admiral

didn't like it. i could not hear myself think the room was too noisy, too dark to even read the menu and i forgot to bring my flashlight. thefoodis hit or miss and expensive, the wait staff doesn't seem to appreciate what it means to be a server with personal attention to detail. i am a chef, and go out for the atmosphere most times (if i want really goodfoodi cook at home with just pickedfoodfrom our farm), and this place has none other than that of a busy loud bar. they are popular however and do a good business. evidently most folks are not near as picky as i am when i am ready to spend over 80 for two to go out to dinner.

worth a drive...from atlanta. one of the best dining experiences of the last year. fabulous,foodat a reasonable price. big flavors, tight menu, with great choices.

from the outside its a pool hall; on the inside a warm speakeasy that is humming with energy.

very happy. my wife and i had heard many good things about the admiral. finally we decided to give it a try. i went online and made reservations using opentable. it was a very easy process and we made reservations for 9:30pm for the following sunday. imagine our surprise when we got a call from the hostess asking us to move our reservation up to 7:30pm. we were very happy about that, since 9:30pm was sort of late for us and our 8 year old. we had no wait, and we were shown to a table as soon as we walked in. the atmosphere was great for evening/night dinning. our waitress was friendly and attentive. there is no children’s menu; however our 8 year old was able to order a grilled cheese and potato wedges, which she enjoyed. i was very happy with my order of house smoked duck, mole, fingerlings, orange compressed fennel salad, salty peanuts, and sesame seed espuma. i have a fennel allergy and our waitress was more than happy to serve the orange compressed fennel salad on a separate plate for my wife to enjoy. the duck was wonderful and the mole sauce was superb! my wife ordered the black angus rib-eye, pimento mac & cheese, green bean casserole, mushroom gravy, marrow butter, pecorino. the rib-eye was cooked perfectly and the marrow butter was amazing! it was the first time i had tried marrow butter and i was not disappointed. we finished the meal with the lavender brulee with sea salt which can only be described as deliciously fresh. total tab with meal, 2 drinks, and tip was around $90. service was excellent and restaurant was clean. parking can be an issue, but the attentive staff, restaurant cleanliness, and quality of thefoodmake up for that small issue. the menu changes often, so be sure to look online to see thefoodselection. we are looking forward to returning.

do not let the shabby area or exterior fool you. this will be one of the best meals you have eaten this year. service was excellent. we had apps, entrees, dessert, and cocktails, and they all exceeded expectations. it is a pricey meal but i have paid more forfoodnot half as good. eat here!

my new favorite restaurant in asheville. i came in with high expectations, due to it's long standing reputation as 'the best restaurant in town'. i sat at the bar after a short wait. the bartender was attentive and hilarious, menu was highly inspired, and thefoodwas out of this world. i'll definitely be back.

excellent!!!! and it is the best thing next to.... having been on the road for a month, and sampled really greatfoodin va, dc, nyc, and other cities....this is going down as the meal to beat on this trip.
had read some of the critical reviews here and elsewhere, so we weren't expecting the perfect experience we received.
two "tastes" or "small plates" are plenty per person. we were so delighted with our four that we pushed it and ordered the tartare which left us way too sated to sample their otherwise appealing desserts.
our service was as excellent as the food, inobtrusive but willing to volunteer helpful suggestions. there was a gap between our originally ordered four and the tartare, but great opportunities for observing the scene made the time pass quickly. tables are spread out enough to make for easy conversation without inadvertently eavesdropping on your neighbors.

tried to make reservations on a holiday weekend but it was totally booked. we tried anyway, hoping to atleast get a seat at the bar. our party was sat at a fabulous table after only 20 minutes.foodand service were amazing, totally lived up to our expectations!

i am happy but sad to see the consistency with the reviews. i agree, thefoodis creative and delicious. i have seriously eaten everything on the menu but unfortunately my last visit to the admiral ruined 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 the admiral several times and thefoodis 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, thefoodis 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 offooddoesn'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. the admiral came 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. the admiral should 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 goodfoodcomes with a price tag. however, when it comes to value = price? the admiral lacks severely.

the admiral has 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 thefoodhe 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 stylefoodthat chef moss and his team prefer to tackle.   withfoodat 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

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,foodis 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 thefoodwas 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 undercookedfoodwas a fluke and not the norm.

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, creativefoodat 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 thefoodis 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.