The Optimist - Nashville

Took us a long time to get here & that's kinda sad, coz we've been missing out. We love this place!The food was on point & would've easily been the star of the show IF the ambiance & service weren't so killer. Amber was knowledgeable, pleasant & present just the right amount to be available & helpful without being intrusive. Thanks Amber. Allison is a rockstar! Every top notch restaurant in town needs an Allison. You were probably my favorite part of the evening & it was a great evening. We'll be back & next time I'll review the food And the drinks! OMG come for the drinks as well as Allison. And after dinner go upstairs and stay awhile.

A Truly Optimistic Experience at The Optimist NashvilleMy first experience at The Optimist Nashville was not so great. After speaking with the manager we gave The Optimist a second chance and boy did they deliver the experience they are known for--elevated dining. The food was amazing--5 stars. The service was stellar--5 stars. The atmosphere was delightful--5 stars. This is by far the best place for seafood in landlocked Tennessee. The ceviche is the best I've ever had. And I've eaten ceviche made from seafood that was freshly caught. The halibut made me miss the great Northwest where I first fell in love with great seafood. And do not miss ordering a Plateaux!

Oh my, where do I begin? The mahi mahi at Optimist rivals the mahi mahi I had at Mama's fish house in Maui, Hawaii. That is a great compliment, considering that Nashville is not near the ocean. This is definitely top 3 fish dishes I have ever had in my life. The beurre blanc sauce was amazing and that crab topping was plentiful. The grilled oysters were good as well but I felt were a little too small, portion size. The fried rice and the pole beans complemented our main dishes really well, and honestly could be eaten on their own. To prove this, I had the leftover fried rice and pole beans for lunch today and am feeling quite fulfilled. The service here was top notch. My friend has a severe tomato allergy and our server took the time to talk to the chef and cross out the items that had tomato in it. Talk about amazing service. The ambiance here is very romantic. It was pretty dark, not overly loud, so we could still carry on a conversation during dinner.I had the Germantown to drink which is their twist on an old fashioned. I have to say, that was an excellent version of an old fashioned. I wish we had something like The Optimist back in Vegas.

We started with oysters and the fried clam strips. Both were very good and our waiter even gave us a small sample of their ceviche. We really enjoyed the ceviche and would order again as a starter. For our main courses I had the scallops and my fiancé had the mahi mahi. Both were very good. I really enjoyed the sauce that came with the mahi mahi.

First time here, oysters were extremely fresh! My partner had the mahi mahi, be ready for a perfectly cooked and tasty yet very small $52 piece of fish. Our server Becky? Was very friendly and made great recommendations, although she told us to stay away from the fried rice which I ordered and was surprisingly good, it was flavorful, and had tons of spices (be prepared for an explosion of cumin and pepper). I ordered the lobster roll , which was amazing, lots of lobster and the buns were just perfection, it came with a side of the most fantastic flaky crunchy fries. The cocktails were nothing exciting, just regular almost mild worthing the price drinks you could ever have. The building was beautiful, open kitchen showing off the variety of seafood and brick walls will give you the loudest ambient you could ever ask for.

Fantastic place for a company dinner. Compliments to the chef, whom our associate knows way back. He took care of us, thank you! I will think about these bread loaves for years to come. I had 4. Incredibly buttery and wet and burnt a little on top. So tearable and soft. I could eat them all day. I got the redfish, recommended by our excellent waiter. It was delicious. The Brussel sprouts on the side were yum and so was the squash mix underneath the fish. Bits of something on the side were so flavorful as well. Dessert of the coconut cake and chocolate cake were good. The chocolate cake was stand-out worthy. Nice lighting and ambiance.

Hard to find good seafood here, and I understand, Nashville is known for smoking meats. But variety is nice. But after hearing so many good things about The Optimist once again I was disappointed. Our waitress was excellent so that was a good start. We started with some delicious wellfleet oysters, which I always get when I see them available. We then order the TUNA CRUDO, szechuan chili, citrus, sesame. Reading it looked incredible but it missed feeling oversauced and too salty. The chili did not bring enough heat probably drowned out by the sauce. Next we had the very popular GULF SHRIMP A LA PLANCHA, chili butter, "sopping toast" With my mouth watering just reading this I could not wait to sink my teeth into it. But the Shrimp had that terrible iodine taste and were mushy and the sauce was just salt butter and more salt and inedible. This whole dish was a disaster. We had to try the lobster roll, and it was good, but had way too much MAYO. Can I taste the lobster a little please?I had the HALIBUT, consummé, salsa verde, charred lemon for my main course. The Halibut was soooo dry, the consummé did not go well with the dry fish. For 39 bucks I was beyond disappointed.Great service, but bad food. 2 stars

Three separate friends highly recommended The Optimist so I had to check it out for my birthday dinner. It did not disappoint. The ambiance and service were top notch and each bite of food was a delight. We started our evening with cocktails. The El Rio Bravo and The Brigatine were both well worth it, I ordered multiple of the El Rio Bravo. Next came the oysters and the yeast rolls and I wish I could have them all again right now. For entrees we ordered the flounder, broccolini, hush puppies and prime skirt steak. The flounder stole the show and the hush puppies came with a sweet butter. The steak was great for a seafood place but next time my husband wants to try the chicken. For dessert we had wine and chocolate pudding cake to finish off a wonderful birthday!

What an experience! Came here for a graduation dinner and everything was basically perfect. We were there for 3.5 hours eating, drinking, and being merry. Our servers were attentive and never let me have an empty glass. The espresso martinis were delicious. The food was right up my alley and amazing. Loved the oysters, the scallop. My only complaint is I was so full by the end I could barely move and didn't finish everything. Other than that, would eat here every day.

The service and food were phenomenal! We went for a very special anniversary, and they sat us at a table with menus that were stamped "happy anniversary" which was so thoughtful. They brought us some champagne, an appetizer, and a dessert on the house. We have truly never felt so special!! The food we ordered was excellent, the drinks were so so so good. Definitely will be going back, and would recommend to anyone for any special occasion!