admiral

food was delicious! back of the house is on point! front of the house was an epic fail! even with reservations it took an hour to get a table. front was so bad i will not be back, food is worth the price if the service was better

reserving judgment. a surprising find! i actually drove past the place (even with directions), it's so tucked away and unassuming.

as other reviewers have mentioned, it is quite dark (we sat in a booth). one of our party couldn't even read the menu. but the waitress was prepared with a tiny flashlight, so that worked out. i'm just not sure what it says about the atmosphere that flashlights are standard server issue.

the menu is a wonderland of culinary creativity. even the mixed drinks were so clever and interesting that it was difficult to decide which one to pick!

the service was good, though not great, and the food was delivered in a timely manner. it was beautiful to look at. unfortunately, the scallops that i ordered were undercooked. each piece was half raw, as if the cook simply seared them on one side and couldn't be bothered to turn the scallops over. i was not the only one in our party to order the scallops, and there did not seem to be an issue with the other plate on the table. in fact, my dining companion pronounced hers "delicious!" the rest of my dinner was wonderful.

my appetizer was the raw oysters. i will admit that i felt a little foolish paying $3 per oyster. it was a nice treat, but not one i will be repeating given the price.

it is possible that my first meal here was a simple case of bad luck. the rest of the experience was delightful. so i will withhold judgement for now and give the admiral another try. i hope i will find that the undercooked food was a fluke and not the norm.

amazing. everything we ordered was cooked to perfection, the server was super friendly and the atmosphere inviting. i will definitely be going back there and consider the admiral one of the best restaurants in town.

amazing. these guys could probably get away with charging double what they do now for the top notch menu. casual do.ing with white table cloth worthy food. service was great, beer was great.

all time favorite. i'm not interested in bourgeoisie ambiance or needing the waitstaff to treat my like british royalty -- all i want is delicious, creative food at a reasonable price...the admiral has consistently delivered exactly that over the past two years we've been going there, whether it was dinner-for-two or a party of 10

service seems to get a bad rap from some on here, but we've never had a problem...friendly & attentive enough, accommodating & helpful...even that one time i walked in during dinner rush with no reservation, had just gotten out of the woods hunting, dressed in head-to-toe camo -- they found me a solo seat at the bar and i proceeded to have an amazing meal whilst talking hawg huntin with one of the owners...now that's something you won't get at 99.9% of the "gourmet foodie" restaurants out there, i'd of been denied service or at least looked at like i was hillbilly trash...but not here!

took my now-wife here on our first date, and was nervous as she grew up only eating cheeseburgers/chicken fingers/french fries and hated vegetables...she had no clue what half of the items on the menu were, but by the end of dinner she had discovered she loved asparagus...now she eats numerous foods i would have never expected, all thanks to ya'll...and after 35 yrs of personally hating brussel sprouts, their chef changed my mind!

never had a dish that wasn't at least "good", majority of them have fallen into the "excellent" to "amazingly perfect" -- standouts have always been the beef tartare, sweetbreads, steak special, mussels...portions are more than plentiful, sides are always delicious...the foie gras-topped krispy kreme bread pudding was by far the most intriguing, decadent dessert i've ever had

having taken business clients out to some of the finest restaurants in atlanta/nyc/chicago/miami/etc, the admiral ranks up there as having one of the most creative chefs creating an ever-changing menu for downright cheap in a non-pretentious environment! just what we like, cheers ya'll!

amazing food, terrible service. we always go back to the admiral because the food is incredible. the menu is creative and i've never been disappointed by a dish. the service, however, has been terrible every time we've eaten there.

i'm always surprised by negative comments on here about not getting a call back regarding reservations... i understand the frustration, but are you really going to speak that negatively about a restaurant you've never been to because of one absentminded host? i just ate here last night and it remains my favorite place in the area. my father and i shared the sweetbreads with a quail egg, mussells in an amazingly smoky yet sweet broth, diver scallops with butternut squash risotto, and savory lamb shanks with garbanzo beans. finished with ginger-orange creme brûlée. everything was fantastic! seemed each dish had bacon in it too, which i have no problem with. also, i forgot how reasonable the prices really are; $9 mussels and there must have been nearly 20 of them!

very disappointing experience. called in advance for a reservation. received a call back but no message. proceeded to call restaurant numerous times to confirm. restaurant does not answer other number that is listed on their answering system. hostess did not try and accomodate. unimpressive service

one of the best in the area!. we will be back.

great food, spotty service. i went to the admiral with a close friend of mine and we sat at the bar. we ordered a couple of drinks while milling over the menu and checking out what other diner's were ordering. when we decided to place our order, we stated we would be splitting an appetizer and an entree. we order the steak tartare appetizer and the pork chop entree. our neighbor at the bar had also ordered the steak tartare and theirs came with an overflowing mound of toasted bageutte. when our order was brought to us, the appetizer and entree came at the same time. to add insult to this injury, our steak tartare came with a single toasted pita that had been sliced into small triangles. my companion asked if they had run out of baguette and a female server responded a lonely, "yes". the food was superb, but the timing of our food was a failure and the response about the grilled bread that was supposed tp be accompaning our appetizer was poor to say the least. at the end of the meal, the bartender took an extrordinarly long time to bring our tab and settle the payment. during this time the bar area heated up to an oven like temperature. i do not know if i would return to the admiral even though the food was great. the lack of atmosphere and the poor service are not enough to make me allure the food.

last night we had a mexican churro (thin donut like sticks) with a sipping chocolate topped with a coarse sea salt on top. it was the perfect ending to an amazing meal! i recommend for sure and insist you start with the arugala salad for sure!

awesome!. always spot on! one of the best in asheville!

awesome dinner! great to experience food with taste! everything we ordered we all enjoyed! thank you

incredible. just left the admiral after one of the most fantastic meals i've ever had. the menu is creative and daring, the location unique, and the atmosphere is welcoming with a true neighborhood feel. i left in utter bliss. i went with a group and sampled most of the small plates menu. not a single thing was less than spectacular. tartare was served with a variety of accompaniments. the cured mackerel was refreshing, served with radishes and citrus. the sweetbreads melted in my mouth followed by salty, crispy pork belly. the final ta-da was maybe the beat dessert i've ever been served. a compressed peach with luxurious pound cake and a whipped chevre silky cream to top it off. the perfect combination of savory and sweet. that's only the food...my cocktail was impressive and service was exceptional. if you're in asheville it's a must. complements to the chefs and staff for an unforgettable evening.

get in early!. the food is always amazing. if you sit at the bar, the bartender is probably the best in town. the menu is on constant rotation, which is awesome, but it does create the one and only drawback to dinning at the admiral...if you get a late reservation they may be out of the meal you want. the last time i was in they had run out of two large plates, one small plate, and a few desserts. if you get a reservation for a decent hour this is far and away the best restaurant in asheville.