admiral

theadmirallives up to the reputation.. this restaurant is going for it. dining alone (i'm traveling) gives you more time to observe. this smallish restaurant has hype with references from anthony bourdain and lots of ashevillians (ashevillites?). this is dining with a capital d but is still staffed with down to earth yet professional servers.
drinks- the cocktail list is well versed with eclectic choices and the staff works hard on each and every one of those drinks, as i witnessed. the dark and stormy (a rum based moscow mule variation) was great, with house made ginger ale, not ginger beer, and garnished with large chunks of gingered candy. asheville is a beer city and the staff was proud to serve wedge brewery beer on tap. wine drinkers will be satisfied, as well-nice list.
the menu included off-beat choices like frog legs and steak tartare but i opted for the roasted bone marrow and seasonally available soft shell crab. an asheville acquaintance had highly recommended the tartare and i visited theadmiralintending to have it, but my attention was drawn to soft shell crab. as i sat at the bar, i'm pretty sure the young lady sitting next to me at the bar tried very hard to keep her back to me as i consumed the bone marrow, escargot appetizer. the gigantic half cow bone was roasted and served with a few escargots, and deep fried nettle leaf and a red pepper pesto. i think the red pepper pesto was more presentation than taste but that's a minor comment as this dish completely fed my inner carnevor. the soft shell crab was fried and served on top of rice noodles and scallions in a savory sauce.
i didn't have desert but they looked good.

delicious. best description i read was that theadmiralhas a secret. even the bread and butter have complexity in this place. the menu changes often. we started with the bread and the grilled romaine salad. the fried capers in the salad were a wonderful salty surprise. we had the adobo shrimp and the fried chicken with grits. it's hard to describe how great they both were and hard to compare the dishes to anything we've had before. we also tried the dark and stormies - as amazing as other reviewers have said - sharp and spicey ginger taste that is hard to come by. for dessert we had the rosemary lavender creme brûlée. we thought we were full but ate every bite. all of this was incredibly affordable and we enjoyed watching the chefs work in the unassuming kitchen. don't miss this gem.

riding on the high seas. having failed to make reservations like intelligent people would have, we were offered some seats along the back wall "bar" until a table became available. the bartender found his way over to us with no delay and offered us some cocktails, and we wasted no time there; each going in for a manhattan. they were fine renditions and we didnt hesitate to hit the repeat button a couple more times before the night was through. eventually, they found us a table and we got down to business.
we started with the morrocan sausage, which we dabbed in rotation between the harissa and the chermoula, along with something that looked a white hummus(?!). regardless, all made for a happy palette and our server picked up on our 'wanting to lick our plates clean' vibe and offered us some grilled chunks of bread to mop up the saucy remains, which we rabidly accepted. reclining in a wonderful haze of things had, and things to come, it seemed like no time before our main course were presented. as with the morrocan sausage, the plating here deserved a moment of silence. but just a moment, and then; off to the fork and knives. my rib eye was wonderful; thick as a cockney accent, cooked to a perfect medium rare, (just as i had asked for it) and the pommes aligot (a fancy way of saying cheesy mashed potatoes) made for a great dolloping companion along with their steak sauce; seated on the outer edge of things. the purple potato chips and halved quail eggs were interesting additions that i quickly warmed to, along with the more traditional green beans, which i made short order of.
as for the guest of honor, her scallops were a thing to hold up like a toast for all to see but even a few cocktails in she avoided going that route. unfortunately though, after a bit, she made a rather sour face, informing me that the lentil were terribly over-salted. i know she likes salt, so for her to say that mustve meant they were way over the top. i took a bite and yes, they were blown out. a shame really, because the rest of the spread was truly inspiring. im not too proud to admit that her brussels turned me into a scandalous thief either. its also of course worth mentioning the service, which was a group effort but on the whole; impeccable. when youre spending well over $100 for a meal you want every aspect of it to reflect that, and that was certainly the case here. the dimly lit, low key vibe was a stark and welcome contrast to the usual stuffy, bourgeois atmosphere that generally accompanies a menu like this. overall; (discounting the one misstep) a striking success.

grade: a- (we agreed that theadmiraldoes indeed make for a nice companion piece to its divier neighbor just across the way; the double crown.)

theadmiralis great. we go once a year in the fall when we visit asheville. menu is always seasonal. ingredients always fresh. dishes always exceptionally prepared. if you are a foodie this place is a must. one of my favorite restaurants anywhere.

bad reviews i don't understand. i must say i have wanted to tryadmiralfor a long time and finally got there. for those of you who have been by and thought omg not here, stop and go in it is that good. i must say it was a total surprise. we started with an arugula salad with humboldt fog which was magnificent. next i went with the escargot and bone marrow close to the best i have had ever, simply outstanding. my wife went with the crab carbonara, i did try it was top notch. i went with the fried quail, i would have never guessed in a million years that texas pete could be turned into delicious syrup. it too was so good. i had 3 items i wanted but now i will have to go back for the other two. they were the tenderloin tartare and the smoked duck. if you want a great meal at a very good price for what you get this is the place. the staff makes you wait for nothing very attentive. i would recommend reservations because it is packed. 9.5 of 10


-----26 may, 2011-----

omg i have to go now!. i have to go here asap, i have never read such banter between reviewers. it has to be that good or that bad. i will have a completely open mind about the voyage. i will post my findings soon.

i am happy but sad to see the consistency with the reviews. i agree, the food is creative and delicious. i have seriously eaten everything on the menu but unfortunately my last visit to theadmiralruined my taste buds forever.
like i said i have eaten everything on the menu so you can imagine how many times i have visited. my boyfriend and i ordered about three plates each; taking our time and enjoying every single bite. the time came for dessert. the server approached us with the dessert menu and said, "if you order dessert you will need to hurry it up. we have people waiting to sit here." sure, sure, just like myself i waited a long time to get the reservation, i totally get it. in turn, there were other tables and bar seats available for us to sit, especially since we just dropped $250 bucks. i was very appalled and disappointed. we nicely asked for the check and headed downtown to french broad chocolate lounge for dessert.
i hope the owner will take these reviews seriously and make some changes.
i will miss going to the admiral.

this hurts to write this. i want to start off by saying i have visited theadmiralseveral times and the food is amazing. i am definitely on a budget, considering my job but when i can afford it this would be the place i want to eat. i know reservations are hard to come by so generally i will sit at the bar. this review has nothing to do with the food, the food is excellent, creative and fresh. chef moss is a genius in my opinion. there is one particular bar tender, who i am not going to mention by name but he/or she is pretty awful. i have gone several times and have the same experience with the same person. the bar tender acts like you should be feeling entitled to eat there and that good service isn't a necessity. yes, i understand that i don't spend 150.00 by my self but just because i'm not ordering tons of food doesn't mean i shouldn't receive fair service. i have worked in customer service, sales and the restaurant field all of my life. don't you understand that you work on tips and only make 2.13/hour in nc? you would think that people would want to or be happy to serve you. needless to say, it's always a cold experience and i feel like i am inconveniencing that person by ordering. i still tip 25 percent regardless because hey, we can all have rough days right? i have a reservation for when my dad comes in a few weeks and i will be eating at a table to avoid the discomfort. i have spoken to several co workers, friends etc...and they have had the same experience. this restaurant is awesome guys don't let bad service ruin your experience!!

not what's it's cracked up to be. my husband and i are asheville natives. theadmiralcame highly recommended from several friends as one of the best, newer restaurants on the scene. we made reservations for our 24th anniversary. were we ever disappointed.

let me say that the service was impeccable. the gentleman who waited on us was personable and professional. however, if i am going to pay $24 to $30 for a large entree, i expect to not leave hungry. my husband ordered the swordfish. i ordered scallops. i gingerly ate my entree in about 3 minutes or less. there was little more on it than an appetizer portion of seafood. moreover, my scallops were overly salted - something that is a no-no for delicate seafood. my husband's swordfish came in a slightly larger portion, but he, too, left hungry. his swordfish was nearly cold ... certainly nothing outstanding.

may i say that the malbec and the wedge wheat beer were very good!

the entrees came with nothing - no salad, no bread, nada. theadmiralshould at least offer a small side salad and a nice crusty european bread to accompany these outrageously priced dishes.

again, do not misinterpret me. we eat at a lot of different restaurants - different styles, different tastes, different price ranges. therefore, we understand that good food comes with a price tag. however, when it comes to value = price? theadmirallacks severely.

theadmiralhas become an asheville hot spot over the last few years creating quite a stir in the local foodie scene.   the culinary team is led by chef elliott moss who has connections to chef sean brock from charleston.   moss doesn’t rest on anyone’s laurels with the food he creates at his restaurant.   the menu changes daily, offering a variety of local fare as well as bringing in ingredients that are well known to epicureans across the nation. a sample menu follows below to show the style food that chef moss and his team prefer to tackle.   with food at this level, it’s all about the details that the chef adds to the dish and the preparations that he takes to make it perfect.   moss’ talent continues to become more refined while keeping the ability to think outside the traditional culinary box.   innovation and creativity seems to be his trademark.   the result is the flavor profiles of each course wow his clientele. chef elliott moss the restaurant is in west asheville on haywood

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 theadmiralanother 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 theadmiralone of the best restaurants in town.

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...theadmiralhas 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, theadmiralranks 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 theadmiralbecause 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.

great food, spotty service. i went to theadmiralwith 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 theadmiraleven though the food was great. the lack of atmosphere and the poor service are not enough to make me allure the food.

incredible. just left theadmiralafter 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.