Admiral’s Steak & Seafood — Restaurant in Portsmouth

This review is based off the service we received and not the food. The service didn’t even deserve 1 star. A group of 6 of us went in an effort to celebrate a birthday, on opening weekend. For two days prior to going, we called the three different phone numbers that we were given for this restaurant. NO ONE EVER ANSWERED THE PHONE. Poor customer service ALREADY. We were calling in an attempt to make a reservation. We then ended up getting someone to go to the restaurant to inquire about making a reservation. He was told that they weren’t accepting reservations for the first week, and to just show up…so we did. We waited in a long line, in the cold, outside. Then we waited in another line outside of the restaurant. Once it was our turn, we approached the hostess stand. We told the hostess, Nia, that we were a party of 6. Her response was, we’re not seating parties of more than 5 this weekend. WHAT?! Sooo you all didn’t think to post this on your website, not even post a sign outside of the restaurant…just have people come to the casino, wait in the long, cold lines, and find out when they get there?! Poor customer service again! Although I’m aware that she was just doing her job in communicating this information, her delivery was very matter of fact. There was a manager named Cameron standing next to her. Cameron initially said our wait would be 30 minutes. Then it was quickly changed to 1 hour. They also mentioned that we may not be able to sit together. Mind you, the restaurant had just opened and there weren’t many people inside. So fine, we decided to wait. Fifty minutes later, Cameron came to get us. The hostess walked us to a table of 4. We asked about the 2 other guests in our party. She indicated that another hostess was supposed to let us know that two people would need to sit wayyy across the restaurant. At this point we asked to speak with a manager. The manager, Bruce, came over and listened to the situation. As he began speaking, Cameron then came over, and immediately interjected with such a nasty attitude. I told him that because of his attitude, we’d rather speak with Bruce. Do you know this man pulled his walkie talkie out to call security? It was so uncalled for, that Bruce told him not to do it. What in the world?! He won’t be around for long if he felt those WORDS were worth calling security over. Now, here’s the problem. There were numerous open tables all around us. There were also 3 open booths that seat several people. We were told SOME of the tables were reserved for parties that made online reservations for 4 people or less. However, no one was currently sitting at these tables. We saw the manager’s iPad which showed the tables that were reserved and the ones that were open. There were tables available, but none together. We asked if he could simply move one reserved table to another location (virtually) so it would free it up to be next to another free table. He said they weren’t bending any rules opening weekend. He then asked if we could return two hours later or even the next day. We told him that wouldn’t work for us as we already waited for a while and had plans the next day. He then asked if we were from out of town. I guess they would have bent the rules if we were from out of town smh. We would have been okay with sitting apart had the restaurant been truly booked, however, they weren’t. After seeing how unwilling they were to accommodate us, even though there were tables available and there were very few people in the restaurant, we decided to leave and won’t...

Consistency Please! First experience here was pretty good. Not quite 4 stars, but pretty close. So l recommended to some friends and 6 of us dined here on a Friday night @6:30. After being seated, it took 20 minutes for the waiter Jacques J to bring us water, take our drink and appetizer order. This is confirmed by the time stamp on receipt. We asked for some bread. They normally bring out bread as we are seated. An easy 30 minutes later, after asking twice, we finally got some bread, and our first drink order. The order was only 3 glasses of wine, 1 brute champagne, a Japanese ipa which came in a can, and a smoked old fashioned (I will talk about that in a moment). It was not very busy as each server had only 2 to 3 tables. When the appetizers finally came out, they were pretty good. Oysters, she crab soup and coconut shrimp (I think). We order entrées shortly there after and it is now approaching 8:30! I had to leave to give a ride to someone and was gone approx 30 minutes. When I got back my food was still warm which tells me it just came out. I had the Short Ribs. Others had Sea Bass, and another seafood. My brother in law ordered a 10oz Filet Mignon and loaded baked potato which was like $54. The filet came out looking like a flat iron steak not what I would expect from a supposedly 4 star steak house and the potato was just a baked potato, no butter, no sour cream, no nothing!! He had to ask the server for it twice. I would suspect since all of the fish dishes came out pretty good, whoever was cooking steaks, and veggies was a different person. Let me explain more...the carmelized Onions were came out. I had the Short Ribs. Others had Sea Bass, and another seafood. My brother in law ordered a 10oz Filet Mignon and loaded baked potato which was like $54. The filet came out looking like a flat iron steak not what I would expect from a supposedly 4 star steak house and the potato was just a baked potato, no butter, no sour cream, no nothing!! He had to ask the server for it twice. I would suspect since all of the fish dishes came out pretty good, whoever was cooking steaks, and veggies was a different person. Let me explain more...the carmelized Onions were basically large cut Onions that looked like they were charred with a flame thrower. The Grilled asparagus was grilled in a frying pan with no oil. I was not only embarrassed, but it ruined the whole night for my friend's birthday. Now to the old Fashioned, if you know anything about an old fashioned, it should be garnished with an orange slice and made with mottled cherries. This had none! However they smoked it in this fancy smoke box at the table. Kinda cool, except it filled the dining area with smoke and it also smoked the outside of the glass! This caused my hands to smell like I just came from Uncle Leroy's BBQ joint!! Then although expecting about $150 per couple for the bill, they tacked on an automatic 20% on each bill. I normally tip 20-25% for great service...but this service was non existent!! I can't recommend Admiral's to anyone. On a side note, it seemed the other servers were more attentive and other tables seemed to have better service, for this is the only reason they get 2 stars...

We were greeted by two hostess who immediately sat us. Our hostess and server immediately poured nice ice cold water and smiles. Our server, Kiara, was so pleasant and helpful for our entire visit! Kiara, offered some drink suggestions based on a few questions she asked us. She gathered our drinks and immediately came back with them. She asked if this was our first time visiting and it was. She made a few recommendations to us for appetizers and dinner just by simply listening when we were talking. I loved the fact that she has tried everything on the menu and was able to offer complimentary meal pairings. Our appetizers and main course entrees were not spaced too far apart. That is pet peeve of mines! For appetizers we had the calamari and lamb chops. Hats off to the chef as he did not overcook them at all. There is a sauce prepared with the chops that put a little zing at the end of the taste to the chop. The calamari was fresh as well and the sauce paired with it was great. For the main entree there was one crab cake from the compliment section of menu. That one crab cake was so tall and thick full of crab meat! The chicken confit was superb!!! My grandfather is very particular about his chicken and it passed his test with flying colors. The fat from the chicken was very flavorful. Also, we had the pork chops which was good and not overcooked at all. The only request I have is maybe offer a side of onions or cooked green apple to complement the chop. The sides are large enough to split four ways and still have leftovers. The Sweet Potato Praline has notes of a sweet potato pie. It was served hot and very fragrant. The garlic mashed potatoes shocked me with the amount of garlic at the end of the taste pallet it presented with hints of melted cheese. This dish was clearly well planned. We also tried the table side Chopped Salad and the Caesar salad. Both are great options and it was noted that they make their own croutons in-house!

Pros: GREAT SERVICE as Kiara and the hostess were excellent. Smiles and great service. Portions from the appetizers to entree were filling. Pricing about on par for an a la carte steakhouse. Ambiance is nice tucked away from the casino smoke and nosiness.

Cons: The complimentary bread is only complimentary for the first basket. Additional baskets of bread are $8 I believe. The management needs to note that a vast majority of a la carte restaurants serve complimentary bread and not just for the first basket. If you want to charge a la carte prices you have to also present the perks of a la carte restaurant. Parking is very confusing. Here is a tip of you desire to not go through the smoke of the casino but directly to the restaurants and Event Rooms.....park on the front side of building off of Victory Blvd. This way you enter the building and turn left to go towards restaurants. Only open Thursday through Sunday for dinner. Hopefully, as more is built on to the project the hours will change.

Overall dinner last night was successful!! Again great service makes the dinning experience all the more worthwhile and enjoyable! Thanks to Kiara our server for making my evening out with my parents and grandfather...