admiral

worth a drive...from atlanta. one of the best dining experiences of the last year. fabulous, food at a reasonable price. big flavors, tight menu, withgreatchoices.

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 wasgreatfor 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 the food make up for that small issue. the menu changes often, so be sure to look online to see the food selection. we are looking forward to returning.

delicious. best description i read was that the admiral has 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 howgreatthey 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 agreatdolloping 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 the admiral does indeed make for a nice companion piece to its divier neighbor just across the way; the double crown.)

bad reviews i don't understand. i must say i have wanted to try admiral for 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 agreatmeal 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.

excellent!!!! and it is the best thing next to.... having been on the road for a month, and sampled reallygreatfood in 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, butgreatopportunities 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.

poor food, service likewise. thursday night, 7/25/13. prompt service with water and appetizers. octopus/quail egg dish included several items; all tasted the same (fried). waited one hour (>60 minutes) thereafter for entrees. my wife and i had "heritage farms pork chop" with etc. hadgreatdifficulty in cutting pork chops with steak knives provided. meat was flavorless. did not have the time and courage for dessert.

disappointing. service was great. some elements of the meal were amazing, such as the perfectly cooked halibut, but i question why someone would proceed to drench the halibut in fish sauce. seriously overpowered the perfect halibut, leaving an unpleasant fermented aftertaste that lingered even after several sips of water. the duck prosciutto is agreatconcept. failed in execution. it was a globby, salty mess that overpowered the delicate spring greens and the amazing caraway-tahini vinaigrette. there were elements of genius and elements of "what were you thinking" throughout the meal. the complete meal was a let down, especially given the hype.

it was good..but not mindblowing. we made reservations for 3, arrived early and they were very nice and got us in anyways. we ordered the baby argula salad, pork belly, flat iron steak, fried rabbit, sweetbreads and for dinner we ordered the scallops and pork chop. the salad was great, the pork belly was my favorite by far as the outside was crisp and so rarely do many chefs do that. the steak was average at best. the potatoes that came with it were slightly undercooked. the fried rabbit wasgreatas were the sweetbreads. my husbands scallops were perfectly cooked and seasoned so that the natural flavor came through. my pork chop was extra thick but cooked great. i honestly liked the goat cheese risotto better than the pork. if we lived in the area, we might try it again but since we are visiting from out of town we will skip it.

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

you guys are getting spotty. i've been a big fan of the admiral for years now, even going so far as to rebuke some naysayers on this site. but the last couple times i've been i've noticed the food slipping a bit. i usually order a wide array of small plates and it's always been fantastic. however my two most recent visits have fallen short of your usual standard. every dish needs consistent attention to detail. the carpaccio was fantastic but the fried sweet breads were solidly unremarkable. the duck confit was dry and the rabbit was just a hot mess in a bowl. the biscuit and honey was perfection. the house cocktails were exceptional. so come on guys. don't get sloppy.


-----06 aug, 2010-----

to ashevillefoodie15. you are retarded! pull your head out of your ass and just show up without a reservation. they'll seat you pretty quick. you missed out on one of the best dining experiences asheville has to offer. a real diamond in the rough. a fellow chef (and james beard award winner) from charleston recommended it to me and no wonder... they're outstanding. if you can't get them on the phone that's because they're really busy makinggreatfood and unforgettable experiences for those of us who made it past the answering machine and came in through the door.

amazing fine dining without stuffy atmosphere!. best in asheville, no question.

clean, inventive, and well-balanced menu.greatemphasis on local high-end products. bar menu is great. service is slow unfortunately, but the amazing food more than makes up for it.

to all those that say the food is too weird or uses funky ingredients... hey, there is an outback steakhouse on tunnel rd, maybe that is more your speed!

best food in area so far.. this is a really interesting place withgreatfood. it may not be for everyone though. first it is a cinder block once gas station in a less fortunate part of town..limited parking etc.
if upscale ambiance is a requirement don't go here. no table cloths, relaxed service, nothing fancy to say the least. but the food is truly exceptional. this is a fairly young chef who is trying some aggressive combinations but with a very classic sense. some plates are a little busy but the flavors work almost every time. the menu changes every few days and your standard computer paper sheet will have a date on it. that is not to say that this place is really seasonal of local or sustainable. they usegreatproducts and treat them right. it is more seasonable and local than not but for example they serve a humboldt fog salad when local goat cheeses are abundant, even a very similar one, domestic but not really local.
they are doing a true gastropub menu, some sous vide some maltodexterine powders, some xanthan gun, lecithin thickening, but nothing over the top or pretentious.
i love this place, you don't have to get dressed up to eatgreatfood, the drinks are great, the prices are reasonable to low. but there are some problems. the water is undrinkable, the service is ok at best, the food does not come out of the kitchen all at the same time. on one trip we got the soup and salad 10 minutes before the rest of the appetizers. maybe they thought that was what we wanted, if so they need to get someone in there who has more experience, or they could have asked. the fact is the atmosphere is pretty relaxed and that is not always a good thing. but the food more than makes up for any other shortcomings.

too exotic for my tastes. all my friends love this place but i found it too exotic or more in a vein that is not my favorite. i don't like duck, lamb or fish and the sides on some of the dishes i would try turned me off. i can totally appreciate the fine dining aspect in a dive joint and obviously my opinion of the admiral is not the norm but just wanted to give some feedback for people who might not be into this type of food. for everyone else, enjoy! it's a cool little funky west asheville dive that seems to put a lot of effort and thought into their menu and has become a local favorite. now, if they just added agreatchicken, pasta or veggie plate...

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.greatfood. don't judge a book by it's cover.