Admiral D's Waterfront Tavern — Restaurant in White Bear Lake

Having worked in food service before, I always try to lean positive and give the benefit of the doubt. But this was one of the WORST (and most baffling) dining experiences I have ever had. I wish I had read other reviews before going here.

We parked easily and walked up around 5:30pm. Were told it was all patio seating and to seat ourselves wherever. The “host” (or busser, food runner, not really ever sure) brought us menus, 6 plastic glasses, and a water pitcher with enough water to fill only 3-4 of our glasses. She said our server would be right with us. We took the time to go over the menu and enjoy the view of White Bear Lake.

20 minutes went by and not one single person checked on us, stopped by, or even looked at us. I know because after about 10 minutes I was staring down every employee who would walk by, while flipping my still empty plastic water glass.

Finally my wife went to the kitchen and said something to the staff and someone (our server? Food runner? Again not really sure…) came over to take our drink order. In all this time we saw at least two tables nearby who sat down after us, got their order taken, and were eating their food before we had even been greeted.

Several drinks we tried to order from the menu were not available. The server started to leave but we said we also wanted to order our food given the wait. The server took 4 of our food orders and started to leave; we had to remind him there were 2 more people to order. We also had to ask for more water as everyone’s glass was empty at this point and I had still not had any.

Drinks came out maybe 5 minutes later (now 30+ minutes after sitting down)…but wouldn’t you know it the server only entered 5 drinks for our table of 6. He apologized for being confused and we finally got the 6th drink. None of them were complicated; bottled root beer, lemonade, etc.

Food for 4 of our party came out about 10-15 minutes later. The staff dropped the food and left. After about 5 minutes of waiting we flagged down a different server to ask where our final 2 meals were. They went to check. A 3rd server came over a few minutes later and blamed the kitchen - he said they just didn’t make the missing meals, but were working on them right away. By the time our final meals were delivered some in our party had finished eating. We did not order anything complicated - a couple apps, one burger, one salad, and some kids meals. One of the kids meals and the salad were the missed items.

When all had finished eating we sat waiting for our server to come. We were out of water again by this point. Empty dishes stacked on the table. We sat like this for at least 10 minutes. We joked about just getting up and leaving because no one would even notice. Finally had to flag down staff to pay our bill. The server brought over a little device with a total on it - no receipt listing what we were paying for or anything. Then holds it in front of my face while it asked for a gratuity amount - awkward. I ALWAYS tip, and good service gets a great tip. This was one of very few times where I felt like $0 was deserved. I tipped 15% anyways and we left, never to return.

This dinner was comically bad. The staff were walking around like they were seriously overwhelmed. However based on my experience in food service it really didn’t seem that busy. There was never a wait for a table for anyone we saw. The menu seemed too large - if the kitchen cannot keep up and the restaurant can’t keep all items stocked (see other reviews, this is an ongoing issue apparently), they should simplify the menu. The service was horrendous (non-existent really), and the food was the definition of just OK. If it wasn’t for their atmosphere (patio on a lake) I don’t think they would still be...

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. And yet… I tried ONE last time and NOPE! Sadly, overpriced garbage with SEVERE supply chain issues. Every single time the menu states items and then an apathetic server will tell you the majority of things aren’t available, ranging in literally EVERYTHING from drinks (even rail trash) to sauces to full-on entrees. Food is always prepared incorrectly and WAAAAAY overpriced. For the love of all that is holy, do NOT order the fish. We were so repulsed we left the entire dish untouched and my husband is NOT picky about food. They said they would take it off our bill and, of course, did not. The kale on the burgers as a sub for lettuce is laughable and nearly every drink comes in a warm, sweaty bottle, never a frosty mug.

Sorry, but you are MUCH better off taking the 30 extra steps to Tally’s. I want to love this place so, so bad because I love the location, but third time is the charm for our crew and we’ve shelled out at least $80 each visit. No more. Get a kitchen manager. Get a bartender. Please get ANY semblance of management and there is potential for a turnaround. But for us, we wouldn’t send anyone we care about to that establishment. If the prices were fair, I would just take the loss, but the price-gouging just adds insult to injury. I’ll eat a homemade sandwich on the dock next time I want to dine by the water. Also, the music with excessive profanity is NOT family-friendly in the least.

Signed, A Person Who Usually Only Leaves...

Pretty disappointed. My wife and I went there for dinner on the water. Our server put in our drink order, and we told her we needed a couple minutes to think on some food. Another person dropped off our drinks. We weren't offered water and there was only one napkin at the table. We sat for at least 30 minutes until we were able to flag our server down to place our order. There seemed to be only 2, maybe three people serving the whole patio, but if wasn't full. Looking around, it was clear others were waiting a bit as well. One man had to walk up to the kitchen to get somebody to pay his bill. I overheard the manager apologizing to others, stating that many of his staff are leaving for college. I can understand that, but nobody was filling in the gaps, something that could have been fixed with some planning. Our food was good, when it did arrive. I ordered another drink at that time. It never came. There were periods of 5+ minutes where nobody was rounding on any tables on the patio, making it difficult to flag anyone down. We waited a bit for our server, and when she came to pay the bill, she seemed surprised that I didn't get the drink. My wife went to the bathroom on the way out, and she said the toilet seemed clogged and was almost full to the top. The only saving grace tonight was the beautiful views on a nice night, and the musician. I worked as a server for years, and this is the first time I've left a...