I love the congregation! It's one of our favorite spots to come for beer and good conversations. It's a really casual atmosphere, but can get crowded at times, but we always manage to find us a table. Usually it's really crowded with a long line to order, but the last Saturday night that I went it was pretty empty for a saturday night. Their food's always delicious and they have really good beer selections on tap. My boyfriend is obsessed with their pretzels. Their fries comes with various selection of dipping sauces, my favorite's the siracha ketchup. I like the long beach location better than the pasadena one. The vibe's a little more chill and "hip."
Review Source:we used to come here all the time when my friend lived across the street. great beer selection and awesome food. with specials every day. I would recommend any of the burgers or flatbreads. the sausages are delicious as well and you'll typically find rattlesnake or rabbit sausages on the menu. They have rotating taps and feature a lot of beers you can't buy in a bottle. great place to grab drinks with friends or a casual first date. at least if the dates bad the beer and food will be good.
Review Source:I had high hopes for this place. Â The concept, the menu, the reviews, and even the aura of Congregation Ale House made me fall in love with the pub before I actually tried it. Â This place gets an additional star just because I love the theme and ambience/atmosphere, but without it, it would've been my first one star review. Â
I walk into a dim lit bar that was gorgeous. Â There was church stained glass windows near the beers and a great selection of beers on tap. Â Even the bartenders/waitresses had Saintlike names which was entertaining to me. Â It was crowded so we didn't get a table initially. Â But when I flagged a waitress down to order some drinks, she gave me a rude look and told me to get in line to order. Â
When we finally managed to grab a table, we ordered food and decided to get the Grilled Rib Eye White Cheddar Burger, The Beer Steamed Bratwurst, The Belgian Style Fries, and the Sweet potato Fries. Â We also ordered three different types of beer. Â The food was horrible...even down to the fries. Â To preface, I am a man who loves salty food but everything here made me take sips of water after every few bites until eventually I didn't care to finish it. Â Maybe they plan to over salt their food to make us believe that's how they preserve their meat like in the old medieval days? Or maybe they over-salted everything to force us to quench our thirst with their expensive beers? Â Perhaps I came on a bad night where the cook had an off day? Whatever the case may be, the food was terrible and on top of the slow and rude/apathetic service, I won't be "congregating" here anymore!
Extra Notes:
-Small Restrooms
-Awesome wooden decor to resemble a church
-Has TVs to watch games
-Great beer and drinks, but expensive
-Cool Jukebox
What a nice little bar
I came here with 3 other people for some drinks. Â They had plenty of drinks to choose from. Â There was something for everyone. Â The prices were cheap the food was good. Â We shared an amazing pretzel. I love the outfits of the server chicks, school girl outfits. Â Cute! Â The vibe is very chill. Â There's an outside patio and plenty of tables inside and outside. Â It's a great place to hang out with friends.
Came in on a Saturday afternoon to a completely empty place! It picked up shortly after we began chowing down though.
Tap list is on the board to your left, and the food menu is in front of you above the registers. Order both and take a seat wherever you'd like and wait patiently for your food to arrive.
We ordered the sausage platter and a pub pretzel to follow. Sausage was good and the accompanying mustards were interesting. Great to nibble on while you sip on your beer.
The pub pretzel, on the other hand, was bombbbb. I could've eaten 3 more of them. Too hot to touch for the first few minutes, but once we finally broke into it, the dough was perfection. Soft, fluffy, buttery, and ever so perfectly salted--goes perfectly with the Chimay beer cheese which was light and didn't overpower the pretzel itself.
We were saving our stomachs for more food and beer elsewhere, otherwise I would've tried more food. Oh welps. Good news was that their lunch special was going on so for $7 you can fill yourself with a sausage/burger/sammich and fries. Beers were also priced fairly average.
Nice, chill, wallet-friendly pub.
I was born and raised in a Catholic family so the whole church theme kind of  made me feel at home. Having never been to mass here I only tested the holy brew waters with a couple of pints from the tap menu.
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/congregation-ale-house-long-beach?select=XcYuAKcgNR3y5rogBjflGw#XcYuAKcgNR3y5rogBjflGw">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
My partner in crime and I met a few like minded souls wandering out of the Wine Down YEE we'd just enjoyed who also wanted to keep the party going after the WD bash. Cool! So we all hobbled a few blocks away to Congregation Ale House and kicked it for a couple more hours.
It didn't take us long to get the party resurrected as we all kneeled in to enjoy a few of our favorite brews. This midnight mass is a fun one.
My confession. Three hail Mary's and a pint of Black Phoenix for me.
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/congregation-ale-house-long-beach?select=XcYuAKcgNR3y5rogBjflGw#obEmYyXYUMxA9VtDkB2Nsg">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
The names of the fore mentioned sinners will remain unspoken as the debauchery within the church de los cerveza may have upset the regular congregation. Alas you all know who you are. Â
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/congregation-ale-house-long-beach?select=XcYuAKcgNR3y5rogBjflGw#6fRKPLEmWJb-sM_ttB17gw">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
As is usual in politics and religion there was unrest <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/congregation-ale-house-long-beach?select=XcYuAKcgNR3y5rogBjflGw#4lQLUBWkBMEqTbUqfUWwOA">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a> but by the end of the night we all got along like a flock of nuns.
This is a fun place with great beers! Come to pray, come to sin, either way you're sure to win.
I didn't eat anything while there. I did not take sacrament. But I will return for a proper Sunday mass soon at the Congregation Ale House to see what she has to offer.
i'm going to review this spot as if i don't have some sort of negative sentimental connotation to it (apart from anything having to do with the bar itself). Â read this assuming i've been successful.
parking sucks. Â but then, it's dtlb, so you know.
the service is slow and weird. Â as in, i've never, ever, EVER been here with a dude and had my order taken before my male counterpart's was already DELIVERED. Â as in: Â 'hi, what would you like?' (to whatever male i'm with.) Â they order. Â bartender vaporizes. Â returns with the drink. Â starts to walk away, then realizes i'm sitting there. 'oh, would you like something too?' Â as though it's a surprise. Â every time. Â no, i'm not fat, ugly, or generally otherwise considered invisible. Â so it's really odd. Â and it never matters who's working, it happens EVERY TIME.
food is good, of course.
beer selection is lovely - i always try something different, and i've loved everything i've tried.
obviously the schoolgirl outfits are aces.
it's a cool joint, but despite its popularity, it's never my first choice. Â there's just something about being boldly ignored when i want to order a drink that sticks in my craw.
Have frequented the this location a good many times for lunch and also for happy hour.
For lunch, I would recommend getting the lunch combo which consists of a sandwich and the choice of either sweet potato or Belgian fries.
I always get the grilled ribeye burger [hold the white cheddar] and sweet potato fries. This is a great pub burger that's leveled up with the inclusion of a roasted tomato, grilled onions, arugula mixed greens, and rosemary garlic mayo spread. With other burgers I usually always opt for fresh onions but with the other components in the congregation burger, I am happy munching away till my two hands are empty.
The sweet potato fries are so good. Crispy, warm, comforting and it comes with your choice of sauce. I usually ask for the spicy mustard, but the curry ketchup and sweet mustard are stars as well. Honestly the sauces won't steer you wrong.
I can also vouch for the Belgian fries, as they are tasty as well.
As a side, I'd also recommend their fresh baked pretzel. Comes to you fresh and is great to share with others. It's also a wonderful vessel for their sauces.
Had a taste of the beer steamed bratwurst and I must say, loved the juiciness and the way the fatty flavors paired with the seasoning. My friend did have bites of the burger because I think the bratwurst that comes with a flatbread wasn't enough for him to eat [just to keep in mind if you're hungry].
The roast tomato and garlic flatbread is also great to share. My friend and I happy ate piece after piece and I was glad to hear that she approved since she loves flatbreads.
Happy hour is great here because they have such a wide selection of drinks. They are accommodating as well- if you don't know what you want, just ask for their recommendation, they know their stuff.
I also like the atmosphere, really chill and relaxed. The inside can get a bit stuffy and I wish there was more seating. If you can snag a seat on their patio, go for it.
Other than the sometimes stuffy feeling on the inside, the only other reason I took off a star from the rating is because you just have to watch that you get your food the way you order it. It has happened where I had to take it back because it wasn't right.
Overall, try it out, I'm pretty certain you'll enjoy yourself!
The food and beer selection is great, however, the pours are short EVERY time. Â We still end up going there occasionally on Mondays when Beachwood BBQ is closed, but every time we do, we walk away feeling like we are getting ripped off. Â For a place that focuses on beer, it is really unacceptable to pour beer so badly. Â Obviously they are making a good profit. Â Do they really need to squeeze every single penny out of a keg?
Review Source:While living in LBC for awhile I was fortunate enough to live close enough to this place. Within a bus ride away or a bike ride away is the Congregation Ale House. A very large variety of beer I've never even heard or seen of. I can imagine it'll take many return visits to finish the entire beer list. This place is never short on beer options. They also have wine but it is not as many as the beer choices.
I love the vibe of this place! My favorite part is a very diverse crowd that represents what LBC is all about...diversity. There are hardly any L.A. beach cities that is as cool and unique as the LBC.
The food here is actually not bad. Each time I've ordered something new and so far nothing that disappoints me which is good because I'm a picky eater. You are to order your food and drinks at the front then you'll get a number and find your seats. The servers brings you the food. Most of the time seats are limited here so at times you'll have to share the table with others, which is not a problem with me at all.
This time around I decided to order a pizza which is an individual-sized pizza on thin crust for only $7 and a side of fries that you can choose two sauces with them. I chose the curry ketchup while my friend chose the dijon mustard. And the best part was the pizza which didn't taste too greasy. It is right in taste and not too salty but not heavenly as some other pizzas I've had so I cannot give them 5 star ratings. The crust is thin so it was easy to bite on. As I've mentioned I haven't been disappointed here. The service here varies. Some days are slow, some days are fast. It all depends on what day and who the servers are. Â
Keep it up guys!
FIrst time hitting up the downtown Long beach area to bar hop last night!
I came to this place without any expectation and it was amazing! It was crowded on a Saturday night and long lines to grab a beer.
They have a great selection of beers (I had the Gonzo dog) and I saw the food menu too because I didn't get to stay at this place for very long, hence bar hopping!
I love how there is an outside patio as well!
I will definitely be back and give more detail about this place!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.
Literally, awesome beer + delicious and at times unconventional food combinations that somehow sync in perfect unexpected fusion? Can't get any better.
Not gonna lie, I was born and raised in a hardcore Catholic family so the whole church theme kinda wigged me out at first. But I learned to dig it after a while.
I usually come here with my uncle who lives in the big tall circular building in downtown Long Beach. It's a short little 10 minute walk from there (Ocean & Linden). We both appreciate good beer and good pub food so it's the perfect after work happy hour spot.
In terms of beer, I honestly just usually pick something random off the menu. Haven't gone wrong yet. My uncle loves the Pilsners. They have a ridiculous amount of beers on tap. If you're overwhelmed by the beer selection, just think of one that you like that's more mainstream (Corona, Blue Moon, etc) and ask for one like it. If you can, try to think of what you like about it (Blue Moon's flavor, Corona's lightness, etc) You'll be ordering fancy hipster beers on your own in no time!!!
In terms of food, we always go for the flatbreads. DELICIOUS.
I also have been referring to the online menu as I write this review to remind myself of what I ate and their website is so well done!!! Continues with the church theme and well-thought out decor. 5 stars to you for thoroughness, Congregation Ale House.
My only complaints are parking is annoying and the seating can be a bit of a pain. As word has gotten out about this place's coolness and tastiness more people have flocked to it and the seating options haven't quite been able to keep up.
Delicious menu - every single dish we ordered was absolutely great! Some favorites were the flatbread, the bacon wrapped dog and pulled pork sandwich. We ordered a ton of different dishes/appetizers and split everything among our group so we could all get a taste.
Really nice beer menu with some creative craft choices.
Definitely recommend this place.
Living in Long Beach, looking to get away for a nice and chill environment, and just soak in the beer with some good company, Congregation Ale House never seems to disappoint.
They have a parking structure somewhere close by where the first 2 hours are free and it's an easy 5 minute walk to this place. They close at 2 and we got here on a Friday night around midnight.
I always like their beer. I've several of them -- although they're getting hard to name after a while. I've had their Gonzo Dog and their DogHead (maybe it's DogFish Head? haha) Beers. I've tried their little flatbreads which are tasty and a little small.
The patio is the place to be because it gets quite stuffy, crowded, and a little warm inside. The patio has outside heating, good for small groups, etc. It's not that big so it's often quite crowded, but it's a chill place to, well... just chill.
I REALLY want to upgrade this review to a 3.5, and still HESITANT to give it a 4 Stars.
- The sweet potato fries fresh out of the fryer are just as crispy, hot, and oh so good as the first time. You get a bunch of different sauces, but I love the curry ketchup and rosemary mayo the best. Tangy, spicy, salty should have been with fries in the first place!
- Pulled Pork Sandwich. I thought this was a bit small for $7, but I had a couple drinks at this point so it tasted really good especially with the caramelized onions or whatever kind of vegetable that they add with it. The bread was also so yummy.
- Heavenly Hefeweizen. I love my hef beers, and this one hit the spot! I also ordered 2 shots of patron silver (I vaguely remember it being $17 total), and a lemon drop thingy (this was a bit too sweet for my taste but my friend liked it).
- I'm glad that they finally acquired a liquor license and now serve some more potent DRANKS! Definitely coming back for more of those.
I still hate how you have to stand in that awkward line next to the bathroom to order food/drinks. And staff aren't as attentive in cleaning up tables when people leave.
Although the food is definitely good, and yes, they do carry a little bit more hard liquors, it's still another gastropub out of the many many many delicious gastropubs in Long Beach that serve pretty much the same kinds of foods. Not really worth going out of your way for.
And I still hate how small it is, and how packed it gets. There's definitely an awkward crowd now that comes here. The people that just wanna chat over a couple drinks and food. The people who wanna sit at the bar and watch sports. AND THEN, you have your random drunk girls (a majority of the time white) in short tight dresses that wanna dance/order shots/bar hopping when they should really be at dive bars and not at a gastropub. But I guess that's what DTLB gets for having so many of these.
I came here for happy hour with some close friends today. The church theme was chic cool. The ambience was bright and positive energy from the happy patrons. We sat outside enjoying the local scenery.
We started with the sweet potato fries and they was incredibly delicious! Crispy on the outside and hot and tender on the inside. They came with 2 unique dipping sauces. Then we ordered Portobello mushroom peppers flatbread which  had pesto sauce, mozzarella and topped with arugula veggies. It was fresh and had great flavor. The Artesian pepperoni and sausage flatbread was pretty dry and salty. The grilled rib eye and white cheddar burger was closer to the size of a slider than a burger but nonetheless very juicy and flavorful. You can taste the love they put in making it. The brandy pulled pork and brie sandwich was filled with tender,sweet pork and caramelized onions. Simple yet tasty. The fries were okay. They came with creamy rosemary sauce and spicy ketchup.
All of the servers were energetic and outgoing. We had no problems with service here. Overall, very impressed with the clean, outgoing environment, great quality of the food, and excellent service. Their happy hour menu offers great prices. A great place to hang out with your friends.
I'm not a big beer drinker, but I still Love this place. Â Their brandy pulled pork and brie sandwich is so good that even though I always say "next time I'll try something else," I just can't help myself and I keep on ordering it again. Â Sweet potato fries are delish, and their grilled artichoke is amazing. Â I do wish they would have more than one cider on tap though.
Also, bring your dog, patio is dog-friendly and they'll bring your furry friend some water :)
Hung out in the LBC last weekend and had a fabulous time at Congregation Ale House. Â I'm not much of a beer drinker so I can't really comment on the brews, except that I really liked the cider. Â The ale selection was ample however some of the beers seemed rather pricey for a small cup. Â They have a full bar, which I appreciate, but the drinks were super weak. Â Next time I'll stick to cider or wine. Â While I was disappointed in the pours, their food picked up the slack. Â The food selection is awesome, well priced and tasty. Â The homemade pretzel ($4) is a must! Â It's served with a chimay cheese and beer fondue, but I also added the spicy mustard dipping sauce. Mmm. Â I nibbled on my friend's Portabello Mushroom Peppers flatbread ($7), nice. Â It was a pleasant surprise to have great food options at reasonable prices late at night. Â And the menu looked so tempting... if I hadn't eaten dinner I definitely would've ordered the Brandy Pulled Pork & Brie Sandwich ($7) or the Duck & Bacon Sausage w/ peppers, onions and mustard ($8). Â Oh, and the Illy coffee lattes were delicious, even though the barback apologized in advanced for not being a barrista. Lol. Â He did good. Â
The ordering process was a bit annoying (stand in line to order, or flag down a cocktail waitress that is randomly floating around), but the bartenders were really nice and fun. Â Oh, and the jukebox rocks! Â Really cool music selection. Â I don't live close enough to catch the weekend breakfast or happy hour, but they look like great deals (Breakfast Sandwich w/ egg, roasted tomato, grilled onion & rosemary garlic sauce - $4. add cheese/prosciutto for under $1). Â Good food, good music, chill diverse crowd, great location. Â I'm looking foward to my next visit.
I was initially really put off by Congregation when they opened their doors. Â I was very loyal to Beachwood in Seal Beach, and I thought the church theme was pretty stupid.
I still think the church theme is stupid, but Congregation has grown on me. Â The experience here is a lot more predictable than Beachwood, which is a good and bad thing. Â Aside from special events, the tap list is solid but often times lacks variety, and you feel like you've had everything on there many times at other places and there's nothing new to try.
The food was initially pretty awful in my opinion, but they've ironed out the kinks and it's pretty excellent now. Â I really enjoyed the brandy pulled pork sandwich with brie.
I've yet to try the cocktails, but I've seen the cocktail menu and I've heard what everyone else has said about them, and it makes me think that Congregation shouldn't even bother.
Monday Mass is the best kind of mass! All day Happy Hour specials, can't go wrong with that! This place is awesome for a variety of brews and eats, I am addicted to their pretzels which are perfectly baked each time with a (somewhat runny but )delicious beer cheese dip on the side. The turkey burger is one of the best I've had, super moist (hate that word) and flavorful. The bartenders are always helpful and let us try different beers before we order them.
Review Source:Don't have anything to do on a Friday night? Or perhaps Monday since they have happy hour ALL day?! Come here! I love their church theme with a twist.
I've come here twice already; the first time was for a friend's birthday which they had a reservation for & we had a whole section saved for us. Delicious food & huge selection of beer, but my review will be based mostly on the food since I'm not much of a beer drinker (boyfriend is the beer lover). I LOVE their rib-eye burger (made to perfection) & it's definitely a must try when you go there. It's delicious. Their fries are fresh, crispy & the portion is big enough to share between 2 (if you love fries as much as me, then maybe get your own, ha). You get 2 dipping sauces with your fries, and I always get their garlic mayo & either spicy mustard or chipotle mayo. YUM. For both the burger & fries, I think it adds up to $12. Their flatbreads are great too, but I would prefer the burger any day. For drinks, I tried their framboise & it was delectable. TRY IT.
Down side is that this place can get really packed on weekends. Came both times on a Friday night & it took a bit for us to find our own seat the 2nd time around (we have to find our own seats if you have no reservation). Finally a couple of guys left the bar & we took over. Not your typical romantic dinner / drinks spot as this place not only get crowded, but it is very loud with all the chattering (you might have to start texting to have conversations with the people around you). We parked at a structure behind the building which cost a flat rate of $10.
Overall, great spot in LB. We'll definitely be back again!
This was probably my first experience at a themed bar and it was quite lovely.
We went on a friday night and it was packed! However, the line went quickly. Also, a plus, a waitress comes by asking you while you're in line if you want to put your credit card on tab... this way by the time you get to the front of the line, you just order.
My friends and i ordered a round of delirium beer which was quite interesting and flavorful. Personally I'm not the biggest beer fan, but I do appreciate all the selection that they have to offer here.
The bartenders were very informative and definitely helped us make a good selection.
I believe that night we got a bottle of a limited edition beer that was selling for $20 a bottle and it was great.
Another plus of this ale house is that they have great fries here! Didn't try to other food items but their Belgian fries were comparable to those at wurstkuche (and that is saying a lot for me).
If i was only a bigger beer fan, then i probably would have been in love with all the different, fantastic, beers that they had on tap. Also, everything was reasonably priced.
Service, although they were busy, was superb. They offered to store our special bottle of beer in the cooler until we were done with our other drinks.
The atmosphere is great, the food was delicious, and I'm actually excited to try their other selections.
Cool little bar with a good selection of beers on tap.
The space is pretty small but it has a nice cozy feel to it. I was a little dissapointed with the limited selection of dark beers on tap, but the ones that I tried were very tasty. My favorite was probably the alesmith porter, but the epic smoked and oaked was satisfying as well. Throw in a couple of plineys and you're bound to have a good time. I didn't get to try a lot of things off the menu, but the artichokes and sweet potato fries were damn good. The service was pretty impressive as well, as all the servers were super friendly and accomodating. I would definitely come back here to try their other food items and a few more beers.
I happened to be in the LBC recently, and popped in this place with a friend at noon on a Saturday. We finally stumbled out at 7PM, absolutely shipwrecked and happy.
Good service, bartender is heavy handed, good specials, lots of eye candy as the waitresses are all dressed like catholic school girls.
All in all, a good time was had.
They need to train their staff here better as I asked what kind of beer do you have to the person at the register and he said just limited to the chalk board. Â
I asked is there any unique beer that I can't get at BevMo and he said no. Little did I know that they do have have an extensive list of beer in their menu book, pages and pages of beer. I didn't get a sense of "beer nerdiness" from the guy at the register who should have told me that they had an extensive list of bottled beers as I looked at their menu on the wall and was not impressed at all by any of their beers on tap.
The pretzel was freshly baked and dipping sauce was good. Â They have a small menu of food to chose from. You order from the register and they'll bring you your food. Â The place is small and imagine on some evenings it would be difficult to find a seat.
One star deduction for their staff for not being knowledgable about beer or can give me an good explanation of what they have. I guess I should not set my expectations high  here next time and set my expectation low here as they staff people who don't have a passion a beer.
I have found that at craft beer places in LA, they tend to be more "beer nerdy" and can explain more articulately the differences between each beers, such as flavor profiles, and can tell me that they do have more beers to choose from.
Pros: Large, quality selection of beers, tasty bar food (my favorites are the flatbreads and the artichoke), reasonably priced, cute decor/theme
Cons: The parking situation is annoying. Â They don't validate for the garage across the street, so you can pay like $3 an hour or try to find a 2 hour meter. Â The waitresses seemed in a hurry to turn over our table and hustle us out of there.
Fun place to grab drinks and socialize. It gets packed so be ready to bump and nudge people around you.
Lots of ales, brews, and ciders to choose from and I really like their whole churchy theme.
The area is cool to hang around and the set up is similar to Hermosa Beach.
I would definitely come back if I was in the area again.
3.5 stars. Â The service was really really slow. Â The burgers were good but they were really tiny, even smaller than those tiny umami burgers. Â But their fries are pretty bomb. Â Burger by itself probably won't fill you up but if you get the burgers and fries you will be satisfied. Â
They have a great selection of beers though. Â I like how it's all open seating. Â
$3 parking structures can be found either a block down east or west.
Forgive me, Father because I went to the Congregation Ale House and really liked it!
The Congregation Ale House is a church-themed eatery and gastropub with three locations in southern California. The inside of the pub is decorated with stained-glass windows, church pew benches, naughty Catholic schoolgirls for your waitresses, and chanting Benedictine monks in the background. Well no......it was electronic house music, but the chanting monks would have just completed the overall theme.
The Ale House has a great collection of craft beer selections written on the chalkboards around the pub, as well as a nice selection of wine as well. Your server can help you select the beer of your choice, and then point you to your own pew to order some grub.
We were there on Monday which means Happy Hour all day, but it keeping with the theme of the Congregation Ale House everything was priced for "MASS". So the appetizers, beers, burgers, and sides were all MASS-priced. That meant the beers were between $6 - 8 bucks, the appetizer pretzels were $2, the burgers were $6, and the sides were between $3 - 5 bucks.
We started with a soft pretzel, and let our waitress pick two different dipping sauces to complement our choice of beers. We were treated to rosemary garlic mayo and a beer mustard sauces. We both had the grilled rib eye and white cheddar burgers served on freshly-baked rolls with slices of tomato, grilled onions, and arugula mixed greens. We each got a side -- Bill opted for sweet potato fries and I had a grilled artichoke. This *IS* California after all, and they grow those suckers just up the road from here, so it was super-fresh and very tasty.
After a few more rounds of sinning while watching the college basketball game, we moseyed on back to our hotel, and decided that we need to return to the Congregation Ale House on our next visit to town.
Say Hallelujah, Say Amen!
If you don't like eating delicious food while drinking fantastic beer, don't come here. This is one of those places that I am always in the mood for. They have a lot of beers on tap that are constantly being rotated, so you get to experience new and different things every time you come in. They also have a very reasonably priced Scotch selection. And even if that's all they offered, I would give them five stars. But WAIT! There's more! This place offers a great food menu, too! All of the exotic sausages and flatbreads are delicious. The Hot Atomics is my favorite. I definitely recommend it if you like things spicy.
In addition to all that, the staff is very attentive and helpful. The best beers I've ever had have been recommended by Desiree, who is kind of a beer genius. I just tell her a beer that I really like, and she gets me a beer that I like even more. At certain times, they have floor staff going around to tables to take orders so that you don't have to go back to the register for seconds. How convenient! My only gripe about Congregation is the one guy who doesn't wear a name tag and acts like I'm bothering him every time I come in. He refuses to acknowledge me for the first minute I'm at the register because he's busy stacking receipts (or something else equally important), and when he finally does acknowledge me, he acts totally annoyed. Sorry for wasting your time! I just wanted to throw my money at you for some delicious beer, but I realize how ridiculous I was being now.
There is also All Day Happy "Hour" on Monday. They have some pretty good deals, but it gets really busy. If you're going there with someone else, make sure one of you scouts out a table first. I've definitely had to throw some bows to get a seat in here before.
If I could give them zero stars I would. Strictly for management and degrading service. Me and my gf were meeting some friends here to celebrate St. Patty's day, because it was my new favorite spot yay. Not no mo. We got a table next to a dude who was straight up passed out on the couch. His head was practically in my lap but eh it's a free table so whatevs. I see my friends walking in and being my usual clumsy self, push a menu which knocks over my gf's half a beer. I rush off and grab some towels and clean up the mess myself- no broken glass, no biggie. So a waitress comes by as I'm still cleaning and oops I knock over the same empty glass again or maybe the waitress did as she's trying to clear off the table but I'll take the blame since I'm not sure. We all laugh at my expense, it's all good. We all order another round of beers and a ton of food, no problem.
Later my gf goes up to the counter and tries to order her second beer, my third Saison. Did you get that people? Saison. 3rd Light water beer at around 8 pm. We're not talking 5th bourbon shot at 2am here. And allofasudden, I see the stringy haired blonde chick with bad acne go get her manager and both of them are shaking their head no. My gf comes back and says they refuse to serve me anymore because I'm too drunk and have knocked over several drinks tonight. I'm sorry, what? I've had two beers, and a burger and fries and a pretzel and a bratwurst and a flatbread. Lmao.
I go to talk to the manager myself and she has that sense of entitlement and righteousness that basically says "I've already made up my mind, so you can shut the hell up and leave". She goes on to tell me that "she doesn't care because she doesn't feel like cleaning up broken glass tonight". Hey lady, you work in the food/drink industry, it's gonna happen. I'm talking to her clearly sober but I guess hater's gon hate. So we packed up shop, canceled my gf's order, got a refund and got the hell out of there.
What a bunch of yuppies and weirdos. Dude it's a bar, and you work in customer service, that means service even for people who make accidents every once in a while. I'm a server and clean up after people every day and do it with politeness and class because that's my job and I do it with grace. If you can't handle a knocked over beer, then what the hell are you doing working in a bar?
It was my bad for going to a downtown tourist spot, as a lbc local and native, I should've taken us to Pike, Ashley's, Red room, Brit, 36/36, V room, or any of the other local gems that are a real man's bar.
Another good HH place!
Came here a few times for HH (basically almost everything is $1 off), love their flatbreads, exotic sausages, and sweet potato fries! Tried grilled artichoke hearts for the first time the other day, yum!
So what you do is order and pay for your drinks & food at the counter, then find your seat. The waiters/waitresses will then bring out all the yumminess and check up on you for refills on drinks & food!
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