The Optimist

It was wonderful, the food was fresh and amazing! Oysters were outstanding. Ray the manager and Brittney our server was also wonderful! They made our Anniversary so special.

Consistently good. Oysters are among the best in the city. Energetic almost loud ambience. After dinner bar service was disappointing. She was clearly ready to go home.

excellent....we sat at the bar & thoroughly enjoyed our evening!

We were in Atlanta for a wedding so decided to celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary while we were here. I was told to look up the chef and we decided on this place since we love seafood and it did not disappoint! If we lived here it would be one our spots. Daniel was the best server and everything he recommended was phenomenal! Everything about this place is great! We cannot stop talking about it.

Great birthday celebration

The menu is limited and overpriced for the entree. I got the chicken that had maybe 4 bites to it. Soup is delicious and the rolls are out of this world but the entrees are “strange” and not tasty. Much prefer Blue Ridge Grill or King and Duke.

We ordered the calamari which was very salty. We ordered the hush puppies which were not fully cooked and was returned to the kitchen. The gumbo was hearty but did not contain rice, like a traditional serving of gumbo. The drinks were great but we will not return to the Optimist!

Service was fantastic, food was delicious, and value for money was fantastic. We will definitely be back.

We were celebrating my cousin’s birthday as she was visiting from Toronto. I told restaurant when I made reservations. They made big deal when they welcomed us and with “birthday menu”. (It was nothing) we spent over $350 before tip with 5 drinks and then they charged us $9 for candle on a dessert. Tacky!!!! Service turned bad at the end when it took over 20 minutes th get that one dessert!!! Loved the food and we come often. Tacky about dessert.

Has always been my favorite restaurant and is absolutely amazing with outstanding dishes and wonderful staff!

Overall good experience for work lunch. The shrimp po boy was fried extremely hard though. Service was amazing.

8 of us enjoyed a lovely meal with attentive service. Only limitation was noise level which made it difficult to follow the conversation at times at our table.

Food was underwhelming for the price. Seafood chowder hardly had any fish and was all broth. Swordfish was just ok. Bread was good!

Just very average. Service was slow and not very good.

Service and food were EXCELLENT!
Outstanding in fact

Great atmosphere, great food, great service!! Would definitely return. Only negative was the half hour wait after our reservation time.

The Octopus and Scallops were delicious!! Our server Leslie was also great!

Great experience as usual. Ryan came by to visit and was very kind!

Great food and drinks. Service was slow

My favorite go to restaurant for visitors! Never fails to deliver fantastic food and even better service

Great restaurant - one of the best I've been to in Atlanta. Amazing food, VERY fresh seafood. You'd think we were right on the harbor.

Very good food in a friendly atmosphere and I am fussy with food as I am French !

The halibut was not fresh, completely dried out. Neither was the salad fresh, and there was no olive oil or vinegar on the table. The wine list was extensive and our Riesling was great, and chilled as it should be.
Service was Xtremely friendly and efficient which comensates for the filure of the kitchen making this dinner special.

Great service and food. Shrimp appetizer is amazing and the monk fish was delicious although smallish serving. Luckily the biscuits filled in all the extra spaces !!!! One of my favorite places in Atlanta.

Happened to be in the area with fiends in town from out of state. Had heard great things about it, so we booked a lunch reservation (highly recommended because it was full when we arrived). It did not disappoint! Food, service and ambiance were all top notch. Tip - order the oysters. They’re excellent and they come with delicious homemade crackers.

This was my second time here my first experience was phenomenal so I knew that the next time would be the same. And I’ll have to say that the second time topped my first experience. The food here is like no other. My boyfriend highly recommend the octapus as an appetizer. It is delicious. Can’t wait until next time.

What are the best meals I’ve ever had anywhere in the world

The atmosphere and dinner was awesome

The food and service was exceptional. Taylor our server was informative and on point with all her recommendations. Will most definitely be back for more.

Knowledgeable and friendly staff were on top of our food allergy. They were super helpful with drinks, wine and dinner selections. The raw oysters were sublime (we let our server pick our dozen).

The noise level is high but, overall, good energy.

great seafood and great service in a trending setting

We started with the she crab soup and the gumbo both of those were delicious then we moved on to the main course which was the bar steak and the redfish the redfish had either a body hair or a piece

I have been dying to come here ever since Jon Favreau featured it in The Chef Show Netflix special. The shrimp a la plancha did NOT disappoint. Brittany was a wonderful and attentive server who made awesome recommendations. Also, they made one of my favorite restaurant old fashioneds to-date. Another shoutout to Lisa because I forgot to take a picture of my receipt so I could expense the meal and I called the next day and she took the time to weed through everything to get me what I needed while we were on the phone. Rockstar team with rockstar service!

Amazing everything. Not one item we ordered would be rated less that a 10/10 by our entire party. Service incredible. This is an inconsiderate ATLANTA staple that you can actually get reservations to. Not sure why...but if you don’t eat here, you are missing out!

We visited the Optimist on the recommendation of friend for a night out while we were in Atlanta and will pass on the recommendation! Great food, great service, perfect portions, and unique drinks. If you are in town and want a date night to remember, try out the Optimist!

Delightful experience always - recommendations by Brittany always exceed expectations! Thrilled with octopus honey based recipe returning!

My husband and I prefer to purchase a bottle of fine wine and have our meals at home as we are at times disappointed with either our appetizer/starter or main dish but not this time. Drinks , starter and main dish was delicious . It was obviously prepared with tender loving care. Exceeded my expectations. I have told everyone who will listen how great the food and service was.

The food and service were both impeccable!! We will definitely be back again!!

Overprices entrees. And little food for the money. The food is good, but not great. The best part about the restaurant oyster is the oyster bar. I'd do that frequently, but wouldn't go for dinner again.

Excellent meal! The best I’ve had in Atlanta!