The Optimist

Ah the Optimist. Like a little seaside crab shack transplanted right into the middle of Atlanta

Last night to celebrate our four year anniversary my boyfriend and I decided to go to The Optimist, a little seafood and oyster bar located in West Midtown. Complete with palm trees and blue dock benches, you can close your eyes and almost feel the ocean breeze. We'd been wanting to try it for ages and this seemed like the perfect occasion. 




We wanted to go for Valentines earlier this year but they were all booked up by the time Alex tried to make a reservation a week before. This time he snagged us an early dinner spot and we were all set to go. Needless to say, our expectations were very high!

We started off with some cocktails because, obviously. Alex went for the Mother of Pearl because he loves gin and tonics, while I went for the 5-Gallon Carboy because it had strawberries. All the cocktails were ocean-themed, which I loved. His gin and tonic had celery bitters, sea salt, & black pepper thrown in, so of course he was happy. Mine was a blend of rye, strawberries, lemon, all-spice dram & allagash white ale. Can't say I've ever had rye or dram before so I was quite hesitant (I am a very picky cocktail drinker, but you know, when in Rome!) but it actually tasted delicious! The rye was a lot smoother than I would have guessed and the strawberries overpowered any bitterness. 

For a starter we had the charred Spanish octopus, drizzled in lemony mayo, chorizo, and calabrese peppers. I've never had octopus before and let me just say, I had no idea they were so meaty! My octopus tentacle seriously tasted like steak. It was flavorful and delicious and made us very excited for the rest of the dishes.

Of course we had to have some oysters! I don't know about you but I am seriously obsessed with oysters. These were amazing, some of the best I've had in Atlanta.

Yummm. I'm a just-lemon kind of gal.

For my main I went with the wild alaskan halibut cooked to perfection in lemon and extra virgin olive oil and topped with coarsely ground sea salt. Words cannot express how delicious this halibut was, it seriously came apart in buttery flakes at the slightest touch of my fork. I was in heaven. 

Alex got the crispy red snapper swimming in a lime citrus broth with herbs. I had a few bites and loved it; it has a different, meatier texture then the halibut and was delicious. 

We had the Spanish roasted fingerling potatoes as a side. They were pretty good although the mustard sauce it was served in was not my favorite. 

They have an amazing desert menu with selections ranging from Savannah beignets to lavender flavored ice cream, although Alex and I decided to skip that and instead....

We got Pinkberry on our way home! That plus some girly movies (haha Alex will kill me for putting this picture up) made for the perfect end to a perfect night.

Our dinner at The Optimist was amazing and well worth the wait. If you love seafood you will definitely want to check them out, although be sure to make a reservation as they are always quite packed. You can view their menu and make reservations here.

xoxo Patricia