Congregation Brewery & Cocina - Azusa — Restaurant in Azusa

Extremely disappointed with the changes. In fact, my money is important to me so I will likely never be back. I would have never known there was a change in ownership until I walked in the door yesterday and was absolutely shocked in utter horror there is no large beer menu anymore up on the wall to gaze and admire and dream about the beer possibilities and even say a prayer before my beer were to arrive. There is no longer an old school church vibe. There is now a pink/purple ridiculous neon glow all over the walls. It feels really hoochie mama inside. Like who would want to drink a beer and eat a burger with a pink glow on everything? This doesnt feel like a brew pub or a church themed brew pub at that. The new owners messed up big time by changing the look and feel. This was part of the enjoyment. Imagine if Islands kept their name but changed their Hawaiian themed look to Lebanese. It just doesnt make sense does it. I was tired and still mortified that I could no longer go up to the counter and order myself a beer, so we sat down hoping things would get better. Nope. Another part of the old Congregations draw was I didnt have to pay a 20% tip because I ordered at the register. The $12 burgers were awesome and something I looked forward to when I didnt have the ingredients to grill up my own. The new menu has $20 burgers. Thats quite a big leap and on top of that I now have to pay another $4 for the tip on that one burger. There you have it... The new owner DOUBLED the price of a burger from $12 to $24. You can literally throw a party for your frens and grill up burgers plus some beers for that same $24. Where are my fries to choose from? My sauces to choose from? These all made Congregation fun and different from the norm. I dont know man. After looking over the new menu still in shock and horror from the pink haze everywhere... we got...

1 star A message from a guy who used to love this place and the location in Pasadena.

“I left s similar review for your other location. Because you made the same mistake twice. And used to LOVE both spots.

This place has changed—and not in a good way. As someone who’s enjoyed and supported this business for years, I’m honestly disappointed.

The old Congregation had identity. It felt intentional. Belgian beer, rich wood tones, monk-like vibes—it was something different, (hence tbe name) something bold. Now? It’s overpriced cantina food with a confused concept and zero soul.

The name still says “Congregation,” but the vibe screams cheap rebrand. “Cocina”? What for? This isn’t elevated Mexican—it’s low-end bar food with premium pricing. And worst of all, the service, energy, and warmth that once made this a go-to spot have also vanished.

I’m not just leaving a bad review—I’m leaving a place that used to mean something. Whoever made these decisions clearly doesn’t understand what this place was to locals. It’s not just a menu change. It’s a real identity loss. I enjoyed the Pasadena and Azusa locations so much…

We already have enough generic spots in the area. We didn’t need to lose one of the few that had real character.

Bring back the soul. Bring back the beer hall. Bring back the place we used to tell our friends about. Drop the neon and loud reggaeton, theres plenty of that...

Rarely do I leave a bad review but this place earned it…

Our server was nice but the service itself wasn’t great. Should have expected it when we noticed typos on the menu 🤷🏻‍♂️

We were of group of 8 with 3 kids and we ordered 2x chicken nachos, a chicken salad, wings, a kids pizza, and a burger.

Out came one order of nachos, wings, and the burger. A little longer later they brought out a chicken sandwich which should have been a salad.

At this time we added a 2nd kids pizza and they took the sandwich, then came back with the salad.

Then came out the kids pizzas, both of them. Still no 2nd order of nachos.

The kids pizzas though (see photo) was just burger buns with sauce and cheese….but the cheese wasn’t even melted all the way! C’mon now.

At this time, we figured they didn’t put down the 2nd order of nachos, which we were fine with because we wanted to leave.

As everyone is finishing up their meals (except the kids pizzas, the kids didn’t even want em) and we’re about to ask for the check, they come out with the 2nd order of nachos!

How’d you bring out a chicken sandwich, swap it for a salad, and bring out two separate orders for the kids, wait another 20-30 mins, annnnd then bring out something that was ordered at the very beginning.

The place definitely has potential but I guess the new owner hasn’t tapped...