which is incredibly frustrating and makes you question why you chose to visit in the first place.

Looks like the owner got these third world midgets from some cheap hood bar for penny. I strongly advise against visiting this establishment. Save yourself the frustration and seek out a place that values and respects...

Poorly, poorly, poorly runned business. The waiter I had last night tried to stick me with some other tables bill and my bill on top of that. After that it took us the most to get my refund back because the waiter said that she gave my card a refund but had no proof (receipt) that she did so. Then I talked to the owner who was trying to get me to sign the receipt for the other tables bill claiming that it was a refund receipt but it clearly wasnt. I told her I need to see a receipt that says "refund" on there. Then she agreed and brought me back a refund receipt. I look at the receipt she gives me and I see the last 4 numbers of the card that got the refund, wasnt the last 4 numbers on my card. I then called her out on it and finally after all that she then gave me a correct refund receipt... If you ask me I think she probably refunded her card or one of her employees cards with the money and thought I wouldnt have been able to catch it. All in all shady...