The Admiral — Restaurant in Asheville

Excellent. Brought my wife to this unassuming gem years ago for a date night ans we had a blast. They had frog legs and other adventurous delectables then and now that our kids are 8 and 5, I like to expose them to exciting food and restaurants from time to time, so we brought them. Sometimes kids at nice restaurants are unwelcome, so I scheduled earlier in night for the patio (6pm). We showed up 10 minutes early but we were met with smiles and and open table. Beware, there is no "kids menu" here, nor child beverages. However, our waitress was very kind an whipped up some Shirley Temples for them to sip on to feel fancy. The food was amazing, we started with the cheese board and olives - gouda & bleu with crostinis, toasted nuts, and a gooseberry jam - castelvetrano olives in a citrus marinade with blood orange segments and zest. They were great together and the kids enjoyed both - although much to the parents satisfaction, they shied away from the bleu. Next we had the head cheese, oyster mushrooms and pork belly as well. The head cheese is exactly what you would expect (if you go for that sort of thing), a little fatty, but when smeared on the bready toast points it's quite good - only wish we had more bread as it's too rich by itself, but we had more food. The pork belly was the most composed dish, well browned and juicy towers of pork on a pool of nutty/earthy sauce with crumbles of Rye. My kids don't like mushrooms, but I always make them try it again when we go somewhere new, this time was a miss for them but a HUGE hit for me. Brown butter and hazelnuts gave them a crunch and a coating of glaze that left them AND my taste buds dripping. Finally we shared the gnocchi - I had to explain what they were and how they were made to my kids so they could appreciate the dish. Fantastic pillowy bites of goodness with ramp green pesto, tetragonia and parmesan. By far the favorite of the night by all parties. We finished with the whiskey orange chocolate cake and a semifreddo sundae. All of this in about an hour with great service and hospitality in between. Well done on all fronts and one of the best Asheville...

If you go to a restaurant believing that things that are made improperly will be taken off your check, don't go here. Basic restaurant rules don't apply, BEWARE. This is coming from a person who works in a restaurant. My significant other ordered the 45 dollar, medium cooked, 14 oz. Rib eye steak as his entree, the first huge cut he made into it was entirely fat, no meat at all in this supposed "14 oz's " of pure beef that is half a Benjamin. As he continued to cut, it became obvious that his medium steak was actually well done. The waitress came up and before we could even say a word about it, noted that the rib eye was much too well done.. My SO asked to send it back and didn't want them to remake it as we were on a time crunch. He literally ate ONE bite. He spoke with another member of staff and told them he wouldn't mind paying for what he ate, but that a 45 dollar rib eye should be cooked right the first time. We were told that our drinks and half the price of the rib eye would be taken off our check. We just wanted to leave at this point and gave her the card to be done with it. When we got the check back, we noticed that only one drink had been taken off, we'd each had two. My SO's stomach was rumbling loudly as we debated the best course of action. As I work in a restaurant, I advised that he go and ask to speak with a manager and explain what happened. The manager went to two tables and the waitress who served us before FINALLY telling him she couldn't help because the steak had already been cooked.... We were late for our prior engagement and 22 dollars out for something neither of us ate. It was supposed to be a really special night but it was ruined by poor management. If you like eating 45 dollar rib eyes that are cooked the opposite of what you ordered, and you love paying for it, this is the place for you. Everyone...

Went for my half-birthday and The Admiral’s attention to detail and hospitality DID NOT disappoint!

Thank you to our maître d' who greeted us right away and accommodating my mobile accessibility needs when it came to sitting accommodations, she placed us next to the cozy fireplace a nice touch to the ambience.

Our highly knowledgeable server, Cameron, along with team behind the scenes.

I’m use to a very basic and boring diet (my partner laughs because it’s macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets), so when I got to the restaurant the menu was foreign to me. I was a bit embarrassed that I couldn’t read it, but not to worry! Cameron took his time and help breakdown the menu with ALL the questions I had. I put all my trust and his recommendations in him and WOW!!!

Culinary Team the cut of steak with seasoned fries and house made sauces I savored every bite and have graduated my taste pellet.

To the mixologist at the bar my Hurricane Cocktail beautifully and tropically garnished with dehydrated fruits and yes an umbrella took me out of the cold from outside.

And lastly to the dessert of chocolate cake and fresh vanilla ice cream this is where Cameron went above and beyond with attention to detail that made my already 5 star experience go beyond to infinity…I mentioned out of excitement that we are celebrating my half-birthday and he brought dessert out with a half a birthday candle! It’s the smallest attention to detail that he picked up on that made this day so memorable!

Highly recommend the food and beverage, atmosphere (they play great music too), and overall hospitality so welcoming.

Thank...