Institution Ale Co. — Restaurant in Camarillo

The best brewery in Ventura County, that also beats out every brewery in Los Angeles County. Foremost, the beer is top-notch. If you love hoppy IPA's but aren't a fan of the Hazy/Juicy craze, look no further than Institution. I've never had a beer here that I didn't love. And the pint prices are fantastic and frankly shockingly low. Other local breweries – Tarantula Hill, Topa Topa, Ventura Coast, 14 Cannons, and so forth – all are significantly more expensive for mediocre beer. In addition, Institution has the best vibe of any brewery in the county – with massive indoor and outdoor seating options, arcade-style/pub games like basketball, shuffleboard, and darts, and great music (usually Millennial-era punk, rock, etc.). As an added bonus, the food is incredible. Their pizzas are top-notch and well worth the money, especially during lunch special hours. I love the new addition of salads, which are huge and extremely fresh. And the Pretzels are massive and delicious – exactly what you'd expect from a brewery. In many respects, Institution reminds me of some of LA's great breweries – Firestone Walker, Golden Road, Eagle Rock, etc. – but with beer that's actually good. It brings back fond memories of the fantastic breweries of OC and San Diego counties; being perhaps the most similar overall to Modern Times.

Just go. You will...

If I could give zero stars, I would.

I’ll be honest, if you’re just here for the beer and don’t mind chaos, maybe this is your spot. But my experience was straight-up horrible.

I don’t mind waiting in line, but clear communication and basic customer respect are crucial, especially when I’m trying to order food for my 2-year-old. After waiting patiently, I finally reached the front… only to be skipped so someone could add to their previous order. Annoying, but fine. I figured I’d be next. Nope. They then called up the person behind me to order instead.

I raised my hand to let them know I hadn’t been helped yet. One of the workers looked confused, the two staff murmured to each other, and then just… kept serving the other customer like I didn’t exist. No apology. No acknowledgment. No “we’ll be right with you.” Just ignored.

I’d love to assume they were trying to coordinate who would help me next, but the total lack of communication made it feel like I was being completely disregarded. That’s not just bad service, it’s unprofessional and disrespectful.

I’m not writing this just to vent. I’m writing in the hope that management sees this and takes action to fix what seems like a culture of disorganization and indifference. It might just be one customer to them,...

Not the place, the product. First let me say that I really enjoy the sweet dark Belgian ales and some of the same in German beers to the point of mindlessly spending hundreds of dollars a month for a few years. I finally decided that was bad behavior and stopped. After a few months I found and I purchased a 4 pack of Restraint maple Brown Ale in a local grocery store.. Then another. It seemed my old addiction to the taste of dark Germans and Belgian was rekindled at a slightly better price. Then I purchased another 4 pack and it tastes like every junk over hopped "craft" beer on the market. At that taste it is a complete rip off. I am happy this happened. I was about to embark on another thousands of dollars ale drinking binge. So thanks for selling a completely inconsistent product. You really had me fooled for a couple of days. Or maybe you put the wrong label on this batch. Either way it is not for me. I like to know when I purchase a specific product it will be that product and not something else using...