Admiral D’s

Went here last year and had terrible service. Today was a beautiful day out so we decided to try it one more time. We sat down and waited for 10 minutes with NO SERVICE. the owner was there and seemed to be more involved in getting cheap signs up about their new boat. This was the last chance I’d give them.

Beautiful patio; good service. But when I ordered the chicken pecan salad I could not find any pecans; asked the server who returned and said «we are out of pecans». Nothing else was done: no apology no discount. Had I known I would have ordered a different salad.

Previous reviews of embarrassing super bowl party status chips and dips is true. The other food we had though was solid. Lot of drink options and a nice patio.

Brain the owner is the best! He went out of his way to accommodate 6 ladies by personally serving us! The place has a fun outdoor vibe which us Minnesotans Love! I highly recommend going there! I have never been disappointed! And I am kinda hard to please! We just need to relax and enjoy the view!

We were there about 8 pm on a thursday evening, told by 2 different servers to seat ourselves… we had to borrow the menus from the guys at the next table, finally got a server. Ordered the Mesa burger, worst burger i have ever had… meat was fine but mango salsa was horrible not saucy, mangos under ripe and since when do you use oregano in salsa and they used so much it over powered the burger. I had to scrape it off to just eat the burger. Fries were crispy but had so much salt on them I had to brush that off to even eat them. I gave 1 star because the beer was cold and the outside seating. They could use lights under the umbrellas, tough to see the menu or your meal… but maybe that is the idea! We won’t be back or recommend this place.

Went to this dump at about 7pm. Waited 35 minutes to get a couple drinks, 45 minutes later we got our menus. I understand when a place is busy it takes a while to be serviced. The owner was walking around like a lost puppy with a broom stick up his anus drinking beers. Finally after an hour and 50 minutes we got our food. The waitress kept apologizing because it took so long and we tipped her generously because obviously it’s not her fault. The owner brought us out food and couldn’t even read the orders cause his eyes were so glazed, while he struggled to keep his balance we confronted him on why it took so long to be serviced. Immediately he blamed the college kids working for him. Never once said sorry and told us to never come back. I don’t understand how an incompetent bucket of drool like that can run a business. Anyway we went to tallys down the road, everyone was nice as heck and he had a great time. No offense to the good people who work at admiral D’s but that owner is a complete and utter moron and should be torn in half slowly while everyone he knows watches

Worst dining experience I’ve encountered. The owner blames his staff for poor service, but he as an owner is unaccountable for the service. I’d think that the owner would be accountable for training, managing and staffing his restaurant. He then proceeded to tell us our business was no longer welcomed, after complaining about the two hour wait…

The only redeeming quality Admiral D’s has, based on the one time I’ve been there, is the view; and even that is slipping away as White Bear Lake dries up. My wife and I came for a drink and appetizer and were disappointed all around. Nothing on the menu really sounded good so we went with chips, salsa, and guac. Mistake. We got the crushed chips from the bottom of the bag of tostitos (or some similar brand). Even if they were not crushed, they were the most blatantly grocery store bought chips I’ve ever eaten at a restaurant. I would feel bad serving those at a super bowl party. The salsa was more of the same. I don’t know the brand for sure, because I didn’t see the tub they poured it out of, but it sure tasted a lot like Pace Picante to me. I don’t remember the guac, which I guess is the best thing I can say about the food. The beer selection was pretty weak as well.
Clearly some people think this place is great based on the reviews and the fact that it is always busy on nice summer nights, so maybe I’ll give them another chance someday, but there are other options on the lake that have been much better in my experience.

My husband went in once and couldn’t get anyone to pay attention to him. He finally gave up and left.

I’ve only gone here in summer. Cool patio right at waters edge (when WBL isn’t dried up!) where the song birds are so tame that they land on you! The food could be a tiny less adventurous, I had a little trouble finding something but the rest of my family thought it was great. Dogs are selcome as long as they are leased. We sat at a table next to a table w, a great dane. I just got a charge out of the animals! Neighborhood rezs were walking there dog & then stopping for a drink w. Fido. The inside bar is open i winter, but it’s really tiny (confined due to city building codes), feels like a regular watering hole. We were there the day of WBLAHS prom& the site of all the glittery dresses out on the warf was cool.

I’d happily eat a platter of chicken feet, with toe nails attached and all, then ever eat here again.
I wanted to try this place because it was on the lake and 3 miles from my house. I had a long day at work, I needed food and a martini, and I wanted to sit outside by a lake. There was plenty of parking when we arrived, but there was only one table furthest away from the lake. We sat ourselves, and our server came quickly to take our drink orders.
My dirty martini actually tasted like ass. I usually don’t have an issue with rail vodka, but they must have used ass vodka. I downed it, don’t judge me, I had a long day at work remember?
On to the menu. It’s your typical bar food, fried stuff, burgers, sandwiches, and some salad options. My boyfriend and I split some jalapeño poppers, tilapia tacos, and the Cuban sandwich. The entries came with chips, we substituted coleslaw on one dish for $ 1, and onion rings on the other for $ 2.
Our poppers came wrapped in bacon with ranch sauce. I bit into one and it disintegrated into piles of mush in my hand. It was like a magic trick.
Our tilapia tacos. I can tell that poor fish was dead and frozen for a long, long time. It was way overcooked, and the fish taste was intense, like on its way to fermented intense. The fish came with a mango salsa, which was about 3 tiny pieces of mango on top, and that was it for the taco. It came with a side of tartar sauce. I have never been served tartar sauce with grilled fish tacos, it was strange to me, and not good. A wedge of lime would have seemed more appropriate, but it wouldn’t have saved that taco anyway.
Cuban sandwich. Holy mother of god. I couldn’t take more than one bite. Well, I tried a second and spit it out. That was canned dog food they put in that sandwich, with too sweet of a honey mustard, and some sort of imitation plastic cheese. Absolutely disgusting.
My boyfriend and I split our meals so we each took bites out of everything. We felt weird about sending it back since we did that. Neither one of us like to waste food, but there was no way we could finish. The only thing we could eat was the coleslaw, which I’m sure came from a pre-​made 10 gallon jug from somewhere.
The food is way overpriced for what they serve. The fish tacos were already $ 13, then we paid more for two tablespoons of coleslaw. Our total was $ 63. We actually paid to eat one of the worst meals of our lives. This fact seems so crazy to me, and I totally regret not speaking up while we were there.
The scenery was nice, it would have been nicer had we gotten closer to the lake. The service was good as well, friendly and fast. I was teetering on a 2 rating because of these two things. However, the food was just so incredibly horrendous I had to stick with a 1 star. Next time I want lakeside dining I’ll go buy a sandwich somewhere good and sit my ass down by the lake.

Date night with my sweet Hubby
Excellent patio dining ~ food was great
Service just as well & the live music was awesome ! We definitely be back

Food was great, drinks were reasonably priced, and they had gluten-​free options. Music bingo was a lot of fun, too.

Favorite spot to go in the summer! Admiral Ds is only open in the summertime, for good reason. Their entire seating is out on a beautiful patio that sits right up against the water of White Bear Lake. It overlooks the entire marina. On the weekends if it’s a sunny day out it fills up fast. Great atmosphere with live music on the weekends. At night time they light up the whole patio, all of the trees are decked out in christmas lights and eight strands of globe lights hang off the building and stretch across the patio. They have five large torches they fire up when the sun goes down.
On top of the awesome summertime vibes this place gives off the food and drinks are great. They have a huge list of fun summer drinks. Frozen drinks are offered, pina coladas and margaritas. They also have 5 or so different types of mojitos, a margarita list, a martini list, and then some of their own made up fruity drinks. If you can’t find anything on the list they have tap beer, and a full bar so you really can’t go wrong.
For dinner I ordered the dirty bourbon burger which is one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. The burger was seasoned great and cooked to a perfect medium well. It was topped with bleu cheese, bacon, mushrooms, and then slathered in a bourbon sauce all sandwiched in between two egg buns. It was not easy to eat with melted bleu cheese and bourbon sauce dripping down the sides and onto my hands but I didn’t seem to notice as I was occupied in a greasy burger heaven. Also can’t beat a side of sweet potato fries dipped in ranch.
Awesome place to go on a warm Summer night. Great food, great drinks, good service, and the best atmosphere. I give my stamp of approval.

This is one of my favorite places to go to. It has a good view of white bear lake. It’s just this cute little restaurant. If you’re into fish, the fish tacos are to die for! Friendly servers. I would highly suggest going out here. They have good drinks here too.

I really enjoy the atmosphere here. The only issue is all the stray cats running around and meowing constantly rubbing against stuff. I mean I love cats but they won’t even serve you until you clearly acknowledge the cats. It’s like a mandatory unspoken rule of the place. It’s so sad when I think of people that are allergic to cats, what are they supposed to do? It’s just not fair. It’s not fucking fair bro.

I guess you could say I’m a regular here… But I mean a huge patio with summery cocktails and plenty of beers to choose from that sits right along White Bear Lake? What more could you ask for. They even allow dogs on the patio so everyone’s welcome!
Okay so FOOD: I’ve eaten my fair share of the menu items here but my absolute favorite is probably either the shrimp and scallop kabobs or the Caribbean pork tacos. The shrimp and bacon wrapped scallops are skewered alongside peppers, tomatoes and onions and are seasoned to perfection! Just enough spice. I usually get sweet potato fries as my side. The pork tacos are a huge portion (you get three), and the pico de gallo that tops each is super fresh and flavorful. If you’re a bit less of an adventurous eater, then you cannot go wrong with any of their juicy burgers. The bourbon is the best one in my opinion.
Drink choices are endless and there’s a huge selection of specialty cocktails. Tap beers and bottled as well.
ENTERTAINMENT: They really make a point to have live music every weekend, it’s mostly acoustic or alternative but they have a decent variety of artists who rotate playing there. In addition, there is bingo on Wednesdays and Trivia on Thursdays so a great place for smaller groups!
I recommend checking the weather before choosing to eat here since the indoor seating is very limited, about ten bar stools and two four person tables. It’s always comical when a storm rolls in and everyone has to scramble with their baskets of food and cocktails to «find shelter».
The patio fills up very quickly on weekend evenings when it’s beautiful out FYI. The service can be slow during prime time, but it’s more of a social dining experience so start with some cocktails and an appetizer and you’ll have a great experience.
If you’re looking to dine outside in a fun atmosphere with great food, I highly recommend this restaurant.

I visited last night and I really wanted to hold back, but I have to leave a one star review.
When I got there, it did not look appealing, but my partner said he’d read about it on City Pages. Shame on them for fluffing up the place and having the audacity to recommend it to their readers.
We started with the «Chips-​N-​Salsa-​N-​Guacamole» while looking through the menu. When looking on Unilocal about a restaurant, you’d assume some pictures of the food would be included. Well, I’ve added some, but pictures of the view didn’t motivate me to eat their food. Neither did the reviews. So the chips? How can they possibly charge me for Tostitos, Picante salsa, and Wholly Guacamole?! Why is it even on the menu? My refrigerator has a better selection of salsas, and it doesn’t charge me $ 6.95.
While we sit, we overhear the bartender serve a drink to a nearby table: «Not the best looking drink, but I promise it’s good.» Why would you present a menu item that way?
I ask the waitress for suggestions because I’m about to order fries for dinner. We mull over their «Bull Bites», and the waitress says, «Were you serious about the bull bites?» «No.» «Okay, ’cause they can be pretty tough.» Cool.
Our friend orders the «Fritter Melt,» and we joke that since cheese isn’t mentioned in the description, it probably doesn’t come on the sandwich. And guess what? It doesn’t. So, how is this possibly a melt? The waitress couldn’t tell us. It’s Texas toast, chicken tenders, lettuce, and tomato. So. what melts?
My partner orders the «Dirty Bourbon Burger» and says he enjoys it, but I think he didn’t want to criticize a restaurant he suggested.
Guess where I’m never going back to? And yes, I ended up eating fries because I was confident they couldn’t mess that up.

I am surprised at the horrible reviews for this place. I had to visit what was rated as the best Patio in the Twin Cities so my niece and I went early one evening and ended up staying for about six hours!
I was greeted immediately by the owner who asked if I wanted Sun or No Sun? That was considerate. I opted for a corner table practically in the lake. Loved it!
Our server was incredible with top notch service. He had many tables but yet he checked back on us several times. The drinks were nothing special; I will more than likely opt for beer next time. The food was mediocre. I had a pulled pork philly which was actually better than I thought it would be. My niece had a BBQ pulled pork sandwich which she really liked. Prior to this, we had shared some fries which were decent. Food and Drink prices are a little spendy but I highly doubt anyone comes here for the food alone.
The real winner here is the Patio. You feel like you are not in White Bear Lake. For a few hours, you feel like you are on vacation in the Bahamas or some tropical place. When they light the torches and the fire pits on the tables, plus the hanging lights, you truly feel like you are somewhere special!
I saw the Owner going table to table saying hello to everyone and thanking everyone for their business. How nice was that to see!
They have live music starting around 8 or so. I really enjoyed listening to the band while looking over the lake on a perfect evening.
I most definitely will be back!

I’m trying to give ZERO stars! AWFUL! I ordered the strawberry/​spinach salad. I got 9 pieces of strawberry, 6 blueberries and 3 tiny bites of chicken. The service was equally horrible! We gave her a tip, but it was simply out of guilt! I waited 27 minutes for anybody to come back and even ask if I wanted something to drink.
We asked the host (who also happened to be the owner) if my salad even looked «right»… he took my salad away — came back with some awful looking strawberries, about 8 more blueberries, and a ½ chicken breast. It was better… but seriously, you have to beg!
DON’T GO THERE! The view is nice, but you could see that from the road.