The Optimist Review

Wow great cocktails Awesome food and amazing service!!!

Delicious seafood restaurant and oyster bar with good wine selection. The ambience is trendy with bare brick walls and high ceilings but very comfortable. Table service was impeccable. My favourite was the Shrimp a la plancha starter.

Oysters were nice, but pricey ($42/doz); condiments disappointing. I liked the cesear, but some will find it heavyhanded. Sole oversalted. Baby bok choy was a bright garlickly side. Like other reviewers we got the "roasted" beets that were really pickled. Knowledgeable waitress was hit and miss. One minute you would get focused attention, then poof. Entrees came long before sides. Said she'd comp the side, but didn't. Limited wine list.

Best seafood restaurant in Atlanta! I've come here numerous times and never disappoints.

Great seafood, service and hip place to eat with a cool vibe.

Stopped here to have lunch and it was pretty cool. There is a nice atmosphere and not somewhere you have to be supper dressy to go to. Pretty laid back. We were the first customers of the day and we had the mussels for and appetizer as well More

Ambiance, service, staff, and FOOD OH MY GOD ITS ALL AMAZING!!! GOOOOOO!! You will love it as much as I did!!!

We went here on a Sunday evening for a nice anniversary dinner. We have been to the Optimist several times, but our expectations were far surpassed last night. The wait staff, Doug's meal and wine recommendations, dessert, and overall service were second to none. Really, second to none! Have lived in Atlanta now for over a decade and this is by far the best meal I have ever had here. Kudos to the chef, management, and the entire team! We are patrons for life!

P.S. If you have the opportunity, try the fried octopus, the Georges Bank scallops, and the Mexican corn. And if available, the pineapple upside down cake is delectable!

Thanks!

Robert M.

By far the best lobster roll I have ever eaten. The staff seemed to go out of their way to "check- in" with my wife and I during our visit. I was my first time there and it was wonderful.

Been here few times with Colleagues and always enjoyed the food and ambience.
I love the oysters here and every day special menu.

Over Rated.
The atmosphere is gorgeous, but the food, service and grooming is cheesy. It takes away from the capabilities of this establishment.

Very creative seafood. Octopus was outstanding. She Crab soup was a tad salty. Fried oysters we're to die for.

Very tasty. Nice people. Too many bug if you are eating outside.

Okay so I was excited to come here based on the reviews and it did not disappoint. Even the table rolls were to die for. We got calamari, octopus, and lobster rolls at my table. All so good!!

Even someone who doesn t like oysters can be guided to delight here. Ford Fry knows what s up and continues his westside domination at this seafood lover s paradise. Great atmosphere, yummy food and good service- can t lose!

The best seafood I've found in Atlanta, all things considered. The place manages to serve top-class food in at atmosphere that's extremely accommodating and unpretentious. They mix in the right amount of laid-back fun to keep it from feeling stuffy without detracting from its classiness. The food isn't cheap, but the prices are certainly fair for what you're getting. Get the monkfish when it's available!

Great meal great atmosphere great people they have chicken was excellent the appetizers including the hush puppies and the octopus more excellent very pleasant lively atmosphere busy at 9:30 1030 on a Saturday night

Fantastic place. We went for the happy hour oysters at first, which is one of the better bargains in town. Stayed for dinner which was exceptional. People in my party had the grouper, snapper, swordfish, and more. Would have taken pictures but got excited and ate first. The seafood fried rice is different and awesome, as were the desserts, which I remembered to photograph. Service was good and friendly.

amazing seafood. they have delicious oysters and the place is very nice and clean. really enjoy this place

Was at the Optimist tonight for the first time based on a friend's recommendation. I ordered the Duck Fat Poached Swordfish which was just warm. Prefer my food to be hot. Could barely taste the vingarette on the Endive Salad so definitely had to request more. Bread was good. Also ordered the chocolate dessert with ice cream. The portions are too small considering the prices.

My dinner guest ordered the octopus which was very tasty and a good temperature.

Liked the ambiance but was truly a disappointing dining experience in regards to the food. Probably won't return or recommend.

Been there in a private event. Enjoyed food, drinks and decor.

Food was pricy but excellent. Started with a variety of oysters and the grilled octopus. Both were great. Ordered scallops and swordfish dinners. Both were smallish-portions but great flavors.

Happy hour oysters are the best! But regular priced oysters for 2.80 ish is still pretty good. You can try different oysters from different areas. I usually like to get a bit of everything since I don't get to come often. They change their oyster selection from time to time so to be honest it's a nice experience for a date. For appetizers I love the octopus. It's very tender and has acidic and sweet caramelized notes. Flounder is usually my regular dish as it's filling and has a good variety of textures to keep me happy. Lobster roll was good, we got it chilled. I would also recommend the hush puppies ! We forgot them this time though. Right now waiters are wearing mask and I felt appropriately distant from other tables.

We finally got reservations to the Optimist over the holiday season. They have a bar that you can sit at and order food and drinks. We had a drink here before the dining room opened. Once inside, service was excellent. We ordered one course at a time and had a leisurely meal. Fresh oysters, She crab soup were good. Lobster roll had too much dill for me to recommend it. Our entrees were snapper, swordfish, and steak. They were all good but not exceptional. Nice wine list, a lot of French wines. The open dining room had a lot of energy. I would go back for a special occasion.

Loved almost everything here. Swordfish and branzino were my least favorite but scallops and oysters were the stars! Some great desserts too, brownie and cheesecake were my favorites but blueberry pudding was also delicious.

Food is good - but just keep in mind the portions are on the smaller end. This towernwas supposed to be estimated for 6 people - but really more like 3.

Food tasted great tho!

There was a special event happening so it was super crowded and noisy, but the staff was still attentive and helpful.

They have a happy hour for oysters, great for trying out most options!

Great food. The grilled Red fish and the pudding cake dessert were AH-MAZING!!

I have been before but I wanted to have a special dinner with the wife. She absolutely loved it! Great meal, excellent service and amazing atmosphere. One of the best in Atlanta!

Great meal, excellent service, creative cocktails. Get there early to sit at the bar and enjoy a drink.

The real deal for seafood in Atlanta (and I've looked). Best selection and quality of oysters in town. Wide range of high-quality spirits and cocktails. Top notch all around.

Incredible food & wine list, decently priced for the quality. Great atmosphere and service. There's nothing I don't like about it!

Maybe the best seafood I've had in Atlanta. Huge selection at the raw bar, we don't know a ton about oysters so we let our waitress pick out several kinds. They were all good, but different, and she explained the differences well. We at at the bar while waiting for the rest of our party, I enjoyed several of their craft cocktails while my husband had a craft beer. We'll be back with our foodie friends.

Overpriced Frozen Seafood. Probably good to the person who never lived on the coast.

Everything was delicious !!! The service was excellent ! Will come back !

Great food, but I got food poisoning and since I hadn't eaten anything from breakfast I know it was something there. I talked to manager and he took information, but I feel like he didn't believe me. $ 160.00 for dinner, I would like to think they care.

Simply delicious. Great atmosphere that makes you want to become a regular... if you had that type of money. Occasional celebrity sightings.

Outstanding spot for seafood. Great ambiance & decor. The service was very welcoming and sociable. The bill was decent for the quality. Food is similar to a cafe in Indianapolis I liked.

Pretty good food for the price. If you love seafood or oysters this is without a doubt the place for you. Some food is overpriced but most of it is reasonable. Great food, great service. Be sure to get there for Oyster happy hour if you love oysters.

One of the best restaurant we have been. Very tasty, some of the dishes surprising. The service is attentive and the overall experience is very good

Cool vibe. Diverse beer selection. Oyster happy hour is a great deal.

We had the best time tonight. All the food, wine and oysters were spot on. Atmosphere was great. Social distancing was in place ,and the staff were amazing. Will definitely be back soon!

One of my favorite restaurants. Interior is beautifully done.

Highly recommend visiting The Optimist. First of the dinner rolls are delicious. The Spanish octopus was the best I ever had. Large selection of fresh oysters to choose from as well. Definitely enjoyed the food and ambiance!

Went here for my birthday and it was truly wonderful. The oysters were phenomenal! I had the short rib and swordfish entree which was an interesting take on surf and turf, the only problem was the short rib was SO good it made the swordfish feel a bit bland which is odd for a seafood place but overall it was delicious.

So romantic. Friendly staff. Such a lovely evening. Thank you.

Went here for an anniversary dinner. Not a fish person in any sense but the things we do for loved ones...

The old saying is you get what you pay for. Here you pay for excellence and it does nothing short of delivering.

Staff here is awesome. Everyone is extremely knowledgeable about the menu, food textures, and where things are sourced from.

Really great atmosphere and I will be returning just for the bar area. There is an oyster bar right as you walk in that is always got people looking at it. Not overly loud and the kitchen opens into the serving area so the smells are wonderful.

Not being a fish person I asked for suggestions from the waiter. He suggested a pan seared grouper with lemon. Honestly, if I could cook it and it taste like that I would be eating fish every week. Had hush puppies and brussels as well. Both delicious. Next time I may ask for a touch of honey or syrup for them. Finished the meal off with a blueberry sorbet that was excellent.

All in all, I would go back for a special occasion.

I will be returning numerous times.

Great oyster happy hour and the lobster roll is excellent!

We saw an episode of Chef on Netflix and they featured this place. So...we had to go. So worth it. Fish is fresh and cooked to perfection.

I decided to go off of my diet and order the burger and shoe string fries. I do not regret having to add in an extra workout that week. So delicious. You must valet your car. Live music on weekends and a putt putt course outside while you wait for your table or simply to keep the kiddos occupied as you eat.

Simply awesome! :It's a wonderful experience. ..and great atmosphere.

Took the family there on Father's Day. Didn't have to wait since we sat in the raw bar section. First come first serve there. The restaurant is really neat. We had the baked oysters, the crispy oysters, and Whole Georgia Shrimp as an appetizer. All were great. All of the kids portions were really big. I had the swordfish for my main course. Could have used more sauce on it but the meat was well cooked. Wife had the lobster roll and it was fantastic as I had a few bites of hers. No desert this time. Was slap full.

Great food, great experience! Love the happy hour. A little pricey, but worth it.

incredible the food and service were over the top everyone needs to experience The Optimist

Upscale West Midtown Seafood Restaurant by Ford Fry. Love the interior and the long bar as well as the more casual oyster bar area. The lobster roll, the octopus, the fish chowder, the whole fried flounder and snapper, the hush puppies, the shrimp a la plancha all delicious! Great drinks as well! Valet parking is a great convenience!

This place is fantastic. Great service and fantastic seafood.

Awesome seafood! Great service but stay away from the NY strip not.

Food was good...small portions for the price point but worth the visit.

Always a great place for a wonderful seafood dinner. Daily selection of oysters and crudo. Seafood plateauxs that have everything I want. One of my favorite wine lists. And a perfect atmosphere.

Stormy was fantastic and made our birthday celebration very special!

The energy of the room and the dining experience was top notch! We sat in the main dining area but would like to go back and try the OB Oyster Bar for happy hour. This is where Stormy usually works. He hand picked several oysters for us and kept saying, no worries, I ve got you and boy did he! I ve never had such impeccable service and dinner experience.

Highly recommend the She Crab Soup, Oysters, Octopus, and the Scallops we re simply amazing! Don t miss out on a specialty cocktail either - the old fashions were delicious.

Better appetizers at St. Cecilia. Can never go wrong. Go to both at least once.

This was an overall wonderful dining experience. There is a wait at times as they are very popular and stay pretty busy it seems. Definitely need reservations. Mixed drinks were ok but would probably just recommend wine. The food was everything. Starting by saying not usually an octopus or muscles fan, but this is the place to try if you ever wanted to! The best I ve ever had hands down. They do have wood fire cooked options if you don t want to go straight into the ones on ice. They also allow you to order singles of different kinds so you can try them out before committing to a large order, this was the best! The octopus has a sweet glaze type sauce that gives it a nice flavor but it s also boiled for a long time giving it a perfect texture, NOT chewy at all! The red fish was packed with flavor and I would absolutely order it again next time. They have wonderful non seafood options as well for any guest not wanting that.

First time. Great spot. Service was excellent. The food was even better.

Lovely ambiance, food was delicious and fresh. Their yeast rolls are deadly but scrumptious. We chose the raw Blue Point oysters and the crispy oysters for appetizers. For our entree, most of my table had lobster rolls which were full of fresh lobster(since I had the table rolls I had to eat the lobster out of the roll!). Memorable birthday dinner!

Probably one of the most impeccable eating experiences I have ever had! My husband and I went for Leap Year to celebrate! Our waiter, Brett was a phenomenal waiter and definitely added to our dining experience! Overall, we are super excited to come back. Definitely a jewel in Atlanta.

Great, open space with excellent food and eclectic crowd. Come prepared to spend some $ .... but it's worth it.

The server, Porsche, was great but what I had was not so great. The octupus was great as an appetizer and I awaited in anticipation for the main meal which was a total disappointment. It was just fried fish and big cut potatoes. it was taken off the bill but still ended up paying $115 for my guest's meal.

Over priced, not impressed. I ordered the lobster roll that made me question if it was imitation "krab" meat with homemade chips.($32) Their signature feature are beignet style hushpuppies...Not a fan($9)! Hushpuppies should not be sweet with powdered sugar! My friend ordered red fish. It was a 4oz square in butter with caper relish ($32) It was much better than my lobster roll, but did not come with a side! He ordered a side an Indian twist of fried rice ($10), a chef's leftovers creation. Service was ok. Servers were nice and friendly.

Pricey, but well worth it. We ate on a Friday around lunch.The food, the service, and the entire atmosphere of the place made the trip worth taking.