admiral

after trying out the admiral in late-night mode and being turned off by the rude bald bartender and handlebar mustache toting hipsters, i decided to give it a try during dinner hours. i was pleasantly surprised. i do think for what they are charging, they could afford some air conditioning though. to make statements about a "comfortable and relaxing" atmosphere, it's not fun to sweat while you eat...unless it's thai food. anyway, the food was creative and delicious, and the dinner staff was courteous. i will not be back for the bar scene, but i will be back for dinner!

worth the wait.. i heard the rave reviews of this diamond in the rough and had to try it. we had to wait 45 min to be seated but waiting out front was wonderful in the large patio area. we had the arugala salad, mussels, sweetbreads, and the duck breast and they were all amazing. drinks were perfect too. dessert of the nuttella pound cake was very dry and tasteless but i will go back the next chance i get. my boyfriend and i have named it out new favorite restaurant. can't wait to try more things.

admiral employee reviews by frieds1 & tina higgins. to: frieds1 & tina higgins. it is nice to see that people actually read these reviews, but by the looks of the last two it is just the effort of management or employees to jusify the behavior that took place. the whole review sounds like an add, "put on your comfy shoes" "get busy early & stay busy" come on, that sounds like a radio commercial. also for a restaraunt that so is concerned about customer service should know that it starts before the customer enters the building. to not have an employee to answer the phone when it rings in a restaraunt during business hours is absolutely ridicolous, especially when it sounds like you are busy enough to afford one. even if it is to say that i am sorry but we are to busy at this moment to take your order or reservation. so there will be no apology, i understand that you cannot make everyone happy, but don't pretend with fake reviews from people that just joined urbanspoon to rebutle my review.
sincerely, there are plenty of amazing dining options in asheville, the admiral will never be mine.

ps i can be as hungry as i want before i eat.


-----17 jun, 2010-----

avoid at all cost. i was really excited to take a look at the admiral menu, when their website came up. after picking out exactly what i wanted i proceeded to call their number that had a rude message about how they are on the other line right now & to please call back later. so 27 phone calls later & still the same message i gave up. the next day i contacted the restaurant which guaranteed me it wont happen the next nite. there i was again starving listening to my favorite message. after contacting the manager the next day, i was told "we are very busy". so i guess you are to busy for my business. will never call or try to eat at the admiral again. customer service is critical in today's economy & admiral doesn't have any!!!!

to ashevillefoodie15:. miss/mrs/sir,

you are so sadly mistaken about the admiral! the staff at the admiral is the most warm, friendly people you will ever meet! the food is phenomenal and quite frankly can hardly be beat by other restaurants in asheville. the menu changes almost daily which in my humble opinion is genius! we eat their 2-3 times a month and absolutely love it!

to blast a restaurant for lack of customer service when you have never set foot in the door is ludicrous and quite frankly significantly lessens the legitimacy of your review! who waits until they are "starving" to call one of the busiest restaurants in asheville to order dinner? when you were told that they are "very busy"…that is an understatement…people are standing in line to eat there! if we all of the sudden have a craving for the admiral and don't have reservations…we go there with the outlook that we may not get to eat there…it just that plain and simple. i am happy to say that we have always found two open seats at the bar…but we would never unfairly accuse them of poor customer service because they couldn't serve us!

the admiral is meant to be an experience…so put on your comfy clothes and grab a seat at the bar (first come, first serve) or call and get a reservation (call several days in advance)! the groovy, lounge like atmosphere will have you relaxed and happy in no time!!! they get busy early and stay busy…thus the inability to get through on the phone.

if you truly mean it when you say that you "will never call or try to eat at the admiral again"…then you are cheating yourself out of a very unique, relaxing experience and the most scrumptious mouth-watering food ever…not to mention the outstanding customer service!

sincerely,
a loyal admiral customer

the admiral review. you really are mistaken with this review. how can you possible judge a place negatively by phone or lack of response? i think you are derelict reviewers if this is how you do business. for goodness sakes, in the time you spent trying to interrupt the excellent service by answering your persistent calls, just jump on your scooter and go there and live a little. please! this is one of the best places i've even eaten and the people there are great, even to us "out of towners"! apology required!

admiral- best kept secret. and we thought nobody knew about it. oh well i guess the secret's out. okay, so it is a bar. it looks like a dump. everything about it makes you want to run away. but, wait! the food is amazing! probably some of the best food in asheville. good service. great food. don't judge a book by it's cover.

we scooted in without a reservation, a rare window that was much appreciated and likely to only happen on a monday. the food: yum. there's really not much sense in uploading a menu because it changes so often, but you shouldn't be disappointed in the food or service. yum. make a reservation.

a side of veges with your sandwich, what a good idea!. very creative sandwich of the day, which also provides a more affordable option to the entre selection. although the prices are a bit steep, the prices are worth it. the food is great.

as a precursor to our weekend getaway, we decided to enjoy a local night out. our first stop was thirsty monk south for the cold mountain cask tasting. we arrived about ten minutes before the posted start, and we nabbed the last table (with the comfy wing

best restaurant in asheville without a doubt.

great food. food was great, had the grilled tuna and hummus aooetizer. both were great. stayed for the late night dj music, very nice. parking is a little difficult, but if you drive down the block theres space. bartenders were great, mixed drinks rocked!

walk on the wild side. my first walk on the non touristy west side yielded my best dining find ever at the admiral. i was a wee bit intimidated by the hood and the table full of biker guys until i saw what they were eating. scallops, frog legs, duck and a big bad rib eye steak.
at the bar we went with the cocktail special of the night: watermelon-basil elixir with ginger, limeade and healthy dose of stoli citron. unbelievably good, although most of the crowd was going with beer and shots.
we had the duck small plate, rare, thinly sliced with a concoction of edamame, tiny heirloom tomatoes in a light lemony froth. i can't wait to return to nc next month and further explore the ever changing menu.

unbelievable food. walking into this joint, i thought the best that i would be able to order would be a burger and fries. wow, was i wrong.

between me and my two friends, we ordered the scallops, bangers and mash, and the porkchop. you would not believe how well-presented and tasteful the dishes are.

we fully felt as if we were eating 5 star resturant food all while sitting on a picnic table. how contrast is that?