Continues to be a great experience. Food is fabulous and service has been great.

The food was very good, but we felt it was a bit overpriced. For example, the She Crab soup was delicious but would have been improved with a few more pieces of crab. We would definitely go back as my husband loves oysters and their selection is outstanding.

I selected this restaurant for a date night for my husband and I before a Black Violin concert at the Woodruff Arts Center. The portions were huge, the food was fresh and delicious and the service and attention to detail was amazing! We went around 5 on a Sunday evening and their were families, but I could tell the restaurant has an excellent dinner scene. From business meetings to casual dinners to special occasion nights, if you’re in the mood for seafood! The Optimist fits the bill! Would definitely go again!

Unique presentations of fresh seafood with robust flavor. The grilled whole branzino was just like eating in Tuscany. Our waiter, Mark, did an exceptional job which added greatly to a memorable evening.

Our Optimist gourmand adventure began with a wonderfully trained server, Julia, with a passion for the menu and its offerings. She promised that the presentation would be just as delightful as the taste and we were not disappointed! The recommendation for the tuna tartare crudo was spot on! We continued with the recommendation for the octopus and shrimp appetizers and they were delish! Hot cloths were provided for the shrimp peel fingers. We enjoyed the swordfish, hush puppies and blueberry dessert w/creme anglaise. The recommended wines were perfect for our tastes! Can’t wait for another oppty to visit again! Great job, Optimist for customer service, ambiance, delicious offerings and presentations!

The Optimist never disappoints. I love this place!!.

The Optimist is one mine and my husbands favorite restaurants in Atlanta. The food is absolutely amazing -- from sitting at the oyster bar to being seating in the main area -- truly a great experience! We were there for over 3 hours and didn't even realize it! The service and the food are exceptional. I, personally, love the ambience as well.

Wonderful and very consistently delicious!

We have eaten at The Optimist many many times. Very disappointed last night. Service bad. Food totally off.

Anniversary

I can always rely on the Optimist to deliver an excellent meal.

This was our second visit to The Optimist and I must say we were a little disappointed. On our first visit the food was outstanding and overall we had a great experience. Having had this experience I didn't hesitate to suggest celebrating my wife's birthday at The Optimist and to bring friends who had never been to enjoy the evening with us. To make a long story short everything was great except my wife and two of our friends ordered the halibut at the suggestion of the waiter and in all three cases it was over cooked and just not very good. The server noticed the halibut wasn't being eaten and asked if there was a problem. When she found that we felt it was over cooked she offered to bring us something else to substitute but by that point we felt it was too late. As a consolation the restaurant did bring us complementary deserts and we all made the best of it. We will still go back to The Optimist and I will still recommend it but I would not recommend the halibut unless the preparation is changed.

Efficient and attentive staff, from the parking lot to the dessert service.

This is fundamentally a seafood house so you must go with seafood in mind. Great oysters, appetizers, and innovative entrees plus interesting craft cocktails. Highly recommended.

Overall I had a good experience. I ordered the fish and chips which tasted very good but very greasy! I did enjoy the fish fried rice.

We had a great dinner at the optimist with expert advice and lovely food. We come back!!

Food and service was wonderful- noise level - in particular, the music - was way too loud

We now live in CA and always have it on our list to come back to dine here. Never a disappointment.

Particularly enjoy the fresh seafood from oyster starters through the main course. The preparation of the seafood entrees permits the subtle flavors to come through. Not overpowered by heavy sauces. Excellent dining experience all around

Very crowded and very loud! Great service from Lucille. Food good but overly salty for my taste. Swordfish crudo was swimming in overly salted broth with heavy fish sauce taste which overwhelmed the fish. Scallops were huge and perfectly seared but swimming in way too much butter making the dish super rich. Sometimes less is more. Too much sauce drowned the great seafood!

I wasn’t overly impressed with the food but the ambiance and service was amazing. My date and I had made it clear that we do not eat raw fish but somehow ended up with complimentary raw swordfish on our table. Long story short my stomach was extremely upset for the remainder of the night. I had paid $65 plus valet...

Great service from Melody. Helpful and friendly without the fakeness you get in so many places!

Delicious food and great ambiance! I would definitely recommend for a social dinner or fun business meal!

Excellent time and great service and food. Loved the putting green as well.

Double birthday celebration. Great for special occasions. Expensive and very good!

We had an amazing dinner celebrating our 8th anniversary at the Optimist. Our server was great and very helpful walking us through the menu, and the best way to send out food. We will definitely be back.

Magnificent, as always

A must if you are in Atlanta

Great service and food

Best seafood in Atlanta. Definitely a little pricey for a regular meal, but a perfect restaurant for a special occasion. Highly recommend!

My wife and I and some close friends of ours headed here for dinner before going to see Kevin Hart. We have never eaten here before but had heard it was a good spot and I can't agree more. The food was excellent and our waiter Craig was even better. We had oysters she crab soup and gumbo still of which were amazing. My buddy and I both got the scallops which were cooked perfectly. They have one of the best old fashion cocktails I've had. I would definitely recommend.

Great service, great food. Even gave us a free appetizer (octopus) because they overheard us wondering whether to order it! Highly recommended.

Awesome and a pleasure as usual.

Awesome seafood and ambiance

I had a salad and peel and eat shrimp which were very good. We also had the corn bread, crispy oysters, fingerling potatoes and the key lime desert. All good

Awesome food! Fish was perfect

The staff is very friendly

Too close for comfort

Missed the sweet potatoes and Brussel sprouts. Tile Fish not as good as recommended but Branzino amazing. Bread rolls incredible as was She crab Soup. Kale chorizo ok, not a lot of flavor and very spicy.

Amazing drinks, and exceptional service. The oysters were delicious and perfect. Also the steak was divine!