the oysters were sublime but the stuff clam special app was weak ; the lobster was very good and my swordfish was good but not a fan of tomato w/ fish. The Beets were very good but the dressing given for my wife's salad was an aoli not buttermilk dressing. Fish selection very limited. Service started out strong but felt abandoned after entree's delivered. Wanted a 2nd drink but waiter never came back around....while table next to me seemed to be getting everything much quicker. Was my birthday and a little let down. Been 8 years since coming to Optimist.....seemed to drop a little.
Kristian
The restaurant is amazing, staff is very good, food is right priced, very tasty. I really recommend this place.
Diana
We loved our food and dining experience. The waiter even found an NA rose for us. We paid our bill quickly because of plans to attend a concert nearby. It took more than 15-20 minutes to get our dessert. Very disappointed that we had to take quick bites and run. Something was off in that order. Horse this feedback helps.
HyunJin
The vibes of the restaurant were great but the seafood was tasteless. The dinner rolls were good.
TomQ
The Optimist has always been a favorite of ours when we have an engagement in Atlanta. We made reservations but arrived early for Happy Hour, right after opening. We were seated outside at a good table. Our server was very nice but service was slow and sparse. Baker's dozen Oysters took 20+ minutes to arrive. The chips were forgotten with one of the appetizers. Our wine glasses were never refilled from our bottle. The wait staff (not just our waiter) seemed more interested in chatting with the regulars. Our table seemed to be a bit of an afterthought. The Optimist is a great place but disappointing this time around. As for my value rating. I felt the wine was priced appropriately but the appetizers were pricey for Happy Hour. Maybe the service soured my mood a bit. We'll try it again at some point.
Austin
I saw this restaurant a few years on Netflix and said one day I will have dinner there. Finally made it to Atlanta and had the best restaurant experience in my life Shoutout to Holton for being the best server and going above and beyond for me. Vibes are great, service is excellent and the food is out of this world. That Butter Burger and Apple cake are insane and should be illegal. I will return whenever Atlanta is on the list to travel again.
margot
We ordered the lobster and the red fish for entrees—both excellent. Had the octopus and the oysters for the appetizers. Excellent as well. But the highlight of the evening was having a great server, Rolanda, who helped us select the oysters and the wine and is very knowledgeable. I recommend asking for her when you make your reservation. 
Carolyne
We had a party of 10 - excellent service for our table ! We had many appetizers with wine and we all ordered dinner- fresh fish was amazing - the burger was delicious too! All the sides were interesting and tasty. Great place for a large group for dinner and again the service was outstanding... wish I had caught her name!
Maurine
It was a wonderful night at the Optimist celebrating our sons 32nd birthday! Our server Brett was the best and treated us so special!
Lynn
This is our second time dining at the Optimist and although we had a large party of 12. Our server was extremely nice and personable. But our food came out very SLOW, I won't say that it was DJ our server or the kitchen, I am not sure but the time from ordering to everyone having their food could have been much better.
The food was awesome, the cocktails were awesome. The main entree of the scallops was a bit of a let down for the price, as it was 3 scallops with barely any seasoning and took almost 30min to wait for after receiving our appetizers. Shrimp à la plancha was 11/10 Oysters 10/10 Beets with the horseradish sauce stuff 8/10 Scallops entree 5/10
Jessica Henry
Wonderful atmosphere and great food. Went for the oyster happy hour and stayed into the full dinner service. My partner and I loved the lobster roll and the half chicken entrees. The drinks were good and our server was attentive and provided helpful recommendations. The only possible downside is that the table we were sat at by the large windows in the oyster bar area was a bit cold as there was a draft coming off the windows and it was a cold day. However this was such minor negative that we wouldn’t even think twice about it when deciding to come back. Overall, phenomenal experience and would love to return the next time we are in the area!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dolores DeWitt
Excellent
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
brent glenn
Brilliant cocktails, appetizers, and oysters. Love the oyster bar.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Nickole Davis
They have good food, friendly staff clean work areas in & out the restaurant
the oysters were sublime but the stuff clam special app was weak ; the lobster was very good and my swordfish was good but not a fan of tomato w/ fish. The Beets were very good but the dressing given for my wife's salad was an aoli not buttermilk dressing. Fish selection very limited. Service started out strong but felt abandoned after entree's delivered. Wanted a 2nd drink but waiter never came back around....while table next to me seemed to be getting everything much quicker. Was my birthday and a little let down. Been 8 years since coming to Optimist.....seemed to drop a little.
The restaurant is amazing, staff is very good, food is right priced, very tasty. I really recommend this place.
We loved our food and dining experience. The waiter even found an NA rose for us. We paid our bill quickly because of plans to attend a concert nearby. It took more than 15-20 minutes to get our dessert. Very disappointed that we had to take quick bites and run. Something was off in that order. Horse this feedback helps.
The vibes of the restaurant were great but the seafood was tasteless. The dinner rolls were good.
The Optimist has always been a favorite of ours when we have an engagement in Atlanta. We made reservations but arrived early for Happy Hour, right after opening. We were seated outside at a good table. Our server was very nice but service was slow and sparse. Baker's dozen Oysters took 20+ minutes to arrive. The chips were forgotten with one of the appetizers. Our wine glasses were never refilled from our bottle. The wait staff (not just our waiter) seemed more interested in chatting with the regulars. Our table seemed to be a bit of an afterthought. The Optimist is a great place but disappointing this time around. As for my value rating. I felt the wine was priced appropriately but the appetizers were pricey for Happy Hour. Maybe the service soured my mood a bit. We'll try it again at some point.
I saw this restaurant a few years on Netflix and said one day I will have dinner there. Finally made it to Atlanta and had the best restaurant experience in my life Shoutout to Holton for being the best server and going above and beyond for me. Vibes are great, service is excellent and the food is out of this world. That Butter Burger and Apple cake are insane and should be illegal. I will return whenever Atlanta is on the list to travel again.
We ordered the lobster and the red fish for entrees—both excellent. Had the octopus and the oysters for the appetizers. Excellent as well. But the highlight of the evening was having a great server, Rolanda, who helped us select the oysters and the wine and is very knowledgeable. I recommend asking for her when you make your reservation. 
We had a party of 10 - excellent service for our table ! We had many appetizers with wine and we all ordered dinner- fresh fish was amazing - the burger was delicious too! All the sides were interesting and tasty. Great place for a large group for dinner and again the service was outstanding... wish I had caught her name!
It was a wonderful night at the Optimist celebrating our sons 32nd birthday! Our server Brett was the best and treated us so special!
This is our second time dining at the Optimist and although we had a large party of 12. Our server was extremely nice and personable. But our food came out very SLOW, I won't say that it was DJ our server or the kitchen, I am not sure but the time from ordering to everyone having their food could have been much better.
Restaurantji Recommends
The food was awesome, the cocktails were awesome. The main entree of the scallops was a bit of a let down for the price, as it was 3 scallops with barely any seasoning and took almost 30min to wait for after receiving our appetizers. Shrimp à la plancha was 11/10 Oysters 10/10 Beets with the horseradish sauce stuff 8/10 Scallops entree 5/10
Wonderful atmosphere and great food. Went for the oyster happy hour and stayed into the full dinner service. My partner and I loved the lobster roll and the half chicken entrees. The drinks were good and our server was attentive and provided helpful recommendations. The only possible downside is that the table we were sat at by the large windows in the oyster bar area was a bit cold as there was a draft coming off the windows and it was a cold day. However this was such minor negative that we wouldn’t even think twice about it when deciding to come back. Overall, phenomenal experience and would love to return the next time we are in the area!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Excellent
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Brilliant cocktails, appetizers, and oysters. Love the oyster bar.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
They have good food, friendly staff clean work areas in & out the restaurant
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