So disappointing. This use to be the go to place for a great HH with awesome beer. Their pretzel with beer cheese was the best around. Not anymore. Won't be going back. read more

Congregation used to be such a great place, with good food and service. I went on 2/8 and it was a terrible experience. I should have known right away, because when we walked in the place was empty. Most of the menu items weren't available - it took actually took 4 attempts of trying to order before I finally found something that was actually available for order from the kitchen. The wine was cheap, flat, served in a dirty glass. There was one server, and he was doubling as the bartender! I will never go back. It's obvious there was a change in management. Save yourself the pain, and stay away. read more

This is the 2nd time I've been here in 2 months. It's cool, I like the selection of drafts (32) , the service is has always been quick, courteous and most importantly frequent. My group didn't want for anything, they were on top of it. The menus is not real extensive yet it's Good! I used to come before the pandemic and they used to have pews and their own mugs, for purchase, sadly no longer. I recommend coming here , especially with New Years around the corner and the Bowl game. Oh yea they have 10 tvs for the Games read more

Utterly delightful and, for us, a miracle! We watched the Rose Bowl parade and were wandering the streets, looking for a place to eat lunch, along with 800,000 other parade watchers. Every place is packed. We ended up walking about 8 blocks and then stumbled on this place. Not crowded, looked inviting, and had "Ale House" in its name. We were sold. Surprisingly, in addition to being there, the food was delicious, and the service was outstanding. I had the double bacon cheeseburger and a beer. TI was expecting a sandwich with two 1/4 lb patties. That was wrong, What I got was a burger with what I believe were two 1/2 lb patties of properly cooked and seasoned ground beef, along with lots of bacon and a tasty sauce. The beer was cold. All in all, we'll aim for this place after the next parade and make a point of stopping in whenever we can before then. read more

Congregation Brewery & Cocina - Pubs Near Me - Pasadena, California

I love that they were playing any football game you requested BUT it smelled like wet rag throughout whole place. Beers were good. We didn't order food. The waitress with the tattoo on her chest was super sweet. The waitress with the botch BBL didn't come ask us if we needed anything once and we held the door open for her when she had full hands and didn't even say thank you. So over all, if you want to watch the games I guess I'd maybe suggest this place but don't expect much read more

Congregation Brewery & Cocina - Pubs Near Me - Pasadena, California

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Went in for brunch just before noon. We were only guest there. The three of us each ordered off brunch menu. Apparently they cook one dish at a time. There was a good five minutes between each item coming out. Huevos Rancheros beans cold, eggs ordered over easy came out sunny side up, sour cream was missing. Breakfast potatoes were more than half bellpeppers. Woman's bathrooms barely had any toilet paper. read more

Aesthetic is original and very European. We came in late night after our shift to get some drinks and snacks since it said they close at 2. AFTER buying drinks, we asked about the food options and we're told they were closing early and it wasn't even midnight. We were rushed out as they cleaned up around us. I think they should've let us know they were closing before we sat down and ordered a drink. Thanks for nothing, next place on the list. read more

It's been awhile since I've been here, but now I know I wasn't missing anything. The food quality has really gone down. My food was cold and flavorless. The grilled chicken sandwich tasted like it had been microwaved to lukewarm. The appetizer sampler was a waste of $28. I could forgive the horrible service if the food was good, but there was nothing to redeem this place tonight. There's plenty of other options in Pasadena to get a higher quality overpriced meal. read more

I must agree with the other recent reviews, this place went downhill. The beer list is half what it used to be, and they were out of many of the ones they had. The service took forever, we waited nearly an hour for waters, though beer and food were a bit faster. The fries smelled of fish, meaning the oil was old and reused for everything. I like that they had trivia, and the decor is the same as before, but it's definitely not the same place. read more

Looking to change up our typical go to spots, we decided to venture out to Pasadena to check out. A local spot that came highly recommended. We stopped at Congregation Ale House and it was a packed house however didn't have to wait long to be seated and get our grub on. Being that's it's a brewery, I opted to try out the specialty beers that they make so ordered a flight. To pair well with my beer selection I order a Philly Cheesesteak and the misses order some nachos. The food was delicious and the beers were heavenly. With a welcoming vibe, this is a spot you can come with your family to hang out and chetch a game or two. read more

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Our local ale house. A little off from the bars but there is parking and it's the closest big brewery next to the gold line on Del Mar. (aside from stone brewery which is smaller and no restaurant) We ordered the Russian Pilsner and their local reds. Definitely recommend their Russian Pilsner if you get to stop by here. Light with a small hop! My friend and fiancé got the chicken sandwich, burger and pretzels. All great and come with their special dipping sauces. Plenty of outdoor and indoor seating! read more

Congregation Brewery & Cocina - Brewpub Pretzel - Pubs Near Me - Pasadena, California

Five stars to Marcos! He's amazing! TERRIBLE leadership for making Marcos work by himself on a weekend shift. What is wrong with this place? Highly recommend this location by Marcos alone - questionable management. This guy is running 10+ tables by himself. read more

Congregation Brewery & Cocina - Pubs Near Me - Pasadena, California

They need new management. BIG TIME! Went last Saturday midday, where their was only 5 tables. it was slow needless to say- The waitress was checking her phone / not sure if the lashes she had were blocking the view, but it took her a while to get our order. we only had 1 beer and left asap! This place needs a good promoter and a live dj on the weekends to wake the staff up! I give it 1 year before they shut down otherwise. read more

They have a decent burger here and a vegan menu for my husband, which is always appreciated. The beers on tap are a hit and miss...nothing spectacular but I can always count on a Guinness when in doubt. I've been here twice now and the service has been quite attentive, especially during tonight's happy hour when it looked like there was only one server (Kyle) working the whole place for quite a while until other servers arrived. I don't quite understand the decor since the only piece that gave church-like vibes was the fake stained glass window located at the bar area. The rest gave off an industrial, cabin in the woods feel. Will return if I'm in the mood for a burger and beer again. read more

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Placed an order on the Toast app at around 9pm Saturday, and order was never processed or delivered.. can't get a hold of anyone and they don't answer their phone ever. Scam business. Avoid at all costs. read more

Love this place! Panchito is the best! He's cute, friendly, funny and he makes the best drinks! If you're looking for good food, good music for a reasonable price come to Congregation Pasadena. read more

Overall, the beer and pizza were good. The downside is that there was one server for a full restaurant, so service was slow and non-personal. read more

Casual place to grab a beer & some grub, with an outdoor patio area They offer beers by the bottle and rotating beers on tap PLUS cocktails if you're not a beer drinker NOTE: they have their own parking lot, but most spots are reserved for other businesses Mon-Fri, free-for-all on weekends read more

Congregation Brewery & Cocina - Wings - Pubs Near Me - Pasadena, California

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Unfortunately Congregation has seen better days. The staff were nice, but they seemed confused and ill prepared for guest. When asking a question, they would often times shrug or smile, as if they did not know what to say. When ordering drinks, they had no idea how to make basic drinks, nor how to make the drinks on their menu. They also seemed to be out of a lot of ingredients, which made ordering even more complicated. Beyond that, mid drink and conversation they would come up to us and ask us to close our tabs. As of if they were ready for us to go, even though we were still very fresh and barely getting comfortable. I still have a full drink and 4 mozz sticks! I felt pressured to get going. The place was quite empty for a Saturday night, which now makes a lot of sense now. I wish I would have enjoyed my experience more. I don't think I'll be going back for a while. read more

It recently underwent not just a name change, but also a menu change. It's no longer focused on burger/sandwiches and dipping sauce for fries. It's more Mexican food, sadly. The chicken sandwich was average, and it came with fries. The onion rings were over-fried. It was so hard that it was barely edible. We basically wasted at least half of the basket. The best dish was the pizza. It was a good size. Service was friendly though. Water was offered to our dog. read more

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Very disappointing .Pls update your hours & Times . came here for lunch and there closed when specified online it is open look like they had some good food to try out on there menu ! read more

The food and service was good and the price was maybe slightly above average. The food came quickly but there weren't many people there in the early afternoon on a Friday. Tried to order a Jim Beam and coke but the server didn't know what Jim Beam was. Went with Buffalo Trace and Pepsi instead. Had the 3 sliders and fries which was good. Had to use a hand held device to pay and selected printed receipt, but never got one. read more

I guess i didn't know about the change of ownership, but also about the change in the operation. Congregation had always been a great place to get a craft beer and good food. I have to say I love the food choices now, but it feels like beer is a second thought. The beer menu is limited, and some beers listed are regular beers (Modelo, I like modelo but I can get that anywhere) So I am hoping that the brewery concept is not water downed, because that was the point of the place. read more

Congregation Brewery & Cocina - Beer Battered Fish Tacos - Pubs Near Me - Pasadena, California

I wanted to like this place, but it took 10 minutes to be noticed when it was not busy, and multiple staff members walked by us (they have a sign that says wait to be seated). It then took another 20-30 minutes for someone to ask us what we wanted to drink & receive said drink. We were not asked if we wanted other drinks, and had to get out of our seats to look for servers to help us. We are not sitting somewhere out of view, as shown by the photo. Definitely not coming back. read more

Congregation Brewery & Cocina - Pubs Near Me - Pasadena, California

Food and services was good, but if you are a visual person, this place needs a facelift. That's all I'll say - owners. Please consider investing a little bit once again to replace all the torn stool covers. , chipped paint and scuffs on walls, etc. Because basically the interior looks like one of those truckstops on the way to Vegas read more

First off, this spot is always a hit. BUT! Today I had the most amazing experience. Our server kyle brought me samples of a couple beers, but I had forgot to tell him about my allergies before hand. Kyle went right to work to find out ALL of the ingredients in these beers to ensure I did not have an allergic reaction. The care to make sure that I had a good experience was so above and beyond what most bars would do. Just a reminder of why this place is so great read more

Congregation Brewery & Cocina - Pubs Near Me - Pasadena, California

This place has a fun theme and great food/drinks! We ordered the Truffle Fries, Double Pepperoni, and Fresh Tomato & Basil Pizza. This was more than enough food for two of us, and we had plenty of leftover pizza. The food was good quality, nothing special, a tad pricey, and ultimately typical bar food. My partner is a huge fan of garlic truffle fries, which have been quite difficult to find, so he was thrilled to finally have them here. We loved the beers, especially the Festbier. The Generation Ale was alright. Overall, I highly recommend if you're looking for good beer and food in one spot! read more

Congregation Brewery & Cocina - Festbier and Generation Ale - Pubs Near Me - Pasadena, California

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So good to be back here and still get the same wonderful service, delicious food and stiff beers! After a long time of being cooped-up, chilling here with a friend was definitely a nice end of day change of pace. The Sausage Portobello pizza was really good, I suggest digging into it while it's nice and hot, IMO, though sharing is always nice, I think it's a perfect serving for one person haha order two if you have two burly dudes chowing down on that thing! LOL The Tots with the Jalapenos----yummmmmmmmmo, I could snack on this everyday (but not gonna for the sake of my waist and belly), pop em, munch em and savor! such a nice hot compliment to their selection of beers. I had the St. Bernardus (10.5% ABV) and then the Chimay blue (9% ABV) afterwards as they ran out of the Bernardus (bummer) I liked both Ale's particularly because of their pretty stiff alcohol content...yaaas! ( don't judge me - I like my drinks leaded like Jet fuel ), I was a very happy camper after a few bottles of those refreshing cold ales. It's really nice to be back and catch up with my bud esp after the restrictions of the pandemic, it's also nice to know that one of our favorite watering holes still serves some pretty kickass beers and delicious comfort foods. Until next time! read more

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Words cannot describe how much Congregation has fallen off since the change in ownership. We have been regulars for over 10 years of the old format; celebrated birthdays there, even had meetings. Gone is the high quality gastropub menu and in its place is cheap, microwaved Mexican food that pales in comparison to the taco trucks down the street. What once was a celebration of craft beers is now an abbreviated menu of corporate owned taps. Happy hour, once cheekily called "mass" is now only 4 days a week and not on Friday--which we came specifically for. You're prompted to scan the menu QR code which has lower pricing than posted in the restaurant. That is literally illegal. It was dead in there for a Friday night (due to all of the reasons I listed) yet the owner sat back and let his ONE bartender run around serving every table. They won't last much longer in a congested bar scene that offers nothing to entice you to return. read more

Yeah, I'm not into it. I'm not a religious person so I don't truly care that they're serving alcohol in a cathedral-type space, other than finding it gimmicky. All the beers have puns too, if you're into religion puns. The beers I tried (I think a hefe and another light beer) were fine; I took no issue with them, and I'd drink them again if the opportunity arose. I also ordered the pastrami sandwich, which I found mediocre and would not recommend. Barely any pastrami, but I did like the fries and the "pretzel" bun. We came during the outdoor-only dining phase of the pandemic, and there wasn't much available seating because I guess everyone had the same idea we had that night. There also weren't many tables for parties of 3+ people, so we 3 squished into a table for 2. I didn't have an issue with the employees; everyone I met was very friendly. I probably won't be back, but if I do come, it'll likely just be for beer. read more

Congregation Brewery & Cocina - Pastrami sandwich - Pubs Near Me - Pasadena, California

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First time coming to Congregation. Partner was here previously and loved their churro stout. We got that this time, and it was REALLY GOOD. We came in on a late Sunday afternoon before the dinner rush, and I'm not sure if it's because they were short-staffed, but service was incredibly slow. In addition to the stout, we got a painkiller, which really was nothing to write home about, and that ran at $13. We ordered a Cobb salad probably around 5:45pm, and asked for the no protein version (no chicken or bacon) and egg on the side. Around 6:20, (yes, 35 minutes later), they bring over a salad...with bacon. They were very apologetic and asked if they could just scrape it off, or if we wanted them to make it fresh. We asked if they could make it fresh. Again, they were very nice about it. Around 6:50pm, we were....still waiting. The table next to us that came after us ordered, were served, ate, and left by this point. Near 7pm, someone came to again confirm that we did not want meat in the salad and again I asked for egg on the side. The salad finally came out a couple minutes after, with the tiniest container of maybe 1/3 of a hard boiled egg inside. Salad itself was fine. Not super impressive, served its purpose. When our bill came (which took a while, I wasn't sure what happened to our server), they charged us for the protein-ful salad. When I asked about it, I was told that it's the same price, chicken or no. We had to show the server the menu where it clearly had two price points on it. As other people said, the staff in general was very nice and apologetic for things going wrong, including our server. They might have been really short staffed both back and front of house that night. This seems in line with some of the other reviews about long waits. So, if you come here, just be aware of that, and come with patience. Parking is in the lot, bathrooms are multi-stalled, and their sink is automatic with warm water (which feels really nice), but has a curiously discombobulated soap dispenser. I'd come back for the stout, but that's probably about it. read more

Oh man what happened to this place? My favorite gastropub is now a cantina and it's not that great. Gone are the days are where you walk in and see the TV menus of what they are pouring. The beer menu is now just a fraction of what it used to be. Some of the seating and tables have been adjusted to look more cantina and less pub like, but the EDM music did not fit the vibe of the still present semi gothic stone and wooden interior. My group has no idea WTF image was trying to be presented. It's now more or less table service; that is if you could get a server to your table. I also work in the food service industry, so I can understand how hard it is to find labor these days. It was one of those situations where our server were so absent we had to go to the bar ourselves to order drinks and food. I felt bad for her cause she seemed to be the only server that night aside from a few bussers. I think the biggest offense of the night was the price on the menu. Pitchers were listed as $12 each for certain cocktails such as margaritas. That's a pretty sweet deal. We order two of those and our server comes back and says the price is wrong, it's $20. And beer pitchers? $25! I don't order pitchers of beer often but it seems strange that they cost more than cocktail pitchers. Even when we were closing our tab for the night was a bit of a pain as we were overcharged for one drink. I think the waitstaff were over it, as our group so I just let it go. This is probably the last time I will go to this location. Such an absolute bummer because this place used to be THE SHIT! I loved coming here with my cousin and friends for a beer cause I hate even going down to the Arts District. Management, if you're reading this, please treat your employees better and get rid of that EDM! read more

Congregation Brewery & Cocina - Receipt - Pubs Near Me - Pasadena, California

Kyle made our first visit here wonderful. He is very attentive and made excellent menu selections. Made sure our glass was not empty. Great customer service. Will come back again read more

Fun night! Beers are great, food is great. Karaoke night was a blast! Definelty check this place out. Happy hour all night on Thursdays!

The location and parking are primo, especially for Pasadena. As far as the service, menu selection and food quality those are not up to par based on the experience. read more

It's been a while since we've been and the establishment had gone downhill. Ambiance was okay but the space needs a remodel. The restaurant was understaffed but the staff did their best to keep up. The food was terrible. I'd like a refund if possible. read more

So I brought my brother in law to this place because he wanted some really good craft beers. I hadn't been to this place in like maybe 3 years. But it is always know to have great craft beer options. We walked in and i went straight to the bar to order like i usually did. i guess now u have to be seated.. anyways, i asked for the beer menu because it wasn't located where it usually was. to my surprise, what used to be a full screen of beautiful craft beer on tap selection, was now only a third of the screen. later i realized it had changed ownership. Food was great as always but this place definetly not an "ale house" anymore. they did add their own house brews but, cmon man, bring back the selection of beer that it was in the past! read more

Old Congregation and menu was amazing and always fresh. Drinks were always top-notch and was a fun atmosphere to go to. New ownership has ruined the experience, the menu, and the drinks. What used to be a wall full of beer on tap is now Modelo and Truly. Bad food, bad vibes. Y'all ruined a good thing. Congregation was one of my favorite places to go and I hate it now. Nothing special about it and a basic bar going through an identity crisis. To the new owner - your new ideas will bring this place down. Ruined a great place and unique experience. Bring the old food back, fries, tator tots, great dip choices, pretzels, and I might try again. Until then, it's a no for me and my friends who have been going here for years. read more

This place used to be dope. Now they got rid of the order counter and the beer is no longer a focal point. The beers on-tap are mostly popular brand (Modelo? Really?) with some microbrews sprinkled in. Nothing exotic or surprising anymore. It looks like a full bar...but it really isn't. Also the ambiance is gone...what's with all the bright lights? The food menu is vastly expanded....not always a good thing. The nachos were meh...I didn't know I was ordering them with that bland beer cheese. The diablo burger was a nice touch and the fries were good. New girl behind the bar no personality but did her job fine. With so many good brew pubs in the area this one gets a pass... read more

Had some pizza that was very good. And large variety of beer. But we were there around 5.30pm on a Thurs and there was one person working the place: He was the waiter & bar tender. And not the best. Just be sure you're not in a rush of super thirsty. read more