Nic Lovely

Review of The Optimist

Wow! This was some of, if not the best seafood I h...

Wow! This was some of, if not the best seafood I have ever had! I was impressed when the waitress immediately asked as if we had any dietary restrictions, to which I informed her that I was gluten free. She made suggestions and helped guide me in my ordering. They have an extensive oyster menu. It was my first time trying raw oysters, and I was a little bit worried, but they were actually pretty good. I've had cooked oysters that had a fishy taste to them before, but there was none of that here! The raw ones were good, but the roasted ones were amazingly delicious! The roasted ones come with bread crumbs, but our waitress made sure to split the order with some without breadcrumbs for my gluten-free request. the roasted oysters were so good, we ordered a second round of them, and the chef forgot to remove the bread crumbs from half, so we ended up getting three more essentially on the house. And then...the fish was to die for! My husband had the red snapper, and he found it to be amazing. I had the duck fat poached swordfish, and it was absolutely amazing served atop a bed of juicy, slow-cooked shredded short rib meat and a puree of celeriac. The swordfish itself was so succulent, juicy, meaty and flavorful. My husband had a side of roasted cauliflower and romanesco, which he said was very delicious as well. We also had the fried oysters, which were good as well. The hot sauce is made in house and is very tasty and delicious, it looks like your typical red hot sauce, but it definitely packs a more flavorful punch then your average. We were so impressed with it that we asked our waitress about it and she sent us home with a container full. My husband had a cocktail that he actually could not finish because he said it was too strong (imagine that). I had a glass of Cabernet Franc, which I had never had before, but it was definitely delicious and smooth. an extremely high-quality establishment and a five-star dining experience. It is definitely expensive, plan to open your wallet wide when going there. But absolutely worth it!